DEATH HOROSCOPE. 381 



" Precautions to secure a Good Rebirth. — It Is necessary to prepare 

 an image of Vajrapani, Vajra-satwa, and before these to have prayer^ 

 done for the good rebirth of the girl's spirit. If this be done, then 

 she will be reboi-n in the house of a rich man in the west. 



For deceasetVs Spirit. — It is necessary to get the lamas to read tlie 

 seiTice (smon-lam) praying for rebirth in The Paradise of Deva-ohhen. 



For Survivors of family. — It is necessary to have read the prayers 

 for Long Life, 2'?^.,' tshe-??jdo' and ' tshe-^sungs.' 



Directions for Removal, of Corpse. — Those who remove the corpse 

 must have been born in the Dog or the Dragon year. The body must 

 be taken outside of the house on the morning of the third day follow- 

 ing the death, and it must be carried to the south-west, and be hiiried 

 (not burned, or given to birds or dogs)." 



On obtaining the Death Horoscope the body is then tied up in a 



sitting posture by the auspicious person indicated 

 Location of corpse, i.i^i •' jij- n^i 



by the horoscope, and placed in a corner of the 

 room which is not occupied by the house-demon. 



Notice is sent to all relatives and friends within reach, and these 

 Invitation and col^ect within two Or three days and are entertained 

 entertainment of with food of rice, vegetables, &c., and a copious 

 friends. sujiply of iniirtva beer and tea. This company of 



visitors remain loitering in and ai'ound the house, doing great execution 

 with hand-prayer-wheels and muttering the '' 0/n-mani-padme-hung;" 

 until the expulsion of the " shen,''^ or death-demon^ which follows the 

 removal of the body, in which ceremony they all have to join. The 

 expense of the entertainment of so large a company is very con- 

 siderable. 



During this feasting the deceased is always, at every meal, offered 

 his share of what is going, including tobacco, &c. 

 ceas^er*'"^ His own bowl is kept filled with beer and tea and 



set down beside the corpse, and a portion of all 

 the other eatables is always offered to him at meal times ; and after 

 the meal is over his portion is thrown away, as his spirit is supposed 

 to have extracted all the essence of the food, which then no longer 

 contains nutriment, and is fit only to be thrown away. And long 

 after the corpse has been removed, his cup is regularly filled with tea 

 or beer, even up till the 49th day from death, as his spirit is free to 

 roam about for a maximum period of 49 days subsequent to death. 



' It has frequently been asserted that no prayer is practised in lamaism. This is not 

 true : real prayer is frequently done ; the word used here is ^'sol-wa-^'tab. 

 ^ Fally described hereafter, vide page 383. 



