The Monastery Rules: Buddhist Monastic Organization in Pre-Modern Tibet

by Berthe Jansen

Overview

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 The Monastery Rules discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan Buddhist societies and how that position was informed by the far-reaching relationship of monastic Buddhism with Tibetan society, economy, law, and culture. Jansen focuses her study on monastic guidelines, or bca’ yig. The first study of its kind to examine the genre in detail, the book contains an exploration of its parallels in other Buddhist cultures, its connection to the Vinaya, and its value as socio-historical source-material. The guidelines are witness to certain socio-economic changes, while also containing rules that aim to change the monastery in order to preserve it. Jansen argues that the monastic institutions’ influence on society was maintained not merely due to prevailing power-relations, but also because of certain deep-rooted Buddhist beliefs.
 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520297005
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	10/23/2018
Series:	South Asia Across the Disciplines
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Berthe Jansen is Professor of Tibetan Studies at the Institut für Indologie und Zentralasienwissenschaften, Leipzig University. 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

A Note on Transliteration xi

Introduction 1

1 Documents That Establish the Rides: The Genre of Chayik 14

2 Historical and Doctrinal Frameworks of Monastic Organization in Tibet 31

3 Entrance to the Monastery 44

4 Monastic Organization 57

5 Monastic Economy and Policy 85

6 Relations with the Laity: The Roles of the Monastery in Society 115

7 Justice and the Judicial Role of the Monastery 148

8 Maintaining (the) Order: Conclusions 176

Appendix 183

Notes 187

Sources 239

Index 267

Editorial Reviews

"The Monastery Rules is an eminent and indispensable contribution to the study of Tibetan society, presenting the daily reality of monastic life in its hitherto undocumented diversity."

European Bulletin of Himalayan Research

"The Monastery Rules offers an excellent specialist study of Tibetan Buddhist monasticism, which emphasizes indigenous voices and. . . . constitutes a monumental achievement that breaks new ground on an understudied but vitally important topic."

Eastern Buddhist

"In this excellent study, the author undoes the myth that Tibetan monks and monasteries were ever completely separated from lay society, highlighting the complex social role that monasteries negotiated in premodern Tibet."

Reading Religion

In its geographical, temporal and topical focus, the range of the book is exceptional. . . . a great reference for anyone studying Buddhist economies, Buddhist institutions, the Vinaya and the history of Tibetan and Mongolian societies, and of monastic institutions more generally. By surveying and compiling vast stores of knowledge on monastic guidelines, Jansen is able to illustrate compellingly the socio-economic relationships between pre-1950s monastic institutions and the laity.” 

Inner Asia (INAS)

"The Monastery Rules is one of the most important contributions to Tibetan studies to emerge in recent years because of the author’s ability to situate the story of Tibetan monasticism within mainstream Buddhist Studies as well as to address important questions in Buddhist ethics."

Journal of Buddhist Ethics