Buddhism and Law: An Introduction

As the first comprehensive study of Buddhism and law in Asia, this interdisciplinary volume challenges the concept of Buddhism as an apolitical religion without implications for law. Buddhism and Law draws on the expertise of the foremost scholars in Buddhist studies and in law to trace the legal aspects of the religion from the time of the Buddha to the present. In some cases, Buddhism provided the crucial architecture for legal ideologies and secular law codes, while in other cases it had to contend with a preexisting legal system, to which it added a new layer of complexity. The wide-ranging studies in this book reveal a diversity of relationships between Buddhist monastic codes and secular legal systems in terms of substantive rules, factoring, and ritual practices. This volume will be an essential resource for all students and teachers in Buddhist studies, law and religion, and comparative law.

Author: Rebecca Redwood French
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 07/31/2014
Pages: 407
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.80w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780521734196

About the Author
Nathan, Mark A.: - Mark A. Nathan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Asian Studies Program at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. He specializes in Korean Buddhism, and his articles have appeared in the Journal of Law and Religion and the Journal of Korean Religions.French, Rebecca Redwood: - Rebecca Redwood French is a Professor of Law at the State University of New York, Buffalo Law School and a former director of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy (2008-10). She is the author of The Golden Yoke: The Legal Cosmology of Buddhist Tibet (1995). Her recent work focuses on the intersection of Buddhism and law in relation to feminism, natural law, and comparative law.