Buddhism in Court: Religion, Law, and Jurisdiction in China

What happens to Buddhist monks and nuns who commit crimes? Buddhism in Court is the first book to uncover an important, yet long-overlooked, Buddhist campaign for clerical legal privileges that aim to exempt monks and nuns from being tried and punished in the government courts. Liu reveals the campaign's origins in Indian Buddhism and how Chinese Buddhists' engagement reshaped Buddhism's place in the jurisdictional landscape in China from the fourth century to the present. Drawing on Buddhi...