rgyal po las gzhon nu'i yongs su spang ba thob

rgyal po las gzhon nu'i yongs su spang ba thob

A stylized way to say that a person or group may govern itself and is not subject to the "law of the land." The Buddhist saṅgha enjoyed such autonomy. The analogy means the king granted sovereignty to the saṅgha, which was then allowed to govern itself and was not subject to the law of the land. The legal exemption members of the saṅgha enjoyed made it an attractive sanctuary for those on the run from their masters, debt collectors, and the law, who would join the saṅgha for legal rather than spiritual reasons. "From ancient times the legal tradition recognized the right of properly constituted groups to formulate their own laws" (Olivelle, 1993, 209).

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