Historical Rulers and Political Figures
- Anawrahta (1014–1077), founder of Pagan Empire, credited with introducing Theravada Buddhism in Pagan Kingdom and restarting Theravada Buddhism in Ceylon
- Ashoka the Great (304–232 BC), Mauryan Emperor of ancient India, and the first Buddhist ruler to send Buddhist missionaries outside of India throughout the Old World (阿育王)
- Brhadrata, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty
- Harshavardhana (606–648), Indian emperor who converted to Buddhism.
- Jayavarman VII (1181–1219), king of Cambodia
- Kanishka, ruler of the Kushan Empire
- Kublai Khan Mongol emperor
- Menander (Pali: Milinda), 2nd century BCE, an Indo-Greek king of northwestern India, who questioned Nāgasena about Buddhism in the Milinda Pañha, and is said to have become an arhat.
- Mindon (1808–1878), king of Myanmar and facilitator of "Fifth World Theravada Buddhist Council" or Fifth Sangayana
- Emperor Ming of Han China.
- Mongkut, king of Thailand and founder of the Thammayut Nikaya
- Shōtoku (574–622), crown prince and regent of Japan
- Theodorus (1st century BCE), Indo-Greek governor, author of a Buddhist dedication.
- Tony Jaa Martial Artist, became a buddhist monk May 28th, 2010.
- Empress Wu of Zhou China (625–705), the only female empress regnant in Chinese history
- Emperor Wu of Liang China (梁武帝) (502–549), Emperor during the Chinese Liang Dynasty
- King Devanampiya Tissa (307 BC – 267 BC) of Sri Lanka
Read more about this topic: List Of Buddhists
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—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Of the best rulers The people only know that they exist; The next best they love and praise The next they fear; And the next they revile. When they do not command the people’s faith, Some will lose faith in them, And then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, The people all remark, “We have done it ourselves.””
—Lao-Tzu (6th century B.C.)
“In bourgeois society, the French and the industrial revolution transformed the authorization of political space. The political revolution put an end to the formalized hierarchy of the ancien regimé.... Concurrently, the industrial revolution subverted the social hierarchy upon which the old political space was based. It transformed the experience of society from one of vertical hierarchy to one of horizontal class stratification.”
—Donald M. Lowe, U.S. historian, educator. History of Bourgeois Perception, ch. 4, University of Chicago Press (1982)
“I will stand on, and continue to use, the figures I have used, because I believe they are correct. Now, I’m not going to deny that you don’t now and then slip up on something; no one bats a thousand.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)