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KPI Congress 15 th 4

the Buddha questioned: “Is it possible to govern a country righteously without killing,
without causing others to kill, without conquering, without causing others to conquer,
without sorrow, without causing others sorrow.” Using the idea of the wheel-turning
monarch, the Buddha pointed out the possibility of ruling righteously.

The Buddha maintained that prosperity, growth and peace of a given country
depend largely on the way righteous principles are adopted and implemented in affairs
of the state in resolving problems. The Buddha pointed out a causal link of
relationships in the process of the decline of virtuous conduct in state affairs
beginning from the top down by emphasizing the importance of righteous conduct of
the ruler as the foremost. In the A guttara Nikãya, the Buddha stated in full detail
how this causal link works leading to the collapse of morals:

At such times, Monks, as kings are unrighteous, the ministers are also
unrighteous. When ministers are unrighteous, the warriors, Brahmins and
householders also are unrighteous. Thus townsfolk and villagers are unrighteous.
This being so, constellations and stars do likewise; days and nights, months and
fortnights, seasons and years are out of joint; the winds blow wrong, out of
season. Thus the devas are annoyed. This being so, the sky-deva bestows not
sufficient rain. Rains not falling at proper times, the crops ripen in wrong
season. When crops ripen in wrong season, men who live on such crops are
short-lived, ill-favoured, weak and sickly (A.II.74-75).

This passage highlights the importance of the righteous ruler, who embodies just
principles of governance and conduct, for the maintenance of law and order as well
as economic activity. The ruler’s proper or improper conduct extends beyond his court
to the public realm and natural phenomenon. Economic as well as moral degeneration
in wider society are thus closely linked with personal conduct of rulers and their
associates. Even for the proper order of natural phenomenon such as proper seasons
for raining, etc. the moral make up of those who govern has an impact. This passage
attempts to show that even seasons get altered as a result of the decline of morals
of individuals who run the government. In some ways, this is a strong critique of the
(immoral) conduct of rulers of the Buddha’s time but it also shows the necessity of
personal diligence and caring attitudes of rulers in public service that can immensely
benefit wider society and the country by guaranteeing well-being, peace and security.

III
The
Significance
of
the
Wheel-turning
Monarch
in

Understanding
the
Good
Governance
of
the
Dhammarãja
International panel discussion

(Just
Ruler)

In Buddhist societies, discussions on the importance of the role of the
Dhammarãja (wheel-turning monarch) concentrate on literary accounts found in the
Buddhist texts of the P?li canon. Though there are several texts in the Pãli canon,