Secular morality, village law, and Buddhism in Tibetan societies

Abstract

Contrary to assumptions frequently made about Buddhist societies and to models promoted by Tibetan elites, not all Tibetans understand their religion in an ethical way. This article demonstrates that, for a community of villagers in Ladakh, Buddhism is not a source of moral guidance nor is it regarded by them as providing authority for the exercise of political or judicial power. Comparing the findings of ethnographers elsewhere in the Tibetan region, it is apparent that many Tibetans regard the cosmos and its inhabitants as having little relevance for the moral order of their community or its political organization. It is suggested that such understandings have a profound effect on local understandings of the ambit and significance of Buddhism and on the course of its assimilation in the region.As a mountainous part of the high Tibetan plateau, Ladakh has always supported a sparse population (now around ,) grouped into relatively small villages separated by acres of pasture and waste-land. Before the construction of motor roads in the twentieth century, Photoksar, the village in which I carried out fieldwork, was a week's journey from the capital, Leh. 4 After the collapse of the early Tibetan empire members of a powerful Tibetan family established a political base and, ultimately, a kingdom in Ladakh. This remained largely independent until the s, despite incursions from both Kashmir and Tibet. The kings established a small endogamous upper class whose members acted as their Fernanda Pirie 175 J. Roy. Anthrop. Inst. (N.S.) , - © Royal Anthropological Institute  Fernanda Pirie 177 J. Roy. Anthrop. Inst. (N.S.) , - © Royal Anthropological Institute  Fernanda Pirie 185

Legal Autonomy as Political Engagement: The Ladakhi Village in the Wider World

“…There was no suggestion, for example, that disputes disturb the order of the cosmological world with harmful consequences for the whole community. As I have argued at greater length elsewhere (Pirie 2006), the spirits are, indeed, responsible for illnesses and accidents but are not remotely concerned about community relations. The monks are regarded by the villagers as ritual specialists, capable of influencing the activities of local demons and the fate of souls in the afterlife.…”

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

“…The development of altruistic qualities occupies a central place, and conditions, perhaps more than the other qualities, the healing power of the therapist. 9 While moral organization and social behaviour are largely secular among laymen (Pirie 2006), in the case of the amchi, the moral and ethical dimensions of medical practice are clearly influenced by Buddhism.…”

Religious Relationships with the Environment in a Tibetan Rural Community: Interactions and Contrasts with Popular Notions of Indigenous Environmentalism

“…Households perform rituals for certain gods, especially those closest to their village, more often, reflecting the symbolic identification of villages with local deities in Tibetan communities (Pirie 2006 ). Informants discussed the relationship between particular villages and yul-lha: the second village (Drongshen) is associated with Sohong, and the fifth (Shagong) with Tsongra and Taleng.…”

“…Certainly, respondents openly stated their empathy towards wildlife, indicating that animals merit moral consideration and are part of the same system as humans (“they suffer just like humans”) and in particular that they are reincarnate – indeed, they once may have been human as humans may once have been animals. As Pirie ( 2006 ) noted, Buddhist principles are generally not invoked with regards to human relationships but rather decisions are based on desirable community benefits. In relations with non-human animals, however, religious sin was significant in discussions in Samdo.…”

“…With regards to local gods, senior monks made a clear distinction between the ‘real gods’ of Buddhism and the local worldly gods whose capabilities they dismissed, despite their ritual relationships. The Dalai Lama himself has publicly renounced spirit worship as superstition, rather promoting more morally based Buddhist ideas in line with Buddhist modernism (Pirie 2006 ). This distinction was not something emphasized by our lay respondents, who spoke about religion from a more practical perspective, although within a moral framework.…”