TIBET 



who are disembodied spirits. The latter comprise the five Buddhas of contemplation, and all 

 those myriads of pious men who became canonised after death. Inferior in rank to these 

 saints are the gods and spirits, such as Indra, the god of the firmament; Yama, the god of 

 death and the infernal regions; Siva, the god of vengeance the avenger in his most terrible 

 shape; and Vaisravana, the god of wealth. Lamaism, like Buddhism, forbids injury to life, 

 and does not allow the burial of the dead as practised by us. Persons distinguished by rank, 

 learning, or piety are burned after their death; but the general way for disposing of dead 

 bodies is to expose them in the open air to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey. 



One of the most interesting features of Lamaism is the organisation of its hierarchy, or 

 priesthood. It may be said there are two heads of the national religion in Tibet. This 

 anomalous feature resulted from the action of a reformer, one Tsongkapa, who has been styled 

 "the Luther of Tibet," though his attack on the corruptions in Lamaism was effected two 

 hundred years before the Protestant Reformation. He died in Lassa in 1419, and there were 

 then in that city three huge monasteries containing 30,000 of his disciples, besides many 

 more in other parts of the country. In doctrine this great Tibetan teacher adhered to the 

 purer forms of the Buddhist school. He took very little part in church government, and did 

 not question the right of the SaJcya Lamas to supremacy in title, though in other matters 

 he raised and resolutely maintained the standard of revolt till his ends were attained. So 

 completely did the new sect outnumber and overshadow the old, that the Emperor of China 

 in the middle of the fifteenth century acknowledged the two leaders of the reformed religionists 

 as titular overlords of the Church and tributary rulers of the realm of Tibet. These two 

 rulers were then known as the Dalai Lama and the Pantshen Lama, and were the abbots 

 of the great monasteries at Gedun Dubpa, near Lassa, and at Krashis Lunpo, in Further 

 Tibet, respectively. Since that time the abbots of these monasteries have continued to 

 exercise sovereignty over the country. 



The reincarnation of a Lama's spirit is naturally regarded as an event of greater consequence 



PlMto by Mr. H. O. V. Hunter, F.R. G.S. 



BUDDHIST PRIESTS AT LEH, WITH COPPER TRUMPETS, DRUMS, AND CYMBALS. 



