The Just King

“Written more than a century ago for a prince in eastern Tibet, Mipham’s great didactic poem on the principles of royal ethics, The Just King, is stunningly relevant to our own era. José Cabezón’s typically lucid and learned translation is a pleasure to read and brings Mipham’s insights alive for the modern reader. If every president, CEO, or indeed anyone in a position of authority, took seriously the sage counsel of The Just King, the world would be a far better place for it: more just, more peaceful, more harmonious.”
—Roger Jackson, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and Religion, Carleton College
 
“Ju Mipham Rinpoche’s treatise of The Just King remains a profound inspiration for our world today. The book highlights the mutual bonds of affectionate respect that must exist between people in positions of power and the general population in order for the word “civilization” to have any deeper meaning. In what was to be our final conversation, Khenpo Dazer Rinpoche, whom I am fortunate to count among my kind philosophy teachers, impressed upon me his wish to see Mipham Rinpoche’s treatise translated into English. I am grateful and delighted to know that Professor Cabezón has devoted his scholarly erudition to this project and has translated this work so masterfully. Tossing flowers of praise, I rejoice and offer prayers for a wise and compassionate world.”
—Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
 
 “This is a wonderful book that draws out a common ground of ethics for Buddhists, politicians, and Dharma kings. Professor Cabezón delivers a readable and accurate translation of this unique treatise in Jamgön Mipham’s vast corpus. His introduction draws the reader into this remarkable text by situating the work within the distinctive social and historical contexts of this genre in Tibet and India, while highlighting the complex and tenacious relationships between politics and religion, as well as spiritual and secular power.”
—Douglas Duckworth, author of Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings