Buddhism and Law in South-Eastern Himalaya: An analysis of the conceptions of law, fairness, and legitimacy in medieval and pre-modern Bhutan, Sikkim, and related areas

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20K22056
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Review Section	0105:Law and related fields
Research Institution	Kyoto University
Principal Investigator	Alvarez Ortega Miguel 京都大学, 法学研究科, 特定准教授 (90876187)
Project Period (FY)	2020-09-11 – 2022-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000) Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000) Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	Legal Philosophy / Political Philosophy / Buddhism / Tibet / Himalaya / Law & Politics / Bhutan / Sikkim
Outline of Research at the Start	- the identification of the relevant texts (overcoming the shortcomings of the research existing today) - a layout of their philological and historical profile - a translation into English of those that have not been translated yet - a study of modern and classical commentarial literature and a philosophical analysis of their normative content)
Outline of Final Research Achievements	I conducted a research on the socio-political meaning of the reaction of Tibetan lamas to the covid crisis, comparing Buddhist sources and advice and guidelines provided by them mainly in social media. The results were published in a collective volume in entitled “Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of the Pandemic” and presented in the international conference “Interface Dialogue on Religion and Pandemics” (SBU, Tehran, Iran). I have translated and analyzed the “Union of Politics and Buddhist Dharma” by Tibet-based Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro, which presents a novel approach comparing the traditional Buddhist Tibetan model of a Dharma-inspired system respectful of religious freedom with the Western models of Theocracy on the one hand and Separation of Church and State on the other. I have located, translated and analyzed Japanese sources so far ignored in Western Academia, namely the works of H. Sato and Z. Yamaguchi on the legal, political, and military system of the Tibetan Empire
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	Academically: analysis of Tibetan primary sources, on the relation Religion-Politics, and Japanese secondary sources, on the law of the Tibetan Empire, unstudied in Western Academia. Socially: study on lama’s reactions to the covid as a socio-politically exemplary.