Tsa Yig
Encyclopedia
The Tsa Yig is any monastic constitution or code of moral discipline based on codified Tibetan Buddhist
precepts. Every Tibetan monastery and convent had its own Tsa Yig, and the variation in Tsa Yig content shows a degree of autonomy and internal democracy.
In Bhutan
, the Tsa Yig Chenmo (Dzongkha: བཅའ་ཡིག་ཆེན་མོ་; Wylie
: bca' yig chen-mo; "constitution, code of law") refers to the legal code enacted by founder Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal around 1629. Before the Shabdrung enacted the Tsa Yig as the national legal code, he had established the code as the law of Ralung
and Cheri Monasteries by 1620. The code described the spiritual and civil regime and provided laws for government administration and for social and moral conduct. The duties and virtues inherent in the Buddhist religious law (dharma
) played a large role in the legal code, which remained in force until the 1960s.
rules on individual morality and conduct. While they shared some common elements of basic structure, individual Tsa Yig codes vary considerably in scope and content, such that no one could be called typical. These variations indicate a measure of monastic autonomy and internal democracy.
For example, one Tsa Yig included anti-hunting laws banning hunting
outright for monks as well as regulating hunting among laypersons. The tsa yig for one gelugpa establishment provides, "when itinerant
game hunters appear, they should be punished by gathering their weapons in the protector's temple and in addition exhorted once again to observe lawfulness."
The Tsa Yig is not limited to mainstream Tibetan Buddhism
, but has been implemented in Bön monasteries as well. In 1902, for example, the laws of the Tsa Yig were observed written on a broad sheet of pasted daphne paper and posted in a conspicuous position in a Tibetan Bönpo monastery. The Tsa Yig stipulated that when an ordained monk was found guilty of violating rules, particularly those regarding chastity, he should be immediately punished and expelled from the monastery. Such punishments were, however, commutable into fines, such as the payment of money to the lama who ordained him, and providing entertainment and presents for the other monastic authorities and the members of the congregation.
as the nation's main legal code from its founding in 1629, through the establishment of the modern Bhutanese monarchy
, until de jure abrogation in 1965. During this time, the social and moral code of Shabdrung
Ngawang Namgyal
evolved to a code of regulations for the unified Kingdom of Bhutan. Many basic tenets of the Bhutanese Tsa Yig live on in modern legal codes
, including its Constitution
.
The Tsa Yig of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal laid down the dual system of government
of Bhutan, a synthesis of spiritual and temporal authority. Central to the system was a spirit of perfect disinterestedness in the trappings of power. The Tsa Yig governed the conduct of and relations between the debs (kings), the priesthood, and the raiyats (peasants). The spiritual laws were said to resemble a silken knot known as "Chho-Thrim Dargi Dudphu," easy and light at first but gradually becoming tighter and tighter; the temporal and monarchical laws were said to resemble a golden yoke known as "Gyal-Thrim Sergi Nyashing," growing heavier and heavier by degrees. Both symbols appear on the crest of the modern Royal Court of Justice.
The Tsa Yig contained the prohibitions of the "ten impious acts." The prohibitions included homicide, a crime punished by the payment of blood-money
. Robbery and theft of church or monastic property was compensable by damages or repayment. The Tsa Yig stipulated eightyfold repayment in cases of stealing the king's property, and eightfold repayment in cases of theft among subjects. Adultery was also punishable by fines. Falsehood was punishable by the offender being put to oath in a temple, and the invocation of tutelar deities and gods.
The Tsa Yig also contained affirmative duties called the "sixteen acts of social piety." All were required to regard parents with filial respect and affections, and elders with reverence. All were to receive with gratitude any kind action done by others to themselves. Furthermore, they were to avoid dishonesty and the use of false measures. These were the essence of the "sixteen acts of social piety" of the Tsa Yig.
In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuck
, penlop
(governor) of Trongsa
, had consolidated power as hereditary monarch of Bhutan and as hereditary holder of the office of the Druk Desi
under the dual system of government
. Soon after ascension to the throne and office, the king found it necessary to make several modifications to the existing Tsa Yig, citing "dangerous laxity" as having "crept into all branches of justice." Lamas were observed violating their oaths and other priestly habits. Meanwhile, government corruption and inadequacy in law enforcement led to a loss of faith among the populace in its governors.
The king therefore instated new rules in the Tsa Yig, which he justified in terms of Buddhist precepts. Foremost, the king made laws on the on collection of taxes and accountability of collectors to the king, prohibited the combining of raiyat (peasant) holdings, retroactively
annulled such prior combinations, and provided for the escheat
of the property of lamas upon death or retirement in order to curtail their number and power. Regulations on conduct within dzongs was also refined. Taxation in the form of labor
remained an important institution.
