ABSTRACT
A messenger, sent by the Master of the Royal Torture Chamber, informed the king of a remarkable event. A heretie, although being tortured, showed eomplete indifferenee to the pain. The king was immediately interested and went himselfto witness this phenomenon. Inside the desolate room he saw, in a pot of vigorously boiling water, an old man. This gentleman was ehatting affably with the servants who were attempting to make the flames even hotter. When the king reeovered from his astonishment, he ordered that the man be released and eseorted to the palaee. Later at the palaee the king had an interview with the fellow, now dressed in the saffron robe of a Buddhist monk. King Ashoka began by asking, "What is your seeret?" Aeeording to the legend, the monk replied by telling the king about the Buddha and Buddhist teaehings, how these liberated hirn from all suffering. King Ashoka then had the monk instruet hirn in these teaehings. The king eonverted to Buddhism and made it the national religion. He hirnself ehanged from a despotie eonqueror into a benefieent mler.
