{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52594/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52594","id":"gutenberg_52594","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52594","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Travel Writing","Kawaguchi, Ekai, 1866-1945","Tibet Autonomous Region (China) -- Description and travel","Tibet Autonomous Region (China) -- Social life and customs"],"text":"[Illustration: map]\n\n\n\n\nTHREE YEARS IN TIBET.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: AUTHOR IN 1909.]\n\n\n\n\n Three Years\n IN\n Tibet\n\n with the original Japanese illustrations\n\n BY\n THE SHRAMANA EKAI KAWAGUCHI\n _Late Rector of Gohyakurakan Monastery, Japan_.\n\n PUBLISHED BY\n THE THEOSOPHIST OFFICE, ADYAR, MADRAS.\n THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY, BENARES AND LONDON.\n 1909.\n\n\n\n\n (_Registered Copyright._)\n\n PRINTED BY ANNIE BESANT AT THE VASANTA PRESS, ADYAR, MADRAS, S. INDIA.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nI was lately reading the Holy Text of the _Sa\u1e0d\u1e0dharma-Pu\u1e47dar\u012bka_ (the\nAphorisms of the White Lotus of the Wonderful or True Law) in a Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d\nmanuscript under a Bo\u1e0dhi-tree near M\u1e5bga-\u1e0c\u0101va (S\u0101ran\u0101\u1e6dh), Benares. Here\nour Blessed Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Sh\u0101kya-Muni taught His Holy \u1e0charma just after\nthe accomplishment of His Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhahood at Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101. Whilst doing so,\nI was reminded of the time, eighteen years ago, when I had read the\nsame text in Chinese at a great Monastery named Ohbakusang at Kyoto in\nJapan, a reading which determined me to undertake a visit to Tibet.\n\nIt was in March, 1891, that I gave up the Rectorship of the Monastery\nof Gohyakurakan in Tokyo, and left for Kyoto, where I remained living\nas a hermit for about three years, totally absorbed in the study of a\nlarge collection of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist books in the Chinese language. My object\nin doing so was to fulfil a long-felt desire to translate the texts\ninto Japanese in an easy style from the difficult and unintelligible\nChinese.\n\nBut I afterwards found that it was not a wise thing to rely upon the\nChinese texts alone, without comparing them with Tibetan translations\nas well as with the original Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d texts which are contained in\nMah\u0101y\u0101na Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. The Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d texts were to be found in Tibet\nand Nep\u0101l. Of course, many of them had been discovered by European\nOrientalists in Nep\u0101l and a few in other parts of India and Japan. But\nthose texts had not yet been found which included the most important\nmanuscripts of which Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist scholars were in great want. Then again,\nthe Tibetan texts were famous for being more accurate translations\nthan the Chinese. Now I do not say that the Tibetan translations are\nsuperior to the Chinese. As literal translations, I think that they\nare superior; but, for their general meaning, the Chinese are far\nbetter than the Tibetan. Anyhow, it was my idea that I should study\nthe Tibetan language and Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and should try to discover\nSamsk\u1e5b\u1e6d manuscripts in Tibet, if any were there available.\n\nWith these objects in view, I made up my mind to go to Tibet, though\nthe country was closed not only by the Local Government but also by\nthe surrounding lofty mountains. After making my preparations for some\ntime, I left Japan for Tibet in June, 1897, and returned to my country\nin May, 1903. Then in October, 1904, I again left Japan for India and\nNep\u0101l, with the object of studying Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d, hoping, if possible, again\nto penetrate into Tibet, in search of more manuscripts.\n\nOn my return to Japan, my countrymen received me with great enthusiasm,\nas the first explorer of Tibet from Japan. The _Jiji_, a daily\nnewspaper in Tokyo, the most well-known, influential and widely\nread paper in Japan, and also a famous paper in \u014csaka, called the\n_Maimichi_, published my articles every day during 156 issues. After\nthis, I collected all these articles and gave them for publication in\ntwo volumes to Hakubunkwan, a famous publisher in Tokyo. Afterwards\nsome well-known gentlemen in Japan, Mr. Sutejiro Fukuzawa, Mr. Sensuke\nHayakawa and Mr. Eiji Asabuki, proposed to me to get them translated\ninto English. They also helped me substantially in this translation,\nand I take this opportunity of expressing my grateful thanks to them\nfor the favor thus conferred upon me.\n\nWhen my translation was finished, the British expedition to Tibet\nhad been successful, and reports regarding it were soon afterwards\npublished. I therefore stopped the publication of my English\ntranslation, for I thought that my book would not be of any use to the\nEnglish-reading public.\n\nRecently, the President of the Theosophical Society, my esteemed friend\nMrs. Annie Besant, asked me to show her the translation. On reading it\nshe advised me to publish it quickly. I then told her that it would be\nuseless for me to publish such a book, as there were already Government\nreports of the Tibetan expedition, and as Dr. Sven Hedin of Sweden\nwould soon publish an excellent book of his travels in Tibet. But\nshe was of opinion that such books would treat of the country from a\nwestern point of view, whilst my book would prove interesting to the\nreader from the point of view of an Asiatic, intimately acquainted with\nthe manners, the customs, and the inner life of the people. She also\npointed out to me that the book would prove attractive to the general\nreader for its stirring incidents and adventures, and the dangers I had\nhad to pass through during my travels.\n\nThus then I lay this book before the English-knowing public. I take\nthis opportunity of expressing my grateful thanks to Mrs. Besant for\nher continued kindness to me in looking over the translation, and for\nrendering me help in the publication. Were it not for her, this book\nwould not have seen the light of day.\n\nHere also I must not fail to express my sincere thanks to my intimate\nfriend Professor Jamshedji N. Unwalla, M.A., of the Central Hin\u1e0d\u016b\nCollege, Benares; for he composed all the verses of the book from my\nfree English prose translation, and looked over all the proof-sheets\ncarefully with me with heartiest kindness.\n\nI must equally thank those people who helped me in my travels in a\nsubstantial manner, as well as those who rendered me useful assistance\nin my studies; nay, even those who threw obstacles in my way, for\nthey, after all, unconsciously rewarded me with the gift of the\npower to accomplish the objects I had in view, by surmounting all the\ndifficulties I had to go through during my travels.\n\nWith reference to this publication, whilst reading the Aphorisms of\nthe White Lotus of the Wonderful Law this day, I cannot but feel\nextremely sorry in my heart when I am reminded of those people who\nsuffered a great deal for my sake, some being even imprisoned for their\nconnexion with me when I was in Tibet. But on the other hand, it is\nreally gratifying to me, as well as to them, to know that, after all,\ntheir sufferings for my sake will be amply compensated by the good\nkarma they have certainly acquired for themselves through their acts\nof charity and benevolence, that have enabled me to read and carefully\nstudy with greater knowledge, accuracy and enthusiasm, the most sacred\ntexts of our Holy Religion, than was possible for me before my travels\nin Tibet. I assert this with implicit faith in the fact that good\ndeeds, according to the Sacred Canon, have indubitably the power to\npurify Humanity, sunk in the illusions of this world, often compared\nin our Holy Scriptures to a muddy and dirty pond; at the same time I\nbelieve that that power to purify rests with the Glorious Lotus of the\nAwe-inspiring Law, suffusing all with its brilliant effulgence; and\nwith sweet odor, itself, amidst its muddy surroundings, remaining for\never stainless and unsullied.\n\n EKAI KAWAGUCHI.\n\n CENTRAL HINDU COLLEGE, }\n STAFF QUARTERS, }\n _Benares City, 1909_. }\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n CHAPTER PAGE\n I. Novel farewell Presents. 1\n II. A Year in Darjeeling. 11\n III. A foretaste of Tibetan barbarism. 15\n IV. Laying a false scent. 21\n V. Journey to Nep\u0101l. 25\n VI. I befriend Beggars. 35\n VII. The Sublime Him\u0101laya. 40\n VIII. Dangers ahead. 44\n IX. Beautiful Tsarang and Dirty Tsarangese. 51\n X. Fame and Temptation. 60\n XI. Tibet at Last. 69\n XII. The World of Snow. 77\n XIII. A kind old Dame. 81\n XIV. A holy Cave-Dweller. 86\n XV. In helpless Plight. 90\n XVI. A Foretaste of distressing Experiences. 96\n XVII. A Beautiful Rescuer. 99\n XVIII. The Lighter Side of the Experiences. 104\n XIX. The largest River of Tibet. 108\n XX. Dangers begin in Earnest. 112\n XXI. Overtaken by a Sand-Storm. 116\n XXII. 22,650 Feet above Sea-level. 123\n XXIII. I survive a Sleep in the Snow. 127\n XXIV. \u2018Bon\u2019 and \u2018Kyang\u2019. 131\n XXV. The Power of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. 135\n XXVI. Sacred M\u0101nasarovara and its Legends. 139\n XXVII. Bartering in Tibet. 144\n XXVIII. A Him\u0101layan Romance. 150\n XXIX. On the Road to Nature\u2019s Grand Ma\u1e47dala. 162\n XXX. Wonders of Nature\u2019s Ma\u1e47dala. 167\n XXXI. An Ominous Outlook. 178\n XXXII. A Cheerless Prospect. 187\n XXXIII. At Death\u2019s Door. 191\n XXXIV. The Saint of the White Cave revisited. 204\n XXXV. Some easier Days. 211\n XXXVI. War Against Suspicion. 218\n XXXVII. Across the Steppes. 227\n XXXVIII. Holy Texts in a Slaughter-house. 233\n XXXIX. The Third Metropolis of Tibet. 236\n XL. The Sakya Monastery. 241\n XLI. Shigatze. 249\n XLII. A Supposed Miracle. 257\n XLIII. Manners and Customs. 264\n XLIV. On to Lhasa. 280\n XLV. Arrival in Lhasa. 285\n XLVI. The Warrior-Priests of Sera. 291\n XLVII. Tibet and North China. 297\n XLVIII. Admission into Sera College. 304\n XLIX. Meeting with the Incarnate Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva. 311\n L. Life in the Sera Monastery. 323\n LI. My Tibetan Friends and Benefactors. 329\n LII. Japan in Lhasa. 335\n LIII. Scholastic Aspirants. 345\n LIV. Tibetan Weddings and Wedded Life. 351\n LV. Wedding Ceremonies. 362\n LVI. Tibetan Punishments. 374\n LVII. A grim Funeral and grimmer Medicine. 388\n LVIII. Foreign Explorers and the Policy of Seclusion. 397\n LIX. A Metropolis of Filth. 407\n LX. Lamaism. 410\n LXI. The Tibetan Hierarchy. 417\n LXII. The Government. 428\n LXIII. Education and Castes. 435\n LXIV. Tibetan Trade and Industry. 447\n LXV. Currency and Printing-blocks. 461\n LXVI. The Festival of Lights. 467\n LXVII. Tibetan Women. 472\n LXVIII. Tibetan Boys and Girls. 479\n LXIX. The Care of the Sick. 484\n LXX. Outdoor Amusements. 489\n LXXI. Russia\u2019s Tibetan Policy. 493\n LXXII. Tibet and British India. 509\n LXXIII. China, Nep\u0101l and Tibet. 519\n LXXIV. The Future of Tibetan Diplomacy. 526\n LXXV. The \u201cMonlam\u201d Festival. 531\n LXXVI. The Tibetan Soldiery. 549\n LXXVII. Tibetan Finance. 554\n LXXVIII. Future of the Tibetan Religions. 561\n LXXIX. The Beginning of the Disclosure of the Secret. 566\n LXXX. The Secret Leaks Out. 574\n LXXXI. My Benefactor\u2019s Noble Offer. 584\n LXXXII. Preparations for Departure. 590\n LXXXIII. A Tearful Departure from Lhasa. 599\n LXXXIV. Five Gates to Pass. 618\n LXXXV. The First Challenge Gate. 623\n LXXXVI. The Second and Third Challenge Gates. 636\n LXXXVII. The Fourth and Fifth Challenge Gates. 642\n LXXXVIII. The Final Gate passed. 647\n LXXXIX. Good-bye, Tibet! 652\n XC. The Labche Tribe. 660\n XCI. Visit to my Old Teacher. 667\n XCII. My Tibetan Friends in Trouble. 671\n XCIII. Among Friends. 677\n XCIV. The Two Kings of Nep\u0101l. 682\n XCV. Audience of the Two Kings. 685\n XCVI. Second Audience. 688\n XCVII. Once more in K\u0101tm\u0101ndu. 692\n XCVIII. Interview with the Acting Prime Minister. 697\n XCIX. Painful News from Lhasa. 700\n C. The King betrays his suspicion. 703\n CI. Third Audience. 709\n CII. Farewell to Nep\u0101l and its Good Kings. 714\n CIII. All\u2019s well that ends well. 718\n\n\n\n\nIllustrations in the Text.\n\n\n PAGE\n 1. Author\u2019s departure from Japan. 6\n 2. The Lama\u2019s execution. 18\n 3. On the banks of the Bichagori river. 32\n 4. A horse in difficulties. 49\n 5. Tsarangese village girls. 57\n 6. Entering Tibet from Nep\u0101l. 75\n 7. To a tent of nomad Tibetans. 79\n 8. A night in the open and a snow-leopard. 92\n 9. Attacked by dogs and saved by a lady. 100\n 10. Nearly dying of thirst. 114\n 11. A sand-storm. 117\n 12. Struggle in the river. 121\n 13. Meditating in the face of death. 125\n 14. A ludicrous race. 132\n 15. Lake M\u0101nasarovara. 140\n 16. Religion _v._ Love. 151\n 17. Near Mount Kailasa. 169\n 18. Quarrel between brothers. 181\n 19. Attacked by robbers. 192\n 20. The cold moon reflected on the ice. 202\n 21. Fallen into a muddy swamp. 210\n 22. Meeting a furious wild yak. 229\n 23. Outline of the monastery of Tashi Lhunpo. 249\n 24. Reading the Texts. 266\n 25. Priest fighting with hail. 274\n 26. Outline of the residence of the Dalai Lama. 287\n 27. A vehement philosophical discussion. 306\n 28. An audience with the Dalai Lama. 316\n 29. Inner room of the Dalai Lama\u2019s country house. 320\n 30. Room in the finance secretary\u2019s house. 335\n 31. Unexpected meeting with friends. 341\n 32. Girl weeping at being suddenly commanded to marry. 356\n 33. At the bridegroom\u2019s gate. Throwing an imitation sword\n at the bride. 366, 367\n 34. The wife of an Ex-Minister punished in public. 378, 379\n 35. Funeral ceremonies: cutting up the dead body. 390, 391\n 36. Lobon Padma Chungne. 411\n 37. Je Tsong-kha-pa. 414\n 38. A soothsayer under mediumistic influence falling senseless. 426\n 39. Flogging as a means of education. 443\n 40. Priest-traders loading their yaks. 459\n 41. New year\u2019s reading of the Texts for the Japanese Emperor\u2019s\n welfare. 465\n 42. Naming ceremony of a baby. 480\n 43. A picnic party in summer. 491\n 44. Prime Minister. 502\n 45. A corrupt Chief Justice of the monks. 534\n 46. The final ceremony of the Monlam. 538\n 47. A scene from the Monlam festival. 541\n 48. Procession of the Panchen or Tashi Lama in Lhasa. 568\n 49. Critical meeting with Tsa Rong-ba and his wife. 580\n 50. Revealing the secret to the Ex-Minister. 585\n 51. A mysterious Voice in the garden of Sera. 596\n 52. A distant view of Lhasa. 605\n 53. Farewell to Lhasa from the top of Genpala. 606\n 54. Crossing a mountain at midnight. 610\n 55. Night scene on the Chomo-Lhari and Lham Tso. 616\n 56. Beautiful scenery in the Tibetan Him\u0101layas. 634\n 57. The fortress of Nyatong. 649\n 58. On the way to the snowy Jela-peak. 654\n 59. Accidental meeting with a friend and compatriot. 679\n 60. Struggle with a Nep\u0101lese soldier. 690\n 61. Meeting again with an old friend, Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra. 695\n 62. The author and his friend Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra enjoying the\n brilliant snow at K\u0101tm\u0101ndu. 704\n 63. N\u0101g\u0101rjuna\u2019s cave of meditation in Nep\u0101l. 716\n\n\nPhotogravures.\n\n TO FACE PAGE\n\n 1. The Author in 1909. _Frontispiece._\n 2. The Author just before leaving Japan. 1\n 3. Rai Bah\u0101\u1e0dur Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s. 11\n 4. Lama Sengchen Dorjechan. 15\n 5. The Author meditating under the Bo\u1e0dhi-tree. 25\n 6. Passport in Tibetan for the Author\u2019s return to Tibet in\n the future. 645\n 7. The Author as a Tibetan Lama at Darjeeling on his return. 667\n 8. The Author performing ceremonies in Tibetan costume. 669\n 9. The Prime Minister of Nep\u0101l, H. H. Chan\u1e0dra Shams\u012br. 685\n 10. The Commander-in-Chief of Nep\u0101l, H. E. Bhim Shams\u012br. 697\n 11. Mount Gaur\u012bsha\u1e45kara, the highest peak in the world.\n (At the end of the volume).\n\n\nSketch-map.\n\n 1. Chart of the Route followed by the Author. (At the end of the volume.)\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THE AUTHOR JUST BEFORE LEAVING JAPAN.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nNovel farewell presents.\n\n\nIn the month of May, 1897, I was ready to embark on my journey, which\npromised nought but danger and uncertainty. I went about taking leave\nof my friends and relatives in Tokyo. Endless were the kind and\nheartfelt words poured on me, and many were the presents offered me to\nwish me farewell; but the latter I uniformly declined to accept, save\nin the form of sincerely given pledges. From those noted for excessive\nuse of intoxicants, I exacted a promise of absolute abstinence from\n\u201cthe maddening water;\u201d and from immoderate smokers I asked the\nimmediate discontinuance of the habit that would end in nicotine\npoisoning. About forty persons willingly granted my appeal for this\nsomewhat novel kind of farewell presents. Many of these are still\nremaining true to the word then given me, and others have apparently\nforgotten them since. At all events, I valued these \u201cpresents\u201d\nmost exceedingly. In Osaka, whither I went after leaving Tokyo, I\nalso succeeded in securing a large number of them. Three of them I\nparticularly prized, and should not fail to mention them here; for, as\nI think of them now, I cannot help fancying that they had transformed\nthemselves into unseen powers that saved me from the otherwise certain\ndeath.\n\nWhile still in Tokyo I called on Mr. Takabe Tona, a well-known\nmanufacturer of asphalt. Mr. Takabe had been a born fisher, especially\nskilled in the use of the \u201cshot-net,\u201d and to catch fish had been the\njoy and pleasure of his life. On the occasion of the leave-taking\nvisit which I paid him, I found him in a very despondent mood. He\nvolunteered to tell me that he had just lost a three-year old child of\nhis, and the loss had left his wife the most distracted woman in the\nworld, while he himself could not recover the peace of his mind, even\nfishing having become devoid of its former charms for him. I said to my\nhost, who had always been a very intimate friend of mine and a member\nof my former flock: \u201cDo you really find it so hard to bear the death\nof your child? What would you think of a person who dared to bind up\nand kill a beloved child of yours, and roast and eat its flesh?\u201d \u201cOh!\ndevilish! The devil only could do that; no man could,\u201d answered he.\nI quickly rejoined: \u201cYou are a fiend then, at least, to the fishes\nof the deep\u201d. Strong were the words I used then, but it was in the\nfulness of my heart that I spoke them, and Mr. Takabe finally yielded\nand promised me to fish no more. He was very obdurate at first; but\nwhen I pointed out to him that it was at the risk of my life that I\nwas going to Tibet, and that for the sake of my religion, which was\nalso his, he stood up with a look of determination. He excused himself\nfrom my presence for awhile, and then returned with some fishing-nets,\nwhich he forthwith handed over to me, saying that those were the\nweapons of murder with which he had caused the death of innumerable\ndenizens of the brine, and that I might do with them as I liked, for\nhe had no longer any use for them. I thereupon asked a daughter of the\nhost\u2019s to build a fire for me in the yard; and, when it was ready, I\nconsigned the nets to flames in the presence of all--there were all\nthe members of the family and some visitors, besides, to witness the\nscene. Among the visitors was Mr. Ogawa Katsutaro, a relative of the\nfamily. This gentleman had also been an excellent sportsman, with\nboth gun and nets. He had seen the dramatic scene before him and heard\nme pray for my host. As the nets went up in smoke, Mr. Ogawa rose and\nsaid impressively: \u201cLet me too wish that you fare well in Tibet, by\nmaking to you the gift of a pledge: I pledge myself that I will never\nmore take the lives of other creatures for amusement; should I prove\nfalse to these words let \u2018Fudo Myo-oh\u2019 visit me with death.\u201d I had\nnever before felt so honored and gratified as I felt when I heard this\ndeclaration. Then in Sakai, while taking leave of Mr. Ito Ichiro, an\nold and lifelong friend of mine, who, also, counted net-fishing among\nhis favorite sports, I told him all about the burning of Mr. Takabe\u2019s\nnets; and he, too, did me the favor of following the example set by\nmy Tokyo friends. Then I called on Mr. Watanabe Ichibei at Osaka. He\nis, as he has always been, a very wealthy man, now dealing chiefly\nin stocks and trade with Korea. His former business was that of a\npoultry-man, not in the sense of one who raises fowls, etc., but of one\nwho keeps an establishment where people go to have a poultry dinner.\nHis business throve wonderfully; but I knew that his circumstances were\nsuch that he could well afford to forego such a sinful business as one\nwhich involved the lives of hundreds of fowls every day, especially\nas he had been a zealous believer of our religion. Several times\npreviously I had written him, beseeching him to give up his brutal\nbusiness, and I repeated the appeal on the occasion of my last visit\nto him before my departure for Tibet, when he promised, to my great\ngratification, that, as speedily as possible, he would change his\nbusiness, though to do so immediately was impracticable. I was still\nmore gratified when I learned that he had proved the genuineness of\nhis promise about a year and a half after my departure. Ordinarily\nconsidered, my conduct in exacting these pledges might appear somewhat\npresumptuous; but it ought to be remembered that the sick always need a\nmedicine too strong for a person in normal health, and the two classes\nof people must always be treated differently in spiritual ministration\nas in corporeal pathology. Be that as it may, I cannot help thinking of\nthese gifts of effective promises, as often as I recall my adventures\nin the Him\u0101layas and in Tibet, which often brought me to death\u2019s door.\nI know that the great love of the merciful Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha has always protected\nme in my dangers; yet, who knows but that the saving of the lives of\nhundreds and thousands of finny and feathered creatures, as the result\nof these promises, contributed largely toward my miraculous escapes.\n\nFarewell visits over, I was ready to start, but for some money. I\nhad had a small sum of one hundred yen of my own savings; but this\namount was swelled to 530 yen, by the generosity of Messrs. Watanabe,\nHarukawa, and Kitamura of Osaka, Hige, Ito, Noda, and Yamanaka of\nSakai, and others. Of this total, I spent about one hundred in fitting\nmyself out for a peculiarly problematical journey, and the very modest\nsum of half a thousand was all I had with me on my departure.\n\nIt is curious how little people believe your words, until you actually\nbegin to carry them out, especially when your attempt is a venturesome\none, and how they protest, expostulate, and even ridicule you, often\npredicting failure behind your back, when they see that you are not to\nbe dissuaded. And I had the pleasure of going through these curious\nexperiences; for many indeed were those who came to me almost at the\nlast moment to advise, to ask, to beg me to change my mind and give\nup my Tibetan trip, and I could see that they were all in earnest.\nFor instance, on the very eve of my departure, while spending my last\nnight at Mr. Maki\u2019s in Osaka, a certain judge of the Local Court of\nWakayama came on purpose to tell me that I was bound to end my venture\nin making myself a laughing-stock of the world by meeting death out of\nfool-hardiness, and that I would do far better by staying at home and\nengaging in my ecclesiastical work, a work which, he said, I had full\nwell qualified myself to undertake; to do the latter was especially\nadvisable for me, because the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist circle of Japan was in great\nneed of earnest and capable men, and so on. Seeing that I was not to be\nmoved in my determination, the judge said: \u201cSuppose you lose your life\nin the attempt? you will not be able to accomplish anything.\u201d \u201cBut it\nis just as uncertain whether I die, or I survive my venture. If I die,\nwell and good; it will be like the soldier\u2019s death in a battle-field,\nand I should be gratified to think that I fell in the cause of my\nreligion,\u201d I answered. Then the judge gave me up for incorrigible and\nwent away, after wishing me farewell in a substantial manner. That was\non the night of June 24th, 1897. Early on the following morning I left\nOsaka, and on the next day I embarked on the _Idzumi-maru_ at Kobe,\nseen off by my friends and well-wishers already mentioned. Among them\nwas Mr. Noda Giichiro, who told me that he was very glad as well as\nvery sorry for this departure of mine, and that his words could not\ngive adequate expression to the feelings uppermost in his heart. I\nthought these touching words expressed the feelings shared by my other\nfriends also.\n\n[Illustration: AUTHOR\u2019S DEPARTURE FROM JAPAN.]\n\nHats and handkerchiefs grew smaller and fainter until they went out\nof sight, as the good ship _Idzumi_ steamed westward. Past Wada\npromontory, my old acquaintances, the peaks of Kongo, Shigi and Ikoma,\nin turn, disappeared in the rounding sea. In due time Moji was reached\nand then, out of the Strait of Genkai, our ship headed direct for\nHongkong. At Hongkong, Mr. Thompson, an Englishman, boarded our ship,\nand his advent proved to be a welcome change in the monotony of the\nvoyage. He said he had lived eighteen years in Japan, and he spoke\nJapanese exceedingly well. I found in him an earnest and enthusiastic\nChristian; and, as may be imagined, he and I came to spend much of\nour time in religious controversies, which, as they were carried on,\nit may be needless to add, in a most friendly way, became a source\nof much pleasure and information, not only to ourselves, but also to\nall on board. Another interesting experience which I went through\nduring the voyage was when I preached--and I preached quite a number\nof times--before the officers and men of the ship, who proved the most\nwilling and interested audience I had ever come across.\n\nOn the 12th of July, the _Idzumi_ entered the port of Singapore, and\nI put up at the Fusokwan Hotel there. On the 15th, I called at the\nJapanese Consulate in the port, and saw Mr. Fujita Toshiro, our then\nConsul there. Mr. Fujita had heard of me from the _Idzumi\u2019s_ captain,\nand he said to me: \u201cI hear you are going to Tibet. I do not know how\nyou have got your venture mapped out, but I know it is a very difficult\nthing to reach and enter that country. Even Col. Fukushima (now\nLieutenant-General, of trans-Siberian fame) made a halt at Darjeeling,\nand had to retrace his steps thence, acknowledging practically the\nimpossibility of a Tibetan exploration, and I cannot see how you can\nfare better. But if you must, I think there are only two ways of\naccomplishing your purpose: namely, to force your way by the sheer\nforce of arms at the head of an expedition, for one; and to go as a\nbeggar, for the other. May I ask you about your programme?\u201d I answered\nMr. Fujita to the effect that being a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priest, as I was, the\nfirst of the methods he had mentioned was out of the question for me,\nand that my idea at the time was to follow the second course; although\nI was far from having anything like a definite programme of my journey.\nI told him, further, that I intended to wander on as the course of\nevents might lead me. I left the Consul in a very meditative mood.\n\nI stayed a week in Fusokwan, and it was on the last day but one before\nleaving it that I narrowly escaped a serious, even mortal, accident.\nAs a priest, I made it, as I make it now, my practice to do preaching\nwhenever and wherever an opportunity presented itself, and my rigid\nadherence to this practice greatly pleased the proprietor of that\nSingapore establishment. In consequence of this, I was treated with\nspecial regard while there, and every day, when the bath was ready, I\nwas the first to be asked to have the warm water ablution, which is\nalways so welcome to a Japanese. On the 18th, the usual invitation was\nextended to me, but I was just at that moment engaged in reading the\nText, and could not comply with it at once. The invitation was repeated\na second time, but, somehow or other, I was not ready to take my bath,\nand remained in my room. Meanwhile, I heard a great noise, with a thud\nthat shook the whole building. A few moments later, I ascertained that\nthe sound and quaking were caused by the collapse and fall of the\nbath-room from the second floor, where it had been situated, to the\nground below, with its bath, basin, and all the other contents, among\nwhich the most important and unfortunate was a Japanese lady, who, as\nI had been neglectful in accepting the invitation, was asked to have\nher bath first. The lady was, as I afterward learned, very dangerously\nhurt, buried, as she was, under _d\u00e9bris_ of falling stones, bricks and\ntimber, and she was taken to a local hospital, where she lay with very\nlittle hope of recovery. I often shudder to think of what would have\nbecome of me and of my Tibetan adventure, had I been more prompt, as\nI had always been till then, in responding to all invitations of the\nkind. I felt exceedingly sorry for the lady, who met the awful accident\npractically in my stead; withal I look back to the incident as one\nthat augured well for my Tibetan undertaking, which, indeed, ended in\nsuccess.\n\nThe day after the accident, on the 19th of July, I took passage on\nan English steamer, the _Lightning_, which, after calling at Penang,\nbrought me to Calcutta on the 25th of the month. Placing myself under\nthe care of the Mah\u0101bo\u1e0dhi Society of Calcutta, I spent several days\nin that city, in the course of which I learned from Mr. Chan\u1e0dra Bose,\na Secretary of the Society, that I could not do better for my purpose\nthan to go to Darjeeling, and make myself a pupil of Rai Bah\u0101\u1e0dur Sara\u1e6d\nChan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, who, as I was told, had some time before spent several\nmonths in Tibet, and was then compiling a Tibetan-English dictionary\nat his country house in Darjeeling. Mr. Chan\u1e0dra Bose was good enough\nto write a letter of introduction to the scholar at Darjeeling in my\nfavor, and, with it and also with kind parting wishes of my countrymen\nin the city and others, I left Calcutta on August 2nd, by rail. Heading\nnorth, the train in almost no time brought its passengers to the river\nGa\u1e45g\u0101. We crossed the mighty stream in a steamer, and then boarded\nanother train on the other side. Heading north still, the train now\npassed through cocoanut groves and green paddy-fields, over which, as\nnight came on, giant fire-flies, the like of which in size are not\nto be found in Japan, flew about in immense swarms. The sight was\nespecially interesting after the moon had disappeared. The following\nmorning, that is, on the 3rd of August, the train pulled up at Siligree\nStation, and there its passengers, including myself, were transferred\nto a train of small mountaineering cars, which, faring ever northward,\nforthwith began its tortuous ascent of the Him\u0101layas, or rather, of\nthe outer skirt of the mighty range. With its bends and turns and\nclimbings, as the train labored onward and upward through the famous\n\u201c\u1e0dalai-jungle,\u201d it looked like some amphibian monster on its war path,\nas I fancied, while the grind of the car wheels, with its sound echoed\nand re-echoed, seemed to spread quaking terror over peaks and dales.\nBy 3 P. M., the train had made a climb of fifty miles and then landed\nus at Darjeeling, which place is 380 miles distant from Calcutta. At\nthe station I hired a _\u1e0danlee_, which is a sort of mountaineering\npalanquin, and, borne in it, I soon afterward arrived at Rai Sara\u1e6d\u2019s\nretreat, Lhasa Villa, which I found to be a magnificent mansion.\n\n[Illustration: RAI BAHADUR SARAT CHANDRA DAS, C.I.E.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nA year in Darjeeling.\n\n\nIt was just after the great earthquake in Assam, India, that I arrived\nin Darjeeling, and, as I could see from a large number of entirely\ncollapsed and partly destroyed houses, this latter place also had had\nits share of the seismic disturbances. As for the Sara\u1e6d Villa, it too\nhad suffered more or less, and repair was already in progress. For all\nthat, I was received there with a whole-hearted welcome. An evening\u2019s\ntalk was sufficient, however, to make my intentions clear to my kind\nhost, and, as my time was precious, Rai Sara\u1e6d took me out, the very\nnext day after my arrival, to a temple called Ghoompahl, where I\nwas introduced to an aged Mongolian priest, who lived there and was\nrenowned for his scholarly attainments and also as a teacher of the\nTibetan language. The priest was then seventy-eight years of age, and\nhis name, which was Serab Gyamtso (Ocean of Knowledge), happened by a\ncurious coincidence to mean in the Tibetan tongue the same thing as\nmy own name Ekai meant. This discovery, at our first meeting, greatly\npleased my Tibetan tutor, as the old priest was thenceforth to be. Our\ntalk naturally devolved upon Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, but the conversation proved\nto be a rather awkward affair, for though Rai Sara\u1e6d kindly acted the\npart of an interpreter for us, it had to be carried on, on my part,\nin very rudimentary English. As it was, the first day of my tutelage\nended in my making the acquaintance of the Tibetan alphabet, and from\nthat time onward, I became a regular attendant at the temple, daily\nwalking three miles from and back to the Sara\u1e6d mansion. One day, about\na month after this, Rai Sara\u1e6d had me in his room and spoke to me thus:\n\u201cWell, Mr. Kawaguchi, I would advise you to give up your intention\nof going to Tibet. It is a very risky undertaking, which it would be\nworth risking if there were any chance of accomplishing it; but chances\nare almost entirely against you. You can acquire all the knowledge of\nthe Tibetan language you want, here, and you can go back to Japan,\nwhere you will be respected as a Tibetan scholar.