King Ugyen Wangchuck's reforms prohibited the sale and purchase of slaves
, and limited the use of coolie
s by state officers to occasions where the health of the officer required such. Otherwise, the institution of slavery was left intact: slaves attempting to escape were to be detained, and anyone who harbored an escaped slave was to "make good
the slave." However, if one returned an escaped slave, the owner faced a legal obligation to compensate him for his time and effort.
Those who harbored thieves were to receive the same punishment as the criminals themselves. Anyone who wrongly threatened or attempted to strike another with a sword was made liable for a sword fine. One who committed homicide
but did not flee the scene was to be punished by being "bound to the corpse of the deceased whom he has killed," whereas one who fled could be killed wherever and whenever he was caught. The children of a homicide were to be banished from their home, a kind of status crime. Exceptions to the prohibition of homicide were refined to include self-defense
, exculpating victims of thieves and robbers who overpowered and killed their attackers. Those who killed notorious thieves or enemies during war were to be rewarded. Government insubordination and corruption, as well as the forging of government letters, was to be punished by blind
ing or by decapitation
.
Funerary and other religious rules pepper King Ugyen Wangchuck's reforms. Also included is a ban on the "most filthy and noxious herb, called tobacco."
further reformed the Tsa Yig as part of his broader modernization program. He began to open Bhutan
to the outside world and took the first steps toward democratization
. Upon accession to the throne in 1952, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck put an end to feudalism
and slavery
and released all remaining serf
s.
The Tsa Yig was revised in 1957 and ostensibly replaced with a new code in 1965. The 1965 code, however, retained most of the spirit and substance of the 17th century code. Family problems, such as marriage
, divorce
, and adoption
, usually were resolved through recourse to Buddhist or Hindu
religious law
. In modern Bhutan, village heads often judged minor cases and Dungkhag
(district) officials adjudicated major crimes. While Bhutan's criminal codes continue to be built upon the principles of the Tsa Yig, Bhutan's Constitution of 2008
effectively abrogates the direct political authority of the lamas, capital punishment, and banishment. The modern Constitution does, however, retain sets of duties and prohibitions in a dichotomy similar to the original Tsa Yig.
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
precepts. Every Tibetan monastery and convent had its own Tsa Yig, and the variation in Tsa Yig content shows a degree of autonomy and internal democracy.
In Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, the Tsa Yig Chenmo (Dzongkha: བཅའ་ཡིག་ཆེན་མོ་; Wylie
Wylie transliteration
The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959...
: bca' yig chen-mo; "constitution, code of law") refers to the legal code enacted by founder Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal around 1629. Before the Shabdrung enacted the Tsa Yig as the national legal code, he had established the code as the law of Ralung
Ralung Monastery
Ralung Monastery , located in the Tsang region of western Tibet, south of the Karo La , is the traditional seat of the Drukpa order of Tibetan Buddhism...
and Cheri Monasteries by 1620. The code described the spiritual and civil regime and provided laws for government administration and for social and moral conduct. The duties and virtues inherent in the Buddhist religious law (dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
) played a large role in the legal code, which remained in force until the 1960s.
Monastic constitutions
The Tsa Yig, as monastic constitutions or ordinances, emphasize institutional organization and the liturgical calendar. Considered a special type of Buddhist literature, these codes have a close connection with, but are separate from, the general vinayaVinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
rules on individual morality and conduct. While they shared some common elements of basic structure, individual Tsa Yig codes vary considerably in scope and content, such that no one could be called typical. These variations indicate a measure of monastic autonomy and internal democracy.
For example, one Tsa Yig included anti-hunting laws banning hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
outright for monks as well as regulating hunting among laypersons. The tsa yig for one gelugpa establishment provides, "when itinerant
Itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home. The term comes from the late 16th century: from late Latin itinerant , from the verb itinerari, from Latin iter, itiner ....
game hunters appear, they should be punished by gathering their weapons in the protector's temple and in addition exhorted once again to observe lawfulness."
The Tsa Yig is not limited to mainstream Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, but has been implemented in Bön monasteries as well. In 1902, for example, the laws of the Tsa Yig were observed written on a broad sheet of pasted daphne paper and posted in a conspicuous position in a Tibetan Bönpo monastery. The Tsa Yig stipulated that when an ordained monk was found guilty of violating rules, particularly those regarding chastity, he should be immediately punished and expelled from the monastery. Such punishments were, however, commutable into fines, such as the payment of money to the lama who ordained him, and providing entertainment and presents for the other monastic authorities and the members of the congregation.
