Telling truth to power has always been risky. It can get you cancelled, imprisoned or killed. Tyrants crush so many people. Naturally they get paranoid.
But wise leaders welcome good counsel. They listen to views which differ from their own. The truth lets them see clearly and choose the best course of action.
Alexander the Great conquered Bactria in 327 BC. His Greek generals and their descendants, ruled there for centuries. The most powerful of them was King Menander, reigning around 150 BC.
He and his allies pushed the Bactrian frontier to China, conquering more tribes and nations than Alexander himself. At its peak, the Bactrian empire covered much of central Asia – parts of what is now Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Iran and beyond.
Buddhism flourished under the Greek kings, especially Menander, whose encounter with it is well known. His transformation parallels that of King Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire – who, around 250 BC, pivoted from life as a brutal warrior king to a devotee and ardent proponent of the dharma.
As the story goes, King Menander was fascinated by the lectures of a monk named Nagasena, who was visiting from India. Their conversations are recorded in a famous book called the Milinda Panha – “The Questions of King Menander.”
King Menander heard Nagasena explain the relationship between things, processes, perception, concepts and language, in a way that was completely new and revolutionary in its implications – about what we make of the world around us, and how we make our way through it. It seemed to him like it might be true. He wanted to know more.
The King said, “Venerable sir, will you discuss with me again?”
“If your majesty will discuss as a scholar, yes; but if you will discuss as a king, no.”
“How is it then that scholars discuss?”
“When scholars discuss there is a summing up and an unravelling; one or other is shown to be in error. He admits his mistake, yet he does not become angry.”
“Then how is it that kings discuss?”
“When a king discusses a matter and advances a point of view, if anyone differs from him on that point, he is apt to punish him.”
King Menander agreed to discuss as a scholar.
From that decision came the Milinda Panha.
From that decision Menander’s life was completely transformed and countless people benefitted.
Leaders who discuss like scholars merit trust. Leaders who know the truth can act on it. If we are leaders, and for all of is in leading our own lives, this is a matter of importance.
In dojo training openness to new ideas, to be tested, tried and proven, keeps training alive, combative skill sharp, and everyone honest and strong.
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Post copyright © 2024 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC
Photo by Younis Sahil Official, via Pexels
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read True Karate Dō by Jeffrey Brooks
“One of the best books I’ve read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields in this wide-ranging and Illuminating study that has much to offer both novice explorers and veteran practitioners. A splendid achievement.”
— Philip Zaleski, Editor, The Best Spiritual Writing series