Buddhism and Kalmyk Secular Law in the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries

Abstract

Buddhism endorses a set of rules and standards of conduct set out in the religion’s canonical texts. The text of the 1640 Steppe Code, both a peace treaty among the Mongols and an attempt at alliance buildingvis-à-visthe Manchus, also reflects the adaptation of the ethical norms of Buddhism to secular law and political relations. Secular law among the Kalmyks further evolved in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Toktols issued by Khan Donduk-Dashi in the eighteenth century addressed a wide range of religious and secular elements in Kalmyk life, while also serving to strengthen the moral authority of the Buddhist clergy. Further revisions to Kalmyk law and the position of Buddhism within the secular system were promulgated at the Jinjil assembly in 1822. The Kalmyks’ inclusion of religious provisions in secular law helped to strengthen the connection between Buddhism and Kalmyk society, consolidating the normative role of religion as the basis for secular conduct and action.

Women In Mahayana Buddhism

“…According to Yasa of Genghis Khan, adultery was punishable by death. This mild punishment for adultery contrasted with the legal norms of many other nations (Ulanov, Badmaev, & Holland, 2017).…”

The Practice of Pilgrimage by Kalmyk Buddhists

“…Unlike the Buryats in Siberia, who are geographically close to Mongolia and thus have had a strong relationship with that country from where they imported Buddhism, the Kalmyks received knowledge about Buddhism directly from Tibet (Ulanov et al 2019(Ulanov et al , 1453. After its adoption, the Buddhist religion came to dominate practically all aspects of the social life of the Kalmyks (Ulanov et al 2017, Ulanov andBadmaev 2018). Unlike Buryats, Kalmyk pilgrims from the seventeenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century travelled to Tibet through the territory of Dzungaria by bypassing Mongolia (Bakaeva 2004, 24).…”