Legal Ideology in Tibet: Politics, Practice & Religion

The manuscript The Mirror of Looking at Two Legal Systems is in the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives (Dharamsala, India), and was photographed by Dr Pirie in October 2015. It is of considerable interest for the 'Legal Ideology in Tibet' research project as it purports to list and commentate on 15 legal principles that the prominent Tibetan ruler Jangchub Gyaltsen (1302-1364) is claimed to have established. The manuscript also contains advice for legal officers, and hearkens back to the legal principles of the Tibetan Empire (ca. 640-842), with some discussion of secular and religious legal principles. This presentation will give an account of the current research at CSLS into the contents of the manuscript.

Charles Manson is Tibetan Subject consultant librarian at the Bodleian Library and a Research officer for the AHRC project Legal Ideology in Tibet: Politics, Practice, and Religion (leader Dr Fernanda Pirie) at CSLS.