..續本文上一頁ject to be tortured°‚to be subject to a variety of punishment by the people, because, being unfit and unworthy, he has placed himself unrighteously in the seat of sovereignty. The ruler, like others who violate and transgress moral codes and basic rules of all social laws of mankind, is equally subject to punishment; and moreover, to be censured is the ruler who conducts himself as a robber of the public.” In a Jataka story, it is mentioned that a ruler who punishes innocent people and does not punish the culprit is not suitable to rule a country.
佛陀說：「假如一個人不適合、不能勝任、沒有足夠的德性、沒有能力、沒有資格做統治者時，他將受到全國人民的指責……將受到人民的責備。因爲他不能勝任，他不配占據那統治者的地位。統治者有如一般人，如果觸犯或違背道德和人類社會的法律規範時，一樣要受到懲罰。統治者掠奪或私吞公産，也一樣要受到懲罰。」《Milinda Panha Sutta》
一個統治者應該時時關注自己的身、語、意的行爲，接受民衆的意見，反省和檢討自己。如果他有不正確的行爲時，如：不正確的懲罰、貪汙、壓迫和高稅收等等，民衆將指責他、反對他。如果他很公正的管理國家，人民將祝福他，祝他萬壽無疆。
The king always improves himself and carefully examines his own conduct in deeds, words and thoughts, trying to discover and listen to public opinion as to whether or not he had been guilty of any faults and mistakes in ruling the kingdom. If it is found that he rules unrighteously, the public will complain that they are ruined by the wicked ruler with unjust treatment, punishment, taxation, or other oppressions including corruption of any kind, and they will react against him in one way or another. On the contrary, if he rules righteously they will bless him: ”Long live His Majesty.” (Majjhima Nikaya)
The Buddha”s emphasis on the moral duty of a ruler to use public power to improve the welfare of the people had inspired Emperor Asoka in the Third Century B.C. to do likewise. Emperor Asoka, a sparkling example of this principle, resolved to live according to and preach the Dhamma and to serve his subjects and all humanity. He declared his non-aggressive intentions to his neighbors, assuring them of his goodwill and sending envoys to distant kings bearing his message of peace and non-aggression. He promoted the energetic practice of the socio-moral virtues of honesty, truthfulness, compassion, benevolence, non-violence, considerate behavior towards all, non-extravagance, non-a, cquisitiveness, and non-injury to animals. He encouraged religious freedom and mutual respect for each other”s creed. He went on periodic tours preaching the Dhamma to the rural people. He undertook works of public utility, such as founding of hospitals for men and animals, supplying of medicine, planting of roadside trees and groves, digging of wells, and construction of watering sheds and rest houses. He expressly forbade cruelty to animals.
佛陀指出，當一個統治者正確的運用他的職權時，人民將會因此而獲得幸福。公元叁世紀的阿首咖(Asoka)就是一個鐵證。他遵循佛陀的教義而生活和統治國家，爲國家帶來了空前的安定和幸福。他聲明不再侵犯鄰國，派使臣出使外國宣揚他和平的政策。他致力于推行社會道德，如：誠實、慈悲、仁愛、無暴戾、關懷、不奢侈、不貪婪、不傷害動物等等。他鼓勵信仰自由和互相尊重。他親自到偏遠的地方去弘揚佛法，他極力從事基層建設，如：爲人類和動物興建醫院、施贈藥物、廣植樹木，掘井和發展水力工程和歇腳亭。不允許人們虐待動物。
Sometimes the Buddha is said to be a social reformer. Among other things, He condemned the caste system, recognized the equality of people, spoke on the need to improve socio-economic conditions, recognized the importance of a more equitable distribution of wealth among the rich and the poor, raised the status of women, recommended the incorporation of humanism in government and administration, and taught that a society should not be run by greed but with consideration and compassion for the people. Despite all these, His contribution to mankind is much greater because He took off at a point which no other social reformer before or ever since had done, that is, by going to the deepest roots of human ill which are found in the human mind. It is only in the human mind that true reform can be effected. Reforms imposed by force upon the external world have a very short life because they have no roots. But those reforms which spring as a result of the t…
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