\u201d I told my host that\nmy purpose was not only to learn the Tibetan language, but that it\nwas to complete my studies in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. \u201cThat may be,\u201d said my host,\n\u201cand a very important thing it no doubt is with you; but what is the\nuse of attempting a thing when there is no hope of accomplishing it?\nIf you go into Tibet, the only thing you can count upon is that you\nwill be killed!\u201d I retorted: \u201cHave you not been there yourself? I do\nnot see why I cannot do the same thing.\u201d Rai Sara\u1e6d\u2019s rejoinder was:\n\u201cAh! That is just where you are mistaken; you must know that the times\nare different, Mr. Kawaguchi. The \u2018closed door\u2019 policy is in full\noperation, and is being carried out with the most jealous strictness in\nTibet to-day, and I know that I will never be able again to undertake\nanother trip into that country. Besides, when I made my trip, I had\nwith me an excellent pass, which I was fortunate to secure through\ncertain means, but there is no means, nor even hope, any longer of\nprocuring such a pass. Under the circumstances I should think it is\nto your own interest to go home from here, after you have completed\nthe study of the Tibetan language.\u201d I knew that my good host meant\nall that he said; but I could not allow myself to be prevailed upon.\nInstead, I utilised the occasion in telling him that further tutelage\nunder Lama Serab was not to my mind, because the aged priest was more\nanxious to teach me the Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism than the Tibetan language.\nI asked Rai Sara\u1e6d to kindly devise for me some way, by which I might\nacquire the vernacular Tibetan language. Finding me resolute in my\npurpose, Rai Sara\u1e6d, with his unswerving kindness, cheerfully agreed\nto my request, and arranged for me that I should have a new private\nteacher, besides a regular schooling. It was in this way. Just below\nRai Sara\u1e6d\u2019s mansion was a residence which consisted of two small but\npretty buildings. The residence belonged to a Lama called Shabdung, who\njust then happened not to live there, but in a house in the business\nquarters of Darjeeling. Rai Sara\u1e6d sent for this Lama and asked him to\nteach the \u201cJapan Lama\u201d the Tibetan language, the Lama returning to his\nresidence just mentioned with his entire household. Lama Shabdung was\nonly too pleased to do as was requested, and I was forthwith installed\na member of his household, that I might have ample opportunity of\nlearning the popular Tibetan language. On the other hand, I at the\nsame time matriculated into the Government School of Darjeeling, and\nwas there given systematic lessons in the same language by Prof. Tumi\nOnden, the Head Teacher of the language department of Tibetans in that\nSchool. I should not forget to mention here that, while I paid out of\nmy own pocket all the tuition fees and school expenses, as it was quite\nproper that I should, I was made a beneficiary of my friend Rai Sara\u1e6d\nso far as my board was concerned, that good man insisting that to do\na little kindness in favor of such a \u201cpure and noble-hearted man as\nyou are\u201d--as he said--was to increase his own happiness. Not too well\nstocked with the wherewithal as I was, I gratefully allowed myself to\nbe prevailed upon to accept his generosity. Indeed, I had only three\nhundred yen with me when I arrived at Darjeeling; but, as it was, that\namount supported me for the seventeen months of my stay there. Had I\nhad to pay my own board, I would have had to cut down my stay there to\nhalf the length of time.\n\nAt Lama Shabdung\u2019s I lived as though back in my boyhood, attending the\nschool in the morning, and doing my lessons at home in the company of\nthe children of the family in the afternoon. It is a well known thing\nthat the best way to learn a foreign language is to live among the\npeople who speak it, but a discovery--as it was to me--that I made\nwhile at Shabdung\u2019s was that the best teachers of everyday language\nare children. As a foreigner you ask them to teach you their language;\nand you find that, led on by their instinctive curiosity and kindness,\nnot unmingled with a sense of pride, they are always the most anxious\nand untiring teachers, and also that in their innocence they are\nthe most exacting and intolerant teachers, as they will brook no\nmis-pronunciation or mis-accent, even the slightest errors. Next to\nchildren, women are, I think, the best language teachers. At least such\nare the conclusions I arrived at from the experiences of my \u2018schooling\ndays\u2019 in Darjeeling. For in six or seven months after my instalment\nin the Shabdung household, I had become able to carry on all ordinary\nconversation in the Tibetan tongue, with more ease than in my English\nof two years\u2019 hard learning, and I regard Tibetan as a more difficult\nlanguage than English. True, I made myself a most willing and zealous\npupil all through the tutelage; withal, I consider the progress I made\nin that short space of time as quite remarkable, and that progress was\nthe gift of my female and juvenile teachers in the Shabdung family.\nThe more progress I made in my linguistic acquirement, the more eager\nstudent I became in things Tibetan, and I found in my host a truly\ncharming conversationalist, himself fond of talking. Evening after\nevening I sat, an absorbed listener to Lama Shabdung\u2019s flowing and\ninexhaustible store of narratives about Tibet.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nA foretaste of Tibetan barbarism.\n\n\nTo give one of Lama Shabdung\u2019s favourite recitals about Tibet: my\nhost, while there, studied Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism under a high Lama of great virtues\nand the most profound learning, called Sengchen Dorjechan (Great-Lion\nDiamond-Treasury), who had been the tutor of the Secondary or Deputy\nPope, so to say, of Tibet. No man in Tibet was held in higher esteem\nand deeper reverence than this holy man. It was this holy man himself\nwho taught my friend and benefactor Rai Sara\u1e6d, when he was in Tibet.\nThough Rai Sara\u1e6d\u2019s pupilage under the high Lama lasted only for a short\ntime, it had the most tragical consequences. For, after his return to\nIndia, the Tibetan Government discovered to its own mortification that\nRai Sara\u1e6d was an emissary of the British Government, and the parties\nwho had become in any way connected with his visit, more particularly\nthe man who had secretly furnished him with a pass, another in whose\nhouse he had lodged and boarded, and the high Lama, were all thrown\ninto prison, the last named having afterward had to pay with his life\nfor his innocent crime.\n\n[Illustration: LAMA SENGCHEN DORJECHAN.]\n\nMany are the reminiscences of this holy Lama, which show that he was\nindeed a person very firm and enlightened in the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist faith, and\nto that degree was the most lovable and adorable of men. But more\nespecially affecting, even sublimely beautiful, are the episodes\nimmediately preceding and surrounding his death, for the truth of which\nI depend not on the narrative of Lama Shabdung alone, but largely\nalso upon what I was able to learn from persons of unquestionable\nreliability, during my disguised stay in the capital of Tibet. To\nmention a few of these: when an unpleasant rumor had just begun to be\ncirculated, soon after Rai Sara\u1e6d\u2019s departure from Tibet, about his\nsecret mission, the high Lama Sengchen knew at once that death was\nat his door, but was not afraid. For, when it was hinted at by his\nfriends that he would become involved in a serious predicament, owing\nto his acquaintance with Rai Sara\u1e6d, he replied that he had always\nconsidered it his heaven-ordained work to try to propagate and to\nperpetuate Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, not among his own countrymen only, but among the\nwhole human race; that whether or not Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s was a man who\nhad entered Tibet with the object of \u201cstealing away Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism,\u201d or to\nplay the part of a spy, was not his concern--the question had in any\ncase never occurred to him--and that if he were to suffer death for\nhaving done what he had regarded it as his duty to do, he could not\nhelp it. That this holy Lama was an advocate of active propagandism\nmay be gathered from the fact that, besides sending various Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhistic\nimages and ritualistic utensils to India, he had caused several\npersons to go out there as missionaries, my teacher, the Manchurian\nLama Serab Gyamtso, in the Ghoompahl Temple of Darjeeling, being one\nof these. Unfortunately, this undertaking did not prove a success,\nbut none the less it shows the lofty aspirations which actuated the\nhigh Lama, who, as I was told, had deeply lamented the decadence, or\nrather the almost entire disappearance, of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism in the land of its\norigin, and was sincerely anxious to revive it there. It is nothing\nuncommon in Japan to meet with Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priests interested in the\nwork or idea of foreign propagandism; but a person so minded is an\nextreme rarity in that hermit-country Tibet, and that Lama Sengchen\nwas such a one indicates the greatness of his character, and that he\nwas a man above sectarian differences and international prejudices,\nsolely given to the noble idea of universal brotherhood under Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\nBeing the man he was, he had many enemies among the high officials\nof the hierarchical Government, who were in constant watch for an\nopportunity to bring about his downfall. To these, his enemies, the\nrumor about Prof. Sara\u1e6d was a welcome one, which they lost no time in\nturning to account. In all haste they despatched men to Darjeeling, and\nascertained that, in truth, Rai Sara\u1e6d had smuggled himself into and\nout of Tibet, and that, as the fact was, he had done so at the request\nof the British Government of India. Then followed the incarceration,\nalready mentioned, of all those who had had anything to do with Rai\nSara\u1e6d, the final upshot of which was sentence of death upon the high\nLama Sengchen Dorjechan, on the ground that the latter had harbored\nin his temple, and divulged national secrets to, a foreign emissary.\nThe holy man\u2019s execution was carried out on a certain day of June,\n1887, and took the form of sinking him till he became drowned in the\nriver Konbo, which is a local name given to the great Brahmapu\u1e6dra.\nAs I recall the scene of that occasion, as I heard it described, I\nsee before my eyes the tear-drenched face of my friend Lama Shabdung,\nwho, struggling with emotion, would often tell me what he witnessed on\nthat day. Surrounded by an immense crowd of sympathising and sobbing\npeople, the noble Lama was found seated, and reading the sacred Text,\non a large piece of rock overhanging a side of the river, as the hour\nof his execution approached. He was clothed in a coarse white fabric,\nand looked serenely calm and perfectly composed, as he gave an order\nto his executioners in these words: \u201cWhen, in a little while, I have\nfinished reading the holy Text, I will shake this my finger three times\nthus, and that will be the signal for you to sink me in the river.\u201d\nThe instruction was in response to a question, if the high Lama wanted\nto say or have done anything ere his execution, asked by one of the\nexecutioners, who was already tying around the holy man\u2019s body one end\nof a thick rope, with which he was to be lowered under the water. In\nthe meantime, the suspense grew intense and the great multitude that\nhad gathered around had become blind to everything but the mighty,\ncruel waters of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra, the executioners, and the holy priest,\nand deaf to all but their own sobbings and wailings. They saw before\nthem a man of their hearts, of national esteem, profound in learning\nand saintly in behavior, who, as a priest of the highest order, should\nwear three layers of red and yellow silk, but who was wrapped in an\nunclean prison-suit of white, and was now to die a victim to his\nenemies\u2019 malice. They knew all was not right, but they knew not how to\nundo the wrong, and they appealed to their own tears. As it happened,\nthe day had been cloudy, and rain had even begun to come down in drops\nas the high Lama raised one of his hands, the purpose of which act\nwas all too evident, and lamentation became loud and universal. Once,\ntwice, and three times the noble prisoner had shaken his finger, but\nnone of the executioners dared to come forward--they were in tears\nthemselves. Then the high Lama said: \u201cMy time is come: what are ye\ndoing? Speed me under water.\u201d Thereupon, with heavy hands and heavier\nhearts the executioners, after having weighted the high Lama\u2019s loins\nwith a large stone, slowly lowered the whole burden into the rushing\nwaters of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra. After a while they pulled up what they\nexpected to have become the remains of the saintly man, but finding\nthat life had not yet departed, they again went through the drowning\nprocess. When for a second time they raised the body, they found life\nstill lingering in it. The multitude, which saw how things went, became\nclamorous in their demand that the holy man be now saved; while the\nexecutioners themselves seemed unnerved and unable to go to their cruel\nduty a third time. As the moments of indecision sped by, the high Lama,\nmost wonderful to tell, recovered sufficient strength to speak, and\nsay: \u201cLament ye not my death. For my phase of activity having come to\nan end, I now depart with gratification, and that means that my evil\npast ceases, so that my good future may begin--it is not ye that kill\nme. All that I wish for, after my death, is a greater and ever-growing\nprosperity for Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism in Tibet. Now make ye haste, and sink me under\nthe water.\u201d Thus urged, the executioners, sorrow-ridden, obeyed the\norder, and they saw that life, in sooth, had departed at the third\nraising of the body. Then, as the custom is in Tibet, they severed all\nthe limbs from the high Lama\u2019s remains, and threw the different parts\nseparately into the stream, thus ending the grim business of execution.\nIt will be admitted by all, especially by all Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists, that there\nwas something loftily admirable in the personality of a man who had\ndone and given his all for his faith and religion, and yet uttered not\na word of complaint against Providence or man, but, in serene, noble\nmeekness, met his most unmerited and most agonising death. As for me,\nbesides finding it most affecting, I felt a peculiarly direct interest\nin the story of this high Lama\u2019s execution, from the moment when I\nwas told of it for the first time. For, was I not on my way to Tibet?\nShould I succeed in my purpose? Who could tell but that there might be\na repetition of that sad and cruel scene?\n\n[Illustration: THE LAMA\u2019S EXECUTION.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nLaying a false scent.\n\n\nI rose early on the New Year\u2019s day of 1898, and spent the greater part\nof the morning, as was usual with me, in reading the sacred Text in\nhonor of the day, and also in praying for the health and long life of\ntheir Majesties the Emperor and the Empress, and his Highness, the\nCrown Prince, and for the prosperity of Japan. The New Year\u2019s _uta_[1]\nwhich I composed on the occasion was as follows:\n\n[1] The word _uta_ in Japanese means a short epigrammatic poem,\nexpressed tersely, and inspired by some special occasion.\n\n In glory yonder, lo! the New Year\u2019s Sun,\n His coruscating grateful beams forthshoots,\n Diffusing lucid roses on the snows\n That flash in dazzling spangles bright and clear;\n That Sun, the symbol on the Japan-flag\n My fancy lights with patriotic thrills.\n\nI spent the twelve months following in closely devoting myself to the\nstudy, and in efforts at the practical mastery, of the Tibetan tongue,\nwith the result that, toward the close of the year, I had become fairly\nconfident of my own proficiency in the use of the language both in\nits literary and vernacular forms; and I made up my mind to start for\nmy destination with the coming of the year 1899. Then, it became a\nmomentous question for me to decide upon the route to take in entering\nTibet.\n\nBesides the secret path, the Khambu-Rong, _i. e._, \u2018Peach Valley\u2019 pass,\nthere are three highways which one may choose in reaching Tibet from\nDarjeeling. These are: first, the main road, which turns north-east\ndirectly after leaving Darjeeling and runs through Nyatong; second,\nthat which traverses the western slope of Ka\u00f1che\u00f1junga, the second\nhighest snow-capped peaks in the Range and brings the traveller to\nWarong, a village on the frontier of Tibet; and the third, which takes\none direct from Sikkim through Khampa-Jong to Lhasa. As, however,\neach of these roads is jealously guarded either with a fortified\ngate or some sentinels, at its Tibetan terminus, it is a matter of\npractical impossibility for a foreigner to gain admittance into the\nhermit-country by going along any of them. Rai Sara\u1e6d was of opinion\nthat, if I were to present myself at the Nyatong gate, tell the\nguards there that I was a Japanese priest who wished to visit their\ncountry for the sole purpose of studying Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, I might possibly\nbe allowed to pass in, provided that I was courteously persistent\nin my solicitations; but I had reasons for thinking little of this\nsuggestion. At all events, what I had learned from my Tibetan tutors\ndid not sustain my friend\u2019s view; instead, however, my own information\nled me to a belief that a road to suit my purpose could be found\nby proceeding through either the Kingdom of Bh\u016b\u1e6dan or of Nep\u0101l. It\nappeared to me, further, that the route most advantageous to me would\nbe by way of Nep\u0101l; for Bh\u016b\u1e6dan had never been visited by the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha,\nand there was there little to learn for me in that connexion, though\nthat country had at one time or another been travelled over by Tibetan\npriests of great renown; but the latter fact had nothing of importance\nfor me. I had been told, however, that Nep\u0101l abounded in the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s\nfootsteps, and that there was in existence there complete sets of the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Texts in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d. These were inducements which I could turn to\naccount, in the case of failure to enter Tibet. Moreover, no Japanese\nhad ever been in Nep\u0101l before me, though it had been visited by some\nEuropeans and Americans. So I decided on a route _vi\u00e2_ Nep\u0101l.\n\nThe decision made, it would have been all I could wish for, if it were\npossible for me to journey to Nep\u0101l direct from Darjeeling; there was\non the way grand and picturesque scenery incidentally to enjoy, besides\nplaces sacred to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist pilgrims. But to do so was not possible for\nme, or at least implied serious dangers. For most of the Tibetans\nliving in Darjeeling--and there were quite a number of them there--knew\nthat I was learning their language with the intention of some day\nvisiting their country; and it was perfectly manifest that the moment I\nleft that town with my face towards Tibet, they, or some of them at the\nleast, would come after me as far as some point where they might make\nshort work of me, or follow me into Tibet and there betray me to the\nauthorities, for they would be richly rewarded for so doing. To meet\nthe necessity of the case, I gave it out that, owing to an unexpected\noccurrence, I was obliged to go home at once, and I left Darjeeling\nfor Calcutta, which place I reached on the 5th of January, 1899. I,\nof course, let Rai Sara\u1e6d into my secret, and he alone knew that the\nday I left Darjeeling I started on my Tibetan journey in real earnest,\nthough back to Calcutta I took fare in sooth. On leaving Darjeeling,\nmy good host Rai Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra earnestly wished me complete success in\nmy travels to Tibet, and gave vent to his hearty and sincere pleasure\nin finding in me one, who, as bold and adventurous as himself, was\nstarting on a perilous but interesting expedition to that hitherto\nunknown country. Previous to my departure from Darjeeling, I received\nthere 630 Rupees, which had been collected and forwarded to me through\nthe kind and never-failing efforts of my friends at home, Messrs. Hige,\nIto, Watanabe and others.\n\n Now over trackless snowy range I wend\n My lonely way to \u2018Bhota,\u2019[2] elsewhere named\n Tibet, where Dharma\u2019s glorious Sun pours forth\n His Light and melts the cheerless snows of Doubt\n And Pain and Sorrow, vexing mortal men.\n\n[2] Bhota is the name by which Tibet is known in Samskri.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nJourney to Nepal.\n\n\nDuring my second and short stay in Calcutta I had the good luck of\nbeing introduced to a Nep\u0101lese named Jibbaha\u1e0dur, who was then a\nSecretary of the Nep\u0101l Government, but who is now the Minister Resident\nof that country in Tibet. He was kind enough to write two letters\nintroducing me to a certain gentleman of influence in Nep\u0101l.\n\nOn the 20th of January, 1899, I came to the famous Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101, sacred\nto Holy Sh\u0101kyamuni Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and there met Mr. Dharmapala of Ceylon, who\nhappened to be there on a visit. I had a very interesting conversation\nwith him. On learning that I was on my way to Tibet, he asked me to do\nhim the favor of taking some presents for him to the Dalai Lama. The\npresents consisted of a small relic of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, enclosed in a silver\ncasket which was in the form of a miniature pagoda, and a volume of the\nsacred Text written on palm leaves. I, of course, willingly complied\nwith the request of the Sinhalese gentleman, who expressed himself as\nbeing very anxious to visit Tibet, but thought it useless to attempt a\ntrip thither, unless he were invited to do so. The night of that day\nI spent meditating on the \u2018Diamond Seat\u2019 under the Bo\u1e0dhi-tree--the\nvery tree under which, and the very stone on which, about two thousand\nfive hundred years ago, the holy Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha sat and reached Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhahood.\nThe feeling I then experienced is indescribable: all I can say is\nthat I sat the night out in the most serene and peaceful extasy. I\nsaw the tell-tale moon lodged, as it were, among the branches of the\nBo\u1e0dhi-tree, shedding its pale light on the \u2018Diamond Seat,\u2019 and the\nscene was superbly picturesque, and also hallowing, when I thought of\nthe days and nights the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha spent in holy meditation at that very\nspot.\n\n Whilst seated on the Diamond Seat, absorbed\n In thoughtful meditation full and deep\n The lunar orb, suspended o\u2019er the tree--\n The Sacred Bodhi tree--shines in the sky.\n I wait with longing for the morning star\n To rise, the witness of that moment high\n When His Illumination gained the Lord\n The Perfect Buddha, Perfect Teacher Great.\n\n[Illustration: THE AUTHOR MEDITATING UNDER THE BODHI-TREE.]\n\nAfter a few days\u2019 stay in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101, I took the railway-train for\nNep\u0101l, and a ride of a day and a night brought me to Sagauli, on the\nmorning of January 23. Sagauli is a station at a distance of two days\u2019\njourney from the Nep\u0101lese border. Here one boundary of the linguistic\nterritory of English was reached, and beyond neither that language nor\nthe Tibetan tongue was of any use--one had to speak either Hin\u1e0d\u016bs\u1e6d\u0101ni\nor Nep\u0101lese to be understood, and I knew neither. So it became a\nnecessary part of my Tibetan adventure to stop a while at Sagauli,\nand make myself master of working Nep\u0101lese. It was like forging the\nchain after catching a criminal. But up to then, my time had been all\ntaken up in learning Tibetan, and I had had no moment to spare for\nanything else. By good fortune, however, my stay there was not to\nbe a long one. I found the postmaster of Sagauli, a Beng\u0101l\u012b, to be\nproficient both in English and Nep\u0101lese. As the thing had to be done\nin the most expeditious way possible, I started my work by noting down\nevery Nep\u0101lese word the postmaster would teach me. The next day after\nmy arrival at Sagauli, while I was out on a walk near the station with\nmy note-book in hand, I noticed, among those who got off a train, a\ncompany of three men, one of whom was a gentleman, apparently of forty\nyears of age and dressed in a Tibetan costume, another a priest about\nfifty years old, and the third unmistakably their servant. Thereupon a\nthought flashed on me that it would be a good thing for me if I could\ntravel with these Tibetans, as I took them to be, and I immediately\nmade bold to go up to them and ask whither they were going. I was told\nthat their destination was Nep\u0101l, that they had not just then come\nfrom Tibet, but that one of them was a Tibetan. It then became their\nturn to question me, their opening enquiry being as to what country\nI belonged. I replied that I was a Chinese. \u201cWhich direction did you\ncome from then?--did you travel by land or by sea?\u201d was the rejoinder\nsharply put to me next. That was a question I had to answer with\ncaution. For the rule then in force in Tibet was to admit into that\ncountry no Chinaman coming by the sea. So I answered: \u201cBy land.\u201d As we\nconversed, so we walked, and presently we came in front of where I was\nlodging. In that part of the world there is no such smart thing as a\nhotel or an inn; all the accommodation one can get in this respect is a\nshanty of a rather primitive type, with bamboo posts and a straw roof.\nThere are a number of these simple structures there, standing on the\nroadside and intended only for travellers, who have, however, nothing\nto pay for lodging in them--they only pay the price of eatables and\nfuel, should they procure any. It was in one of these shanties that I\nwas stopping, and when I excused myself from the company of my newly\nmade acquaintances, the latter betook themselves into another on the\nopposite side of the street. After a while the gentleman and the priest\ncame out of their shanty and called on me, evidently bent on finding\nout who, or rather what, I was. For the first question with which they\nchallenged me was to what part of China I belonged. \u201cTo Fooshee,\u201d I\nreplied, realising full well that I was to go through the ordeal of an\ninquisition. \u201cYou speak Chinese, of course?\u201d then asked the gentleman.\nMy reply in the affirmative caused him at once to talk to me in quite\nfluent Chinese, which put me in no little consternation in secret.\nCompelled by necessity, I ventured calmly: \u201cYou must be talking in the\nofficial Peking dialect, while I can talk only in the common Fooshee\ntongue, and I do not understand you at all.\u201d He was not to let me\noff yet. Says he next: \u201cYou can write in Chinese, I suppose.\u201d Yes, I\ncould, and I wrote. Some of my characters were intelligible enough to\nmy guests, and some not, and after all it was agreed that it was best\nto confine ourselves to Tibetan. As our conversation progressed, my\nprincipal guest came to the crucial part of the inquisition and asked:\n\u201cYou say you have come from the landward side: well, from what part\nof Tibet have you come?\u201d \u201cIn sooth, from Lhasa, sir; I have been on a\npilgrimage through Darjeeling to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101, and from thence here,\u201d\nI replied. I was requested to say, then, in what part of the city of\nLhasa I lived. Being informed that I was in the grand Sera monastery,\nhe wanted to know if I was acquainted with an old priest who was the\nTatsang Kenpo (grand teacher) of that institution. I was bold enough\nto say that I was not a perfect stranger to the priest in question,\nand made a right good use of what I had learned from Lama Shabdung at\nDarjeeling. So far I managed to keep up my disguise, but each moment\nthat passed only added to my fear of being trapped, and compelled to\ngive myself away. To avoid this danger, I felt it important to head\noff my inquisitorial visitors by dispelling their suspicion, if they\nentertained any, about me. I was remarkably successful in this, the\ninformation obtained from Lama Shabdung again doing me excellent\nservice. For, when I told my guests, in a most knowing way, all about\nShabbe Shata\u2019s intrigue against the Tangye-ling, which was designed to\nincrease his own power, and the secret of which affair was not then\ngenerally known, the recital seemed to make a great impression on them,\nand to have had the effect of convincing them that I was the person I\npretended to be. So my ordeal was at an end; but there was yet in store\nfor me the most unexpected discovery I was to make about these men.\n\nNo longer curious as to my antecedents, my gentleman guest now asked\nme: \u201cYou say you are going to Nep\u0101l: may I ask you who is the person\nyou are directed to, and if you have ever been in that country?\u201d I\nhad never been there before, but I had a letter of introduction with\nme. From whom, to whom, could that be? The letters, I said--for I\nhad had two given me--were written in favor of me by Mr. Jibbaha\u1e0dur,\nan official of the Nep\u0101lese Government, then residing in Calcutta,\nand addressed to the Lama of the Great Tower of Mah\u0101bo\u1e0dha in Nep\u0101l,\nwhose name, though I just happened to forget it, was on the letters.\nThis piece of information seemed greatly to interest the gentleman,\nwho could not help saying: \u201cWhy, that is strange! Mr. Jibbaha\u1e0dur is a\nfriend of mine: I wonder who can be the person to whom the letters are\naddressed; will you permit me to look at them?\u201d And the climax came\nwhen I, in all willingness, took out the letters and showed them to my\nguest, for he ejaculated: \u201cWell, whoever would have thought it? These\nare for me!\u201d\n\nI may here observe that in Nep\u0101l, as I found out afterwards, the word\nfriend conveys a much deeper meaning, probably, than in any other\ncountry. To be a friend there means practically the same thing as\nbeing a brother, and the natives have a curious custom of observing\na special ceremony when any two of them tie the knot of friendship\nbetween them. The ceremony resembles very much that of marriage, and\nits celebration is made an occasion for a great festival, in which the\nrelatives and connexions of the parties concerned take part. To be\nbrief, the ceremony generally takes the form of exchanging glasses of\nthe native drink between the mutually chosen two, and they each have\nto extend their liberalities even to their servants in honor of the\noccasion. It is only after the observance of these formalities--which\nsignify a great deal to the natives--that any two Nep\u0101lese may each\ncall themselves the friend of the other.\n\nIt so happened that my erstwhile inquisitor proved to be the official\nowner and Lama-Superior of the Great Tower above mentioned, who stood\nin the relationship of a \u2018friend\u2019 to Mr. Jibbaha\u1e0dur. It was most\nunexpected, but the discovery was none the less welcome to me, and I\nbesought him to take me, henceforth, under his care and protection.\nThus I came to be no longer a stranger and a solitary pilgrim, but a\nguest, a companion, to a high personage of Nep\u0101l. My newly acquired\nfriend, as I should call the Lama in our language, proposed that we\nshould start for Nep\u0101l the next morning. This proposal was agreeable to\nme, as was another that we should go afoot instead of on horse-back,\nso that we might the better enjoy each other\u2019s company, and perchance,\nalso, the grand scenery on the way. I say that all this was agreeable\nto me, because, in addition to the obvious benefit I was sure to derive\nfrom being in the company of these men, I entertained a secret hope\nthat I might learn a great deal, which would help me in executing the\nmain part of my adventures, yet to come.\n\nWhile our talk was progressing in this fashion, two servants of the\nLama\u2019s came in, running and all pale, with the unwelcome piece of news\nthat a thief had broken into their shed. This caused my callers to\ntake precipitate leave of me. I afterwards learned that the Lamas had\nhad three hundred and fifty rupees in cash, and some books and clothes,\nstolen between them. I was in luck on that occasion, for the owner of\nmy shed told me subsequently that the thief, who caused such a loss to\nthe Lamas, had been on the look-out for a chance to loot my lodging,\nand, as it happened, he finally made my newly made friends suffer for\nme; I felt exceedingly sorry for them.\n\nIn the meantime I learned that the gentleman Lama\u2019s name was Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\nVajra (Enlightened Diamond), and that the old priest, whose name was\nMayar, and who was full of jokes, was a Doctor of Divinity of the Debon\nmonastery in Lhasa.\n\nEarly on the 25th of January we started on our journey, and proceeded\ndue north across the plain in which Sagauli stands. The next day we\narrived at a place called Beelganji, where stood the first guarded gate\nof the Nep\u0101lese frontier. There I was given a pass, as for a Chinaman\nliving in Tibet. We passed the night of the following day in a village\nsituated a little way this side of the famous Dalai Jungle, which may\nbe regarded as an entrance to the great Him\u0101layas. On the 28th we\nproceeded past Simla, a village at the outer edge of the great jungle,\nand thence, straight across the jungle itself, which has a width of\nfull eight miles, until we came to a village on the bank of a mountain\nstream called Bichagori, where we took up our lodgings for the night.