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TIBET. 
to amuse me. I listened with attention to his discourse: he had 
the reputation of superior talents, and to this, no doubt, he owed his 
elevation, in the time of the former Lama, with whom he was said 
to be in high favour; nor was he less distinguished by the present 
Regent. 
A large reflecting telescope, which I had brought with me, afforded 
an inducement to Soopoon Choomboo, for visiting me in the evening 
of Sunday, the 19th of October. I shewed him, through it, several stars 
not visible to the naked eye; but I found, that he was neither igno¬ 
rant of the satellites of Jupiter, nor of the ring of Saturn; and I learnt 
from him, that all the distinguished planets, were the seats of some or 
other of the objects of their veneration. To this circumstance, indeed, 
the Tibetians attribute their brilliancy and splendour; and point out 
their revolutions, together with the glorious orb of day, round the 
imaginary mountain Soomeroo, whose summit is, in their apprehension, 
the elevated station, of the chief of all the gods. 
This may be sufficient to shew the extent, and nature, of their pro¬ 
ficiency in the sciences. It intimates also their agreement with their 
southern neighbours, in an original derivation of their scientific know¬ 
ledge from one common source. There appears indeed to have been, 
from the remotest time, a connection and intercourse between Tibet and 
' India. I collected, as I have already hinted, from repeated conferences 
with the Regent, and with Soopoon Choomboo, as well as from other 
sources, that the established opinion here is, that they derived their 
religion and learning from the west. Whether their first Lama, the 
founder of their faith, had his origin in Gya, (Durgeedin) or Benares, 
i 
