ABSTRACT
In accordance with the double function of the Dalai Lama's rule, the government administrative structure was divided into a religious and a secular segment. The office dealt with religious and particularly monastic affairs on its own authority under the Dalai Lama, with occasional consultations with the political branch of government, the Cabinet, when joint action was required. In the latter case, the litigants had the freedom to submit their case to either the ecclesiastical or the secular authority, the Kashag, but submission to the grand secretaries had the advantage that the case could reach the Dalai Lama himself or the regent. The monk bureaucracy that gave the Tibetan polity its cohesion and purpose was the instrument through which Buddhism dominated Tibetan life. The Dalai Lama's secular administration was headed by a prime minister and a Cabinet. The assembly was regarded as representing the nation and was therefore called into session during times of crisis or for major national decisions.