\nAbout ten o\u2019clock that night, while writing up my diary, I happened\nto look out of the window of my shanty. The moon in her pale splendor\nwas shining brightly over the great jungle, and there was something\nindescribably weird in the scene, whose silence was broken only by a\nrushing stream. Suddenly I then heard a detonation, tremendous in its\nvolume and depth, which, as I felt, almost shook the ground. In reply\nto my query, I was told by our innkeeper that the sound came from a\ntiger, which evidently had just finished a fine repast on its victim,\nand, having come to have a draught of river-water, could not help\ngiving vent to its sense of enjoyment. So an _uta_ came to me:\n\n The night sleeps still and calm,\n the moon shines bright,\n What ho!--so loud a roar\n the stillness breaks,\n Vibrating--ah! It is a tiger fierce!\n In ripples rough his roar terrific throws\n The surface even of the mountain stream.\n\n[Illustration: ON THE BANKS OF THE BICHAGORI RIVER.]\n\nFor two days more the road lay now through a dale on the bank of a\nriver, then across a deep forest, and over a mountain, until we reached\na stage station called Binbit. So far the road was up a slow, gradual\nincline, and horse-carriages and bullock-carts could be driven over it;\nbut now the ascent became so steep that it could be made only on foot,\nor in a mountain-palanquin. We went on foot, commencing our climb as\nearly as four o\u2019clock in the morning. After an ascent of something more\nthan three and a half miles, we came to a guarded gate named Tispance.\nHere was a custom-house and a fortress, garrisoned by quite a number of\nsoldiers, and we had to go through an examination. Thence we climbed\na peak called Tisgari, from the top of which I, for the first time,\nbeheld with wonder the sublime sight of the mighty Him\u0101layas, shining\nmajestically with their snow of ages. The grandeur of the scene was\nso utterly beyond imagination, that the memory of what I had seen at\nDarjeeling and Tiger Hill came back to me only as a faint vision. Down\nTisgari we came to Marku station, where we took lodging for the night.\n\nEarly on the 1st of February, we climbed up the peak C\u0323han\u1e0dra\nGiri, or Moon Peak, whose sides are covered with the flowers of\nthe rhododendron, the chief characteristic of the Him\u0101layan Range.\nThence I saw again the snow-covered range of Him\u0101laya, ever grand and\nmajestic. Just a little way down from the top of the peak, I saw,\nspread before me like a picture, K\u0101tm\u0101ndu the capital of Nep\u0101l and the\ncountry around. I saw also in that panorama two gilded towers rising\nconspicuously against the sky, and Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra told me that one\nof them was the tomb of K\u0101\u1e63yapa Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and the other that of \u1e62ikh\u012b\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. On coming down the steep slope of the hill, we were met by four\nor five men with two horses. They were men sent thither in advance to\nwait for the return of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra, and I was given one of the horses,\nwhile my host took the other. We were met by about thirty more men on\nentering a village, not far from the foot of the hill. The distance\nfrom Sagauli railway station to this spot is roughly one hundred and\ntwenty-five miles.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nI befriend Beggars.\n\n\nThe village that surrounds the great K\u0101\u1e63yapa tower is generally known\nby the name of Bo\u1e0d\u1e0dha. Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra, I found, was the Headman of\nthat village as well as the Superior of that mausoleum tower, which in\nTibetan is called Yambu Chorten Chenpo. Yambu is the general name by\nwhich K\u0101tm\u0101ndu is known in Tibet; and Chorten Chenpo means great tower.\nThe real name of the tower in full is, however, Ja Rung Kashol Chorten\nChenpo, which may be translated into: \u201cHave finished giving order to\nproceed with.\u201d The tower has an interesting history of its own, which\nexplains this strange name. It is said in this history that K\u0101\u1e63yapa was\na Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha that lived a long time before Sh\u0101kyamuni Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. After K\u0101\u1e63yapa\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s demise, a certain old woman, with her four sons, interred this\ngreat sage\u2019s remains at the spot over which the great mound now stands,\nthe latter having been built by the woman herself. Before starting on\nthe work of construction, she petitioned the King of the time, and\nobtained permission to \u201cproceed with\u201d building a tower. By the time\nthat, as the result of great sacrifices on the part of the woman and\nher four sons, the groundwork of the structure had been finished, those\nwho saw it were astonished at the greatness of the scale on which it\nwas undertaken. Especially was this the case with the high officials\nof the government and the rich men of the country, who all said that\nif such a poor old dame were to be allowed to complete building such a\nstupendous tower, they themselves would have to dedicate a temple as\ngreat as a mountain, and so they decided to ask the King to disallow\nthe further progress of the work. When the King was approached on the\nmatter his Majesty replied: \u201cI have finished giving the order to the\nwoman to proceed with the work. Kings must not eat their words, and I\ncannot undo my orders now.\u201d So the tower was allowed to be finished,\nand hence its unique name, \u201cJa Rung Kashol Chorten Chenpo.\u201d I rather\nthink, however, that the tower must have been built after the days of\nSh\u0101kyamuni Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, for the above description from Tibetan books is\ndifferent from the records in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d, which are more reliable than the\nTibetan.\n\nEvery year, between the middle of September and the middle of the\nfollowing February of the lunar calendar, crowds of visitors from\nTibet, Mongolia, China and Nep\u0101l come to this place to pay their\nrespects to the great temple. The reason why they choose the most\napparently unfavorable season for their travel thither is because they\nare liable to catch malarial fever if they come through the Him\u0101layan\npasses during the summer months. By far the greatest number of the\nvisitors are Tibetans, of whom, however, only a few are nobles and\ngrandees, the majority being impecunious pilgrims and beggars, who eke\nout their existence by a sort of nomadic life, passing their winter in\nthe neighborhood of the tower and going back to Tibet in summer.\n\nIn Nep\u0101l I had now arrived, and the reason of my presence there was,\nof course, to choose a route for my purpose, for there are many\nhighways and pathways running between that country and Tibet. My\npurpose was such that I could take nobody there into my confidence,\nnot even my kind and obliging host. For, to Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra I was a\nwell-qualified Chinaman, who was to go back to Lhasa by openly taking\none of the public roads, and go on thence to China. Besides, I knew\nthat the Lama was a Tibetan interpreter to His Highness the King of\nNep\u0101l, and that were I to divulge to him my secret, he was in duty\nbound to tell it to his royal master, who, it was plain, would not\nonly not lend himself to my venture, but would at once put an end to\nthe further progress of my journey. I may note here that the Nep\u0101lese\nfondly call Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra, Gya Lama, which means \u201cChinese Lama,\u201d\nfor he was a son born to a Chinese priest who married a Nep\u0101lese\nlady, after having become the Superior of the tower. My host\u2019s father\nbelonged to the old school, and enjoyed the privilege of marriage. It\nwas thus that Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra came to take a fancy, and show special\nfavors, to me, considering me as a countryman of his. Be that as it\nmay, there remained for me the necessity of discovering a secret path\nto Tibet. I was in luck again.\n\nIt occurred to me that the begging Tibetans, who go on pilgrimage\nin and out of their country, could not be in possession of the pass\nthat gave them open passage through the numerous frontier gates. I\nremembered also that no unprivileged person--even the natives--could\nobtain permission to pass through these gates, either way, unless he\nwould bribe the guards heavily, and it was plain that these homeless\nwanderers could not do this. Encouraged by these considerations, I\ntook to befriending the Tibetan mendicants, of whom there was then a\nlarge number hanging about the K\u0101\u1e63yapa Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha tower, and my liberality\nto them soon made me very popular among them. Demurring at first,\nthey became quite communicative afterwards, when they had found out,\nas I presume, that there was nothing to dread in me. I learned of\nmany secret passages, but none which I could consider safe for me.\nFor instance, they spoke of the Nyallam bye-path. By taking this\nclandestine route one may avoid the Kirong gate, but one is in danger\nof being challenged at a gate further in the interior. The Sharkongpo\npath, on the other hand, brings the traveller to the Tenri gate. So\non with other paths, and it appeared an impossibility to discover a\nroute which would enable a person to reach the capital of Tibet from\nthat of Nep\u0101l, without having to pass through some challenge gate. The\npass and bribery being beyond them, the native beggars and pilgrims\nhave one more resource left to them, and that is imploring a passage,\nwith prayer and supplication, when they come upon a challenge post, and\nthey generally succeed at the interior gates, I was told. It would be\ndifferent with me: there was every danger of my disguise being detected\nwhile pleading with the guards. My persistent efforts finally brought\nme, however, their reward. I ascertained that by taking a somewhat\nroundabout way I might reach Lhasa without encountering the perils of\nthese challenge gates. Ordinarily, one should take a north-east course\nafter leaving the Nep\u0101lese capital, in order to make a direct journey\nto Lhasa; but the one I have just referred to lay in the opposite\ndirection of north-west, through Lo, a border province of Nep\u0101l, thence\nacross Jangtang, the north plain (but really the west plain) of Tibet,\nand finally around the lake M\u0101nasarovara. This bye-route I made up my\nmind to take.\n\nSo far so good. But it would be courting suspicion to say that I chose\nthis particularly circuitous and dangerous route with no obvious reason\nfor it. Fortunately a good pretext was at hand for me. For I happened\nto think of the identity of the lake M\u0101nasarovara with the Anavatapta\nLake that often occurs in the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Texts. However divided the\nscholastic views are about this identity, it is popularly accepted,\nand that was enough for my purpose. The identity granted, it could\nbe argued that Mount Kail\u0101sa, by the side of the lake, was nature\u2019s\nMa\u1e47dala, sacred to the memory of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, which formed an important\nstation for Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist pilgrims. So one day I said to my host: \u201cHaving\ncome thus far, I should always regret a rare opportunity lost, were\nI to make a stork\u2019s journey from here to Lhasa, and thence to China.\nThe Chinese Text speaks of Mount Kail\u0101sa (Tib. Kang Rinpo Che) rising\nhigh on the shore of lake M\u0101nasarovara (Tib. Maphamyumtsho). I want to\nvisit that sacred mountain on my way home. So I should be very much\nobliged to you if you would kindly get men to carry my luggage for me.\u201d\nThe answer I got in reply was not encouraging, though sympathetic.\nGya Lama, in short, bade me give up my purpose, because, as he said,\nthe north-west plain was pathless and full of marauding robbers; it\nhad been his long-entertained desire to visit the sacred mountain\nhimself, but the difficulties mentioned had, so far, prevented him\nfrom carrying it out, and he would strongly advise me against my rash\ndecision; to venture a trip through that region, with only one or two\nservants, was like seeking death. My retort was that, it being one of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s teachings that \u201cborn into life, thou art destined to die,\u201d I\nwas not afraid of death; in fact, death might overtake me at any time,\neven while living comfortably under the Lama\u2019s care; so that I should\nconsider myself well repaid if I met death while on a pilgrimage to a\nholy place. Finding dissuasion useless with me, my host complimented me\non the firmness of my resolution, and took it upon himself to secure\nfor me reliable carriers. Then, after careful enquiries, he hired for\nme a pilgrim party, consisting of two men and an old woman, the latter\nof whom, in spite of her sixty years of age, was strong enough to brave\nthe hardships of an exceptionally difficult road. These people were\nfrom Kham, a country noted for its robbers, but I was assured of the\nperfect honesty and good intentions of the particular three I was to\nengage. As a mark of his special kindness, Gya Lama promised to let a\ntrustworthy man under him accompany me as far as a place called Tukje,\nto see that my two pilgrim servants served me faithfully.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nThe Sublime Himalaya.\n\n\nIt was in the beginning of the month of March, 1899, that, followed\nby a retinue of three men and one old dame, I bade farewell to my\nkind host and, seated on a snow-white pony, given me by my fatherly\nfriend, left the K\u0101\u1e63yapa Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha tower. I was not in good health that\nday, on account of fever and weakness, but I was obliged to start from\nK\u0101tm\u0101ndu, for it was very dangerous for me to stay there any longer,\nas I was quite a stranger to the Nep\u0101lese, and they might find out\nmy nationality, and stop me from proceeding further. So I took the\nassistance of the horse; and the good animal proved to be a splendid\nmountaineer, and carried me up steep ascents and down abrupt descents\nin perfect safety. We directed our course towards the north-west,\nthrough the British Residency, the most beautiful and clean quarter\nin K\u0101tm\u0101ndu, and through Nagar-yon, a hill famous for a cave where\nN\u0101g\u0101rjuna, a great Bo\u1e0dhi-Sa\u1e6d\u1e6dva, used to meditate. We arrived at a\nvillage called Jittle-Pedee in the evening, and passed the night under\nthe eaves of a shop-keeper\u2019s house.\n\n[Illustration: NAGARJUNA\u2019S CAVE OF MEDITATION IN NEPAL.]\n\nThe present Ruler of Nep\u0101l is a Hin\u1e0d\u016b, and keeps the caste system as\nrigidly as it is kept in India, where the people belonging to that\nreligion do not allow a foreigner to enter their rooms, or to eat\nwith them. Therefore we were obliged to pass the night outside a\nhouse, or under a rock, or in the forests. Here I must not omit some\ninteresting things about my travels among the Him\u0101layan mountains\nfrom K\u0101tm\u0101ndu to the lake M\u0101nasarovara through Nep\u0101l. The country\nbeing extra-territorial, I believe no bold European or American had\ntrodden this precipitous path before me; hence I would like to mention\neverything connected therewith, but as my object is Tibet, I cannot\nspend much space on the inner Him\u0101layas of Nep\u0101l. I shall only mention\nbriefly what will be considered interesting by my readers in general.\n\nOn the third day of our departure from K\u0101tm\u0101ndu, we travelled for more\nthan forty miles, and arrived at a small trading town called Chunge,\nsituated on the west bank of the Kirong river (Tirsuli Gandak). Just\nnorth of the town, on the bank of that river there is a pretty forest\nin which we slept well through the night, in a lonely spot, lulled\nby the rolling sounds of the mountain-rivers\u2019 grand music. Early on\nthe following morning we started on the north-western path leading to\nPokhra, although there is a short way, only five days\u2019 journey from\nthe place to Kirong in Tibet; but there the officers of the frontier\nguard the passes against all strangers. In three days\u2019 journey after\nthis we made about forty miles, passed the villages Bareng-Bareng and\nSareng, and, crossing the river Agu, we arrived at a famous town,\nAlgata. I have not met with any maps which mention this name. The town\nis situated on the west bank of the river which the natives called\nBuri-Ga\u1e45g\u0101 (Buria Gandak); this river is crossed by an iron hanging\nbridge. The town itself is important on account of its trade with\nTibet; I saw more than fifty people from Tibet and from Nishang--a\nnorthern frontier province of Nep\u0101l. During the nine days after leaving\nAlgata we passed many valleys, rocky mountains, streams, hill pastures,\nforests full of rhododendrons, and deep forests of fir, oak and pine,\nwith the peaks of the snowy range in view. We also passed several\nvillages--Nimareshi, Daramhaje, Rutel, Manicheka and S\u0101tmuni.\n\nWe made a distance of something less than one hundred miles, and then\nreached a town called Pokhra. Pokhra looked like a town of villas at\nhome, the site being chosen for the beauty of its natural scenery.\nBamboo-covered ravines, flower-roofed heights, rich in green foliage,\npicturesque because of a rushing and winding stream, itself set in\nthe midst of high mountains--such were the characteristic features\nof Pokhra. The stream I speak of has its source in the Machipusa\n(fish-tail) peak, and its waters are milky white, probably on account\nof their carrying in them particles of mountain clay. In all my\ntravels in the Him\u0101layas I saw no scenery so enchanting as that which\nenraptured me at Pokhra. Another thing notable about that place was\nthat it was the cheapest spot in Nep\u0101l for all kinds of commodities.\nTwenty-five _sens_ bought, for instance, four _sho_ of rice there;\nwhile, in other places, that amount would buy only two _sho_ and a half\nat the most. At Pokhra I made a rather long stay of six days, as I had\nto have a tent made before I proceeded further, and twenty-five rupees\nbought for me one made to order, and large enough for cooking inside\nalso.\n\nAfter leaving Pokhra we turned due north, and the ascent became\nvery steep, so steep at places that I had to get off my horse, send\nthe animal by a round-about way through the valleys, and myself go\nafoot for half-a-day. On one occasion I was proceeding on horseback\non a narrow path that ran along a very high precipice, when, deeply\nengrossed as I was in thought about the near future, I found myself\nall of a sudden thrown down to the ground, before I had had time to\nfree myself from a branch of a tree, which had caught me by the neck\nand caused the disaster, assisted by the horse\u2019s movement onward. Very\nfortunately my horse came to a halt just then, and as I never let go\nmy hold of the bridle, I narrowly escaped from rolling a thousand\nfathoms down a craggy precipice, to reach the bottom a mangled carcass!\nRealising the danger I was in, I hastily tried to pick myself up, but\nin vain; for evidently I had struck my hip very hard in my fall, and\ncould not raise myself up. Consequently I had to requisition the backs\nof my two servants in turn, thus making an ascent of about a mile to\nthe top of the mountains we were crossing over. On reaching the top, I\nfound the pain too great to permit the continuance of my journey, and\nI camped there for two days, during which time my diligent application\nof some camphor tincture, which I had with me, to the injured parts,\ngradually relieved me of my suffering. On resuming our journey, now\ndown the mountain, I could not help being profoundly impressed with\nthe power of impenetrable solitude, for the path lay through a valley\nwhere nature, in her wildest seclusion, reigned supreme. My sense of\nloneliness was heightened by the note of the cuckoo, which now and then\nbroke the oppressive silence, and an _uta_ then came to me thus:\n\n In tortuous paths my lonely way now lies\n Among rough mountain tracks and scenes all wild;\n The rocks and giant trees in silence stand,\n With naught to break the silent depths around\n Except the solitary cuckoo\u2019s notes,\n That makes the awful silence more profound.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nDangers Ahead.\n\n\nSo the days passed and with these days I came to know more or less of\nthe different characteristics of my two servants; I found one to be a\nrather impatient fellow, but prompt of decision, and the other a quiet\nman with some education, of which he was not a little proud. The latter\nseemed occasionally to hurt the feelings of the impatient one, and more\nthan once collisions had already occurred between the two. As for the\nold woman pilgrim, she was a good honest soul, and that was all there\nwas about her, except that she seemed to know all about the two men. I\ntook pains to be strictly impartial in all my dealings with the three,\nthough her age entitled the old dame to special consideration on my\npart, and she had it in full when I thought fit. It came to pass that,\napparently because of this treatment, the old woman came to think a\ngreat deal of me. I had noticed in her manner something indicating that\nshe wished to speak to me, but was afraid to do so in the presence of\nher two companions; so one morning I caused her to go a considerable\nway ahead of us, and I started with my servants afterwards. Burdened\nwith my luggage as the men were, and riding on a horse as I was, it\nwas only natural that I should soon leave them lagging far behind, and\novertake the old woman. The good soul turned furtively back, and asked\nif the two men were a long distance behind. I told her that they must\nbe at least five miles behind. Then she made a revelation to me, and it\nwas not of a very reassuring kind; for according to her I was doomed to\nbe killed. In short she told me that the impatient fellow was a robber\nand murderer, having committed many crimes while at home in Kham, and\nthat, though the quiet one was not so bad a man, he had yet killed a\nfellow-creature in a quarrel. At all events neither would think twice\nbefore taking a man\u2019s life. The old dame thought it certain that they,\nor at least the impatient one, would pounce upon me as soon as we\nreached the north-west plains of Tibet, and rob me of all my money and\neffects, as well as of my life! Thereupon I said: \u201cThat could not be;\nfor they are both men of great honesty and uprightness.\u201d She returned:\n\u201cKonjogsum (Holy Trinity)! send to me death, if I tell a lie!\u201d These\nare words of adjuration to which Tibetans attach great importance, and\nI could not persuade myself to regard my informant\u2019s warning as a mere\nstring of falsehoods. So another trouble ahead was added to my burdened\nmind.\n\nAfter travelling twelve days more and only making a distance of about\none hundred miles, we reached a Him\u0101layan village called Tukje, where\nthen lived the local Governor, named Harkaman Suppa. Through Gya Lama\u2019s\nintroduction I enjoyed the privilege of being received as a guest by\nthis Governor. Two days after my arrival there the special man whom\nGya Lama through his thoughtful kindness, as already told, had sent to\naccompany me so far, took leave of me, apparently well satisfied that\nmy two servants were and would be all right. But they were far from\nbeing all right, and I felt that I would never be able to accomplish\nmy journey unless I got rid of them. While I was worrying myself\nwith these thoughts, I came across information about the route that\nlay before me that proved to me another source of discouragement. In\neffect, it was that three months before the Tibetan Government had\ndetailed five soldiers to guard, against all foreigners and any strange\nperson, the road in my route which lay through the State of Lo; the\nsame precaution had been taken on all the other bye-ways and pathways\nleading into Tibet, however secluded and narrow, even though narrow\nenough for just one person to pass. And I had reason to believe that\nthis information was well founded; so that it became inevitable that I\nshould give up my idea of entering Tibet by smuggling myself into its\nnorth-western plain. But there is ebb and flow even in troubles.\n\nOne evening, while still staying at the Governor\u2019s, my servants, having\nregaled themselves with the local drinks even to boisterousness, began\na-quarrelling, which largely consisted of exposing each other. In\nbrief, each accused the other of a somewhat cheerless intention of\nmaking short work of me when opportunity should arrive, with the upshot\nthat they both came to me, each with a demand that he would like to be\ndischarged if the other were to continue in my service. I could not\nhave had a better opportunity, and I there and then dismissed both of\nthem, after having paid them off rather liberally. I also gave some\nmoney with some little present in kind to the old woman, and bade her\ngo with the men. And thus I got rid of an imminent danger to my life.\nBut there remained the greater problem of what to do next, to retrace\nmy steps back to K\u0101tm\u0101ndu being out of the question, while the route I\nhad chosen for myself had become unavailable.\n\nIt happened that, enjoying the Governor\u2019s hospitality like myself, was\na Mongolian scholar named Serab Gyaltsan, who was acting as a doctor\nof medicine, besides giving lessons in religious Texts to the local\npriests. I had not been long at Governor Harkaman\u2019s before I became\nacquainted with this person, and soon found him to be a man possessed\nof profound knowledge of not only Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism but also of literary\nsubjects. Whatever were the reasons on my part, he and I after a while\ncame to an agreement for the exchange of knowledge, he instructing me\nin Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and literature and I teaching him Chinese Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\nThis understanding arrived at, we took leave of Tukje and set out for\nTsarang in the province of Lo, where the Mongolian scholar had his\nhome. On our way thither, we visited the famous Chumik Gyatsa. Chumik\nGyatsa means a hundred fountains, and is the Muku\u1e6din\u0101\u1e6dh of Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d,\nwhich Hin\u1e0d\u016bs as well as Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists regard as a place of great sanctity.\nThe place apparently obtained the name it bears from the numberless\nsprings abounding thereabout, and a spot of particular fame there was\ncalled Sala Mebar, Chula Mebar, Dola Mebar, which means burning in\nearth, burning in water, burning in rock. On seeing the spot I found\nthis mystery to be nothing more than the fancy of the ignorant natives,\nwho saw a burning jet of natural gas escaping from a crevice in a slab\nof rock, that formed a lid, so to say, over and close to the surface of\na beautiful crystal-like fountain, which was about one by two feet in\nsize, so that its prolonged flame looked, at the first glance, as if it\nwere crawling over the water. I noticed, however, that the mountains\nround about bore ample evidences of old volcanic eruptions, at one time\nor another, an extinct crater now changed to a pond, lava-rocks, and so\non, being all present. We passed a night encamped on the bank of the\nriver K\u0101l\u012bga\u1e45g\u0101, that flows at the foot of the mountain which we had\njust descended, after leaving the \u2018hundred fountains\u2019 behind us. The\nfollowing morning we had a disastrous time for three hours in trying to\ncross a stream. In the first place I made a blunder in attempting to\nwade across the stream on my horse, which, with my weight on his back\nand treacherous mud-beds under his feet, found himself in a perilous\ncondition as soon as he had walked a few steps into the stream. I,\nof course, got off him at once and climbed upon the bank behind me.\nI then set about throwing into the river, near where the horse was,\nstones, rocks, and broken branches of trees that I found lying about,\nin order to improvise there a passable footway for myself as well as\nfor the Mongolian scholar and his animal. Stones flying and muddy water\nsplashing around him scared my horse, and, with a wild effort, he\nstruggled out and landed himself on the opposite bank; but my friend\u2019s\npony remained immovable till we had managed to build a way across for\nourselves and pulled him after us. That day we stopped in a village\ncalled Samar (red clay). On the next we again climbed half-way up a\nmountain, and proceeded due north along a path that lay midway between\nthe top and bottom of its slope, that is to say, toward the north of\nDhavalagiri.\n\n[Illustration: A HORSE IN DIFFICULTIES.]\n\nIn the mountains below Tukje I found common pines and cedars growing in\nfair abundance, but now these became very rare, the obtusa species of\npine taking their place, and even these attaining a height of not more\nthan twenty feet at the most, the ground being otherwise covered with\nshrubby growths. Riding on the snow, which was still on the mountain,\nwe had made a distance of about fifteen miles before we reached a\nhamlet named Kirung, where I found willow trees growing luxuriantly.\nThe inhabitants hereabout were all Tibetans, and I saw fluttering on\nevery house-top a white flag with certain religious texts printed on\nit. These flags are to be seen everywhere in the interior of Tibet,\nas I afterwards found, and that even where the people are living in\ntents. Leaving the village, we rode on northwards, over snow, through\nan obtusa-pine forest, till the night fell and the moon rose, when I\nagain heard a cuckoo. Then I had an _uta_:\n\n While marching onwards now the night o\u2019ertakes\n The pilgrim bold, the snowy floor his bed;\n The moon-lit sky his canopy will be,\n His lullaby, the cuckoo\u2019s notes.\n\nThat night we put up in an inn in a hamlet called Kimiyi (fountain\nof fortune), that nestles in the snow-covered mountains. Ten miles\non the following day brought us within sight of Tsarang, which, on\nreaching, I found to be a little town built on a plain which was about\neleven miles from east to west, and three miles or more from north to\nsouth, enclosed by walls of snow-covered mountains. More accurately,\nthe plain has to its west a snow-capped mountain, whence it extends\nin a very slow incline towards the east, until it breaks off into a\nvalley. From Tsarang to the north-west plain of Tibet is a day\u2019s trip,\nand the physical features of these regions are practically of the\nsame character, devoid of large trees and desolate in the extreme. It\nwas in the middle of May that I arrived in Tsarang, and I was told\nthat the farmers had just finished sowing wheat. Skirting the town of\nTsarang runs a stream, which has its rise in the mountain that forms\nthe western wall of the plain, and on an elevated part of the town\nstands a castled palace, in which lives the King of the Lo State.\nBefore the G\u016brkha tribe had subjugated Nep\u0101l, Lo was an independent\nState. At a little distance, opposite to the royal castle, is a temple\nof considerable size, belonging to the Kargyu-pa sect of the old school\nof Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. The temple is a square structure of Tibetan style,\nbuilt of stone and painted red, and adjoining it is a stone building\npainted white, which forms a dormitory for the priests of the temple.\nOn a piece of level land to the west of the palace and the temple a\ngroup of about sixty large and small houses constitutes the town of\nTsarang.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nBeautiful Tsarang and Dirty Tsarangese.\n\n\nAt the foot of the mountain out of which we had emerged, and where the\nplain began, we came upon a stone-turreted gate about twenty-four feet\nin height. Standing by itself and entirely unprotected, the gate was\nnot intended, as I was told, for any military purpose; but it was used\nfor housing Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas and other deities that would keep guard against the\ninvasion of the locality by evil genii. About a mile and a half to the\nrear of the gate stood the town of Tsarang, at the entrance of which we\nwere met by fourteen or fifteen men, who, as it appeared, anticipated\nour arrival. Serab Gyaltsan led me to the house of the Chief of the\ntown, which was of considerable size. As in Tibet so in Tsarang, all\nwell-to-do people generally have a separate chapel in their residence.\nWhen they have a visitor of rank and social position, they, out of\nrespect, put him up in their chapel, and a person entitled to such\ndistinction in these localities is generally a Lama. So it was that, as\na Chinese Lama, I was given that privilege in the Chief\u2019s chapel, which\nI found to be a typical one of its kind, with its image-crowned altar,\na special depository for religious Texts, etc., and altogether much\nsuperior in its general finish and furnishings to the family dwelling.\nI may remark that these folk generally keep a good store of the Texts,\nnot because they make use of them themselves, but more as a matter of\nform, the form showing their deep reverence for their religion; but it\nis apparently beyond their ken that volumes of Texts are but so many\nsheets of waste paper, if their possessors do not understand and live\nby them.\n\nBy the side of the chapel in which I was installed there was another\nsmall building, in which lived Serab Gyaltsan. My host was a widower,\nquiet and amiable, and living with two grown-up daughters, about\ntwenty-three and eighteen years of age respectively, who between them\nmanaged the household and the family business, employing under them a\nnumber of servants, farm-hands and cattlemen. I could not but admire\nthe two young women for the creditable manner in which they attended\nto their business. I also observed that the chief amusement of all the\nvillagers consisted in spending evenings in dances and comic songs,\nexcept when they went to a sort of semi-religious meeting presided\nover by a Lama Ma\u1e47i, who would narrate the stories of ancient priests\nof great renown, or the biographies of the more famous monarchs of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist States, to the great delight of his audience.