Sixteen pure human laws

The sixteen pure human laws (Wyl. mi chos gtsang ma bcu drug), said to have been issued by decree during the reign of Songtsen Gampo, can be counted in several ways.

Alternative Versions

According to one version, followed in Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa's Feast for the Learned, they consist of abandoning the ten non-virtues, and, in addition:

1. Regarding one's mother as one's mother and being respectful to her (ma la ma'i 'du shes bzung nas gus bkur bya ba)
2. Regarding one's father as one's father and being respectful to him (pha la pha'i 'du shes bzung nas gus bkur bya ba)
3. Recognizing ascetics and brahmins and being respectful to them (dge sbyong dang bram ze la de yi 'du shes bzung nas gus bkur bya ba)
4. Showing respect to those of high status and one's elders (rigs mtho ba dang rgan rabs la gus bkur zhu ba)
5. Repaying the kindness of others (drin can gyi mi la drin lan 'jal ba)
6. Avoiding deceit and dishonesty towards others (gzhan la g.yo sgyu byas nas mgo bskor mi gtong ba)

According to another version, they are as follows:

1. Developing devotion for the Three Jewels (lha dkon mchog gsum la mos gus bskyed pa)
2. Seeking out and practising the sacred Dharma (dam pa'i chos btsal zhing bsgrub pa)
3. Repaying the kindness of one's parents (pha ma la drin lan 'jal ba)
4. Showing respect to the learned (yon tan can la zhe mthong yod pa)
5. Being respectful to those of high status and one's elders (rigs mtho ba dang rgan par bkur sti che ba)
6. Being benevolent to your neighbours (yul mi khyim mtshes la phan gdags pa)
7. Being honest (bka' drang zhing sems chung ba)
8. Being loyal to close friends (nye du mdza' bshes la gzhung ring ba)
9. Emulating those who are polite and decent (ya rabs kyi rjes bsnyeg cing phyi thag ring ba)
10. Having moderate food and wealth (zas nor la tshod 'dzin pa)
11. Repaying those who have previously shown kindness (sngar drin can gyi mi rtsad gcad pa)
12. Being honest with regard to weights and measures (bu lon dus su 'jal zhing pre srang la g.yo med pa)
13. Having little jealousy (kun la phrag dog chung ba)
14. Not being influenced by evil companions (ngan pa'i gros la mi nyan zhing rang tshugs 'dzin pa)
15. Speaking moderately and in a gentle way (ngag 'jam zhing smra ba nyung ba)
16. Being patient and farsighted and enduring hardship (theg pa che zhing blo khog yangs pa)

Sources

The sixteen also appear in the Great Fifth Dalai Lama's history of Tibet known as The Song of the Queen of Spring. A list in Dudjom Rinpoche's Presentation of the Nyingma Teachings is attributed to a text called Short Chapter on Distinguishing ('byed pa le'u chung).

Further Reading

• Brandon Dotson, Administration and Law in the Tibetan Empire: The Section on Law and State and its Old Tibetan Antecedents, D. Phil Thesis, University of Oxford, 2006