Page Twenty 



Tliore has recontly been placed on teinjiorar}' exhibit in ttie tower of 

 tlie Hall of the Living Tribes of Asia a remarkable Buddhist shrine 

 from lliibet, with Thibetan carpet, prayer-mats, temple guardians, 

 altar vessels, images, sacred banners and holy book reciting the praises 

 of Buddha. This is probably the finest assemblage of Thibetan religious 

 objects ever brought together. It was collected by Alexander Scott, a 

 l^ritish artist whose interest in Indian and Thil)etan archa'ology dates 

 l)a('k forty years, and who for twenty-six years made his home in 

 Darjeeling, India, on the highway to Thibet. 



The central figure of the shrine is that of Padma (teacher) Sambhava, 

 "the Lotus-born," — the great guru or saint w^ho 800 years ago entered 

 Thibet, at the invitation of the Thibetan king, and became the first 

 teacher of Buddhism in Thibet. It is to his influence that the strongly 

 Hindu character of the rites and mythology of j)re.sent-day Buddhism 

 in Thibet is to be traced. The other typical character of Lamaism is its 

 admixture of demonology, a relic of Thibetan aboriginal shamanism, 

 the religion of ghosts and local demons. From the primitive sha- 

 manistic element arises the use of carved human bones in the making of 

 religious regalia and other objects. The bones are the relics of very 

 holy Lamas, long dead, who are supposed to be honored in the practice. 



The shrine of Padma Sambhava as set up in the Museum illustrates 

 the predominance of symbolism in Buddhism, as in all Oriental religiors. 

 The saint wears a mitre topped with a vulture's feather. As the vulture 

 is the highest and farthest flier, the feather here indicates that the 

 d ctr ne of this (j'lru is th? most aspiring, and his knowledge the most 

 noble and spiritual. In his right hand he holds a dorje or thunderbolt, 

 symbolizing divine protection and eternal life. His left hand grasps the 

 skull-bowl containing blood' or amita ("sweet dew,'' the ambrosial food 

 of supernatural beings) signifying blessings. Resting lightly across his 

 breast and against his left shoulder leans a trident, its three points sig- 

 nifying that he has overcome the three vices. Lust, Anger and Sloth. 

 The image is finely wrought in copper, and the face is coated with pure 

 gold, highly burnished. 



The shrine is flanked on each side by a great brass sacred lamp, of 

 exquisit'^ w^orkmanship, of which one is the finest j\Ir. Scott has ever 

 seen. On the steps leading to the altar are a number of brass dog- or 

 lien-like figures, elaborately designed and inscribed. These are the 

 guardians of the temple. Stretched on the steps is a iMing prayer-mat 