\n\nThe days I spent in Tsarang were, in a sense, the days of my tutelage\nin the art of living amidst filth and filthy habits. In point of\nuncleanliness, Tibetans stand very high among the inhabitants of the\nearth, but I think the natives of Tsarang go still higher in this\nrespect. In Tibet people wash themselves occasionally, but they almost\nnever do so in Tsarang. In the course of the twelve months that I\nlived there, I only twice saw a person wash himself, the washing being\nconfined even then to the face and neck. Such being the case, the\nnative\u2019s skin all over the body has on it a peculiarly repulsive shine\nof polished dirt, so to say. I often noticed women, whose complexion\nwould have appeared quite fair if only an occasional scrubbing were\nadministered to the skin; but what can they do when it is a custom, as\nit is among them, to laugh at persons who wash their faces nice and\nclean, and to deride them as being very dirty in their habits? Not only\nin their appearance, but in all that they do, the natives seem to have\nabsolutely no idea of cleanliness. To say that they think nothing of\nmaking a cup of tea for you with the same fingers with which they have\njust blown their nose, is to give only a very mild instance of their\nfilthiness, and I have no courage to dwell here on their many other\ndoings, which are altogether beyond imagination for those who have not\nseen them done, and are too loathsome, even unto sickening, to recall\nto mind. As it was, my life among these slovenly people did one good\nthing for me, in that it thoroughly prepared me for what I had to\nendure in Tibet.\n\nMy work with Serab Gyaltsan consisted in this: a lecture on Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism\nfor three solid hours in the morning, which required much preparation,\nand exercises in Tibetan rhetoric and penmanship for another three\nhours in the afternoon, which was, however, of a very easy nature, and\ngave me occasion to engage in discussions with my teacher.\n\nThere is in existence to this day in Tibet a sect of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists which\nbelieves in a teaching originated by a priest whose name may be\ntranslated into \u201cborn of the lotus flower\u201d (Padma Sambhava) or Padma\nChungne in Tibetan, and whom they regard as their savior and as Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\nincarnate. His teaching is a sort of parody on Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism proper, and\nan attempt to sanctify the sexual relations of humankind, explaining\nand interpreting all the important passages and tenets in the sacred\nText from a sensual standpoint. Indeed, Padma\u2019s own life was simply\nhis teachings translated into actual practice, for he lived with eight\nwomen whom he called his wives, drank intoxicants to his heart\u2019s\ncontent, and fed freely on animal food. Now in the Tibetan rhetoric\nin which I took lessons under Serab Gyaltsan I found this lewd and\ndetestable teaching largely incorporated, and it was on this account\nthat hot disputes not unfrequently arose between my instructor and\nmyself. At times I felt sorry, as I feel sorry now, for my Serab,\nbecause, from what I was able to gather, he is one of those on whom\n(as the result of twenty years\u2019 study, maintaining well the while his\nundefiled priesthood) was conferred the title of Doctor by the great\nmonastery of Sera, but who, because of having afterwards yielded to\nfeminine temptation, lost his qualification to go back to Mongolia as\na respectable Lama, while out of shame it became impossible for him to\ncontinue to live in Lhasa, so that he was compelled to pass his life in\nobscure seclusion. I felt sorry for him all the more, because I found\nhim to be a profound and widely-read scholar, who could have risen in\nlife but for his carnal weakness. Another thing I noticed about him\nto my pain was that he very easily became angry, like all the Mongols\nI came across, but, like them also, he was very quick in becoming\nreconciled.\n\nI said I had disputes with my Serab. It was on one of these occasions\nthat I differed from him with regard to the real merits of a certain\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist saint. Thereupon, flying into a terrible rage, he caught hold\nof my clothes near my throat with one hand, and, with the other picking\nup a bar belonging to a table that stood between us, was about to\nvisit me with a blow. The situation was very humorous, and I broke out\ninto loud laughter, saying the next moment that I had always thought\na little better of him than to suppose that he was capable of such\nan exhibition as he was thus making of himself, in defiance of the\nteachings of the saint he revered so much. This took him aback, but he\ndid not let go his grasp. I saw him grind his teeth, and fire glared\nin his eyes; he then removed his grasp and withdrew as if too wroth to\nbe near me. But reconciliation followed. So time passed on, I spending\nseven to nine hours a day in preparation, besides the six hours of\nthe regular daily lessons. Out of the twenty-four hours, thirteen to\nfifteen were thus taken up for purposes of study every day, with the\nexception of Sundays, my other occupation being to take one meal a day\nwith some tea, and to go out for a walk. Sundays I invariably spent in\nmountaineering of a somewhat unusual character. I had an idea that I\nshould never be able to compass the arduous journey before me, toiling\non in a rare atmosphere through trackless wildernesses at great heights\nwhile burdened with heavy luggage on my back, unless I had a thorough\ntraining beforehand for the purpose. Guided by these thoughts, I made\na point of carrying on my back a heavy load of stones when making my\nSunday climb, and of making the ascents with all possible speed. I\nwas in excellent health then, and I felt that the mountaineering made\nit still better, especially with regard to my lungs. Such was the\nlife I led for awhile, and I shortly became quite a famous man in the\nlocality. It was in this way.\n\nThe natives hereabouts are merely, it may be said, creatures of animal\ninstincts. True, they engage in agricultural work to some extent, which\nkeeps them occupied during the summer months, but at the other seasons\nthey think of nothing but eating, drinking and sleeping, their minds\nbeing otherwise filled with thoughts pertaining to sensual love. They\noccasionally spend their evening in listening to a Lama Ma\u1e47i preaching\nor lecturing, but only occasionally. They change their clothing but\nonce a year, casting off the old for the new; but if any of them is\nbrave enough to wear the same suit for two years, that person is made\nan object of high praise. And as they never wash their wearing apparel,\nit is always shining with grease and dirt. Indifferent as they are\nto their appearance, they are very painstaking in preparing food, as\nalso in making their sleep comfortable. But their ruling passion is\nthat of carnal love, and that applies to all ages, from the young to\nthe very old. But as human beings they are subject to illness, and\nlike all uncivilised people they are intensely superstitious. To them\na Lama is omnipotent, for they believe that he can cure diseases and\ndivine all future events. So it came to pass that the Chinese Lama--I\nmyself--became an object of great esteem and reverence among them. For\nit was not long before my presence in Tsarang became known among the\ninhabitants, and my doings in the mountain on Sundays began to attract\ntheir attention. Especially my altercations with Serab Gyaltsan, which\nwere often loud enough to be heard outside, furnished them with no\nend of material for gossip, while the fact that the medicines I gave\naway at their pressing request occasionally proved of good effect\ncontributed greatly to my fame. I knew not of these things myself at\nfirst, but heard of them from my host\u2019s daughters, who frequently\ncalled to favor me with tea and sweets, when they would inform me of\nwhat people were saying of me. The most ridiculous of all was their\ninterpretation of the quarrels between Serab and myself; they made out\nthat these disputes originated in Serab\u2019s objecting to my giving away,\nto the poor, things sent to me as presents, instead of giving them to\n_him_, or to my giving some cash to beggars! Idle tales as these were,\nthey seemed to find ready ears among the natives, who looked on me as\na being of a higher order.\n\n[Illustration: TSARANGESE VILLAGE GIRLS.]\n\nWhile treating of Tsarang, I may dwell a little on the natural beauties\nof that place. Tsarang has but two seasons, namely, summer and winter,\nand many are the natives that do not know even the names of the other\nseasons. In summer, simple as is the contrast between the verdant\nfields of luxuriant wheat, interspersed with patches of white and\npink buck-wheat, and the majestic peaks that keep guard over the\nplain and look ever grand in their pure white robes of perennial snow,\nthe combination makes a striking picture. Throw into the picture a\nbuoyant army of butterflies, that flutter up and down, keeping time,\nas it were, to the stirring melody of sky-larks, which is now and then\nsoftened by the clear notes of a cuckoo, while the fields below are\nresonant with the rustic melodies of joyous damsels, and the _tout\nensemble_ becomes at once as enchanting as it is archaic; and this is\nthe picture of Tsarang in summer, when the day is bright and warm. But\nmore sublimely spectacular is the view on its winter\u2019s eve. The moment\nthe sun begins to descend behind the snow-covered mountains that rise\nabout ten miles to the west of the town, the equally snow-robed peaks\nthat tower above the eastern range become luminous masses of coral-red,\nas the last rays of the sinking sun strike them. The ruby color\ngradually changes into a golden-yellow, but that only for a moment,\nand it fades away to reveal huge pillars of silver-white, shining out\nmajestically against the cloudless clear blue sky. The scene once more\nchanges as the dusk deepens, burying the peaks in faint uncertainty,\nand the moon in her glory rises slowly from behind them, to spread\nagain an indescribable lustre of cold--if coldness has a color of its\nown--over the mountain tops, which now look like a vision of celestial\nseas hung in mid-air.\n\nBut Tsarang has its horrors as well as its charms, as when a snow\nstorm rages. The wind is often so strong that it blows away the tilled\nsurface of a farm, and in time changes it into a barren field of sand,\nwhile the snow comes down in such abundance that it drifts itself into\nhuge mountains here and there on the plain. The cold is, of course,\nintense on such occasions and nobody dares to go out. But the scene\non a moonlight night after a blizzard is worth seeing. The sky is\nfilled with clouds of dusty particles of snow, moving ever onward like\nphantom armies, now thickening into ominous darkness and then thinning\ninto vapory transparency, through which one sees struggling, the lustre\nof the grey steely moon. No scene so weirdly harrowing can be seen\nanywhere else.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nFame and Temptation.\n\n\nSince I had arrived in Tsarang early in May, 1899, nearly eight months\nhad sped by, and I found myself on the threshold of a New Year, whose\nadvent I observed with my usual ceremony of reading the Sacred Text,\nand praying for the health and prosperity of my Sovereign and his\nfamily, and the glory of Japan. The first day of the year 1900 filled\nme with more than usual emotion. For was I not then thousands of miles\naway from home, and was it not the second New Year\u2019s Day which I had\nspent on the heights of the Him\u0101layas? Yet I was hale and hearty, both\nin mind and body, and ready to resume my journey, the end of which the\nfuture alone could reveal.\n\nIn order to give vent to my feelings of gratitude, not unmixed with\nhope and fear, all deeply impressive, I ended the day by entertaining\nthe villagers of Tsarang, having previously provided for them a full\nand liberal store of such viands and delicacies as were considered to\nbe most rare and sumptuous. I have already described how I had been\ngaining fame and popularity among the villagers, my ascetic conduct\nin the midst of unbridled licentiousness causing them to respect me,\nand my generosity in the matter of medicines, of which I still had a\nfairly large stock with me, making me much sought after by them; and\nnow, through my New Year\u2019s treat, I seemed to have reached a pinnacle\nof glory. For from that time onward I gradually perceived that traps\nwere being set for me, so that I might be tied down to Tsarang for\nlife. The arch-spirit in this conspiracy was my own instructor Serab,\nwho insisted that I should marry the youngest of my host\u2019s daughters,\nor rather who brought all his ingenuity to bear upon assisting her\nto make a captive of my heart and person. Fortunately my faith proved\nstronger than temptations, and enabled me to remain true to the\nteachings of the Blessed One. Had I yielded then, Tsarang would have\nhad to-day one more dirt-covered and grease-shining priest among its\napathetic inhabitants, and that would have been all.\n\nBut, things having come to the pass which I have described, it became\nurgent that I should make haste in discovering some secret passage\ninto Tibet. But it was as dangerous for me in Tsarang as it had been\nin K\u0101tm\u0101ndu to disclose my real intentions, and whatever discovery I\nmight make for my own purposes, I had to make it in some indirect and\nroundabout way. After having once more racked my brains, I finally hit\nupon the plan of working upon the weaknesses of the local people. The\nTibetan Government had began to levy customs duties even on personal\nvaluables. It was a most outrageous act; supposing one wanted to do\ntrade with the inhabitants of the north-west plain of Tibet, and to\ntake thither a stock of coral ornaments, or some useful knick-knacks\nimported from Europe, how could one avoid being unjustly set upon and\nrobbed of the best part of one\u2019s would-be profit, on first setting\nfoot upon Tibetan soil? Ah! there must be ways and bye-ways by\nwhich to accomplish this, and to be absolutely safe from guards and\nsentinels! Surely the plains might be reached, if one did not mind\nthree days of hard trudging over the trackless snow of the Him\u0101layan\nRange, to the north of the Dhavalagiri peak, and thence to Thorpo?\nHaving once got the villagers into the right humor, in some such way,\nit was not necessarily a very hazardous job to keep on tapping them\nfor information. On the other side of that mountain yonder, they\nwould volunteer to tell me, there was a river which might be forded\nat such and such a point, but which was dangerously treacherous at\nothers; or, that if not very cautious, one might die a victim to the\nsnow-leopard, while crossing over this or that mountain. All these\nbits of information, and hosts of others, were carefully noted down,\nand a synthetic study of these scraps finally convinced me that the\nroute I should choose was the one _vi\u00e2_ Thorpo; and so I decided. This\nmeant that I had to retrace my steps almost as far back as Tukje, or\nmore accurately to Malba, a village in the immediate neighborhood of\nTukje. Nor was this retreat without some advantages in itself, for\nit would have only been to court suspicion and to run unnecessary\nrisks for me to strike off into pathless wilds in full view of the\nTsarang villagers, who were sure to come out in hordes to see me off\non my departure, not only out of respect for my person, but also\nfrom curiosity to know whither I was bound after my lengthened stay\namongst them. The route decided upon, I could not however yet start\non my journey, because the season was then against me, the peaks and\ndefiles on my way being passable only during the months of June, July\nand August. The mountains were not, of course, entirely free from snow\neven during those three months, but for those thirteen weeks or so the\ntraverser would, as I was told, be secure as a rule from being frozen\nto death. And therefore I bided my time.\n\nTo go back a little in my story, there came to Tsarang one Adam\nNaring, the Chief of the village of Malba, whither I had to retrace my\nfootsteps. That was in October, 1899. Naring owned a yak ranch on the\nnorth-west plains of Tibet, and he was openly privileged to have free\naccess thereto over the \u201cKing\u2019s highway\u201d. It was on his way back from\none of his periodic visits thither that he stopped at Tsarang, and, as\nhe put up at my host\u2019s, I was introduced to him. He had in his chapel,\nas he told me then, a set of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Texts which he had brought home\nfrom Tibet, and he was very anxious that I should go with him to his\nhouse and read them over for the benefit of himself and his family. The\ninvitation was as unexpected as it was opportune, and I accepted it.\nThat was in October, 1899, as I have just said, and if my acceptance\nof Naring\u2019s invitation had no definite motive at the time, it stood me\nin good stead afterwards. In the meantime, however, Naring had gone to\nIndia on business, and it was not till March, 1900, that I had tidings\nof his return to Malba. On the 10th of that month I bade good-bye to\nTsarang and its simple inhabitants.\n\nMy stay in Tsarang was not entirely devoid of results; for while there\nI succeeded in persuading about fifteen persons to give up the use of\nintoxicants, and some thirty others to abandon the habit of chewing\ntobacco. These were all persons who had at one time or another received\nmedical treatment from me, and whom I persuaded to give pledges of\nabstinence as the price they were to pay for my medicine.\n\nNearly a year\u2019s stay in Tsarang had made me acquainted practically\nwith its entire population, and, on my departure, all these people\nfavored me with farewell presents of buckwheat flour, bread, maru,\nbutter, fried peaches--all in various quantities--while some gave\nme kata and silver coins. At three in the afternoon of that 10th of\nMarch I left my residence on horse-back, with my volumes of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nTexts and other baggage loaded on two pack-ponies. The books I have\njust referred to were given to me by one Nyendak, Lama-Superior of the\nprincipal Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist temple of Tsarang, in exchange for my white horse,\nwhich had proved such a faithful animal on my journey from Nep\u0101l, and\nto which the priest had taken a great fancy. The books were chiefly\nin manuscript, penned by a Sakya Pa\u1e47di\u1e6d, and altogether were worth at\nleast 600 rupees.\n\nOn reaching the outskirts of the village, I found about one hundred\npersons waiting for me, and to each of these I gave the \u2018double-handed\nblessing\u2019. The parting was not easy, and time sped on. It was now\nfive o\u2019clock, and I left my well-wishers in tears behind me. Reaching\nthe village gate, by which I had come in some eleven months before,\nI turned round to take a last look at Tsarang, and prayed in silence\nfor the safety of the villagers and their ever-increasing faith in\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. Before the darkness set in I arrived at Kimiyi, and there\nput up for the night. The next day\u2019s journey brought me back to Tsuk,\na village on the K\u0101l\u012bga\u1e45g\u0101, where I spent the evening in preaching\nat the request of the inhabitants. At my departure the following\nmorning about twenty people came forward and asked me to give them the\n\u2018hand-blessing,\u2019 which they obtained with perfect willingness on my\npart. My instructor, Serab Gyaltsan, had left Tsarang a little time\nprevious to my departure, but I had the good fortune to come upon him\nat Tsuk, and to have an opportunity of thanking him for what I owed\nhim as a pupil of nearly a year\u2019s standing before I bade him a most\nheartfelt farewell.\n\nThe close of the third day after leaving Tsarang brought me to the\nmountain-village of Malba and to the residence of Adam Naring, who\nhappened, however, to be away from his home just then. But the village\nChief\u2019s father, Sonam Norbu by name, who probably had heard of me from\nhis son, was there to welcome me, and I was given the freedom of the\nfamily chapel, which consisted of two neatly furnished apartments,\nthe innermost of which contained a fine set of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha images, as\nwell as the Tibetan edition of the Sacred Text and other volumes of\necclesiastical writings, while the windows of the front room commanded\na charming view of a peach orchard. I may note here that the altitude\nof Malba being much lower than that of Tsarang, the soil in the former\nplace yields two different crops in the year, wheat coming first and\nthen buckwheat. Adam Naring owned a fine tract of land for these\ncrops. Five or six hundred yards beyond his residence was the K\u0101l\u012bga\u1e45g\u0101\nriver, gliding serenely along with a fresh green wall of small\npine-trees to set off its waters. Towering behind and above the emerald\ngrove stood a range of snow-capped peaks, the _tout ensemble_ making a\nview delightful for its primitive joys and natural beauty.\n\nMy old friend expressed his desire that I should make my stay\nindefinitely long, so that he might have the benefit of my reading for\nhim the whole of the Sacred Texts; but I could only encourage him with\nan ambiguous reply, as I had come to Malba only to wait for the time\nwhen the snow-covered mountains should become passable. In the meantime\nI spent my days in reading, and making extracts from the Sacred Texts,\nand in so doing I could not help often recalling, with a deep sense of\ngratitude, the six hours a day which for nearly one year I had devoted\nto my study of Tibetan, under the rigid instruction of Serab Gyaltsan\nat Tsarang.\n\nAbout a fortnight after my arrival in Malba I received a letter from\nRai Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, through a trader of Tukje, with whom I had\nbecome acquainted while in Tsarang, and to whom I had entrusted a\nletter to my friend at Darjeeling, as well as others to my folks at\nhome, on the occasion of his going down to Calcutta on business. Along\nwith his letter Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s sent me a number of the Mah\u0101bo\u1e0dhi\nSociety\u2019s journal, which contained an account of an unsuccessful\nattempt by a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist of my nationality to enter Tibet, and a\nwell-meant note of his in pencil to the effect that I must not lose my\nlife by exposing myself to too much danger. So far so good; but next\nsomething which was not so good happened. The Tukje man, my whilom\nmessenger, had apparently formed an opinion of his own about my\npersonality, and set the quiet village of Malba astir with rumors about\nmyself. Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s was an official of the English Government, with a\nsalary of 600 rupees a month, and, as such, a very rare personage among\nBeng\u0101l\u012bs; and it was with this person that I corresponded; _ergo_, the\nChinese Lama (myself) must be a British agent in disguise, with some\nsecret mission to execute. So went the rumor, and the public opinion\nof Malba had almost come to the conclusion that it was undesirable to\npermit such a suspicious stranger in the village, when Adam Naring,\nwho by that time had come home, sought to speak to me in secret, with\nindescribable fear written on his face. Poor honest soul! What he said\nto me, when by ourselves, was of course to the effect that if there\nwere any truth in the rumor, he and his folks would be visited with\nwhat punishment heaven only knew. I had expected this for some time\npast, and had made up my mind how to act as soon as Naring approached\nme on the subject. I turned round and, looking him squarely in the\nface, said: \u201cIf you promise me, under oath, that you will not divulge\nfor three full years to come what I may tell you, I will let you\ninto my secret; but if you do not care to do so, we can only let the\nrumor take care of itself, and wait for the Nep\u0101l Government to take\nany steps it may deem fit to take.\u201d I knew Adam Naring was a man of\nconscience, who could be trusted with a secret: he signified his\nwillingness to take an oath, and I placed before him a copy of the\nsacred Scripture and obtained from him the needed promise.\n\nProducing next my passport, given me by the Foreign Office in Japan,\nwhich had on it an English as well as other translations of the\nJapanese text, I showed it to my host, who understood just enough\nEnglish to follow out the spelling of some words in that language, and\nexplained to him the real object of my journey into Tibet. I did more.\nI said to him that now that he possessed my secret, he was welcome to\nmake of it what use he liked; but that I believed him to be a true\nand devoted Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist, and that it behoved him well to assist me in my\nenterprise by keeping silence, for by so acting he would be promoting\nthe cause of his own religion. In all this, I told my host nothing\nbut truth, and truth triumphed; for he believed every word I said\nand approved of my adventure. Then we talked over the route I was to\ntake, and it was arranged at the same time that I should restart on my\njourney in June or July.\n\nThis taking of my host into my confidence seemed to have greatly\nappeased his mind; withal, I did not think it right for me to tax his\nhospitality by prolonging my stay at his residence, and immediately\nafter the above incident I moved into the temple of the village, where,\nnevertheless, I remained the object of his unswerving friendship, in\nthat he provided for me, while there, all travelling requisites, from\nwearing apparel to provisions, which altogether made luggage weighing\nabout seventy-five pounds. At my request he also secured for me a guide\nand carrier, who was to convey my packages as far as Khambuthang, or\nthe \u2018land of Genii,\u2019 in the valley of Dhavalagiri, while my part of\nthe load was to consist only of my collection of religious works. Thus\nequipped, I left Malba on June 12th, 1900. By taking the direct route,\nthe North-west Steppe of Tibet may be reached from Malba in ten days,\nbut as I was to take in my way places sacred to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist pilgrims,\nbesides making other observations, I set aside twenty-three days for\nthe journey, which I began by traversing trackless wilds for three\ndays. At my departure I made an _uta_:\n\n My roof will be the sky; my bed, the earth;\n The grass my downy pillow soft at night;\n Thus like the hovering clouds and wandering streams,\n These lonely wilds alone I must traverse.\n\nOnce on the road, I found, however, that the sentiment of this effusion\napplied more to what I had come through than to what followed, for\nthere was for days nothing but snow for my bed and rock for my pillow.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTibet at Last.\n\n\nAfter leaving Malba my route lay north-west, up a gradual ascent along\nthe banks of the river K\u0101l\u012bga\u1e45g\u0101. We walked, however, only two and a\nhalf miles on the day of our departure, the rain preventing our further\nprogress. Starting at about seven o\u2019clock on the following morning, we\nmade a climb of about five miles up a narrow path, the bed of which\nconsisted of pointed stones and rocks of various degrees of sharpness,\nand then refreshed ourselves with a light repast. On resuming our\nascent the incline became very steep and, the atmosphere growing rarer\nand rarer, we could proceed no more than six miles or so before fatigue\novercame us, and at three in the afternoon we put up in a village\ncalled Dankar, where I was obliged to stay and recuperate myself\nduring the whole of the next day. On the 15th we faced due north, and\nfive miles of a sharp ascent brought us to a glacier valley which we\ncrossed, and continued a climb of still steeper incline for about four\nmiles, after which we emerged on a somewhat wide foot-path. At 11 A. M.\nwe stopped for a rest. Not a drop of water was obtainable thereabouts,\nbut espying some herbs growing from under a light layer of snow in a\ncrevice of a rock, I pulled them up by the root, and, on chewing them,\nfound that the root tasted quite sour. With the help of this herb-root\nwe made a little lunch of buckwheat biscuits.\n\nIt was all ascent in the afternoon, and a very tortuous task it\nwas; now picking our foot-hold from rock to rock up a craggy\nprecipice--Mukhala Climb, where it made my head swim to look down\ninto the ca\u00f1on a thousand feet below--now trusting my dear life to\nmy staff, when caught in a sand avalanche, if I may be allowed that\nexpression for the places where the thaw had caused the snow and rock\nto slide down, leaving bare a loose sandy surface, which gave way\nunder one\u2019s foot. As for my guide-carrier, he hopped, and skipped, and\nbalanced, and leaped, with the agility and sureness of a monkey, his\nstaff playing for him the part of a boat-hook in a most skilful hand,\nand, in spite of his seventy-five pounds\u2019 burden, he was so much at\nhome on the difficult ascent, that he was ever and anon at my side to\nhelp me out of dangerous plights into which I would frequently fall,\nwith my staff stuck fast between two rocks, or while I involuntarily\nacted the _r\u00f4le_ of a ball-dancer on a loosened boulder. To add to\nthe misery, with each step upward the air grew rarer and my breath\nshorter, making me feel a scorching sensation in the brain, while\nburning thirst was fast overcoming me--a morsel of snow, now and then\ntaken, being utterly insufficient to quench it. Many a time I had\nalmost fallen into a faint, and then my chronic tormentor, rheumatism,\nbegan to assert itself. I could go no further; I wanted to lie down\non the snow and sleep for a long rest. But as often as I wished to do\nso, I had a warning from my guide that a rest then would be sure death\nfor me, because, as he said, the air thereabouts was charged with a\npoisonous gas, and I would soon succumb to its effect; he was innocent\nof the knowledge of atmospheric rarity. I knew full well the weight of\nthis warning, and I struggled on with what was to me at that time a\nsuperhuman effort. By the time we had finished wading across the sharp\nslope of the treacherous sand, and landed upon a rock-paved flat, even\nthat effort failed me; I came to a halt in spite of myself, and also\nof the guide, who said that water was obtainable a little distance\nbelow. Finding me really helpless, the man went down and fetched me\nsome water, which I took with a restorative drug. In a little while\nI felt better, and during the rest thus obtained I liberally applied\ncamphor-tincture over the smarting parts of my hands, which had more or\nless suffered from the rigorous exercise they had had in the use of the\nmountaineering staff. In the meantime night fell and, picking our way\nby the uncertain star-light and the reflexion from the snow, we made a\nsharp descent of some four miles, at the bottom of which we came upon\nSanda, a hamlet of about ten cottages, in one of which we lodged for\nthe night.\n\nSanda is a literally snow-bound little village, open to communication\nfrom the rest of the world only during the three summer months, and\nthat through the precarious mountain path I had come over. I was\nprofoundly astonished to find any people making a permanent abode of\nsuch a lonely secluded place, where the vegetation is so poor that the\ninhabitants have no staple food but _tahu_, which is a cereal somewhat\nakin to buckwheat, but much inferior in its dietetic qualities.\nNevertheless I must not omit to pay a tribute to the grandeur of the\nnatural scenery, the ever present snow-clad peaks, the gigantic heaps\nupon heaps of rugged rocks, the serene quietude, all inspiring the mind\nwith awe and soul-lifting thoughts.\n\nMy exhaustion had been so great, that I was not able to resume the\njourney until the 18th, on which day we had again to wade over a\ntreacherous slope, which yearly claimed, as I was told, a pilgrim or\ntwo as victims to its \u2018sand avalanche\u2019. We headed north-west, and after\npassing by a grand ancient forest of fir-trees, and then descending\nalong the bank of a shooting mountain stream, we reached Tashithang\n(dale of brilliant illumination) at about 11 A. M. In the afternoon\nwe proceeded in the same direction along a path which overlooked\nnow a dangerously abrupt precipice of great depth, then a beautiful\nvalley overgrown with flowering plants and stately trees, the home\nof ferocious wild animals, the least pugnacious of which are the\nmusk-deer. We passed that night under an overhanging piece of rock.\nThroughout the 19th we kept on facing north-west, proceeding through\nmany similar scenes of nature, which grew, however, more fascinating\nin their picturesque grandeur as we came nearer to the great peak of\nDhavalagiri. We had just reached the head of a slope of the great\nsnow-clad mountain called Tashila, when--not only affected by the cold\natmosphere, but as the result of general exhaustion--I became so weak\nthat only by transferring my share of the luggage to the shoulders of\nmy guide-carrier, in addition to his own, was I able to proceed slowly.\nI was thoroughly fatigued, but the sublime beauty of the scenery was\nso inspiring that I could not help standing still, lost in extatic\nadmiration, and fancying that I saw in the variously shaped elevations\nthe forms of giant deities of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist mythology, sitting in solemn\nmid-air conclave. I was only aroused from my reverie by the warning\nof my guide that any further delay would kill me--because of the\natmospheric conditions--and, allowing him to help me on by taking hold\nof one of my hands, we thence made a descent of about ten miles, and\nonce more spent the night under a sheltering rock.