Seeing this map evokes a strange sense of impermanence in me. The lands where the Buddha once walked, those great nations, Kosala, Magadha, Kasi, Anga, Kuru, etc. Now are so left behind, and his teaching and training is non existence in those region.
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Not at all. Those southern states that are in green were home to some very powerful empires themselves. In fact, they were often pioneers in pushing the envelope of trans-national trade. They were seafaring people from way back. If you go around SE Asia you’ll see their influence far and wide.
Not at all
Not saying the southern states were not great though, I’m aware of their influence on the SEA nations back in the days. Just that today the northern states are so left behind that it’s hard to recognize those were once great nations. And the Buddha’s teaching is no longer exist in its original plane. This is why I feel sad, but it’s just impermanence at play.
What an apt example of Buddha’s teaching about anicca. DN 16 comes to mind as an excellent reminder that everything must pass.
Even when the teacher was alive, his own Sakyan republic was falling into difficult times and was eventually annexed by the neighbouring Kosala kingdom. More than two and a half thousand years later, we continue to see impermanence in action.
For those not familiar, Kerala is perhaps the world’s most successful Communist state.
Obviously Communism has done terrible things most of the times it has been tried, but Kerala suggests that it can work. Ultimately, in my opinion, the success of a political system is due just as much to the character of the people at the top as it is to the underlying system. The best system is undone by people of bad character, while even bad systems can be tolerable if implemented by a person of good character (eg. life under a good king).
The sad fact is, though, we can never guarantee the character of our leaders, hence the importance of a good system, which can at least keep the worst in check.
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It’s not a Communist State. It’s a liberal democratic one (well, a state within one). One that still uses capitalism as the “mode of production”. If they were to attempt to transition society towards socialism (Marxist sense) and full communism you would see all the old horrors repeat again, because in order to do that you have to have an authoritarian government and the use of force and coercion. That’s before we get onto the fantasy economics involved.
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