Courts, Constitutions and Karma: Buddhism, Law and the Practices of Legal Pluralism in Sri Lanka

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Benjamin Schonthal (University of Otago, New Zealand)

Courts, Constitutions and Karma

Name: Courts, Constitutions and Karma
Price: 303.01 AUD
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ISBN: 9781009706919

Buddhism, Law and the Practices of Legal Pluralism in Sri Lanka

Benjamin Schonthal (University of Otago, New Zealand)

$378.95 $303.01

Hardback

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English

Cambridge University Press
19 February 2026

Buddhism; Law & society; Public international law

Series: Cambridge Studies in Law and Society

Although rarely acknowledged, Buddhist monastics are among the most active lawmakers and jurists in Asia, operating sophisticated networks of courts and constitutions while also navigating—and shaping—secular legal systems. This book provides the first in-depth study of Buddhist monastic law and its entanglements with state law in Sri Lanka from 1800 to the present. Rather than a top-down account of colliding legal orders, Schonthal draws on nearly a decade of archival, ethnographic and empirical research to document the ways that Buddhist monks, colonial officials and contemporary lawmakers reconcile the laws of the Buddha and the laws of the land using practices of legal pluralism. Comparative in outlook and accessible in style, this book not only offers a portrait of Buddhist monastic law in action, it also yields new insights into how societies manage multi-legality and why legal pluralism leads to conflict in some settings and to compromise in others.

By: Benjamin Schonthal (University of Otago New Zealand)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Weight: 733g
ISBN: 9781009706919
ISBN 10: 1009706918
Series: Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
Pages: 386
Publication Date: 19 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Monastic law, state law and the plurality of legal pluralism in Sri Lanka; Part I: 2. The unity and diversity of Buddhist monastic law; 3. Jurisdictionalising Buddhism in colonial Ceylon; 4. Practising legal pluralism in the monastery; Part II: 5. Like and unlike 'Law': making a monastic judiciary; 6. Law's Karmas: Nirvana, rebirth and the cosmological consequences of monastic law; Part III: 7. Legalising' monastic law: the politics of legal recognition in post-colonial Sri Lanka; 8. Constitutionalising Vinaya; Conclusion: pluralising legal pluralism; Glossary; References.

Benjamin Schonthal is Professor of Buddhist Studies and Affiliate Professor of Law at the University of Otago, where he also co-directs the Otago Centre for Law and Society.