\n\nOn the 20th of June we began our journey with a climb up another steep\nmountain, and in the valleys below I saw a species of deer, locally\ncalled _nah_, ruminating in herds of two or three hundred. Further up\nthe mountain I came upon a number of wild yaks at short distances,\nwhile on the far-off mountain sides I occasionally discerned animals\nwhich, my guide told me, were snow-leopards, or _changku_ (mountain\ndogs), both ferocious beasts that feed on their fellow-creatures,\nincluding man. Scattered here and there on our way I frequently noticed\nwhitened bones of animals, most likely victims of these brutes. At some\nplaces the thawing snow revealed the bleached remains of human beings,\nprobably frozen to death. The curious thing was that the skull and the\nleg-bones were missing from every one of the skeletons I came across.\nIt was explained to me that the Tibetans manufactured certain utensils,\nused for ritualistic purposes, from these portions of human bones; and\nthat it was their practice to appropriate them whenever they came upon\nthe remains of luckless wanderers! The sight and the information could\nnot but fill me with an extremely uncomfortable feeling, mixed with\none of profound sympathy, and many a time I prayed in silence for the\nrepose of the souls of the poor neglected brethren, as we went along\nour way.\n\nIn due course we arrived at a village called Thorpo, situated on the\nother side of the mountain we had crossed. Another name of the village\nis Tsaka, and its inhabitants are believers in Bon, the ancient\nreligion of Tibet. Thence we travelled on until July 1st, making an\noccasional stop of one or two days for recuperating purposes. On the\nway we passed through much the same sort of scenery, abounding in\npicturesque views as well as in various interesting plants and animals.\n\nWe had now come to the outer edge of the skirts of Mount Dhavalagiri.\nMy luggage had become considerably lessened in weight, owing to the\nabsence of what we had consumed on our way, and I now felt equal to\ntaking over the burdens on to my own back. I turned to my guide, and\ntold him that he could now go back, as I intended to make a lonely\npilgrimage to Khambuthang--the Sacred Peach Valley--by myself. Nothing\ncould have given him more astonishment than this intimation, for he\nhad all along been under the impression that he was to accompany me\nback to Malba. He stoutly opposed my venturing on such a perilous\nexpedition, which nobody, he said, but a living Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, or Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva,\nwould dare to undertake. From the most ancient time, he continued,\nthere had been only one or two persons who had ever come out of the\nvalley alive, and it was absolutely certain that I should be torn to\npieces and devoured by the dreadful monsters that guarded its entrance\nand exit. But I was not to be moved, and the man went back, with hot\ntears of farewell, thinking no doubt that he had seen the last of me.\nA solitary traveller, in one of the untrodden depths of the Him\u0101layas,\nand loaded with a dead weight of about sixty-five pounds, my progress\nthenceforward was a succession of incidents and accidents of the most\ndangerous nature, made doubly trying by innumerable hardships and\nprivations.\n\nOn that first day of July, 1900, early in the morning, after watching\nthe form of my faithful guide on his return journey until he had\ndisappeared behind a projecting rock, I then turned round and proceeded\ndue north. To my joy I found the pathway not so difficult as I had\nexpected, owing to the entire absence of rugged rocks. Still, there\nwas always enough to weigh me down with anxiety, as I had to push my\nway over the trackless field of deep snow, with a solitary compass\nand a mountain peak as my only guides. One night I slept on the snow\nunder the sky, and another I passed in the hollow of a cliff; three\ndays\u2019 jogging, after parting with my carrier, brought me across to the\nother side of the northern peak of the Dhavalagiri. It is here that the\ndominion of Nep\u0101l ends and\n\n\nTHE FRONTIER OF TIBET BEGINS.\n\nAs I stood on that high point, which commanded on the south the\nsnow-capped heads of the Dhavalagiri family, and on the north the\nundulating stretch of the North-east Steppes of Tibet, interspersed\nhere and there with shining streams of water, which appeared to flow\nout of and then disappear into the clouds, I felt as if my whole being\nhad turned into a fountain of welling emotions. Toward the south,\nfar, far away, beyond the sky-reaching Dhavalagiri, I imagined that I\nsaw Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101, sacred to our beloved Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, where I had vowed\nmy vow, and prayed for protection and mercy. That reminded me of the\nparting words I left behind me, when bidding adieu to my folks and\nfriends at home. I had then said that in three years I would be able\nto enter Tibet. That was on the 26th of June, 1897, and here I was\nstepping on the soil of Tibet on the 4th of July, 1900.\n\n[Illustration: ENTERING TIBET FROM NEPAL.]\n\nHow could I prevent myself from being transported with mingled feelings\nof joy, gratitude and hope? But I was tired and hungry. I took my\nluggage from my back and gently set it on a piece of rock, after\nbrushing off the snow, and then, taking out my store of provisions,\nmade some dough out of baked flour, snow and butter. Morsel after\nmorsel, the mixture, with a sprinkle of powdered pepper and salt, went\ndown my throat with unearthly sweetness, and I fancied that the Gods in\nParadise could not feast on dishes more exquisitely palatable. I made\naway with two bowlfuls of the preparation with the greatest relish;\nthat ended my meal for the day.\n\nI should observe here that I have always adhered, as I adhere now, to\nthe rule of one full meal a day, besides taking some dried fruits or\nsomething of that kind for breakfast. I may also state that the bowl\nof which I speak here was of a fairly large size, and two of them\nconstituted a full good repast, especially as the wheat produced in\ncold latitudes seems to be richer in nutrition than that of warmer\ncountries.\n\nWell, I had dined grandly. The ocean of snow stretched around me\nand below me, far away. I was still in an extatic mood and all was\ninteresting. But in which direction was I to proceed in resuming my\njourney?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nThe World of Snow.\n\n\nAccording to the stock of information I had gathered, I was always to\nhead north until I came to Lake M\u0101nasarovara, and the point I had now\nto decide was how I might make the shortest cut to that body of fresh\nwater. There was nothing to guide me but my compass and a survey I took\nof the vast expanse of snow to a great distance before me. The best I\ncould do was guess-work. Following the impulses of instinct more than\nanything else, except the general direction indicated by the compass,\nI decided on taking a north-westerly course in making the descent. So\nI restarted, with the luggage on my back.\n\nSo far my route had lain principally on the sunny side of the mountains\nand the snow, at the most, had not been more than five or six inches\ndeep; but from now onward I had to proceed along the reverse side,\ncovered over with an abundance of the crystal layers, the unguessable\nthickness of which furnished me with a constant source of anxiety. In\nsome places my feet sank fourteen or fifteen inches in the snow, and\nin others they did not go down more than seven or eight inches. This\nwading in the snow was more fatiguing than I had imagined at first, and\nthe staff again rendered me great service; once or twice I found it a\ndifficult job to extricate myself, when my foot, after stamping through\nthe layers of snow, wedged itself tightly between two large pieces of\nhard stone. This sort of trudging lasted for nearly three miles down a\ngradual descent, at the end of which I emerged on a snowless beach of\nloose pebbles and stones of different sizes. By that time my Tibetan\nboots had become so far worn out, that at places my feet came into\ndirect contact with the hard gravel, which tore the skin and caused\nblood to flow, leaving the crimson marks of my footsteps behind. During\nthe descent I felt little of my luggage, but now it began to tell on\nme, as the foot-hold under me consisted of loose round pebbles, when\nit was not sharp angular slabs of broken rock. Five miles onward, I\ncame upon a pair of ponds formed of melting snow, and respectively\nabout five miles and two and a half miles in circumference. Both the\nponds were thick with immense flocks of wild ducks of different sizes,\nbrownish or reddish in color, or spotted black on a white ground.\nOtherwise the waters of the ponds were as clear as could be, and the\nscenery around was picturesque in the extreme, so much so that, though\nwith lacerated feet and stark-stiff about my waist with rheumatic\npains, I almost forgot all that discomfort as I stood gazing around.\nThe prestige of the ponds, if they had any, was of little matter to\nme then, but, as I happened to chance upon them all by myself, I was\ndestined to introduce them to the world; and I christened the larger\npond, which was rectangular in shape, \u2018Ekai,\u2019 after my own name,\nand the smaller, which described nearly a perfect circle, \u2018Jinkow,\u2019\na name which I sometimes use for myself. A little conceit you may\ncall it if you like, but it was only for memory\u2019s sake that I did\nthese things; and when a little way down I came upon a gourd-shaped\npond, about a mile and a quarter in circumference, I gave it the name\nof \u2018Hisago Ike\u2019--calabash pond. Still holding to my north-westerly\ndirection, after having gone some distance I saw, to the north-west of\na snow-clad mountain that rose far in front of me, two or three tents\npitched on the ground. The sight aroused in me a sense of intense\ncuriosity mingled with anxiety. Suppose I went to them; what would\ntheir occupants think of a stranger, suddenly emerging upon them from\npathless wilds? Once their suspicion was roused, I might in vain\nhope to allay it; what was I to do then? I espied a declivity below\nme, which extended north-west in a gradual descent, far out of sight\nof the tents, and I saw that unless I took it, I should either come\non those tents or have my progress barred by a succession of high\nmountains. With nothing else to help me to arrive at a decision, I\nthen entered on what is termed \u2018Danjikwan sanmai\u2019 in Japanese-Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nterminology, a meditative process of making up one\u2019s mind, when neither\nlogic nor accurate knowledge is present to draw upon for arriving at\na conclusion. The process is, in short, one of abnegating self and\nthen forming a judgment, a method which borders on divination, or an\nassertion of instinctive powers. The result was that I decided to take\nthe route that lay toward the tents, and by nightfall I came within\nhailing distance of them, when a pack of five or six ferocious-looking\ndogs caught sight of me and began barking furiously. They were\nformidable animals with long shaggy fur and very cruel looks. I had\nbefore then been told that when attacked by dogs of this kind I must\nnot strike them, but that I should only ward them off, quietly waving\na stick in front of their muzzles, and on this occasion I religiously\nfollowed that instruction, and found to my entire satisfaction that the\ndogs did not try to snap at me. Proceeding thus, and coming outside one\nof the tents, I called out to its occupants.\n\n[Illustration: TO A TENT OF NOMAD TIBETANS.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nA kind old Dame.\n\n\nMy call was responded to by an old woman who, coming out of the tent\nand finding a tattered and tired wayfarer, said more to herself than\nto me: \u201cWhy, it is a pilgrim, poor, poor.\u201d Seeing no reason to suppose\nthat I appeared an object of suspicion to her, I ventured to inform her\nthat I was from the direction of Lhasa, bound for Kang Rinpoche, Mount\nKail\u0101sa, and besought her to give me a night\u2019s lodging in her tent,\nas it was unbearably cold to sleep in the open air. My request was\ncheerfully complied with and, inside the tent, the old dame expressed\nher curiosity to know how I happened to be there, as the locality\nwas not one generally visited by pilgrims. She easily believed my\nexplanation to the effect that I had lost my way while heading for the\nabode of Gelong Rinpoche, and then gave me a cup of tea out of a kettle\nthat stood boiling over the fire; accepting it with thanks, I declined\nthe baked flour offered immediately after. I may observe here that the\ntea offered me was not brewed in the same way as we take it in Japan,\nbut it was more of the nature of a soup, the ingredients of which were\npowdered tea-leaves, butter and salt, forbiddingly offensive in smell,\nuntil one gets accustomed to it, when it is found to constitute a\nvery agreeable beverage. The Tibetan custom is to serve a guest with\na cup of this kind of tea first, and then to regale him with some\nbaked flour. I excused myself for declining the hospitality of my kind\nhostess by informing her that I adhered strictly to the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist rule\nof fasting hours, which piece of information produced a very favorable\nimpression on her as to my personality, as she seemed to respect me\nall the more for it. Then, leading in the conversation that followed,\nshe told me that Gelong Rinpoche\u2019s abode was at a day\u2019s distance,\nand that this Lama was the holiest of all the priests to be found\nthroughout the whole Jangthang (_Jangthang_, as I explained, literally\nmeans \u2018northern plain,\u2019 but in Tibet itself the appellation is applied\nto its western steppes). Continuing, the old hostess said that a visit\nto the holy man always resulted in great spiritual benefit, and urged\nme by all means to call on him. There was a river, she said, in my way,\nthe waters of which were too cold to be forded, and she offered me the\nuse of one of her yaks. Her son was away just then, but she expected\nhim back in the evening, and he could accompany me in the morning,\nas she wanted him too to pay a visit to the holy man. All this was\nvery acceptable to me, but one thing that troubled me was the sorry\ncondition to which my boots had become reduced; and I asked the dame\nif I could not mend them. Mending in this case meant, as I was told,\npatching the worn-out places with yak\u2019s hide, which required, however,\ntwo days\u2019 soaking in water before it became soft enough to be sewn. My\nhostess said that they--she and her son--were to stay only one more day\nin that particular spot where I had chanced upon them, and suggested\nthat I might make a stay of two or three days at Gelong Rinpoche\u2019s,\nso as to give myself the time to do some mending. She offered that I\nshould, on the morrow, put on her son\u2019s spare pair of boots and proceed\nto the holy Lama\u2019s in them, saying that I might give them back to her\nson after reaching my destination. In the night, just as I was going\nto sleep, the son turned up, and more conversation ensued amongst us,\nchiefly concerning the saintly man, of whom the mother and the son knew\nno end of wonderful things, altogether superhuman in character.\n\nEarly the next morning, by order of the good old dame, the son busied\nhimself in getting a yak ready for me. The yak is a bovine somewhat\nlarger than our bull, though a little lower in height. Its hide is\ncovered all over very thickly with long shaggy hair, and its tail\nterminates in a bushy tuft. The female yak is called _bri_ in Tibetan.\nIts face looks very much like that of common cattle, but it has a\npair of piercing eyes, which give you a rather uncomfortable feeling\nwhen turned full on you, while its horns are dangerously pointed and\nthreateningly shaped. A better acquaintance, however, shows the animal\nto be a quiet and tractable one, even much more so than our cattle. I\nmay yet have occasion to tell what an invaluable beast of burden the\nyak is for the Tibetan. My hostess\u2019 son brought out three yaks, one for\nme to ride, another for himself, and the third to carry his presents,\nconsisting of dried milk, butter and other things, to the holy man. As\nfor the good old dame, she proved to be the very essence of kindness,\nand on my parting from her she loaded me with large quantities of baked\nwheat-flour, dried milk, and butter, besides a farewell cup of tea, a\ntreatment which is considered great hospitality in Jangthang.\n\nSo equipped, we started on our trip in quest of the holy man of the\nplain. After a ride of about two and a half miles, involving ascent and\ndescent of equal length towards the north-west, we were overtaken by\na hail-storm, and had to make a halt of two hours until it had blown\nover. During the halt, we took down our luggage from the backs of the\nyaks, so that it might not get wet, and I utilised that interval quite\nprofitably to myself by pumping the young man for information regarding\nthe routes and geography of the regions I was to go through before I\ncould reach my final destination. Resuming our ride, we soon came to\na river which was sixty yards wide, and easy to ford for men riding\non yaks, as we were. Crossing two more rivers of the like width, and\nmaking an ascent of a little over six miles, we came in sight of a\nlarge white cliff, which, as my companion informed me, was the dwelling\nplace of Gelong Rinpoche. Continuing the ascent and approaching nearer,\nI found out that what had appeared like a huge and solid piece of rock\nwas really a hollow cliff forming a large cave, and that there was\nanother concave cliff in front of it, which was not white but greyish\nin color, and was inhabited by one of Gelong Rinpoche\u2019s disciples,\nas I came to discover afterwards. It was about three o\u2019clock in the\nafternoon that we arrived at the entrance of the front cave, where\nmy companion asked if he could see Gelong Rinpoche, though he knew\nthat he was considerably behind the regular hour, setting forth the\nhail incident as an excuse for his delay. The answer he received was\nabsolutely in the negative; so he took down the presents and entrusted\nthem to the disciple, to be sent up to Gelong Rinpoche as from Pasang\n(his mother\u2019s name), saying that he could not wait till the next day to\nsee the Lama, as he was going to strike his tent and move away there\nand then.\n\nLeft alone with the occupant of the grey cliff, I found him to be an\nordinary Lama of rather good parts. In the cave, put away in proper\nplaces, were articles of daily use for devotional practices, bedding,\nthe kitchen utensils, etc. Having obtained the Lama\u2019s permission to\nmake a few days\u2019 stay, I commenced my mending work by soaking in\nwater a piece of yak\u2019s hide which the kind dame Pasang had given me\non parting. On my asking for information as to how I could reach Kang\nRinpoche, the answer I got was very discouraging. It was to the effect\nthat two or three days\u2019 journey, after leaving the cave, would bring me\nto a region inhabited by nomads; for another two or three days I should\nbe in the same region, and then, for the next fifteen or sixteen days,\nI should have to go through a wilderness entirely destitute of human\nkind. I was very fortunate, said my host, in that I had chanced upon\nthat \u2018kind old dame,\u2019 who was noted for her charity; otherwise I should\nhave had little possibility of obtaining even lodging accommodation,\nstill less of securing a companion to the cliff; and it was out of\nthe question for me to secure anything like a guide for my onward\njourney; human beings were too scarce in those parts for such a luxury.\nFurthermore he assured me that I should be pounced upon by robbers as\nsoon as I should reach the inhabited parts, as I seemed to be loaded\nwith luggage worth taking. I had nothing to fear on that score, I told\nmy host, because all I should do would be to hand over all I had. My\nhost then told me that he had been to Kang Rinpoche two or three times\nhimself, and gave me a minute description of the route I was to take\nfor that destination. After a meditation exercise, in which my host\njoined, we both went to sleep at about midnight.\n\nWhen I re-opened my eyes, I saw the Lama already making a fire outside\nthe cave. It should be remembered that I passed myself off as a pilgrim\nfrom Lhasa, here as elsewhere, and I had to be \u2018Lhasan\u2019 in all I did.\nThat morning, therefore, I got up and set about reading the Sacred Text\nwithout rinsing my mouth. How foul I felt in the mouth then! but then\nit was \u2018Lhasan,\u2019 you see! When the usual tea, butter, and salt soup was\nready, my host gave me a bowlful of it, and then we breakfasted on the\nregulation diet of baked flour, salt and pepper, all with uncleansed\nmouths! After that, we whiled away the morning in religious talk until\neleven o\u2019clock, when the hour for being presented to Gelong Rinpoche\nhad arrived.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nA holy Cave-Dweller.\n\n\n\u201c_Gelong lobzang gonpo la kyabs su chio._\u201d This is, as I was told and\nas I observed myself, what the followers of the dweller in the white\ncave--and that included natives living within a hundred-mile radius\nof the cliff--said three times, accompanied by as many bowings in\nthe direction of the cave, every night before going to bed, and it\nmeans: \u201cI take my refuge in the Gelong, named noble-minded Savior.\u201d\nThis shows in what high esteem the holy man to whom I was about to be\nintroduced was held by the local people. There had now gathered about\ntwenty people in front of the grey cave, waiting to be taken to the\nwhite one. During my stay I noticed that a similar scene took place\nevery morning, the visitors passing the night before in their tents,\npitched at the foot of the mountain, on the top of which the caves are\nsituated. Outside the hours I mentioned before, the Lama was under no\ncircumstance whatever to be seen.\n\nShortly before noon I walked up to the white cave, together with the\nwaiting crowd. I found the entrance to the cave barred by a fence and\na closed gate. Soon after, a grey-haired old priest, of seventy years\nof age, made his appearance, and, unlocking the gate, walked out to\nwhere were the expectant devotees, each of whom gave an offering or\nofferings, either of money or in kind, as his or her turn came to\nreceive _ma\u1e47i_. The _ma\u1e47i_ is a formula pronounced by the aged Lama,\nwho spoke the sacred words: \u201c_Om ma\u1e47i padme hum_,\u201d the recipient\nrepeating them. The _ma\u1e47i_ came after a brief sermon. Then followed the\nimparting by the Lama of various instructive precepts to the audience;\nbut just previous to that, each person individually went up to a table,\non the other side of which sat their venerable teacher. After three\nbows, they proceeded with bent body and the tongue stuck out--the mark\nof profound obeisance--and, stopping in front of the table, held their\nheads close to the Lama. The latter, with the palm of his right hand,\ngently touched their heads by way of blessing, in acknowledgment of\ntheir courtesy. In the case of an individual of social position, the\nLama used both hands in administering the blessing. I may explain here\nthe Tibetan mode of blessing. Tibetan Lamas use four kinds of blessing,\naccording to the rank of the person to whom it is administered. These\norders of blessing, which are at the same time those of greeting, which\nthey call _chakwang_ in Tibet, are first the \u2018head to head blessing,\u2019\nwhich consists in touching the other\u2019s head with one\u2019s own forehead;\nsecond the \u2018double-handed blessing;\u2019 third, the \u2018single-handed\nblessing;\u2019 both of which are self-explanatory. The fourth is resorted\nto by a Lama of the highest order toward his inferiors and laymen,\nand consists in touching the head of the recipient with the tufted\nend of a stick, which constitutes a special article used in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nritual. This last ceremony is performed only by the Dalai Lama in\nLhasa, and Pa\u1e47chen Rinpoche in Shigatse. Gelong Rinpoche received\nme with the double-handed blessing. I found in him a stoutly built,\nstrikingly-featured, grey-haired old man of noble bearing, who,\nbecause of his well-preserved physique, did not at first glance look\nlike a person who had passed the best part of his life in religious\nmeditation. But closer observation of what he did and said convinced me\nthat he was a man of true charity, dearly loving his fellow-creatures,\nand I approached him with a feeling of profound respect. The first\nthing he said to me was that I was not a man to wander about in a\ndreary wilderness, and he asked me what had brought me to him. The\ndialogue that then followed between Gelong Rinpoche and myself was\nsubstantially as below:\n\n\u201cI am a travelling priest making a pilgrimage through different\ncountries in quest of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist truths. I have heard of your fame, and\nhave come to be taught one thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can that be, friend?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are saving the souls of the multitude, and I wish to learn the\ngrand secret which serves so well for your purpose.\u201d\n\n\u201cFriend, you know that well enough yourself. All Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism is in you,\nand you have nothing to learn from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue, all Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism is in the Self, but in ancient days Jenzai D\u014dji\ntravelled far and wide in search of fifty-three wise men, and we, the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists, are all taught to derive lessons from the great hardships\nthen undergone by him. I am far from being a Jenzai D\u014dji, and yet I am\nprivileged to imitate him: it is thus that I have called on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood! I have but one means to guide me in saving souls, and the \u2018Grand\nGospel of Salvation\u2019 is that guide of mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay I have the pleasure of seeing that Gospel?\u201d\n\n\u201cMost certainly.\u201d The Lama here went into his cave, and, fetching out a\nvolume, kindly lent it to me. On asking what was the gist of the Gospel\nof Salvation, I was told that it resolved itself into teaching that the\nthree _y\u0101nas_ (vehicles) were but one _y\u0101na_. I then withdrew and went\nback to the grey cave, taking with me the borrowed volume, and I spent\nthe rest of the day in reading through the Gospel, which I found to\nbe a compilation, resembling in its tenets the _Hoke-kyo_--the _S\u016b\u1e6dra\nSa\u1e0d\u1e0dharma Pu\u1e47dar\u012bka_--and in some places it even read like extracts\nfrom the last mentioned Gospel. The next day I turned cobbler, and\nmended my boots. On the morning following, I revisited Gelong Rinpoche\nand returned the Gospel. In so doing, the Lama and I had quite an\nargument, which, in short, was an exchange of views, based on the\nTibetan school of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism on the part of the Lama, and on Japanese and\nChinese schools on mine.\n\nOn the 7th of July I made a parting call on the holy dweller of\nthe white cliff, when the good man presented me with considerable\nquantities of baked flour, butter, and raisins, saying that without a\nfull and good supply of them I might die on the journey. This was all\nvery nice, but it increased my load by twenty pounds, an addition which\nalways counts a great deal to a solitary peddler, going a long distance\nover difficult roads, as I was to do. Back in the grey cave, I once\nmore set myself to repairing my boots, but the work was new to me, and\nI was more successful in sticking the needle into my finger than in\nprogressing with the job. The upshot was that the occupant of the cave,\ntaking pity on me, kindly did the greater part of the work for me.\nEarly on the 8th I bade good-bye to the kind-hearted disciple of Gelong\nRinpoche, and relaunched myself on my journey, with eighty-five solid\npounds on my back, which in no time began to ache under the weight.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nIn helpless Plight.\n\n\nSome hours after leaving the grey cliff I reached a river about 180\nyards wide. Before plunging into it to wade across, I took my noon-meal\nof baked flour: it was then about eleven o\u2019clock. The river was the\none of which I had been informed, and I knew it could be forded. After\nthe repast I took off my boots and trousers, and having also tucked\nup the other portions of my dress, went down into the river. Oh! that\nplunge! it nearly killed me; the water was bitingly cold, and I saw at\nonce that I could never survive the crossing of it. I at once turned\nround and crawled up the bank, but the contact with the water had\nalready chilled me, and produced in me a sort of convulsion. What was\nto be done? I happened to think of ointment as a remedy, as well as a\npreventive, under the circumstances. I took out a bottle of clove oil\nI had with me, and smeared it in abundance all over my body. What with\nthe sun shining and my giving myself a good rubbing all over, I felt\nbetter. Then, equipped as before, I made a second plunge. The water was\ncold, indeed cold enough to make my feet quite insensible before I had\ngone half-way across, and the rest of the fording I managed simply by\nthe help of my two staves. The river was about hip-deep and the stream\nquite rapid, and when I reached the opposite bank I found myself almost\na frigid body, stiff and numb in every part.\n\nThe next thing to be done was, of course, to recover the circulation of\nblood in the almost frozen limbs; but I discovered this to be no easy\ntask, for my hands were too stiff to do anything, and it took full two\nhours to put myself in shape to resume the journey. As it was, when I\nstarted out at about two o\u2019clock, my legs were so flabby that I felt\nas if they were going to drop off. And my increased luggage weighed\nso heavily on my back, that I was now compelled to take it down and\ndevise some new way of carrying it. This I did by dividing the baggage\ninto two equal parts and, tying one to each end of my two staves (which\nI had tied together), I slung them across my shoulder. But two rough\nround sticks grinding against the untrained flesh of the shoulder, with\neighty pounds of pressure, were not much of relief for a novice at\nthis method of carrying burdens, and at every hundred or two hundred\nyards of my progress, which was tardy enough, I had to alter my mode of\nconveyance. In the two hours which followed, I made an ascent of half a\nmile and then a descent of about a mile, and when I had arrived at the\nbank of a river at about four o\u2019clock, exhaustion made further progress\nimpossible for me for the day.\n\n[Illustration: A NIGHT IN THE OPEN AND A SNOW-LEOPARD.]\n\nSettled down for a bivouac, I set about making a fire to get tea ready.\nIn Tibetan wilds the only kind of fuel accessible to travellers (except\nof course dead leaves of trees for kindling purposes) is the dry dung\nof the yak (these animals being set loose to graze for themselves) and\nthe kyang, a species of native wild horse. I gathered some of these\nlumps, and built them up into a sort of partially hollow cone, with a\nbroad base and low elevation, and then three pieces of nearly equal\nsize placed tripod-like around this cone completed my arrangement for\nputting my tea-pot over the fire. But the fire was still to be made,\nand I may say that making a fire of this description is not a very\neasy performance until one acquires the knack of the thing; even a\npair of hand-bellows is of little help, especially when the fuel is\nnot sufficiently dry. Matches being unknown in those regions, I had\nto resort to the old-fashioned method of obtaining sparks of fire by\nstriking a stone against a piece of iron, and it is again a matter of\nart to make those sparks kindle the tinder. The tea-pot I carried with\nme then was one large enough to hold a quart and a half of water. In\nthose high regions water boils very quickly, owing to the diminished\natmospheric pressure, and as soon as it began to boil I would throw\ninto it a handful of Chinese brick tea; but I had to let the mixture\nstand boiling for at least two hours before I could obtain a liquor of\nthe right color and flavor. I should add that it is the usual practice\nwith Tibetans, which I followed, to put some natural soda (which is\nfound in Tibet) into the water when the tea is thrown in. When enough\nboiling had been done, I would put in some butter and salt, and after\na little stirring all was ready to be served. It was this tedious\nprocess that I went through on that river bank. After that, I went\nabout gathering all the dung I could find, and then, returning, piled\nit up all over the fire to make it last the whole night--a precaution\nwhich was necessary to keep off snow-leopards, which often prove to be\ndangerous nocturnal enemies of man in these parts.\n\nTo keep a fire burning brightly through the night was, however, to\ncourt a still greater danger, for it might attract marauding robbers,\non the look out from far-off hill and mountain tops. Of the two\ndangers, that of robbers was the worst, for whereas a snow-leopard will\n_sometimes_ leave a sleeping man alone, even with no fire, robbers\nwill _never_ leave him alone. Under these circumstances I left my fire\nsmouldering, with a well-pressed layer of sandy soil over it, so that\nit would last till the morning, giving me at the same time enough\nwarmth to keep me alive. When the moon rose that night I saw it was\nnearly full. Its pale light silvered the waters of the river before me.\nAll was quiet, save for the occasional roars of wild animals. With all\nits dreary wildness, the scenery around was not without its charms that\nappealed to the soul.\n\n When rising slow among the mountain heights,\n The moon I see in those Tibetan wilds,\n My fancy views that orb as Sovereign Lord\n Of that Celestial Land, my country dear,\n Those islands smiling in the far-off East.\n\nThe night was extremely cold, and I could not sleep. I sat up and\nfell to meditation; and while I was wandering over the borderland,\nhalf-awake and half-asleep, the morning came. With a start I got\nup, and on going to the river\u2019s edge I found its waters frozen. I\nthen stirred up the fire, and after due preparations made a hearty\nbreakfast. When ready to start on the day\u2019s journey, I could not recall\nthe instruction given me before--whether to follow the river up its\ncourse, which would lead up to a high peak, or to proceed down stream.