Dharmachakra
“Revolts,” the emperor said, addressing to his prime minister, “Revolts often emerge either to protest against the decisions of a monarch or to dethrone him altogether. The first kind of revolts that are built on the lone pillar of justice can be resolved by proper understanding. The other kind of revolts, however, are nothing but tactics played by another ruler who deludes innocent people into rebelling so that he could conquer the kingdom.”
“People of Avanti would never go against you, your majesty,” Prime Minister Radhagupta said. “Why would anyone feel discomfort on such generous decisions issued by you?”
The emperor’s dolorous eyes flickered as he gazed at the giant sculpture of lion, standing prestigiously beside the magnificent throne of Magadh.
“Serenity of mind, Radhagupta,” the emperor grumbled. “It took me four years of dreadful wars and enormous bloodshed to realize that serenity of mind cannot be attained through mortal triumphs; it comes when we renounce our weapons, our expectations, our greed and surrender before our own true self.” Few of the memories of his prime days flashed through his mind. Memories that were both delightful and agonizing at the same time. Relocking them inside the deep parts of his mind, the emperor rolled his eyes again towards his prime minister. “Innocence is pure and untouched. But it’s not completely at peace. Because it can be deluded as long as it longs for something… something mortal. And the delusion is not necessarily created by someone else; a yearning mind can delude itself against the righteousness, and hence against the decisions that are influenced by the righteousness.”
The prime minister listened to the emperor’s words carefully. Perhaps they were the words that had been cherishing this great empire. The words that emerged from a quelled heart - a deep ocean which had been touched by remorse and churned by purity.
“The only question here is their motive and what has triggered it,” the emperor continued. “If the revolts are empowered by the southern kings, which I don’t think they are, I hope we can resolve them verbally. And if the revolts are led by the wavering minds our own people, then perhaps we’ll have to strive in order to spread cognizance about the true nature of these laws. No society can prosper if it aims at making things easier. Instead, it should aim at making people stronger.”
The emperor turned around and pointed at the giant wheel carved on the wall. Radhagupta gazed at that spectacular wheel. The wheel of Dharma. The wheel that constituted this enormous empire of Magadh.
“That wheel, the wheel of Dharma, bears twenty-four spokes in total,” the emperor further spoke. “Twelve of them represent the laws of dependent origination. And the other twelve represent the laws of dependent termination. Love, Courage, Patience, Peace, Magnanimity, Goodness, Faith, Gentleness, Selflessness, Self-control, Self-sacrifice and Truthfulness are the laws of dependent origination. Whereas Righteousness, Justice, Mercy, Gracefulness, Humility, Loyalty, Sympathy, Spiritual Knowledge, Forgiveness, Honesty, Eternity and Hope are the laws of dependent termination. A virtuous man constitutes these qualities. And an empire thrives eternally if it is built on these qualities. If we are to become the source of prosperity, the abode of Dharma, then these are the qualities this empire will follow...” The emperor rolled his eyes towards Radhagupta. “At least in my reign.”
