THE WORLD'S STRANGEST CAPITAL 



281 



stone rocks, carved deeply with figures of 

 Buddha cut into the rock and painted in 

 many colors (see pages 280 and 288). 



From the rocks prayer flags are sus- 

 pended on lines running to an island in 

 the river. These prayers are universal in 

 Tibet, and so long as they are moving 

 they are recording prayers for the benefit 

 of those who put them up. All devotees, 

 men and women, walk, always turning a 

 small hand prayer - wheel, filled with 

 minute prayers, printed on thin paper ; 

 and larger prayer-wheels, filled in some 

 cases with tons of paper prayers, are set 

 revolving by the devout, or are sometimes 

 worked by water-power. Smaller ones 

 are turned by the hot air rising from 

 butter lamps. 



THE FAITH OF THE UMA 



Single prayers, printed on thin cloth, 

 are strung vertically on poles or stretched 

 across open spaces to flutter in the wind 

 and thus send millions of prayers vibrat- 

 ing toward the Omnipotent for the benefit 

 of some one's soul. They are most pic- 

 turesque. An old Lama I once questioned 

 on the subject told me "that if the person 

 turning the wheel truly believed that by 

 doing so he was accumulating merit, it 

 would certainly count as a meritorious 

 action." 



The three great monasteries round 

 Lhasa, Debung, Sera, and Gah-dan, 

 known as the Sen-de-gye-sum, exercise 

 very considerable power. 



I was asked to visit two of these mon- 

 asteries — Sera and Debung — by special 

 invitation of the Lamas, a very great 

 honor, which I thoroughly appreciated, 

 and I felt highly flattered to find myself 

 known to these Tibetan monks as a re- 

 sult of my intercourse with their core- 

 ligionists during the years I had spent in 

 Sikhim. 



Debung, with its huge Lama popula- 

 tion, is like a small town, with streets, 

 alleys, and temples. The streets are steep 

 and paved with granite blocks and the 

 alleys are narrow and dark, and were 

 filled with crowds of monks surging up 

 to see the foreigner. My attendant Ab- 

 bot, accompanied by lictors with large, 

 heavy whips and under-Lamas carrying 

 iron maces with heavily embossed copper 



plates ornamenting the sides, had con- 

 siderable difficulty in keeping order, and 

 the lash of the whips resounded as they 

 laid on with no light hand to those who 

 did not obey orders. 



The Head Abbot and Lamas were in 

 every way superior to the vast crowd of 

 lesser monks, many of whom were of a 

 very low type and standard generally, 

 and they looked a villainous and trucu- 

 lent lot, who, I fancy, require a rule of 

 iron to keep them in any kind of order. 



I was entertained at each of the four 

 sections of the monastery with a repast 

 of tea, dried fruits, sweets, and murwa 

 (a kind of beer), and I was shown sev- 

 eral of the Lamas' cells, which, though 

 small, were quite clean and tidy, and had 

 each a window. The monastery has a 

 bad reputation for lawlessness and in it 

 all manner of plots are hatched and much 

 wickedness goes on. 



By far the most charming of the mon- 

 asteries near Lhasa is that of the Chief 

 Oracle and Magician, the Ne-chung-chos- 

 Kyong. It lies in a small valley near 

 Debung, with a good supply of water, 

 and is consequently surrounded by beau- 

 tiful groves of trees and lovely gardens 

 with streams running through them. 

 Coming upon it in the midst of a sandy 

 plain enhances the charm of this delight- 

 ful spot, and the relief it is to leave the 

 glare and dust for its cool, shady walks. 



A TOUCH OF ITALY IN TIBET 



The entrance takes one through a 

 street with houses on either side, Italian 

 in coloring and style, and then up many 

 steps to the principal gate. Passing 

 through the gateway, the green luxuri- 

 ance of leafy trees is in striking contrast 

 against the whitewashed walls of the 

 houses and the madder red of the temple 

 itself, with the brilliant coloring of its 

 doorways and pillars and the gold of the 

 fantastically shaped roofs glittering in 

 the blazing sunshine against a clear blue 

 sky, with lines of prayer flags fluttering 

 in every direction. 



Turning up a flight of steps, the main 

 temple is reached, passing on the way 

 through a cloistered courtyard and a cor- 

 ridor supported by carved and decorated 

 pillars, hung with ancient arms, leading 



