The Golden Yoke: The Legal Cosmology of Buddhist Tibet

Rating:
Summary: excellent and interesting anthropological work.
Review: French provides the first detailed examination of the Tibetan legal systyem based on research carried out in India (Dharamsala) where she worked closely with a former Tibetan official. Based on his own personal accounts of life as an official in central Tibet prior to the occupation by China and law codes issued by the Ganden Phodrang government of the Dalai Lamas and earlier works she provides an interesting, indeed fascinating insight into the operation of law and legal processes in a Buddhist state. Using ancedotal evidence and the law codes she divides the book in to two sections. The first outines legal and Buddhist concepts which permeate the second part whcih uses a wide range of "ethnographic" ancedotes to show how religious ideals and legal practices were interlinked.

The writing is lucid and although an excellent work for those interested in Tibet academically, it is an accessible work which contains many fascinating details. Perhaps it is unfortunate that it appears to present Tibet as a homogenous society under the hegemoci rule of the Lhasa government( which it was not), nor does she really consider law and legal processes among non-Buddhist in Tibet, notably she is silent on Moslems and the Bon-po and perhaps this reflects not only the desire to present the Buddhist aspect of law in Tibet but the prejudices of her own principal informant. Her presentation of Buddhism also perhaps gives the reader the impression of it being a monolithic and uniform religion and in particular seems to emphasis the Gelugpa tradition within Tibetan Buddhism. What of the other traditions and in particular non-Buddhist practices? On a more academic note it would be more useful to scholars to have proper references to the sections of the law codes cited that to her own note books! Of course Dr French is producing transaltions of these works which will hopeful deal with this minor, but important comment.

Overall, an important first step towards developing our understanding and appreciation for the interconnection between religious doctrine and law in Tibet. A real labor of love by the author and one for which she must be highly commended.