mandates just rulership (tianming), the just ruler re-
ceives Buddha’s charge or mandate for improving so-
ciety and maintaining moral conduct: The model ruler
is a “wheel-turner” who is responsible for law and or-
der. There was a division of labor between the Buddha
and the cakravartin, with the Buddha delivering beings
from the world to a salvation “outside the world”
(fangwai), and the cakravartin working “in the world”
to reduce bad karma.
Law and party politics
Imperial domain requires territory and more or less
demarcated spatial boundaries (physical or imagined),
within which there is jurisdiction; applicable laws were
those determined by the emperor and his ministers,
scholars, and magistrates, and the military and police
power needed to enforce those laws. At times the
monastic institutions and the state contested areas of
jurisdiction. For example, if a monk commits murder,
the san ̇gha is entitled to disrobe him, but not to send
him to prison; the state may wait until the monk is dis-
robed before arresting him, or may claim a right to
reach directly into the monastery. Similarly, state law
codes have recognized the status of the cleric in a
variety of ways, sometimes affording the ordained a
dispensation not to perform military service, or ac-
knowledging the Buddhist educational qualification as
equivalent to secular educational degrees. In Thailand,
degrees from Buddhist universities have gained quali-
fied recognition from the government; for example,POLITICS ANDBUDDHISM
Tibetan monks demonstrating in front of the U.S. Capitol for the cause of religious freedom in Tibet in 1998. AP/Wide World Photos.
Reproduced by permission.