Tibetan dual system of government

The Dual System of Government is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi (temporal ruler) 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 location. Chos-srid-gnyis literally means "both Dharma and temporal," but may also be translated as "dual system of religion and politics."

Because the ultimate ruler is the patron and protector of state religion, some aspects of the dual system of government may be likened to the Supreme Governance of the Church of England, or even to theocracy. However, other aspects resemble secularism, aiming to separate the doctrines of religion and politics. Under the Cho-sid-nyi, both religious and temporal authorities wield actual political power, albeit within officially separate institutions. Religious and secular officials might work side by side, each responsible to different bureaucracies.

Since at least the period of the Mongol presence in Tibet during the 13th and 14th centuries, Buddhist and Bön clerics had participated in secular government, having the same rights as laymen to be appointed state officials, both military and civil. This system stood in stark contrast with that of China, in which the Buddhist view of politics as a "dismal science" as well as the Confucian monopoly on the bureaucracy precluded such political activity by the Sangha. By the Ming Dynasty (founded 1368), the Sakya held office above the heads of both components, embodying a government of both chos and srid. As a result, there were two sets of laws and officials, the religious (Tibetan: ལྷ་སདེ་, Wylie: lha-sde) and the temporal (Tibetan: མི་སྡེ་, Wylie: mi-sde), however the branches shared the government and did not operate exclusively of each other. This system often operated under Mongol and Chinese overlordship with the respective emperor above the local Tibetan administration.

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