Obama, King Asoka, and Compassion

Folks in my circles have this hope that we finally have a President and administration that actually sounds and, moreover, "feels" like we do. A government that we can anthropomorphize and that allows us to sleep soundly knowing it weeps for the children of Rwanda and Darfur, the way we do. Is it too much to hope for a government that actually makes laws with the sole objective of doing good for the people of its society and, at the risk of sounding idealistic, the world? I don't think so.

Many of us believe that we have not seen truly compassionate government in the U.S. since the Kennedy administration. But Obama seems to go a step further; it may be too soon to tell, but he's beginning to feel like our very own modern-day King Asoka. I hesitate to make this comparison too soon, but I can at least begin to draw comparisons and contrasts where they might exist.

King Asoka was a king in India who lived about 2,300 years ago. He is a key figure in the early spread of Buddhism throughout India and Asia. There is very little known about his life, but during his reign of 38 years, he issued a series of edicts for the purpose of creating a balanced and compassionate society. Asoka's edicts now exist throughout India, as well as in Pakistan, Nepal, and Afghanistan. Initially inscribed on stone pillars and deciphered by scholars in the 19th century, they might serve as a benchmark for conversations about what compassionate leadership could look like today, as well as an interesting way of thinking about how we, as responsible "compassion activists," can create compassion in our own environments, as well as hold our government accountable for actions that don't quite measure up.

In my next several posts, I thought it would be interesting to use King Asoka's edicts as a means of beginning to explore compassionate relationships, families, organizations, and leadership structures.