\nHere was a dilemma! but I felt sure of one thing, and that was that,\nweak and exhausted, I could not survive the ascent of the steep peak.\nBy necessity, then, I proceeded down the stream, but I failed to come\nupon a rock upon which, as I had been informed, I should find an image\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha carved. No wonder! for I took the wrong direction, as I\nafterwards found out. Proceeding above five miles, I emerged upon an\nextensive plain, which I judged must be seventeen or eighteen miles by\neight or nine, with the river flowing through it.\n\nOn consulting the compass I found that, in order to proceed towards the\nnorth-west, I should have to cross the river, a prospect particularly\nunpleasant just then, as I thought of the chilling effects of the icy\nwaters. As I stood taking a survey of the river in an undecided frame\nof mind, I noticed a bonze wading across the stream towards me. As he\nlanded on the bank, I hailed him, and eventually found him to be a\npilgrim from Kham, bound for Gelong Rinpoche\u2019s cave. Then I negotiated\nwith him to assist me across the river, after having astonished him\nwith my generosity in giving him a comparatively large quantity of\ndried peaches and flour, articles particularly precious for a lonely\ntraveller through those regions. I made him understand that I was ill\nand weak, and not equal to the task of crossing the river, heavily\nburdened with luggage as I was. Whatever was the effect of this piece\nof information, my liberality soon won him over to my help, and, taking\nall my luggage on his back and leading me by the hand, he assisted me\nto ford the stream. Having landed me and my luggage safely on the other\nside, and having also told me that, following the course he pointed\nout, I should come to an inhabited place after two days\u2019 journey, he\nbade me good-bye and once more crossed the river. I, for my part,\nstarted forthwith, heading in the direction prescribed for me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nA Foretaste of distressing Experiences.\n\n\nAfter parting with the Kham bonze, I had not proceeded far before I\nbegan to feel a shortness of breath which increased in intensity as I\nwent along, and was followed by nausea of an acute type. I made a halt,\ntook down my luggage (which, by the way, had by this time produced very\npainful bruises on my back) and then took a dose of _hotan_--a soothing\nrestorative. The result was that I brought up a good mouthful of\nblood. Not being subject to heart disease, I concluded that I had been\naffected by the rarity of the atmosphere. I think, as I thought then,\nthat our lung-capacity is only about one-half of that of the native\nTibetan. Be this as it may, I felt considerable alarm at this, my first\nexperience of internal hemorrhage, and thought it would be ill-advised\nto continue my journey that day. I had made only eight miles, five up\nand three down, over undulating land; but I was so greatly fatigued\nthat, without courage enough to go and search for yak-dung, I fell fast\nasleep the moment I laid me down for a rest. I do not know how long\nI had slept, when something pattering on my face awoke me. As soon\nas I realised that I was lying under a heavy shower of large-sized\nhail-stones, I tried to rise, but I could not; for my body literally\ncracked and ached all over, as if I had been prostrated with a severe\nattack of rheumatism. With a great effort I raised myself to a sitting\nposture and endeavored to calm myself. After a while my pulse became\nnearly normal and my breathing easier, and I knew that I was not yet to\ndie. But the general aching of the body did not abate at all, and it\nwas out of the question for me to resume the journey then, or to go\ndung-gathering. Apparently there were some hours of night yet left, so\nI went into the \u2018meditation exercise,\u2019 sitting upon a piece of sheep\u2019s\nhide and wrapped up in the _tuk-tuk_, a sort of native bed-quilt\nweighing about twenty-five pounds, and made of thick sail-cloth lined\nwith sheep\u2019s wool. Sleep was no more possible. As I looked up and\naround, I saw the bright moon high above me, the uncertain shapes of\ndistant lofty peaks forming a most weird back-ground against the vast\nsea of undulating plain. Alone upon one of the highest places in the\nworld, surrounded by mysterious uncertainty, made doubly so by the\npaleness of the moonlight, both the scene and the situation would have\nfurnished me with enough matter for my soul\u2019s musings, but, alas! for\nmy bodily pains. Yet the wild weirdness of the view was not altogether\nlost on me, and I was gradually entering into the state of spiritual\nconquest over bodily ailment, when I recalled the celebrated _uta_ of\nthat ancient divine of Japan, Daito Kokushi:\n\n On Shijyo Gojyo Bridge, a thoroughfare,\n I sit in silence holy undisturbed,\n The passing crowds of men and damsels fair,\n I look upon as waving sylvan trees.\n\nIn reply to this I composed the following:\n\n On grass among those lofty plains on earth,\n I enter meditation deep and wide,\n I choose, nor such secluded mountain-trees,\n Nor passing crowds of men and damsels fair.\n\nI was almost in an extatic state, forgetful of all my pain, when\nanother _uta_ rose to my mind:\n\n O Mind! By Dharma\u2019s genial light and warmth\n The pain-inflicting snows are melted fast,\n And flow in rushing streams that sweep away\n Delusive Ego and Non-Ego both.\n\nThus in meditation I sat out the night, and when the morning came I\nbreakfasted on some dried grapes. I felt much refreshed both in mind\nand body, and made good progress on my journey that morning.\n\nComing to a small clear stream, I went through the process of\nfire-making and tea-preparing, and then took a meal of baked flour.\nCrossing the stream and then mounting an elevation, I saw far in front\nof me one white and several black tents pitched in the plain. The sight\nof a white tent puzzled me a good deal. Tibetan tent-cloth is almost\nalways dark in color, the natives weaving the stuff with yak\u2019s hair,\nwhich they first take between their teeth, draw out and twist into a\nyarn between their fingers, putting it on to the loom when a sufficient\nquantity of coarse thread has thus been obtained. I could not solve the\nmystery; but it mattered little after all to me then; I only wanted to\nreach the tents as quickly as possible, and to be allowed a few days\u2019\nrest there. I had walked about five miles, and the last mile or so\nbrought back on me the now chronic trouble, the pain of fatigue and\nshortness of breath. When, somehow, I had managed to drag myself along\nto the threshold of the largest of the tents, the welcome I received\nwas in the shape of five or six ferocious-looking native dogs, and it\nwas a right hot reception, to appreciate which I had to put all my\nremaining energy into the gentle warning of my staff.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nA Beautiful Rescuer.\n\n\nWhile I was engaged in the pleasant work of warding off the dogs,\na woman, apparently roused by the loud barking of the animals, put\nher head out of the tent. Hers was a beautiful face, so beautiful\nthat I was surprised to see it in such a wilderness. For a while the\nwoman stood staring at me, and then, coming out of the tent, she\nscolded the dogs. One word from her was enough, and the beasts all\nran away crest-fallen and with tails down, so that I could not help\nsmiling at them. And, smiling, I asked the beauty of the wilderness\nfor a night\u2019s lodging. Her answer was that she must first obtain the\npermission of \u201cher Lama,\u201d and, so saying, she disappeared within the\ntent. At her second appearance I was admitted into the tent, and a\nvery hospitable man \u201cher Lama\u201d proved to be. It was a great relief to\nme. That afternoon and evening I spent in pleasant conversation with\nmy host and his wife. For two days more I was allowed to recuperate\nmyself in their tent, and in the interval I learned a good deal about\nmy future route. Among other things I was told that at half a day\u2019s\ndistance on horseback there was a river called Kyang-chu (wild horse\nriver), a large tributary of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra, which I had to cross,\nbut that it admitted of fording only by those well acquainted with\nits shallows. The necessity which thus arose of having a qualified\ncompanion compelled me to prolong my stay with my kind host till the\n13th of July. It was on the night of the 12th that, at the invitation\nof my host, the occupants of the other tents, numbering about thirty\nmen and women, came to his tent to hear my preaching, as they had been\ntold by my host that I was a holy priest. My sermon to the assembly\nprocured for me various offerings in kind. Among the audience was a\nyoung girl who insisted on my accepting from her a neck ornament,\nconsisting of seven coral beads and a gem. I took it from her hand for\na moment, but with sincere thanks I returned it her, as I really had no\nuse for it. But she, with the support of her companions, insisted on my\naccepting it, and I was finally persuaded to take the gem alone, which\neven now I keep, valuing it as a memento of a dear little girl of the\nTibetan wilds. The next day the owner of the white tent came to my host\nand gave him some raisins, dried peaches and dates, taking in exchange\nsheep\u2019s wool, butter and other local products. This man proved to be a\ntrader from Ladak and spoke but little Tibetan. Apparently a devoted\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist, he asked me a great many things about my religion, and seemed\nto be highly pleased with all my replies; so much so that he begged me\nto come to his tent and dine with him. So at noon I went to his tent,\nwhere he regaled me with delicacies considered to be costly in those\nparts. It was this Ladak trader who was to start on the day following,\nand to be my guide in crossing the Kyang-chu.\n\n[Illustration: ATTACKED BY DOGS AND SAVED BY A LADY.]\n\nAs for my host the Lama, I learned that he was really a man of the\norder belonging to the new sect of Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, which by the way\nstrictly enjoins celibacy and abstinence on all its priests, so I was\nconsiderably perplexed at seeing him living with a wife. He called\nhimself Alchu Tulku, which means \u2018incarnation of Alchu\u2019--the name of\na place on the plateau. His wife was exceedingly beautiful, as I have\nalready hinted. But it was none of my business to pry into the matter\nany further. It was enough for me that, after all my distressing\nexperiences, he received me with open arms, treated me with the utmost\nkindness, and behaved in a manner bespeaking a large heart and deeply\ncharitable mind. I noticed that he owned about sixty yaks in addition\nto two hundred sheep, and that he was very well circumstanced, though\nhe might not perhaps be called a very rich man. Besides, his charming\nwife appeared to be thoroughly devoted to him, and he seemed in every\nrespect the master of a very happy home. What more could I wish for\nthem?\n\nBut I was much surprised at a discovery which I made on coming\nback to them from a visit to the white tent. When in the evening I\napproached the Lama\u2019s tent, I heard noises inside which suggested a\nfearful quarrel at its height. On entering, I saw that a wonderful\nmetamorphosis had come over the erstwhile beauty. Her face was burning\nred and undergoing the most disagreeable contortions I had ever seen,\nas she went on calling her husband names and otherwise insulting him\nin the vilest language imaginable. It was all about \u201canother woman\u201d\nand also about the husband\u2019s partiality for his own relatives. A man\nof quiet disposition as the Lama was, he heroically maintained his\nself-composure and silence until she dared to call him \u201cbeast,\u201d when\nhe rose and feigned to beat her. He probably did so because he was\nirritated at my appearance on the scene just at that juncture. But that\nwas a blundering move on his part, for the moment he raised his fist,\nthe now thoroughly maddened termagant threw herself at his feet, and,\nwith eyes shut, shouted, shrieked and howled, daring him to kill and\neat her! What could I do? I played the part of a peace-maker, and it\nwas lucky that I succeeded in the office. I got the woman to go to bed\non the one hand, and persuaded the Lama to spend the night with the\nLadak trader, to whose tent I accompanied him. And so the last night I\nspent with my kind host brought me a rude awakening, which caused me to\nshed tears of deep sympathy, not necessarily for Alchu Tulku only, but\nfor all my brethren of the Order, whose moral weakness had betrayed\nthem into breaking their vows of celibacy, and who in consequence were\nforced to go through scenes as I have described.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nThe Lighter Side of the Experiences.\n\n\nOn the 14th of July I bade adieu to Alchu Lama, and, riding on a horse\nhe lent to me and in the company of the Ladak trader, I resumed my\njourney, now heading due north. My luggage was taken care of by my\ncompanion, who had six men under him and some ponies. First, we went\nthrough an undulating land where snow remained here and there, and\ngrasses were struggling to grow. A ride of about fourteen miles brought\nus to the river Kyang-chu, whence, about fifty miles to the north-west,\nI saw a great snow-covered mountain. It was in that mountain that the\nriver had its rise, and, following its course with my eye, I saw it\nflow into and disappear in the upper part of another elevation on the\nsouth-east. The Kyang-chu was about four hundred and fifty yards wide\nat places, while it narrowed to sixty yards or so at others, where its\nwaters shot between walls of huge rocks. Before crossing the river we\ntook our noon-meal. I was now a guest of my companion, and the latter\u2019s\nmen went about gathering fuel and getting things ready, while I sat\ndown and read the Scriptures, and I had altogether an easy time of it.\nBefore our parting, Alchu Lama had given me about five _go_, or about\nthe fiftieth part of a peck of rice. I had this cooked, and invited my\ncompanion and all his men to partake of it. It was a grand treat; I\nhad not tasted rice for a long time. Rice, by the way, comes to these\nregions from Nep\u0101l, and costs about seventy sen per _sho_, or ten _go_.\n\nThe river had a sandy bed of considerable depth, and it was judged\ndangerous to make the ponies wade across it laden. All the baggage was\ntherefore taken from their backs, and carried across the stream piece\nby piece by the men, who had stripped themselves naked. My companion\nand I also divested ourselves of all our clothing, and began to cross\nthe icy stream. Where we forded it, the breadth must have been more\nthan four hundred yards. The depth of the water was from three to four\nfeet, and another danger was from the blocks of ice floating down from\nthe upper reaches, which we had to take good care to escape, for fear\nof receiving serious cuts. After hard efforts we reached the opposite\nshore, where, in the warm sun, I had time enough to recover myself from\nthe effects of the cold water while the men repacked the baggage on the\nponies.\n\nOnce more in the saddle, we turned north-west along the river, and\nafter a jog of about fifteen miles we came upon a nomad station, where\nseven or eight tents were visible. We were lodged in the largest tent,\nthe owner of which was an elderly man named Karma. The intimation\nthat I had come from Alchu Lama at once secured me most hospitable\ntreatment from Karma. In the Karma family I observed a very singular\ntype of married life, almost unique even in the wondrous land of Tibet,\nwhere (as I will tell more in detail later on) nothing is more common\nthan three or five brothers with one communal wife. In Karma\u2019s case\nit was quite the opposite, for he was about fifty years old and had\nthree wives, all living. The eldest Mrs. Karma was about forty-seven\nyears of age, and blind; the next about thirty-five, and the third\nabout twenty-five. Mr. Karma had a single child by his youngest wife.\nPolygamy is only very rarely practised in Tibet, though there are\ninstances of two or three sisters taking, or marrying, one common\nhusband for economy\u2019s sake. Karma\u2019s was the only instance I came across\nin Tibet in which one man deliberately indulged in the luxury of three\nwives.\n\nMr. Karma asked me to read the Sacred Books for his family, and I\nreadily consented, for a couple of days\u2019 rest was not disagreeable\nto me. While staying with him I bought an extra pair of boots, a\nprecaution which I had foolishly omitted to take before, to my great\ninconvenience. I also purchased a sheep, to make it a beast of burden\nfor me.\n\nOn July 18th I left Karma\u2019s, with about fifty pounds of luggage on my\nback and twenty-five more on that of the sheep. I led the sheep with\na yak\u2019s tail rope tied to its neck. The animal proved docile enough\nfor a couple of hundred yards, but not further. It wanted to go home,\nand tried to assert its right to do so with tremendous force. For my\npart, I stood on my own right, and there ensued a tug of war between\nthe sheep and its master, and a very lively one it was. I argued with\nthe animal, adducing various proofs of my determination, among which I\nmay mention a rather free use of one of my staves. But the sheep showed\nthat he had a stronger determination than mine, and I began to be\ndragged backward. My severe exertions even threatened to cause me some\nserious injury, and I finally gave in and allowed myself to be led back\nto Karma\u2019s, as I had a mind to find out the best way of managing the\nanimal. On my second call on him, Karma expressed his opinion that my\nsheep was not yet broken sufficiently for travelling purposes, and that\nthe purchase of a better-trained one as its companion might induce the\nrefractory animal to obey my will. I followed the suggestion and paid\none yen twenty-five sen for an additional sheep; seventy sen would have\nbought me a younger one, but I wanted a fully grown and fully broken\none, and I was obliged to stay there that night, for all his sheep had\ngone to the plains. On that very evening I bought another, and tried\nputting on his back one half of my share of the burden of the morning;\nthis one proved to be a very good companion to my first sheep, and\nthings went splendidly on the trial.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nThe largest River of Tibet.\n\n\nOn the day I left Karma\u2019s, about three o\u2019clock in the afternoon I was\novertaken by a party of men, the leader of whom happened to be, as\nI afterwards found, the chief of the district of Hor-tosho, through\nwhich I was then travelling. They accosted me. I saw in the glint of\nthe chief\u2019s eyes something that told me that he had half a mind to\nsuspect me. I perceived at once the danger I might be in, and managed\nto bring the conversation round to the subject of Gelong Rinpoche. As\ngood luck would have it, the chief happened to be a great believer in\nGelong Rinpoche. Had I met the holy man? Yes! And more--I had been\ntaught to study the mysteries of Bo\u1e0dhi-sa\u1e6d\u1e6dva and Mah\u0101-sa\u1e6d\u1e6dva, besides\nhaving been given many valuable presents by the saintly Teacher. All\nthese incidents, of which I gave full particulars, had the effect of\ncompletely melting away the suspicion which had almost formed in the\nchief\u2019s mind. He then invited me to come to his house-tent the next day\nand read the Sacred Books for him. His name was Wangdak.\n\nOn the following day Wangdak lent me a horse and caused his men to look\nafter my luggage. A ride of something over ten miles brought me to the\nchief\u2019s habitation, where I found his worldly possessions quite equal\nto the weighty position he held as a district chief. All went well. The\nnext day Wangdak caused one of his men and a horse to accompany me for\na distance of about six miles, at the end of which the servant with the\nhorse took leave of me, after informing me that one night\u2019s bivouac and\nsome walking on a comparatively easy road would bring me to another\nnomad station.\n\nIn due time I reached this station, where I found four tents, on\napproaching which I was, as usual, met by a welcome-party of dogs. I\nshall say no more of the canine welcome, which is an invariable thing\non arriving at a nomad\u2019s tent. At one day\u2019s distance from the station\nI was to come to Tamchok Khanbab, which forms the upper course of\nthe Brahmapu\u1e6dra, and is the greatest of Tibetan rivers, and I needed\na guide, without whom I could not think of any attempt to cross it.\nUnfortunately I found no one willing to become my guide, although I\nmade liberal offers of money and other things of value. I was almost\non the verge of despair, when a sickly looking old woman came to me.\nShe said that she was very ill and begged me to examine her, and to\ntell her when she would die; a pleasant request, indeed! But I took\npity on her, for I could see that hers was a case of consumption in its\nadvanced stage. I granted her request, to please her, and also gave\nher some harmless medicine to ease her mind, besides telling her how\nto take care of herself, and other things such as a good doctor would\nsay when he knows his patient to be in a hopeless condition, but not\nlikely to die immediately. The old dame was gratified beyond measure,\nand wished to give me something in return, and she implored me to say\nwhat that something should be. Here was my chance. I told her the\nplight I was in, and asked her to secure, if possible, a couple of men\nand some horses--say three--to take me to, and help me to cross, the\nriver on the morrow. Nothing could be easier; she was only too glad to\nbe able to oblige so holy a Lama. When the morrow came all was done\nas I had requested. It is a general thing for a Tibetan pack-horse to\ncarry on its back its driver and thirty pounds more or less of baggage.\nIn my case the horses had an easier time of it, because my luggage\nwas distributed on three of them. We started at five o\u2019clock in the\nmorning, and having covered about seventeen miles by eleven o\u2019clock,\nwe arrived on the banks of the Tamchok Khanbab. Here I prepared my\nnoon-meal in the usual manner, and took it before crossing the river.\n\nThis river was a mountain stream of considerable breadth, with\nextensive sand-beaches on either side. The width of the beach alone\non the eastern side was about two and a half miles, and that on the\nopposite side about half as much; the width of the stream itself, when\nI crossed it, was not more than a little over a mile. It was at the\nwater\u2019s edge that we took our meal. When all was ready for crossing,\nI once more felt the necessity of anointing my body, but at the same\ntime I also felt the undesirability of letting my guides see what I was\ndoing. Under a certain pretext, therefore, I walked away from them,\nand when out of their sight I quickly finished the operation. Then we\nplunged into the water. The condition of the stream with its cuttingly\ncold water was much the same as that of the Kyang-chu (except for the\ngreater width to be forded) and the water in some places was not more\nthan seven or eight inches deep; but the sand was so treacherous that\nwe often sank in it right up to our hips. In this case, as in the\nother, my guides took my luggage on their backs, leaving the horses\nbehind, and also helped my sheep to cross. Upon _terra firma_ on the\nother side, my men pointed to a gorge between two mountains rising to\nthe north-west, and told me that I was to go through the gorge, and\nthence to Lake M\u0101nasarovara, after traversing an uninhabited region for\nfifteen or sixteen days; the road would take me to M\u0101nasarovara first\nand then to Kang Rinpoche. I thanked my guides for their trouble and\ninformation, and gave them each a _Kata_. A kata is a small piece of\nthin white silk, which Tibetans present as a compliment. It generally\naccompanies a present, but is also given away by itself. The men,\nafter advising me to recite the Sacred Text from time to time, in\norder that I might not be set upon and devoured by snow-leopards, bowed\ntheir farewell and were gone, recrossing the river.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nDangers begin in Earnest.\n\n\nAfter leaving the sandy beach of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra behind, about a\nquarter of a mile\u2019s trudging brought me to the outer edge of another\nexpanse of undulating plain, the elevations here and there assuming\nthe height of hills. Following the upper course of the river to the\nnorth-west, I saw the titanic heights of the Him\u0101layas, rising one\nabove another. Here I had to pasture my sheep, and, while taking a rest\nmyself, I drank deep and full of the grandeur of the scenery. The sight\nhere obtainable of the mighty peaks covered with glittering snow from\nthe top to the bottom was sublime in the extreme, incomparably more so\nthan what one sees from Darjeeling or Nep\u0101l. As for the Brahmapu\u1e6dra,\nit looked like a shining streamer hung out from the bosom of a great\nmountain, and waving down and across an immense plain, till the eyes\ncould follow it no more. The sight gave me an _uta_:\n\n The distant clouds about the snowy range\n Pour forth the mighty Brahmaputra stream,\n That darts into the farthest skies which meet\n The far horizon of the distant lands.\n The river in its pride majestic seems\n The waving standard of the Buddha, named\n Vairochana, all Nature\u2019s Brilliant Lord.\n\nLike all the others of my production, this may not be worth the name of\n_uta_. Call it a silly conceit of imagination, if you like; but when\nI made these lines, I was feeling so jubilant that I could not help\ngiving vent to my emotion; for, conceit or no conceit, the imagination\nwould have been impossible to me, had I not succeeded in penetrating\ninto the untrodden wilderness of Tibet.\n\nThe sheep had now finished grazing, and dividing the burden of my\nluggage among the three--myself and the two sheep--I started making\neasy progress onward. I found the country around full of pools of\nwater, varying in size all the way from a hundred yards to a mile or so\nin circumference, and I gave it the name of Chi-ike-ga Hara--Plain of\na thousand Ponds. About four o\u2019clock in the afternoon I finished the\nday\u2019s journey by encamping near a good-sized pond. I then went about\nto collect the usual fuel, but found none, except the dung of the wild\nhorse, and I concluded that the neighborhood was never visited even by\nyaks. The night was extremely cold, so much so that I could not sleep\nat all, and the following is an _uta_ that occurred to me in the midst\nof shivering:\n\n On these high plateaux here no sound is heard\n Of man or beast, no crickets sing their tunes,\n The moon above, and I, her friend, below.\n\nThe following day I made about twelve miles before noon, over a country\nmuch the same in topography. Proceeding north-west in the afternoon, I\ncame to the base of a huge mountain of snow, which I could not think\nof crossing. For a while I went into meditation, and then wended my\nway in a direction which fortunately proved to be the right one for my\npurpose, as I found out afterwards. Right in the direction, but all\nwrong in other respects, as what I have to tell will show.\n\nAs I pushed onwards, I soon came upon a region which was quite the\nopposite of the country I had traversed in its entire absence of\nwater supply; neither a pool nor a brook was to be seen within the\neye\u2019s range. I continued my progress until about seven o\u2019clock in the\nevening--I had walked about twenty-seven miles, all told, that day--but\nnot a drop of water could I find, and I felt as withered up as could\nbe. As for my sheep, there was some green grass growing for them to\ngraze on. I had no tea--in fact could not have any--that evening\nbefore I went to sleep. It is wonderful how one gets accustomed even to\nhardships; I slept well that night.\n\n[Illustration: NEARLY DYING OF THIRST.]\n\nBefore sunrise the next morning, on resuming my journey, I thought\nI espied a stream of water coursing through a sandy country at a\ndistance which I judged to be about seven miles in the direction of\nmy progress. Not having had a drop of water, or anything whatever in\nliquid form, since the afternoon of the previous day, I was of course\nthirsty; but now I had prospect at least of obtaining some quenching\ndraught, and allaying the thirst with a pinch of _hotan_, now and\nthen, I made good headway. On reaching the supposed river, what was\nmy disappointment and dismay! Instead of a stream of water, I found\nthere the dry bed of a river, strewn with white pebbles glittering in\nthe sun! Then I could not help imagining myself to be a mere shadow,\nwandering in mad quest of a soothing draught in the hot region of the\nnether world, where all water turned into fire when brought to the\nmouth. Once more I stood me unto my full length, and looked round for\nwater; but none could be seen, nothing but some blades of grass growing\nhere and there to the height of about five or six inches. I could do\nnothing but endure the thirst, and wend my way on in the direction I\nhad chosen--north-west. After proceeding for some distance, I once more\nthought that I perceived a body of water in the midst of another desert\nof sand, but on coming to the spot the glittering specks of sand once\nmore disillusioned me only to intensify my thirst.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nOvertaken by a Sand-Storm.\n\n\nThe tormenting thirst which I experienced after my second\ndisappointment simply beggars description. To say that I felt as if\nmy entire internal system were becoming parched is only to put it\nmildly. But, however excruciating the torture might be, there was no\nhelp for it after all but to move on in the hope of finding some water;\neven the hope itself was now almost deserting me. I really felt that\nI should die of thirst if I should fail to get some moisture during\nthe rest of the day, and were to pass another night waterless. I had\nbeen constantly taking some _hotan_; but even that cooling fragrance\nseemed to increase the distressing dryness. Thank heaven! about eleven\no\u2019clock I came within sight of a declivity, and somehow I felt sure\nthat I should find some water at its bottom. Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha be praised! I was\nright: there was some water. But alas! such water! To take the luggage\noff my back, get out a wooden bowl, and run down into the hollow was\nthe work of an instant. But when I fetched out a bowlful of the water,\nlo and behold! it was vermilion red, thick and (what was worse) alive\nwith myriads of little creatures! In short, it was a stagnant pool of\nwater, which for all I knew might have been becoming putrid for years.\nImagine how I then felt! I was dying with thirst, but the very look\nof the water was forbidding. Then my religious scruples disallowed\nmy swallowing any water with living things in it. It was not long,\nhowever, before I remembered a teaching of the Blessed Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, in\nwhich the Lord telleth that when water which is to be drunk contains\nliving things, it should be strained through a piece of woven stuff. I\nwent through the process; but the water remained red. There were no\nmore moving things in it, however, and I took a good long draught of\nthe vermilion liquid. That quenching draught, how delicious it was! I\nimagine God\u2019s nectar could not be sweeter. But a second bowlful--no, I\ncould not take it. In the usual manner, then, I built a fire and went\nabout boiling the filtered water. It was well-nigh twelve o\u2019clock,\nhowever, before the kettle began to boil, and it being against my rule,\nas already told, to take any meal after noon, I prepared baked flour\nwith the red lukewarm water. And the lunch I then took was one of the\nmost enjoyable I ever had in Tibet.\n\n[Illustration: A SAND-STORM.]\n\nI had proceeded over the sandy desert for about two and a half miles,\nafter that memorable lunch, and it was now past three o\u2019clock in the\nafternoon, when a terrific sand-storm arose. A sand-storm is something\nwhich one can never experience, or form any idea of, in Japan. As\nstrong gust after gust of wind arose, the loose sand actually surged\ninto big billows, tossing, dashing, tumbling, and sweeping, like the\nangry waves of the mighty ocean. The wind burrowed deep into the ground\nhere and built high hills of sand there, filling the air with blinding\nparticles, which rested in heaps on the luggage, penetrated down the\nneck, and made impossible any progress forward, while to stand still\nwas to risk being buried alive. Not knowing what else to do, I kept\nmoving just to shake off the sand, and to avoid being inhumed, while\nreciting in silence some passages of the Holy Text.\n\nFortunately the storm lasted for only about an hour, and it subsided\nwith the same suddenness with which it arose. Then I resumed my\nadvance, and by about five o\u2019clock I reached a place grown over with\ncreeping grass, and low thorny bush, the leaves of which were not green\nbut dark to almost blackness, owing probably to the cold climate. There\nI bivouacked for the night, and I had an abundance of fuel with which\nto make a fire, and afterwards thoroughly enjoyed my sleep, as I had\nnot done for many a night.\n\nThe next morning, after traversing the bush-land, I came to the foot\nof a mountain which I had to climb. When half way up the slope I saw\na mountain stream flowing across my road, and it presented a rather\ncurious sight. For the river, at a very short distance, broadened into\na lake, and almost described a right angle when flowing out of this\nand into another basin. Afterwards I ascertained the name of this\nriver to be Chema-yungdung-gi-chu, and that its waters flowed into the\nBrahmapu\u1e6dra. I shuddered at the thought of having once more to cross an\nicy mountain stream, but there was no help.