NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 97 



Disposal of the dead is accomplished by several methods : by cre- 

 mation, by cutting the bodies to pieces and feeding them to the vul- 

 tures, by leaving the bodies on the mountains for the wild animals to 

 eat, and by cutting up the bodies and throwing them into the streams 

 to be eaten by the fish. Cremation is reserved almost entirely for the 

 lamas, and graves are generally conspicuous by their absence. 



Before the seventh century the history of Tibet is legendary, and 

 the culture of the people was very simple and primitive. Tradition 

 says that Avalokitesvara became incarnated in a male monkey and 

 married a she-devil, and that the offspring were the ancestors of the 

 Tibetans. 



During the seventh century Srong-tsan Gampo, at the age of 13 

 years, became king of the Tibetans and began a long and successful 

 reign. He married two wives, one a princess from Nepal and the other 

 a princess from China. Both his wives were ardent Buddhists, and 

 they converted him to Buddhism, A system of writing was adopted, 

 based on the Indian Sanskrit, but adapted to the Tibetan language. 

 Through the influence of his Chinese wife, many Chinese customs 

 found their way into Tibet. Tibetan histories say that at this time 

 rice and barley wines, butter, cheese, pottery, water mills, and looms 

 were first introduced into the country. The king sent children of the 

 chief Tibetan leaders to China to study in the Chinese schools, and 

 many Chinese customs were adopted. The art and customs of India 

 and China mingled with, but did not entirely displace, those of Tibet. 

 Under a later reign tea was introduced from China and earrings from 

 India. Still later books on astrology, astronomy, medicine, and surgery 

 were translated into Tibetan from the Chinese and Indian languages. 

 Apparently the influence of India on Tibet has been greater than that 

 of China. 



At first Buddhism met much opposition from the leaders of the 

 native Bon religion and did not make rapid progress. About a cen- 

 tury later Padma Sambhava came from India and founded the Red 

 Hat sect or Red Lamaism. He brought with him Tantric Buddhism, 

 which stressed magic and the exorcism of demons. This appealed 

 much to the Tibetans, for the native Bon religion also stressed magic 

 and the exorcism of evil spirits. 



During the loth century there was a revival of Bonism, and Tibet 

 was under a king who persecuted Buddhism. A lama assasinated the 

 king, and Buddhism was soon reintroduced and revived. 



Meanwhile numerous Buddhist scriptures and rules of discipline 

 were translated into the Tibetan language. These showed the need of 