Tsa Yig in Bhutan
The Tsa Yig held a special position in BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
as the nation's main legal code from its founding in 1629, through the establishment of the modern Bhutanese monarchy
House of Wangchuck
The House of Wangchuck has ruled Bhutan since it was reunified in 1907. Prior to reunification, the Wangchuck family had governed the district of Trongsa as descendants of Dungkar Choji. They eventually overpowered other regional lords and earned the favour of the British Empire...
, until de jure abrogation in 1965. During this time, the social and moral code of Shabdrung
Shabdrung
Shabdrung , was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage...
Ngawang Namgyal
Ngawang Namgyal
Ngawang Namgyal was a Tibetan Buddhist lama and the unifier of Bhutan as a nation state...
evolved to a code of regulations for the unified Kingdom of Bhutan. Many basic tenets of the Bhutanese Tsa Yig live on in modern legal codes
Bhutanese legislation
Bhutanese legislation is created by the bicameral Parliament of Bhutan. Either the upper house National Council, the lower house National Assembly, or the Attorney General may author bills to be passed as acts, with the exception of money and financial bills, which are the sole purview of the...
, including its Constitution
Constitution of Bhutan
The Constitution of Bhutan was enacted July 18, 2008 by the Royal Government. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan...
.
Early Bhutan
Dual system of government
The Dual System of Government or Cho-sid-nyi is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribution of power between institutions varied over time and...
of Bhutan, a synthesis of spiritual and temporal authority. Central to the system was a spirit of perfect disinterestedness in the trappings of power. The Tsa Yig governed the conduct of and relations between the debs (kings), the priesthood, and the raiyats (peasants). The spiritual laws were said to resemble a silken knot known as "Chho-Thrim Dargi Dudphu," easy and light at first but gradually becoming tighter and tighter; the temporal and monarchical laws were said to resemble a golden yoke known as "Gyal-Thrim Sergi Nyashing," growing heavier and heavier by degrees. Both symbols appear on the crest of the modern Royal Court of Justice.
The Tsa Yig contained the prohibitions of the "ten impious acts." The prohibitions included homicide, a crime punished by the payment of blood-money
Blood money (term)
Blood money is money or some sort of compensation paid by an offender or his family group to the family or kin group of the victim.-Particular examples and uses:...
. Robbery and theft of church or monastic property was compensable by damages or repayment. The Tsa Yig stipulated eightyfold repayment in cases of stealing the king's property, and eightfold repayment in cases of theft among subjects. Adultery was also punishable by fines. Falsehood was punishable by the offender being put to oath in a temple, and the invocation of tutelar deities and gods.
The Tsa Yig also contained affirmative duties called the "sixteen acts of social piety." All were required to regard parents with filial respect and affections, and elders with reverence. All were to receive with gratitude any kind action done by others to themselves. Furthermore, they were to avoid dishonesty and the use of false measures. These were the essence of the "sixteen acts of social piety" of the Tsa Yig.
Modern Bhutan
Ugyen Wangchuck
Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck was the first King of Bhutan from 1907 to 1926.He was born in 1862 to Jigme Namgyal, penlop of Trongsa and Ashi Pema Choki. He succeeded his father as Penlop of Trongsa...
, penlop
Penlop
Penlop is a Dzongkha term roughly translated as governor. Bhutanese penlops, prior to unification, controlled certain districts of the country, but now hold no administrative office...
(governor) of Trongsa
Trongsa
Trongsa, previously Tongsa , is a town and capital of Trongsa District in central Bhutan. The name means "new village" in Dzongkha. The first temple was built in 1543 by the Drukpa Kagyu lama, Ngagi Wangchuk, who was the great-grandfather of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the person who unified...
, had consolidated power as hereditary monarch of Bhutan and as hereditary holder of the office of the Druk Desi
Druk Desi
The Druk Desi ;The original title is Dzongkha: སྡེ་སྲིད་ཕྱག་མཛོད་; Wylie: sde-srid phyag-mdzod. was the title of the secular rulers of Bhutan under the dual system of government between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries...
under the dual system of government
Dual system of government
The Dual System of Government or Cho-sid-nyi is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribution of power between institutions varied over time and...
. Soon after ascension to the throne and office, the king found it necessary to make several modifications to the existing Tsa Yig, citing "dangerous laxity" as having "crept into all branches of justice." Lamas were observed violating their oaths and other priestly habits. Meanwhile, government corruption and inadequacy in law enforcement led to a loss of faith among the populace in its governors.
