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Pedro Pileta
Professor Valerie Woldman
HUM-2223
20 September 2015
A Letter to Emperor Constantine
As you probably already know, the Roman Empire has gotten a little unstable in the West due to
the increase in territories, and with it, an increase in population and demand of resources. I can
only imagine how hard can be to govern an empire as big as the Roman Empire, with many
people from different cultures and religions being bashed by the Roman soldiers, especially
Christians. In addition to that, Emperor Maxentius from the East has declared you war, and it is
said that his army is as big as the population of a city: around one hundred thousand soldiers.
Though times come for you Emperor Constantine, and because of that I wanted to bequeath you
some of the passages of the Dhammapada, or according to the Bhudist tradition, the verses of the
Buddha himself. I believe that some of the verses found in this book will help you morally,
spiritually, and clear your mind of any negative thinking.
I would recommend to your Highness to read from the section "VIII: Thousands" of the
Dhammapada to help you become prepared for the battle against Maxentius. "Greater in battle
than the man that would conquer a thousand-thousand men, is he who would conquer just one himself" (8:51). I consider that war should be avoided when possible and that the best gift for the
people as a leader is to bring them peace and prosperity to gain the respect and approval of the
people, but there are some times that war is unavoidable and rulers don't have other choice than
to protect the population. Do not let emotions take over your use of reason in order to become

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self-disciplined and clear your mind from any doubt or insecurity to set your goals.
I believe that being a good ruler and being a wise ruler are congruent statements. When a leader
knows what his people want and what is best for everybody else, and he proceeds to fulfill these
goals with altruistic desires, then he is a wise leader. The verse from the section VI: The Wise
summarizes this concept very well. In the Dhamma revealed by the noble ones, the wise person
always delights. Irrigators guide the water. Fletchers shape the arrow shaft. Carpenters shape the
wood. The wise control themselves. (6:44). This verse teaches that a wise person brings
happiness and joy to everyone, for his desires are the peoples desires. It also states a metaphor
that explains the importance of self-discipline over the mind. I think this verse will help you
bring the West Empire together and avoid any confrontation or discrimination in the population
since the population of the West Empire consist of many different religious groups. Do not
discriminate any person for their religious practices or beliefs and encourage cultural and
philosophical freedom as long as they dont harm or interfere the lives of everybody else and the
people will respect you and give you their favor.
The Roman Empire has given birth to many revolutionary architecural and technological
techniques, and it has become one of the biggest and important pilars of civilizations to date. In
order to reach this status, many emperors before you needed to make hard choices in order to
reach a comfortable economic level for the people, practice diplomatic ideals, and at the same
time hold a respectable military power for those entities that wish nothing but war. It is not an
easy task to be a leader, even less being a Roman Emperor of the West. I hope for your success
that you read more in depth the Dhammapada and remember my advices in order to become a
better leader. Remember that achieving self-discipline is the hardest battle against yourself, and
that what makes a leader a great leader is not the number of territories he conquers, but the

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number of hearts he conquers.

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Works cited
Thanissaro, Bhikkhu. Dhammapada A Translation. Buddha Dharma Association Inc., 1998.
Web. 19 Sept. 2015

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