“Some people may ask, ‘Why should the problems in Tibet stand out in a world filled with suffering?’ I think it’s because of the Tibetan people’s unbroken spirit, strength, and desire to find compassionate solutions, instead of falling into despair or pursuing terrorism or violent acts against their enemies.” - Tom Peosay

Today in the Intermediate English class, we had an interesting conversation after I asked the students to discuss whether Emperor Asoka was a good or a bad person. I had previously asked them to read an account of a pivotal episode in that emperor's life, which was described by Sharon Salzberg in her wonderful book "Lovingkindness."

As Sharon had explained, Emperor Asoka, though immensely wealthy and possessed of a vast empire, hungered for even more, and had been waging war after war to increase his territory. One morning, after an especially bloody battle against the tiny kingdom of Kalinga, he walked across the battlefield among the countless dead men and animals. He had been a miserable man in any case, and now, seeing the extent of the devastation he had wrought, he felt even more miserable. Perhaps for the first time ever, Asoka felt remorse.

Not far away, a Buddhist monk also was walking across the battlefield. Something about the monk's peaceful, serene demeanor, even in the midst of the devastation, touched the emperor. Asoka walked up to him and asked, "Are you happy? If so, how is it possible?" And so, as Sharon explained, the monk who had nothing (apart from begging bowl and robe) introduced the emperor who had everything to the teachings of the Buddha.

Asoka experienced what must have been one of the most profound changes of heart in all of history. From then on, he was a generous and loving ruler. He became Buddhist and vegetarian, and sent missionaries, including his own children, across the world to spread the Buddha's teachings. As it happened, Buddhism essentially died out in India not so very long after Asoka died. Had he not been so active in spreading Buddhism elsewhere, it might have died out in the world.

All the students felt that Asoka was a good man rather than bad, because of his sincere remorse and his later efforts to do good. They noted the similarity between Asoka's story and that of the great Tibetan saint, Milarepa. Milarepa, at his widowed mother's request, had learned sorcery in order to take revenge on an uncle and aunt who had refused to give his mother money that was rightfully hers. He used his sorcery to destroy the aunt and uncle, and many others. Soon afterwards, though, he too repented, sought out a great Buddhist teacher, Marpa, and became enlightened in a single lifetime--something that Tibetan Buddhists consider no mean feat.

Because monks make up about a third of the class, I asked about Asoka's and Milarepa's karma. I was told that Milarepa, having become enlightened, had freed himself of his karma. The class consensus was that Asoka had become free of his negative karma because his repentance had been so sincere and his later life so virtuous.

So from a Buddhist point of view, I asked, should we say that it's a bad thing to kill someone who has incurred negative karma, since that person then would be deprived of any opportunity to repent of what they've done in that lifetime? Of course, the students replied.