The king therefore instated new rules in the Tsa Yig, which he justified in terms of Buddhist precepts. Foremost, the king made laws on the on collection of taxes and accountability of collectors to the king, prohibited the combining of raiyat (peasant) holdings, retroactively
Ex post facto law
An ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
annulled such prior combinations, and provided for the escheat
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
of the property of lamas upon death or retirement in order to curtail their number and power. Regulations on conduct within dzongs was also refined. Taxation in the form of labor
Corvée
Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
remained an important institution.
King Ugyen Wangchuck's reforms prohibited the sale and purchase of slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, and limited the use of coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
s by state officers to occasions where the health of the officer required such. Otherwise, the institution of slavery was left intact: slaves attempting to escape were to be detained, and anyone who harbored an escaped slave was to "make good
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
the slave." However, if one returned an escaped slave, the owner faced a legal obligation to compensate him for his time and effort.
Those who harbored thieves were to receive the same punishment as the criminals themselves. Anyone who wrongly threatened or attempted to strike another with a sword was made liable for a sword fine. One who committed homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
but did not flee the scene was to be punished by being "bound to the corpse of the deceased whom he has killed," whereas one who fled could be killed wherever and whenever he was caught. The children of a homicide were to be banished from their home, a kind of status crime. Exceptions to the prohibition of homicide were refined to include self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
, exculpating victims of thieves and robbers who overpowered and killed their attackers. Those who killed notorious thieves or enemies during war were to be rewarded. Government insubordination and corruption, as well as the forging of government letters, was to be punished by blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
ing or by decapitation
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
.
Funerary and other religious rules pepper King Ugyen Wangchuck's reforms. Also included is a ban on the "most filthy and noxious herb, called tobacco."
Codification and abrogation
The grandson of Ugyen, King Jigme Dorji WangchuckJigme Dorji Wangchuck
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was the Third Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first steps toward democratization...
further reformed the Tsa Yig as part of his broader modernization program. He began to open Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
to the outside world and took the first steps toward democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
. Upon accession to the throne in 1952, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck put an end to feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
and slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and released all remaining serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s.
The Tsa Yig was revised in 1957 and ostensibly replaced with a new code in 1965. The 1965 code, however, retained most of the spirit and substance of the 17th century code. Family problems, such as marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, and adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, usually were resolved through recourse to Buddhist or Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religious law
Religious law
In some religions, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by a God defining and governing all human affairs. Law, in the religious sense, also includes codes of ethics and morality which are upheld and required by the God...
. In modern Bhutan, village heads often judged minor cases and Dungkhag
Dungkhag
A dungkhag is a sub-district of a dzongkhag of Bhutan. The head of a dungkhag is a Dungpa...
(district) officials adjudicated major crimes. While Bhutan's criminal codes continue to be built upon the principles of the Tsa Yig, Bhutan's Constitution of 2008
Constitution of Bhutan
The Constitution of Bhutan was enacted July 18, 2008 by the Royal Government. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan...
effectively abrogates the direct political authority of the lamas, capital punishment, and banishment. The modern Constitution does, however, retain sets of duties and prohibitions in a dichotomy similar to the original Tsa Yig.
See also
- Dual system of governmentDual system of governmentThe Dual System of Government or Cho-sid-nyi is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribution of power between institutions varied over time and...
- Law of BhutanLaw of BhutanThe law of Bhutan derives mainly from legislation and treaties. Prior to the enactment of the Constitution, laws were enacted by fiat of the King of Bhutan. The law of Bhutan originates in the semi-theocratic Tsa Yig legal code, and was heavily influenced through the twentieth century by English...
- Judicial system of BhutanJudicial system of BhutanThe judicial system of Bhutan is the purview of the Royal Court of Justice, the judicial branch of the government of Bhutan under the Constitution of 2008...
- Royal Court of Justice
- Constitution of BhutanConstitution of BhutanThe Constitution of Bhutan was enacted July 18, 2008 by the Royal Government. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan...
- Slavery in BhutanSlavery in BhutanSlavery in Bhutan was a common legal economic and social institution until abolition in 1958. In historical records, unfree labourers in Bhutan were referred to as slaves, coolies, and serfs...
- History of BhutanHistory of BhutanBhutan's early history is steeped in mythology and remains obscure. It may have been inhabited as early as 2000 BC, but not much was known until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century, when turmoil in Tibet forced many monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century, the Drukpa...