\n\nIt was only nine o\u2019clock in the morning when I reached the\nChema-yungdung-gi-chu, and I found ice quite thick still along its\nbanks. I waited till the ice began to melt, and I finished the\nnoon-meal before making a plunge into the water, not forgetting of\ncourse the anointing process. My intention was to make my sheep carry\ntheir shares of the luggage across the river; but to this proposal they\nstrenuously objected, probably knowing instinctively the depth of the\nwater. In the end I gave in, relieved the animals of their burden, and,\nleaving the luggage behind, I led them into the water by their ropes.\nI tucked up my clothes high, but the water proved to be much deeper\nthan I had judged; it came up to my shoulders, and all the clothing\nI had on became wet through. The sheep proved good swimmers, and we\nmanaged to get to the other side without any accident; of course they\nmight have been washed down and drowned, but for the assistance I gave\nthem by means of the ropes. Once on the bank, I tied one end of the\nropes to a large boulder, and after taking off all my clothing to get\ndry I, stark naked, made a second plunge and returned for my luggage.\nThe second crossing was comparatively easy. After a rest of about\nhalf an hour, and a thorough anointing for the second time, I made\nall my baggage into one bundle to be balanced on my head. With that\nacrobatic equipment, I entered the stream for a third time. All went\nwell, until, in mid-stream, I lost my foothold, treading on a slippery\nstone in the bottom, and, what with the weight of the luggage on my\nhead, and more or less exhaustion after the repeated wadings, I fell\ndown into the water, while the bundle slid off my head. I had no time\neven to bring my staff into service; all I could do was to take firm\nhold of my luggage, and try to swim with one hand; for I was being fast\ncarried down into deep waters. The thought then occurred to me that, if\nI tried to save my luggage, I might lose my life. But a second thought\nmade it plain to me that to lose my luggage would mean surer death,\nbecause my route lay for ten days, at least, over an uninhabited tract\nof wilderness, and thus it was wiser to cling to it while life lasted.\nAnd cling to my luggage I did, but I was rapidly losing the power of\nmoving my free swimming arm, and, in only one hundred yards down the\nswift stream, I should be washed into one of the lakes, whence I might\nnever be able to get to dry land. I should have said that the river,\nat the point where I was crossing it, was a hundred and eighty yards\nwide, more or less. I had now had quite a course of ice and water--all\ninvoluntarily certainly--and a feeling of numbness was quickly coming\nover me. I began to think that it might be just as well to be drowned\nthen as to die of starvation afterwards. In fact, I had spoken my\nlast desire: \u201cO ye! All the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas of the ten quarters, as well as\nthe highest Teacher of this world, Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Sh\u0101kyamuni! I am not able\nto accomplish my desires and to return the kindness of my parents,\nfriends, followers and specially the favors of all the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas, in\nthis life; but I desire that I be born again, in order to requite the\nfavors which I have already received from all.\u201d At that moment, with a\nthrill, I felt that the end of one of my staves had touched something\nhard. In an instant courage returned to me, and on trying to stand up I\nfound that the water was only up to my breast. I was at that time about\nforty yards from the bank I had started for. Feeble as I was, with\nrecovered strength I finally managed to reach the \u201cshore of salvation\u201d.\nAs for the luggage, heavy with the soaking water, it was impossible for\nme to rebalance it on my head, and I pulled it along after me in the\nwater; but when I at last got upon the bank, it taxed all my remaining\nenergy to drag it out after me. Arrived on the bank, I found that I had\nbeen carried more than two hundred and fifty yards down the stream from\nthe point whence I started to cross it, and I saw my sheep leisurely\ngrazing, perfectly unconscious of their master\u2019s sad plight. I had no\nstrength, then, even to crawl up to where my sheep were. My fingers\nwere stiff and immovable, and I rubbed the regions over my heart and\nlungs with closed fists. After an hour\u2019s exercise of this kind, I more\nor less recovered the circulation of blood in my limbs, and I was just\nable partially to undo my baggage and to take out hotan--hotan, my\nlife-saving hotan, which Mrs. Ichibei Watanabe of Osaka gave me, when\nbidding me farewell. A dose of hotan sent me into a fit of convulsions,\nwhich lasted for nearly three hours. It was now past five o\u2019clock, and\nthe sun was going down. The convulsions had almost left me. I then made\ntwo bundles of my luggage, and in two crawling trips I carried them to\nwhere I had left my sheep grazing. It was then that I thought of an\nancient method of torture, called _Oi-ishi_, which consisted in making\na suspect carry on his back an extremely heavy load--so rackingly heavy\nI then felt to be the weight of my divided luggage. That evening I had\nneither courage nor energy to make any fire, and I passed the night\nwrapped up in my half-wet _tuk-tuk_. The luggage having been done up\nin hides and skins, the water had not penetrated much into it, and I\nwas thus able to go to sleep dressed, and protected in partially dry\napparel.\n\n[Illustration: STRUGGLE IN THE RIVER.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n22,650 Feet above Sea-level.\n\n\nThe sun shone out brightly the next morning, and I dried my clothing\nand the collection I then had of the sacred Scriptures. The latter I\nstill have in my possession, and every time I take them out, I cannot\nhelp wondering how my life was spared when those things got wet. By one\no\u2019clock in the afternoon I was ready to proceed, although I had not\nhalf recovered from the effect of my experience of the day before, and\nmy things were far from being dry. Consequently even my own share of\nthe luggage proved heavier than before, while circumstances compelled\nme to relieve my sheep of a part of theirs. To make things worse, I\nhad managed to get a painful cut on one of my feet during my last\neffort to cross the Chema-yungdung-gi-chu, and altogether it was an\ninauspicious start which I made on that afternoon. After all, however,\na step forward meant a step nearer to my destination, and with that\nphilosophical reasoning I dragged myself onward. In that way I had\nproceeded for about five miles, when, to increase my difficulties, snow\nbegan to fall thick and fast. When I had arrived near a small pond and\nstopped to bivouac for the night, fire and tea were entirely out of the\nquestion, for the elements were now engaged in a fearful strife--the\ndazzling lightning, the deafening thunder, the shrieking wind and the\nblinding blizzard were at war all at once. That which I had managed to\ndry tolerably the day before became thoroughly wet again, and the whole\nof the following morning was spent in repeating the process of the\npreceding morning. No fire was obtainable even then, and consequently\nno tea; so I allayed my hunger with some raisins before resuming my\njourney shortly after noon. And little I dreamt of the danger that was\nin store for me that afternoon and the day following.\n\nI was still heading for the north-west, and in order to adhere to that\ncourse I must now climb a snow-clad peak towering into the sky; I saw\nno way of avoiding the task, and encouraged by an uncertain hope--still\na hope--of emerging upon or near Kang Rinpoche, or in the neighborhood\nof Mount Kail\u0101sa, I began the ascent of that great hill, which I\nafterward ascertained to be a peak called Kon Gyu-i Kangri, that rises\ntwenty-two thousand six hundred and fifty feet above sea-level. By\nfive o\u2019clock in the afternoon I had made an ascent of about ten miles,\nand then it began to snow and to blow a gale. I thought it dangerous\nto continue my ascent under these conditions, and turning first north\nand then east, I essayed to make a rapid descent. The sun had now gone\ndown, and snow was falling faster than ever. But I had not yet found\na shelter and so continued my descent, having made up my mind to go\non until I found a hospitable shelving cliff, or some such haven. It\nwas, however, nothing but snow, snow, everywhere and all around--and\npresently there were twelve inches on the ground. By and by my sheep\nrefused to proceed further, whether owing to hunger or not I could not\ntell, though it was plain that they had not fed the whole afternoon,\nbecause of the snow. At first I succeeded in getting them to move on\na little as the result of some physical reasoning, but presently even\nthat process of pleading failed. But the prospect of being frozen to\ndeath prevented me from yielding to their not unreasonable obstinacy,\nand putting all my strength into the ropes I dragged them onward. The\npoor animals reluctantly obeyed me and walked on for about a hundred\nyards, at the end of which, however, they came to a dead stop and began\nto breathe heavily. Thereupon I felt no little alarm, thinking that\nthe animals might die that night. But what could I do? I knew that I\nwas many a days\u2019 journey at least from the nearest human habitation. A\nfew more miles either way would not make much difference: so let fate\ndecide. Once in that frame of mind, I took out my night-coverings and\nwrapped myself up and, protecting my head with a water-proof coat, I\nsat myself down between my two sheep, with the determination to pass\nthe night in religious meditation.\n\n[Illustration: MEDITATING IN FACE OF DEATH.]\n\nMy poor sheep! They crept close to me and lay there in the snow,\nemitting occasionally their gentle cry, which I thought had never\nsounded sadder. Nor had I ever felt so lonely as I did then. Wrapped up\nin the clumsy manner that I have described, I still managed to smear\nover my body the clove-oil, which seemed to prevent to some extent the\nradiation of the heat of the body, and I began to feel considerably\nwarmer than I had been before. For all that, the cold increased\nin intensity after midnight, and I began to feel that my power of\nsensation was gradually deserting me. I seemed to be in a trance, and\nvaguely thought that that must be the feeling of a man on the point of\ndeath.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nI survive a Sleep in the Snow.\n\n\nI was now wandering in a dream-land, if I may so describe the mental\ncondition of a man half-way on the road of being frozen to death.\nRegret, resignation, and the hope of re-birth took turns in my mind,\nand then all became a blank. During that blankness I no doubt looked\nexactly like a dead person. Suddenly I awoke, fancying that somebody,\nsomething, was stirring about me or near me. I opened my eyes, and saw\nthe two sheep shaking themselves; they were shaking snow off their\nbodies. That was strange, I dreamily thought. I saw the sheep finish\nshaking off the snow, and I wanted to shake it off too. But I could\nnot. I was rigid all over. Mechanically I next endeavored to recover\nthe use of my limbs. Presently I became more myself mentally, and I saw\nthe skies still presenting a dismal and threatening appearance, the\nimmense patches of black, black cloud still fleeing or pursuing, and\nthe sun struggling to force his life-giving rays between the intervals\nof the hurrying vapors. On taking out my watch I found that it was\nthen half past ten--of what morning I could not tell. Had I slept only\none night, or two in the snow? The question was more than I could just\nthen solve. Nor did I feel that there was any necessity for its instant\nsolution. My immediate desire was for nourishment, and I took some\nbaked flour, helping it down with snow. I gave some also to my sheep,\nwhich, by that time, had learnt to feed themselves on flour when green\ngrass was lacking.\n\nI felt that the condition of my health was not equal to the task of\nmaking a second attempt to climb over the Kon Gyu-i Kangri, and I\ncontinued the descent when I resumed my journey, with the intention of\ntaking a long rest at the foot of the mountain. After going down more\nthan five miles I came to another mountain stream, and at the same time\ndown again came the snow. I almost trembled at a prospect of spending\nanother perilous night in the snow. Just at that juncture I heard some\nclear, ringing sounds, as of a bird\u2019s cry. Turning round, I saw seven\nor eight cranes stalking along majestically in the shallow part of\nthe river. Never before had I seen a sight so poetically picturesque,\nso representative of antique serenity. Some little time afterwards I\ncomposed an _uta_ in memory of that enchanting scene:\n\n Like feathers white the snows fall down and lie\n There on the mountain-river\u2019s sandy banks;\n Ko-kow, Ko-kow! sounds strange--a melody\n I hear--I search around for this strange cry.\n In quiet majesty those mountain cranes\n I find, are proudly strutting--singing thus.\n\nThe river was about one hundred and twenty yards wide, and crossing\nit, I still proceeded down the incline. I had now come to the bottom\nof a valley, and I saw at a distance what I took for a herd of yaks.\nBut I had before been deceived quite often by exposed boulders and\nrocks which I had taken for yaks, and I was doubtful of my vision on\nthat occasion. But presently I saw the dark objects moving about,\nand I was sure that they were yaks. The discovery, wholly unexpected\nas it was, was delightful, for their presence implied that of some\nfellow-creatures in the neighborhood. Coming up to the spot, I found\nthat the herd consisted of about sixty yaks, attended by some herdsmen.\nOn my questioning the men, they informed me that they had arrived at\nthe spot the evening before, and that a little further on I should come\nupon a little camp of four tents. Towards these I forthwith directed my\nsteps.\n\nMy arrival in front of one of the tents was, as usual, hailed by a\npack of barking dogs. I begged the occupants of the first tent for a\nnight\u2019s lodging, but met with a flat refusal. Probably my appearance\nwas against me: I had not shaved for two months, and my unkempt hair\nand beard no doubt made me look wild, while under-feeding and general\nexhaustion cannot have improved my features. Still I pleaded for\ncharity, but in vain. Dejectedly I moved to a second tent, but there\ntoo I received no better treatment. In fact the treatment was worse:\nfor my urgent pleading, with a detailed account of my sufferings\nduring the previous eight days or so, only seemed to make the master\nof the tent turn colder, even to the extent of finally charging me\nwith an intention to rob him. That was enough. I turned away, and a\ngreat sadness came over me as I stood in the snow. My sheep bleated\npitifully, and I felt like crying myself. A third tent stood near, but\nI could not muster courage enough to repeat my request there. The sight\nof my sheep was melancholy in the extreme, and with an effort I made\nan appeal at the fourth and last tent. To my great joy, I met a ready\nwelcome. I was utterly tired out, but a quiet rest near a comfortable\nfire made me imagine the joys of paradise, and this I was allowed to\nenjoy all that evening and through the next day. During that stay I\noccupied my time in writing down the twenty-six desires which I had\nformulated, with the hope of their accomplishment proving helpful to\nthe spiritual need of others as well as myself.\n\nAt five o\u2019clock on the second morning I thanked my host for his\nhospitality and left him. I now proceeded due north and, after trudging\nover snow for nearly ten miles, I came out upon a more or less\ngrass-covered plain. By noon I had arrived near a pond, and there took\nmy midday meal. A survey from that point showed me that I had to cross\na sandy desert, which appeared to be larger in extent than the one I\nhad traversed after crossing the Chema Yungdung. The thought of another\nsand-storm gave me new energy, born of fear, and I made no halt until\nI had walked quite out of the desert.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n\u2018Bon\u2019 and \u2018Kyang.\u2019\n\n\nI walked about five miles over the sand and then reached a piece of\ngrass-land. Beyond this I came to a plain of stones of curious shapes,\nin the centre of which a solitary mountain rose to a considerable\nheight. I subsequently learned that the mountain was the sacred abode\nof the deities of the Bon religion. Bonism is an ancient religion of\nTibet, which commanded considerable influence before the introduction\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism into that country. It has still some adherents, but it\ncontinues to exist only for its name\u2019s sake. Originally Bonism very\nmuch resembled Hin\u1e0duism; but now, in theory, it is almost Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\nThis similarity is explained in this way. When it was superseded by\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, a certain Bon priest recast his religion after the pattern\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and called the revised product the New Bonism. Without\nattempting to give any special particulars of its doctrines, I may say\nthat the New Bonism, when shorn of its sacrifices, its toleration of\nmarriage and of the use of intoxicants, is only Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism under another\nname. The Bon deities have no shrines or temples dedicated to them, and\nare believed to inhabit some particular mountain, or snowy peak, or\npond, or lake. And it was upon one of these divine abodes that I had\nchanced, but lacking at the time all knowledge of Bonism, my attention\nwas soon diverted by coming in sight of a couple of _kyangs_.\n\n[Illustration: A LUDICROUS RACE.]\n\nAs I have already said, kyang is the name given by the Tibetans to the\nwild horse of their northern steppes. More accurately it is a species\nof ass, quite as large in size as a large Japanese horse. In color it\nis reddish brown, with black hair on the ridge of the back and black\nmane and with the belly white. To all appearance it is an ordinary\nhorse, except for its tufted tail. It is a powerful animal, and is\nextraordinarily fleet. It is never seen singly, but always in twos or\nthrees, if not in a herd of sixty or seventy. Its scientific name is\n_Equus hemionis_, but it is for the most part called by its Tibetan\nname, which is usually spelt _kyang_ in English. It has a curious habit\nof turning round and round, when it comes within seeing distance of\na man. Even a mile and a quarter away, it will commence this turning\nround at every short stage of its approach, and after each turn it\nwill stop for a while, to look at the man over its own back, like a\nfox. Ultimately it comes up quite close. When quite near it will look\nscared, and at the slightest thing will wheel round and dash away, but\nonly to stop and look back. When one thinks that it has run far away,\nit will be found that it has circled back quite near, to take, as it\nwere, a silent survey of the stranger from behind. Altogether it is an\nanimal of very queer habits.\n\nBut to come back to my story: my two sheep, apparently frightened by\nthe approach of the rotating horses, made a dash for freedom with\nsuch suddenness and simultaneity that I lost my hold of the two\nropes; I then proceeded to run a race with them, in a frantic effort\nto recapture them. And a ludicrous race it was, in which I finally\nfell panting and giddy. While it lasted the horses seemed thoroughly\nto enjoy it, and getting into the spirit of the thing they galloped\nwith me, but only to chase my sheep further away from me. When I lay\nprostrate, the sheep stopped running and began quietly to graze.\nThe horses also stopped, and appeared quite astonished at the whole\nperformance. I then perceived my blunder. On rising, I quietly walked\nup to my sheep, and without a movement they allowed me to regain their\nropes.\n\nAll is well that ends well. But on that occasion one thing was not\nquite satisfactory, for I soon discovered that one of my sheep had lost\na part of my luggage from its back, no doubt during that memorable\nrace. I then set out to hunt after the lost bundle; but it was all\nuseless, for we had not run the race over any regular course, and\nit was impossible to follow our footsteps. One may as well look for\na parcel lost in the sea, as try to hunt up a small bundle, lying\nhidden under grass and leaves, somewhere in an immense plain. Besides,\nI argued with myself thus: the missing bundle contained some fifty\nrupees in cash, my watch and compass, and an assortment of western\ntrinkets; it would have been better not to lose the money, certainly,\nbut it was, after all, a small portion of what I had with me, and I\ncould do well without it. It was hard to part with the watch and the\ncompass, and the trinkets would have been of service in making friends\nwith the simple natives; but, looked at from another point of view,\nthe possession of these things might arouse the suspicion of the more\nintelligent Tibetans, and it was most likely that the Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, in\nHis wisdom and mercy, had caused me to be rid of them. Arriving at this\nconclusion, I gave up my search in a spirit of meek resignation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nThe Power of Buddhism.\n\n\nI had now walked about six miles to the north-west after the singular\nproceedings which I described in the last chapter, and I emerged upon\na well-trodden road, which on consulting my store of information I was\nable to identify as the path that, deviating from the Tibetan national\nhigh-way, led to lake M\u0101nasarovara. The discovery was as unexpected\nas it was pleasing, for I was now within a pilgrim-frequented zone. A\nfew more steps, indeed, brought me in sight of a dark tent, standing\non the banks of a large river, named Ga\u1e45g\u0101 by the Tibetans, where\nmy appeal for a night\u2019s lodging was cheerfully granted. I found the\noccupants of the tent to consist of three men and two women, the men\nbeing brothers, one of the women the wife of the eldest brother, and\nthe other a daughter of another of the brothers. My first inclination\non being received into the tent was to feel easy in mind, for I had\nbeen told that parties comprising women, even in Tibetan wilds, seldom\ncommit murder. But when I was informed that these people were from Dam\nGya-sho, I thought I was rather hasty in feeling so secure, for that\ncountry, like the neighboring one of Kham, is noted for its production\nof professional robbers and murderers. I had heard before that they\nhad even such a saying in that country as: \u201cNo murder, no food; no\npilgrimage, no absolution. On! onward on your pilgrimage, killing men\nand visiting temples, killing men and visiting temples!\u201d Even women of\nthat country, I had been told, think no more of committing homicide\nthan of killing a sheep. These reflexions did not bring much cheer to\nmy heart; but what could I do, since I was now in their hands? I could\nonly bide my time. Fortunately, they did not butcher me that night.\n\nEarly on August 3rd, that is to say, on the morning of the following\nday, I proceeded in a north-westerly direction along the great stream,\nwith my newly-made companions, for such had the occupants of the tent\nbecome, as they were heading for the same temporary destination as\nmyself. This river, I ascertained, had its rise in one of the snowy\npeaks that I saw to the south-east, and emptied its waters into\nLake M\u0101nasarovara. I judged it to be about two hundred and fifty\nyards wide and fairly deep. Following the stream for about three and\nthree-quarters miles and then making an ascent, we came to a clear,\nbubbling spring, which went by the name of Chumik Ga\u1e45g\u0101 or the source\nof the Ga\u1e45g\u0101, and we drank deep of the sacred water. Then we continued\nour climb, now facing north, and arrived at another spring, which was\nwelling up in a most picturesque way from under an immense slab of\nwhite marble. The natives call it Chumik thong-ga Rangchung, or the\nfountain of joy, and it really made one\u2019s heart glad to look at the\ncrystal-like water gushing up in all its purity. Both these springs are\nregarded by the Hin\u1e0d\u016bs, as by the Tibetans, as forming the sources of\nthe sacred Ga\u1e45g\u0101, and are both looked up to with religious reverence.\n\nAfter leaving the springs, we proceeded north-west again, and came\nonce more to the river Ga\u1e45g\u0101, which we forded at the point where it\nwas at its broadest in that vicinity, and passed the night on its\nbanks. We had travelled only about nine miles that day. From the place\nof our bivouac I saw to the north-west a great snow-clad mountain: it\nwas the Kang Rinpoche of Tibet, the Mount Kail\u0101sa of the Hin\u1e0d\u016b. Its\nancient name was Kang Tise. As far as my knowledge goes, it is the\nmost ideal of the snow-peaks of all the Him\u0101layas. It inspired me with\nthe profoundest feelings of pure reverence, and I looked up to it as\na \u2018natural ma\u1e47dala,\u2019 the mansion of a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas. Filled\nwith soul-stirring thoughts and fancies I addressed myself to this\nsacred pillar of nature, confessed my sins, and performed to it the\nobeisance of one hundred and eight bows. I also took out the manuscript\nof my \u2018twenty-six desires,\u2019 and pledged their accomplishment to the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. I then considered myself the luckiest of men, to have thus been\nenabled to worship such a holy emblem of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s power, and to vow\nsuch vows in its sacred presence, and I mused:\n\n Whate\u2019er my sufferings here and dangers dire,\n Whate\u2019er befalls me on my onward march,\n All, all, I feel, is for the common good\n For others treading on Salvation\u2019s path.\n\nThe sight of my performance of these devotional practices must have\nbeen a matter of wonder and mystery to my companions. They had been\nwatching me like gaping and astonished children, and were all intensely\ncurious to know why I had bowed so many times, and read out such\nstrange Chinese sentences. I was glad to explain to them the general\nmeaning of my conduct and they seemed to be deeply struck with its\nsignificance. They said that they had never known that the Chinese\nLamas were men of such Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvic mind! The upshot was that they\nasked me to preach to them that night, a request to which I was very\nglad to accede. The preaching which followed, which I purposely made as\nsimple and as appealing to the heart as possible, seemed to affect them\nprofoundly, and to make the best possible impression on them; so much\nso that they even shed tears of joy. The preaching over, they said in\nall sincerity that they were glad of my companionship, and even offered\nto regard me as their guest during the two months which they intended\nto spend in pilgrimage to and round the Kang Rinpoche. They thought\nthat their pilgrimage over such holy ground, while serving such a holy\nman as I now was to them, would absolve them completely from their\nsins. Imagine the state of my mind then! These were of the people who\ntook other men\u2019s lives with the same equanimity with which they cut\ntheir vegetables; yet, touched now by the light of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, their\nminds had softened. I blessed the power of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism more than ever, and\ncould not hold back my tears as my companions shed theirs.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nSacred Manasarovara and its Legends.\n\n\nIt was now August 4th. After proceeding about ten miles over an\nundulating range of mountains we came in sight of Man-ri, a peak\nof perpetual snow, which has an altitude of 25,600 feet above the\nsea-level. The view of Man-ri, rising majestically high above\nthe surrounding mountains (themselves of great elevation) was\nsublimely grand. While standing absorbed in the severe magnificence\nof the scenery, I was treated to another experience, which was as\nsoul-stirring as any earthly phenomenon could be. A magical change in\nthe weather was heralded by a sudden flash of lightning, followed by\nanother, yet another and another, new accompanied by rolling thunder.\nHeavy pelting hail-stones then joined in the war of elements, which\nliterally shook the mighty mountains to their very foundations, and\nfilled the air with the utmost confusion of terrific noises and lurid\ntongues of fire. Standing almost alone upon a great height, I saw\nblack clouds with fearful suddenness envelope the world of vision in\nfrightful darkness, made doubly dark by the contrasts produced by\nthe momentary glare of pale, penetrating lightning, which, in the\nsame instant, revealed the glittering snow on the grand peaks of the\nHim\u0101layas, and the deepest chasms, thousands of fathoms below!\n\nThe awe-inspiring scene lasted for about an hour, and then, with\nequally wondrous suddenness, the sky became blue and the sun shone\nforth, serene and calm, with not a whisper of wind to remind one of the\nmighty commotions of the moment before. We did but little walking after\nthis wonderful sight, and, coming to the edge of a marsh-like pond,\nwe pitched our tent there for the night. I was now the guest of my\ncompanions, and I was not sorry that I had nothing to do with gathering\nthe yak dung, or fetching water, and building the fire. I was given the\nseat of honor in the tent, and nothing was exacted of me but to sit\ndown like a good priest, read the Sacred Text and then preach in the\nevening.\n\nOn the 6th of August we had to go up a great slope of extremely sharp\ninclination, and I was offered a ride on one of my companions\u2019 yaks, an\noffer which I readily accepted with entire satisfaction. Furthermore,\nall my share of the luggage, as well as part of the burdens of my\nsheep, was transferred to the back of one of my fellow-pilgrims, and\nboth myself and my original companions had altogether an easy time of\nit, as was the case through the weeks that followed.\n\n[Illustration: LAKE MANASAROVARA.]\n\nAbout thirteen miles onwards a view opened before us which I shall\nnever forget, so exquisitely grand was the scenery. In short, we were\nnow in the presence of the sacred Lake M\u0101nasarovara. A huge octagon in\nshape, with marvellously symmetrical indentations, Lake M\u0101nasarovara,\nwith its clear placid waters, and the mighty Mount Kail\u0101sa guarding\nits north-western corner, form a picture which is at once unique and\nsublime, and well worthy of its dignified surroundings--calm, dustless\nand rugged. Mount Kail\u0101sa itself towers so majestically above the\npeaks around, that I fancied I saw in it the image of our mighty Lord\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, calmly addressing His five hundred disciples. Verily, verily,\nit was a natural ma\u1e47dala. The hunger and thirst, the perils of dashing\nstream and freezing blizzard, the pain of writhing under heavy burdens,\nthe anxiety of wandering over trackless wilds, the exhaustion and the\nlacerations, all the troubles and sufferings I had just come through,\nseemed like dust, which was washed away and purified by the spiritual\nwaters of the lake; and thus I attained to the spiritual plane of\nNon-Ego, together with this scenery showing Its-own-Reality.\n\nLake M\u0101nasarovara is generally recognised as the highest body of fresh\nwater in the world, its elevation above the sea-level being something\nover fifteen thousand five hundred feet. In Tibetan it is called\nMapham Yum-tso. It is the Anava\u1e6dap\u1e6da of Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d (the lake without\nheat or trouble) and in it centre many of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhistic legends. It\nis this Anava\u1e6dap\u1e6da which forms the subject of the famous poetical\npassage in the _Gospel of Kegon_, named in Japanese and in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d\n_\u0100rya-Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha-Ara\u1e6dan-saka-n\u0101ma Mah\u0101vaipulya-S\u016b\u1e6dra_. The passage gives\nthe name of South Zenbu to a certain continent of the world. _Zenbu_ is\na deflection of _jamb_, a phonetic translation of the sound produced\nby anything of weight falling into placid water. Now the legend has it\nthat in the centre of the Anava\u1e6dap\u1e6da is a tree which bears fruits that\nare omnipotent in healing all human ills, and are consequently much\nsought after both by Gods and men. When one of these fruits falls into\nthe pond it produces the sound _jamb_. Further, it is said that the\nlake has four outlets for its waters, which are respectively called\nMabcha Khanbab (flowing out of a peacock\u2019s mouth), Langchen Khanbab\n(flowing out of a bull\u2019s mouth), Tamchok Khanbab (flowing out of a\nhorse\u2019s mouth), and Senge Khanbab (flowing out of a lion\u2019s mouth),\nwhich respectively form the sources of the four sacred rivers of India.\nIt is from these notions that the sacredness of the Anava\u1e6dap\u1e6da is\nevolved, the name of Zenbu derived, and the religious relations between\nTibet and India established. As regards these four rivers, the legend\nsays: \u201cThe sands of silver are in the south river; the sands of gold\nare in the west river; the sands of diamond are in the north river, and\nthe sands of emerald are in the east river.\u201d These rivers are further\nsaid each to circle seven times round the lake and then to take the\nseveral directions indicated. It is said also that giant lotus flowers\nbloom in the lake, the size of which is as large as those of the\nparadise of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Amit\u0101bha, and the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas are\nseen there sitting on those flowers, while in the surrounding mountains\nare found the \u2018hundred herbs,\u2019 and also the birds of paradise singing\ntheir celestial melodies. In short, Anava\u1e6dap\u1e6da is described to be the\nonly real paradise on earth, with a living Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and five hundred\nsaints inhabiting Mount Kail\u0101sa on its north-west, and five hundred\nimmortals making their home on Man-ri, that rises on its southern\nshore, all enjoying eternal beatitude.