254 MONASTERIES. 



path of flimsy rope and bamboo ladders leading across the face of 

 precipices. Thus its solitude is seldom broken by visitors. The 

 remote and almost inaccessible position of many of the Sikhim giimpas 

 renders mendicancy impossible ; but begging- with-bowl seems never 

 to have been a feature of Lamaism, even when the monastery adjoins 

 a town or village. 



The site occupied by the monastery is usually commanding and 



frequently picturesque. It should have a free out- 



Conditions necessary Jqq], ^o the east to catch the first rays of the rising 



tor its SITG •/ o 



sun. The monastery buildings should be built in 

 the long axis of the hill, and it is desirable to have a lake in front, 

 even though it be several miles distant. These two conditions are 

 expressed in the couplet : — 



" Back to the hill-rock, 

 And front to the tarn."^ 



The door of the assembly room and temple is cceteris paribus 

 built to face eastwards. The next best direction is south-east, and 

 then south. If a stream directly drains the site or is visible a short 

 way below, then the site is considered bad, as the virtue of the place 

 escapes by the stream. In such a case the chief entrance is made in 

 another direction. A waterfall, however, is of very good omen, and 

 if one is visible in the neighbourhood, the entrance is made in that 

 direction, should it not be too far removed from the east. 



The monastic buildings cluster round the temple, which is also 

 used as the Assembly Hall or du-khang, and corre- 

 buSnS^'^'° ''^ ""' sponds to the dhara of the earlier Buddhists. 

 The temple building and its contents form the 

 subject of the next chapter. Most of the outer detached buildings 

 are dormitories for the monks, and have nothing to distinguish them 

 from the ordinary houses of Sikhim, except, perhaps, that their 

 surroundings are sometimes a trifle cleaner and more comfortable 

 looking, and occasionally a few flowers are to be seen. One elderly 

 monk and two or three novices usually occupy one house, and each 

 house cooks its own meals independently, as there is no common 

 refectory in the small monastic establishments of Sikhim. The menial 

 lay servants are usually housed some distance off". 



Lining the approaches to the monastery are rows of tall "prayer" 

 ,^ ,. flags, and several large lichen-clad chhortens and 



Its surroundings. i j ° , 



long mendong monuments. 



rgyab ri brag dang, wdun ri mtsho. 



