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Volume 27, 2020
The Saṃgha and the Taxman: A Tibetan Regent’s
Economic Reforms and the Ethics of Rulership
William K. Dewey
Rubin Museum of Art
This article examines how Tibetan Buddhists believed a state
should be governed justly by considering the political agenda of the regent
Ngawang Tsültrim (1721–1791) and how he was influenced by the Indian nītiśāstra
tradition and similar indigenous traditions of ethical rule. Nītiśāstra originally,
under Kauṭilya, promoted wealth and power. Later proponents (both Hindu and
Buddhist) more strongly emphasized the primacy of Dharma and justice
for the poor, and in this form it most influenced Tibetan Buddhist
political thought, including the legislative decrees of Ngawang Tsültrim.
He tried to relieve the Tibetan peasants from the heavy tax and labor
obligations of the Tibetan social system, and otherwise pursued economic
justice. In so doing, he also wanted to ensure that resources continued to
flow to the Saṃgha,
the supreme field of merit. Accordingly, the decrees targeted aristocratic
rather than monastic corruption. They prioritized the maintenance and
reform of existing economic obligations over economic development or
redistribution of wealth. Ngawang Tsültrim’s decrees demonstrate a tension
within the nītiśāstra
tradition which can also be found when today’s religions (including
socially engaged Buddhism) pursue goals of social justice. These goals may
conflict with the goal of spreading the faith, and especially with the
social and financial structures that support religious institutions, but
may be responsible for social ills. Read article
buddhistethics | April 26, 2020
at 9:59 am | Tags: agriculture, business, economics, Engaged Buddhism, government, monastic authority, monasticism, Ngawang Tsultrim, Nītiśāstra, Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism, vinaya | Categories: Volume 27 2020 | URL: https://wp.me/p5X8HA-1ek
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