734 LHASA AND CENTRAL TIBET. 



foot or in prostrate bows is about 8 miles long. When these bows are 

 faithfully performed the circle is completed in two days, making about 

 3,000 bows a day. 



The orchards and trees in the outskirts of the city are admired by the 

 natives, and give the place a very })eautif ul appearance, especially in 

 the spring and summer, when the gilt roofs of the two principal tem- 

 ples glisten in the sun and the white walls of the many-storied build- 

 ings shine among the green tops of the trees. But the delight of the 

 distant view at once vanishes upon entering the city with its crooked 

 and dirty streets. * * * 



A temple in which there is a large statue of Buddha marks the 

 center of the city. The building is 140 feet square, three stories 

 high, with four gilt roofs of Chinese design. The entrance gate 

 faces the north. Each floor of the temple, with its blind external 

 walls, is divided into numerous artificially lighted rooms, wherein 

 stand various statues of Buddha. In the middle room on the east side 

 stands the principal object of Vv-orship, Buddha Sakj^amuni, under a 

 sumptuous canopy. This bronze statue difl'ers from the usual repre- 

 sentations of the Indian sage in its head and chest ornaments of 

 wrought gold set with precious stones, with a predominance of tur- 

 quoise prepared and placed upon it b}^ the famous founder of yellow- 

 hat teachings, Tsongkapa. The face of the statue ever since the days 

 of that same Tsongkapa has been kept painted by devout worshipers 

 with gold powder dissolved in liquid glue. Upon long tables before 

 the god, melted butter, offered by the worshipers, ever burns in 

 golden lamps. Two other statues in the temple connnand almost 

 equal respect — the 11-faced bodisattva Avalokiteshvara, of which 

 the Dalai Lamas are regarded as incarnations, and the statue Pal- 

 Lhamo, the protectress of women. * * * Under the latter statue 

 barley wine is being incessantly sprinkled and grains are freely scat- 

 tered. Abundance of food and snug hiding places in the folds of the 

 clothing of the statue have attracted numerous mice, that are here 

 considered hol3^ * * * 



Besides the principal court of the temple there are two additional 

 courts, in which the gatherings of the clergy of the neighboring 

 monasteries are held. 



Another small statue of Buddha stands in a temple in the northern 

 part of the city and is called " Jovo-ramoche," but l)oth temple 

 and statue are inferior in proportions and ornaments to the main tem- 

 ple, and there is a noticeable difference in the reverence of the 

 worshipers. 



Within the city limits of Lhasa there are four courts or quarters of 

 eminent Hutuktu incarnates, who were once Tibetan khans. They are 

 the best buildings in the city, and as each has a certain number of 

 pupils of the Lamas they are really small monasteries. Then, each 