\n\nReading that magnificent description, I believe that anybody would\ndesire to see the spot; but the things mentioned in the Scriptures\ncannot be seen with our mortal eyes. The real thing is the region in\nits wonderfully inspiring character, and an unutterably holy elevation\nis to be felt there. On that night the brilliant moon was shining in\nthe sky and was reflected on the lake, and Mount Kail\u0101sa appeared dimly\non the opposite bank. These impelled me to compose an _uta_:\n\n Among these mountains high here sleeps the lake\n Serene--\u201cDevoid of seething cares\u201d--so named\n By native bards; its broad expanse appears\n Like the octagonal mirror of Japan.\n The grand Kailas\u2019 majestic capped with snow,\n The Moon o\u2019erhanging from the skies above,\n Bestow their grateful shadows on the lake.\n Its watery brilliant sheen illumines me;\n All pangs of pain and sorrow washed away.\n With these my mind besoothed now wanders far\n E\u2019en to Akashi in Japan, my home,\n A seashore known for moonlight splendors fair.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nBartering in Tibet.\n\n\nThe origin of the four rivers is given in the story just as I have\nrelated it; but in reality there is not one of them that actually flows\ndirectly out of the Lake. They have their sources in the mountains\nwhich surround it, and the stories about the so-called \u2018Horse\u2019s\u2019 and\n\u2018Lion\u2019s\u2019 mouths are only legends, incapable of verification. The\nhead-waters of the Langchen Khanbab flow in a westerly direction;\nthose of the Mabcha Khanbab to the south; the sources of the Senge\nKhanbab may be ascertained with tolerable accuracy; but those of the\nTamchok Khanbab have hitherto defied investigation. In India, the\nriver that flows from the Lake in an easterly direction is known as\nthe Brahmapu\u1e6dra, while the one that issues towards the south is the\nGa\u1e45g\u0101. The Sutlej flows away to the west, and the Si\u1e6d\u0101, or In\u1e0dus,\ntowards the north. It is, of course, possible that actual surveys of\nLake M\u0101nasarovara have been made by European travellers, but in all\nthe maps that I have seen it is represented as being far smaller than\nit actually is. It is, in truth, a very large body of fresh water, and\nhas a circumference of some eighty _ri_, or about two hundred miles.\nThe shape of the lake also, as it appears in the maps, is misleading.\nIt is in reality a fairly regular octagon with various indentations,\nvery much resembling a lotus-flower in shape. All the western maps, as\nfar as I know, give the student an idea of the Lake which is in many\nrespects misleading.\n\nI arrived that night at a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Temple known as Tse-ko-lo, on the\nshores of Lake M\u0101nasarovara, and in the evening heard from my host,\nthe superior of the Temple, a story which surprised me greatly. This\nLama, I should say, was a man of about fifty-five years of age; he was\nextremely ignorant, but did not seem to be a man who would lie for the\nmere pleasure of lying. He was very anxious to hear about the state of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism in China (the reader will remember that I was supposed to be\na Chinese, Lama) and the readiness with which I answered his questions\nwarmed his heart and encouraged him to treat me to the following story.\nHe did not know, he said, how it might be with the priests in China,\nbut for himself he could not help feeling at times thoroughly disgusted\nwith his brethren in Tibet. In the immediate vicinity, for instance,\nan ordinary priest might, he said, indulge himself in all manner of\nexcesses with impunity, and without attracting much attention, and\nfrom time to time cases would arise of extreme depravity in a Lama.\nFor instance, there was the case of Alchu Tulku, a Lama supposed to\nbe an incarnation of Alchu, who had at one time been in charge of a\nwell-known temple in the vicinity of Lake M\u0101nasarovara. This Lama\nbecame so infatuated with a beautiful woman whom he took to himself\nas his wife that he was betrayed into transferring the greater part\nof the temple property as a gift to her father; and not content with\nthat crime he afterwards absconded from the temple, taking with him his\nwife, and everything that he could carry away that was left of value in\nthe temple. He had heard rumors that this recreant priest was living\nopenly with his wife at Hor-tosho, and he asked me if I had not heard\nanything about him when I was passing through the place.\n\nThe reader will be able to appreciate my astonishment when I tell him\nthat this absconding, dishonest priest was none other than he who had\ninduced the belle of the place to treat me with so much kindness! Truly\nmen are not always what they seem to be.\n\nI did not conceal my astonishment from my host, but related to him all\nthe circumstances that had brought me within the reach of their kind\nhospitalities, but he only smiled at what I told him.\n\n\u201cAh! to be sure,\u201d he said, \u201cthat\u2019s just like the man; gentle and\nlovable in outward demeanor, but at heart an arch-sinner, a very devil\nincarnate, destroyer of the faith.\u201d\n\nIt was a sad revelation to me. I had had every reason to be grateful\nto the man and his wife for their hospitalities and I could have wept\nto think that hypocrites of so black a dye should be found amongst the\nfollowers of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. It was at least a comfort to think that things in\nJapan were brighter than this.\n\nThe next morning I took a walk along the Lake, lost in admiration of\nthe magnificent mountain scenery that surrounded me on all sides, and\npresently came across some Hin\u1e0d\u016bs and Nep\u0101lese, apparently Br\u0101hma\u1e47a\ndevotees, who had plunged into the Lake--it was about ten o\u2019clock--and\nwere engaged in the performance of their religious ceremonies. To the\nfollowers of the Hin\u1e0d\u016b religion, Lake M\u0101nasarovara is a sacred sheet\nof water, and they worship Mount Kail\u0101sa, which rises sky-high above\nthe lake, as being a material manifestation of the sacred Body of\nMah\u0101-Shiva, one of the deities of the Indian Trinity. When they saw me,\nthey considered me to be a holy Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Lama, and pressed me to accept\nfrom them presents consisting of many kinds of dried fruits.\n\nI spent the next night at the same temple, and on the following morning\nmade my way to the range of mountains that stands like a great wall\nto the north-west of the Lake. A zigzag climb of ten miles or so\nbrought me within view of Lake Lakgal-tso, in Tibetan, or, as it is\nmore commonly called, Rakas-tal. It is in shape something like a long\ncalabash, and in area smaller than M\u0101nasarovara. Another seven and a\nhalf miles brought me to a spot whence I could see the whole of its\nsurface, and here I made a further discovery. A mountain, some two and\na half miles round at the base, stands like a wall of partition between\nthe two lakes, and where this mountain slopes into a ravine it looks,\nfor all the world, as though there were a channel of communication for\nthe water from one lake to the other. I found, however, that there\nwas actually no such channel, but I discovered that the level of Lake\nLakgal is higher than that of M\u0101nasarovara, and I was subsequently told\nthat, on rare occasions, every ten or fifteen years, after phenomenally\nheavy rains, the waters of the two lakes do actually become connected,\nand that at such times Lake Lakgal flows into M\u0101nasarovara. Hence\narises the Tibetan legend that every fifteen years or so Lakgal, the\nbridegroom, goes to visit M\u0101nasarovara, the bride. This will account\nfor the statements of the guide-books to Kang Tise and Mount Kail\u0101sa\nthat the relations between the two lakes are those of husband and wife.\n\nKeeping Lake Lakgal in view, I now proceeded easily down hill for some\nthirteen miles or so, until I arrived at a plain through which I found\na large river flowing. The river was over sixty feet wide, and was\nknown as the Mabcha Khanbab, one of the tributary sources of the Ga\u1e45g\u0101.\nIt is this river that, further south, flows through the city of Purang\non the borders of India and Tibet, and then, after winding through many\na defile and ca\u00f1on of the Him\u0101layas, eventually joins the main stream\nof the Ga\u1e45g\u0101 flowing from Haldahal. Modern Hin\u1e0d\u016bs revere the Haldahal\nbranch as being the main stream of their sacred River, but in ancient\ntimes it was mostly this Mabcha Khanbab that was considered to be the\nprincipal source.\n\nOn the banks of this river we pitched our tent for the night. In the\nneighborhood I found four or five similar encampments, occupied by\ntraders from Purang. Great numbers of nomads and pilgrims come to this\nplace in July and August of every year, and at these times, a very\nbrisk trade takes place which presents many curious and interesting\nfeatures.\n\nTibet is still in the barter stage, and very little money is used\nin trade. The people from the interior bring butter, marsh-salt,\nwool, sheep, goats, and yaks\u2019 tails, which they exchange for corn,\ncotton, sugar and cloth, which are imported from India by Nep\u0101lese\nand Tibetans, living in the region of perennial snow on the Indian\nfrontier. But sometimes, especially in selling wool and butter, they\nwill take money, generally Indian currency, the reckoning of which\nis a great mystery to them. Ignorant of arithmetic and possessing no\nabacus to count with, they have to do all their reckoning with the\nbeads of a rosary. In order to add five and two, they count first five\nand then two beads on the string, and then count the whole number thus\nproduced to make sure that the total is really seven. It is a very\ntedious process, but they are incapable of anything better. They cannot\ndo calculations without their beads, and they seem to be too dense to\ngrasp the simplest sum in arithmetic. Thus business is always slow:\nwhen it comes to larger deals, involving several kinds of goods and\nvarying prices, it is almost distractingly complicated.\n\nFor such calculations they arm themselves with all sorts of aids,\nblack pebbles, white pebbles, bamboo sticks, and white shells. Each\nwhite pebble represents a unit of one; when they have counted ten of\nthese they take them away, and substitute a black pebble, which means\nten. Ten black pebbles are equivalent to one bamboo stick, ten bamboo\nsticks to one shell, ten shells to the Tibetan silver coin. But there\nis no multiplication or division; everything is done by the extremely\nslow process of adding one at a time, so that it will take a Tibetan\nthree days to do what a Japanese could do in half an hour. This is no\nexaggeration. I stayed on the banks of this river for three whole\ndays and watched the traders doing their business, and I saw the whole\npainful tediousness of the transaction.\n\nThese three days were memorable for another reason. The pilgrims who\nhad come with me became such warm admirers of my supposed virtues and\nsang my praises with so much fervor that a pilgrim girl fell in love\nwith me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\nA Himalayan Romance.\n\n\nI was still in the company of the party of pilgrims I have already\nreferred to. It appeared that some of the party had come to form a\nrather high opinion of me as a person of reverend qualities. Among\nthem was a young damsel who, it was not difficult to perceive, had\nconceived a passion for me. The moment the thought dawned on me, I said\nto myself: \u201cIt may be; it is nothing uncommon, rather is it quite usual\nfor women to cherish vain thoughts. She must have heard her elders\ntalking well of me, and have taken a fancy to me.\u201d I at once set about\nraising a barrier between us, which was none other than the teaching\nof our common Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. When occasion allowed, I explained to her all\nabout the vows with which all true priests bind themselves and why they\ndo so. I depicted to her the horrors of hell that sinners create for\nthemselves even in this world, and which follow them into eternity as\nthe price they pay for momentary pleasures. These things I taught, not\nonly to the girl but to the whole party. For all that, I could not help\npitying the little innocent thing. A maiden of nineteen, with few or no\nrestraints on her romantic fancies, she must have thought it a grand\nthing to be able to go back to her folk with a bride-groom of whom all\nspoke so well. She was not beautiful, and yet not ugly: a comely little\nthing was she. But I, though not old, had had my own experiences in\nthese matters in my younger days, and I was able to conquer temptations.\n\n[Illustration: RELIGION _v._ LOVE.]\n\nHere I may stop to observe that the country through which we were\ntravelling is called Ngari in Tibetan and \u0100ri in Chinese. The region is\nan extensive one, and includes Ladak and Khunu.\n\nPurang, of which mention has been made more than once, is its central\nmart and enjoys great prosperity, though located rather to the\nsouth. Purang also forms a mid-Him\u0101layan post of great religious\nimportance as a sacred spot for Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist pilgrims. The town boasts, or\nrather boasted, of its possession of three Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist images of great\nrenown--those of the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva Mah\u0101sa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas Manjushr\u012b, Avalokiteshvara\nand Vajrap\u0101ni. According to tradition these were brought thither from\nCeylon in olden times. Unfortunately about six months prior to my\narrival in Ngari a big fire broke out and destroyed two of these idols,\nthe image of Manjushr\u012b alone being saved. Much as I wished to visit\nPurang, I was apprehensive of many dangers to my impersonation if I\nwent thither, as the Tibetan Government maintains there a challenge\ngate. My companions went there, however, leaving me behind, and I\nspent the days of their absence in religious meditation. Joining them\nagain on their return, I continued my travels westwards, coming out in\ndue time to the north of Lake Lakgal. We next took our way along the\nlake towards the north-west. Facing west and looking over the lake,\nI saw islands spread out on its surface like the legs of a _gotoku_,\nor tripod. So I gave them the name of Gotoku jimu, or Tripod islands.\nSeveral days afterwards we arrived at a barter port called Gya-nima; it\nwas the 17th of August, 1900.\n\nAt Gya-nima barter is carried on only for two months in the year, that\nis to say from the 15th of July to the 15th of September. The traders\nchiefly come from the Indian part of the Him\u0101laya mountains and meet\ntheir Tibetan customers there. I was just in good time to see brisk\ntransactions going on. I saw no less than one hundred and fifty white\ntents covering the otherwise barren wilderness, and some five or six\nhundred people rushing about to sell and buy in their own fashion.\n\nThe Tibetan articles offered for sale here were wool, butter, yaks\u2019\ntails, and the like, while the purchases consisted of about the same\ncategory of goods as I gave when speaking of the Mabcha Khanbab mart.\nI stayed over night and spent the whole of the next day at the fair,\nmaking a few small purchases. On the day following we went back to\nGya-karko, another barter port. Gya-nima was the most north-western\npoint I reached in my Tibetan journey. So far as reaching my\ndestination was concerned, I had hitherto been proceeding in an exactly\nopposite direction to it, steadily going north-west instead of towards\nLhasa, the capital of Tibet. But from that point--Gya-nima--onwards,\neach step I walked brought me nearer to the main road into Tibet, as\nalso to its capital. In Gya-karko I stayed for three or four days.\nHere there were about one hundred and fifty tents, trade being carried\non even more vigorously than at Gya-nima. Gya-karko is a trading port\nfor people coming from the north-west plains of Tibet on the one hand\nand the Hin\u1e0d\u016bs inhabiting the Indian Him\u0101layas on the other, who are\nallowed by the Tibetan Government to come as far as this place.\n\nHere I saw many merchants from the towns and villages of the Him\u0101layas.\nAmong them was one from Milum, who spoke English. This man invited me\nto dinner on the quiet, so to say. I accepted his invitation, but the\nmoment I had entered his tent I at once saw that he took me for an\nEnglish emissary. When left to ourselves he immediately addressed me\nthus: \u201cAs I live under the government of your country, I shall never\nmake myself inconvenient to you. In return I wish you would do what\nyou can to help my business when you go back to India.\u201d I thought that\nthese were very strange words to speak to me. On interrogating him,\nI found out that he had conjectured that I was engaged in exploring\nTibet at the behest of the British Government. When I told him that I\nwas a Chinaman, he said: \u201cIf you are Chinese, you can no doubt speak\nChinese?\u201d I answered him boldly in the affirmative. Then he brought in\na man who claimed to understand Chinese. I was not a little embarrassed\nat this turn of affairs, but as I had had a similar experience with\nGya Lama in Nep\u0101l it took me no time to recover sufficient equanimity\nto answer him, and I felt much re-assured when I found that he could\nnot speak Chinese so well as I had anticipated. Then I wrote a number\nof Chinese characters and wanted him to say if he knew them. The\nman looked at me and seemed to say: \u201cThere you have me.\u201d Finally he\nbroke into laughter and said: \u201cI give up; let us talk in Tibetan.\u201d\nThen my host was greatly astonished and said: \u201cThen you are indeed a\nChinaman! What can be better? China is a vast country. My father, who\nis now living in my native country, was once in China. If there is\nany business to be done with China I wish you would kindly put me on\nthe track;\u201d and he gave me his address written in English. His manner\nshowed that he was in earnest, and that he was a man to be trusted. So\nseeing that this man was going back to India, I thought it would be a\ngood idea to ask him to take with him my letters and deliver them for\nme in India. It would have been imprudent for me to write things in\ndetail, but I scribbled just a few lines to my friend and teacher, Rai\nSara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra D\u0101s, informing him that I had penetrated the interior of\nTibet as far as Gya-karko, besides asking him to post some letters for\nJapan which I enclosed, addressed to Mr. Hige Tokujuso and Ito Ichiso\nof Sakai. A few coins put into the hand of the Milum man secured a\nready response to my request. The man proved the honest fellow I took\nhim for; for after my return to Japan I found that my letters had been\nduly received by both Mr. Hige and Mr. Ito.\n\nTo return to my romance. We were still staying at Gya-karko, and I\nwas much embarrassed to find that little Dawa--for that was my little\nmaiden\u2019s name--had by no means given up her affection for me. Dawa, I\nmay perhaps mention here, though I shall have occasion to refer to the\nmatter at greater length in another chapter, is a Tibetan name meaning\nmoon, given to persons born on a Monday; those born on a Friday being\nnamed Pasang, and those on a Sunday, Nyima.\n\nWell, my little Dawa proved herself to be an adept in the art of\nlove-making. It is wonderful how a little spark of passion, when once\nkindled, burns up and fashions daring schemes and alluring pictures.\nThe maiden was always at my side, and spoke only of the good things she\nwould make mine, if I would only accompany her to her native country.\nShe said her mother was a lady of an exceedingly kind heart; that\nher father owned about one hundred and sixty yaks and four hundred\nsheep; that therefore her family was very rich and their life one\nperpetual _chachang pemma_ or round of pleasures. She added that she\nwas their only daughter, and that she had not yet come across a man to\nher heart, save one. I may perhaps explain that chachang pemma means\ndrinking tea and intoxicants alternately, and that in Tibet one is\nconsidered to have attained the highest pinnacle of happiness when\nhe is able to indulge in a perpetual symposium--drinking, in turns,\ntea with butter in it and then a spirit brewed from wheat. Only rich\npersons can enjoy the luxury: but the mass of Tibetans consider this to\nbe the main object of life. Consequently chachang pemma is generally\nused in the sense of earthly beatitude. By the way, the method of\nmanufacturing the butter-tea is very curious: butter, boiled juice of\ntea and salt are first thrown together into a nearly cylindrical tub of\nthree feet in height; then a piston, if I may so call it, with a disc\nlarge enough to fit the cask exactly, is worked up and down, to obtain\na thorough mixing of the ingredients. This pump-like action of the\npiston is carried on by sheer force of hands and arms, and, as may be\nimagined, requires a large amount of strength. The motion of the piston\ntransforms the mixture into a new beverage which the Tibetans call\n_solcha_. It is said that these people can tell whether the solcha, or\nbutter-tea, will prove good or bad by listening to the sound produced\nby the piston as it works up and down.\n\nBut to return to my story: Dawa never tired of telling me that her\nfamily was prosperous; that even Lamas were allowed to marry in her\ncountry; that it was really an excellent thing for every Lama to live\nhappily with a wife in this world; that it would be wise for me to do\nso, and so on. Seeing that all her words were only wasted on me, she\nseemed to imply that I was an incorrigible fool. Wiles of temptation\nnow came thick and fast upon me: but in such moments I happily\nremembered the triumph of our Lord Sh\u0101kyamuni at Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101. The wise\nOne was about to attain to the state of Absolute Perfection. The king\nof all that is evil was very much afraid of this, and sent his three\ndaughters to tempt him. The women tried all manner of allurements to\nsecure the fall of the Enlightened One, but in vain. When all had\nfailed the daughters of the King of Devils sang thus:\n\n How like a tender graceful flower am I,\n With all the lovely fragrance of my mouth,\n And its melodious music soft and sweet!\n Am I not mistress of all mirth and joys?\n Even Heav\u2019nly bliss is naught to him who lives\n In amorous dalliance, dearly loved, with me.\n If thou rejectest me, there\u2019s none so dull\n And stupid in the world compared with thee.\n\nSo sang the Sirens, but even they were powerless to conquer the Lord.\nMy Dawa could not of course approach the charms of the arch-devil\u2019s\ndaughters, but her plaintive pleadings were there. And I--a common\nmortal struggling on, but far from the gate of emancipation--I could\nnot but pity the poor little creature, though I strengthened myself by\nsaying: \u201cLet it be so--a fool let me be.\u201d I composed an _uta_ then:\n\n You call me stupid; that am I, I grant;\n But yet in love-affairs being wiser grown,\n \u2019Tis safe for me to be more stupid still.\n\nIt is true that women never let their mouths be the doors to their\nmind; but they know a language unspoken, which is far more telling,\nappealing and enticing, than that which mere sound and articulation\ncan convey. And my Dawa had never yet said in so many words what she\nyearned to say. It happened, however, that Dawa\u2019s father and brothers\nwere out shopping one day, and that the girl and I remained alone\nin the tent. She thought probably that she could not get a better\nopportunity for her purposes and she tried to make the most of it.\nJust then I was mending my boots, and she almost frightened me with\nher boldness. I am neither a block of wood, nor a piece of stone,\nand I should have been supernatural if I had not felt the power of\ntemptation. But to yield to such a folly would be against my own\nprofession. Moreover I remembered with awe the omnipresence of our\nLord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and was thus enabled to keep my heart under control. I\nsaid to the maiden: \u201cI have no doubt that all is excellent at your\nhome; but do you know whether your mother is still living or dead?\u201d\nThe question was unexpected and almost stunned her, put as it was at\na moment when she had allowed her mind to wander so far away from\nher dear mother. She was just able to say: \u201cI do not know whether my\nmother is living or dead. I have been on a pilgrimage with my father\nfor one year and perhaps more. My mother is a weak woman, and I parted\nwith her in tears, asking her to take the best care of herself, so\nthat she might be preserved. I do not know how she is faring now.\u201d\nHere was my chance--a chance of diverting the girl\u2019s attention from\nme. \u201cH\u2019m! you don\u2019t know that?\u201d said I; \u201conly now you were telling me\nof the bliss of your home, and yet you don\u2019t know how your mother is\nfaring now?\u201d Poor little maiden, her mind became disturbed. I almost\nscolded her, pleaded with her, warned her. She, who claimed to be a\ngood daughter, to be so intent in the pursuit after ephemeral pleasures\nas to let her thoughts wander away from her dear, good mother; could\nit be possible? This somewhat highly colored statement of mine seemed\nto cool down her passion and change it into fear and apprehension. Nor\nwas it extraordinary that she should have become so affected. For in\nTibet nothing is supposed to be too great for the Lama; he possesses\nsuperhuman powers and can work miracles. Instead of an object of love,\nI had now become an awe-inspiring Lama to my little Dawa. As such, I\ncounselled her with a good deal of earnestness, and finally succeeded\nin subduing her passion and conquering the temptation.\n\nWe prolonged our stay at Gya-karko for several days more, and on the\n26th of August I started again with the pilgrims. As we travelled on in\na north-easterly direction we came to a marshy plain interspersed with\npools of water. Farther on the marsh became deeper. I tried to probe\nits depth with my stick, but the solid bottom was beyond my reach.\nKnowing then that the marsh could not be forded, we retraced our steps\nfor about three miles and proceeded thence due east. Further on we\nfound that the waters flowing out of the marsh formed themselves into\nthree streams. We waded across them, and about ten miles further on\nthe marsh came to an end and we found ourselves among mountains, and\nencamped for the night. Here there were many merchants on their way\nto Gya-nima and Gya-karko, and many were the tents they had pitched\nall round. While there I went on a begging tour amongst the tent\noccupants--a practice which I put into execution whenever possible, in\npursuance of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s teaching. A day\u2019s round, besides, generally\nearned me enough to carry me through the next day. I may add that the\nevening, whether after a day of journeying or of begging, I used to\nspend in preaching among my travelling companions. I had my own reasons\nfor being painstaking in these preachings. I knew that religious\ntalks always softened the hearts of my companions, and this was very\nnecessary, as I might otherwise have been killed by them. I do not mean\nto say that my life was in any immediate danger then, for there were\nnumbers of people always about, and besides, the region we were going\nthrough was a country sacred to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and, once within the holy\nzone, even the most wicked would not dare to commit either robbery or\nmurder. But it was necessary for me to take precautions in anticipation\nof dangers that might befall me as soon as I should be out of this\nsacred region. Such were the reasons why I did so much preaching, and\nfortunately my sermons were well received by my companions.\n\nOn the 28th of August we travelled about twenty miles over an\nundulating country. Throughout that distance we could not get a\ndrop of water, and I had nothing to drink except a cup of tea which\nI took in the morning just before starting. We were of course all\nterribly thirsty; yet to me the suffering was not half so great as\nthat I had felt during the former distressing experiences already\nnarrated. Towards the evening we came upon the upper course of the\nLangchen Khanbab. This is the river called Sutlej in English. It is\nthe head-water of a river which flows westward into India, and, after\nmeeting with the Sit\u0101, forms the great Indus that empties itself into\nthe Arabian Sea. My companions volunteered to tell me that this river\nstarted from Lake M\u0101nasarovara. When I pointed out to them that the\nLake M\u0101nasarovara was surrounded by mountains on all sides and had no\noutlet, they replied: \u201cTrue, but the river has its source in a spring\nto be found under a great rock, east of the monastery named Chugo\nGonpa (the monastery of the source of the river), in a gorge on the\nnorth-western side of Mount Kail\u0101sa. That spring is fed by the waters\nof Lake M\u0101nasarovara that travel thither underground. Hence it may\nbe said with equal truth that the river flows out of the lake.\u201d This\nwas indeed an ingenious way of accounting for the popular belief. But\njudging from the position of the river, it seemed to me that it must\ntake its origin on a higher level than that of Lake M\u0101nasarovara and\nI was not (nor am I now) ready to admit the correctness of the native\ncontention. On arriving at the bank of the river we pitched our tents\nas usual and passed the night. On the following day, we visited a\nsacred place of great fame in that neighborhood, called Reta-puri in\nTibetan pronunciation, but originally in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d Pre\u1e6dapur\u012b. Having\nleft our baggage, tents and other things with two men to take care of\nthem, I went on the journey thither with Dawa, her father and another\nwoman, four of us in all. As we proceeded westwards along the Langchen\nKhanbab, we saw large boulders of rock making a walled avenue for a\ndistance of about 400 yards. Out of the rock region, we came upon a\nriver flowing down from the north to the Langchen Khanbab. There were\ntwo others running parallel and at a short distance from one another.\nThey are called Tokpo Rabsum, which in Tibetan means three friendly\nstreams. We forded one of them and went up a hill for about a hundred\nand twenty yards, when an extensive plain lay spread before our view.\nI noticed that the plain was thickly covered with low bush-growths of\nsome thorny family, and the sight reminded me of our tea-plantations of\nUji. About a mile and a quarter further on we came to another stream,\nthe name of which is identical with that of the one we had already\ncrossed. Both these rivers were loin-deep and exceedingly cold, with\nsmall ice-blocks floating in them. In fording the river I was much\nbenumbed, and on reaching the opposite banks I found that I had almost\nlost my power of locomotion. So I told my companions to go on while I\nrested a few minutes, and applied burning moxa to my benumbed limbs\nin order to recover their use. Off they went, after telling me that\nnothing could go wrong with me if I would only take the road in the\ndirection they pointed out to me. Tibetans are strong and healthy,\nand extremely swift-footed into the bargain. I was no match for them\nin this respect, especially with half-frozen feet and that was why I\ntold them not to wait for me. The smouldering moxa had its effect on\nmy legs. I felt then more alive, and after an hour\u2019s rest I proceeded\nwestwards for five miles to a place where the plain came to an end.\nThence I walked down stream along a river until the temple for which\nI was heading rose into view. The sight was a grand one, with its\nma\u1e47i-steps of stone which looked, at a distance, like a long train of\nrailway cars. Nor was this the only place where the ma\u1e47i steps could be\nfound. Many of them are to be seen in the Him\u0101layas. I should add that\nin that mighty range of sky-reaching mountains there lives a species\nof strange birds, whose note is exactly like the whistle of a railway\nengine. The ma\u1e47i-steps looking like a train before me made me think of\nthe whistle of those birds, and I felt as if I had arrived once more in\na civilised country!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\nOn the Road to Nature\u2019s Grand Mandala.\n\n\nApart from these fancies, I really felt as if I had entered a civilised\nregion, for beyond I espied a main building and priests\u2019 quarters, and\nalso what looked like a stone tower.\n\nThe whole sight was really impressive. The presence of stone buildings\nespecially attracted my attention, for stones are very rare and costly\non a Tibetan steppe.\n\nThe place was the town just mentioned, called Reta-puri (town of\nhungry devils), a name which Paldan A\u1e6d\u012bsha gave to the place when he\narrived here from India on the work of evangelisation. The name is not\ninapplicable to the Tibetans.\n\nThe Tibetans may indeed be regarded as devils that live on dung, being\nthe most filthy race of all the people I have ever seen or heard of.\n\nThey must have presented a similarly filthy appearance at the time\nof the visit of A\u1e6d\u012bsha, who therefore gave to the place the not\ninappropriate title of Pre\u1e6da-pur\u012b. The Tibetans, thanks to their\nignorance of Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d, are rather proud of the name, being under the\nbelief that it has some holy meaning. After A\u1e6d\u012bsha had founded a\ntemple, several high Lamas resided in this place, and a Lama called\nGyalwa Gottsang Pa, of the Dugpa sect, founded a most imposing\nLamaserai, which stands to this day.\n\nIt is, as I said, a very magnificent establishment, containing four or\nfive priests\u2019 residential quarters, in one of which I passed a night.\n\nMy companion took leave of me after having completed his visit to the\nholy places. I took a frugal lunch in my lodging and then, under the\nguidance of one of the priests of the temple, sallied out to visit\nall the holy objects on the premises. The main building was of stone\nand measured about eight yards by ten. It was of one storey, and was\nin this unlike most other Tibetan Lamaserais, which are generally\ntwo or three storied. The most sacred relics in the temple were the\nimages of Sh\u0101kyamuni and Lobon Rinpoche (Padma Chungne), founder of\nthe Old Sect of Tibet. To this Lobon are attached many strange legends\nand traditions, such as would startle even the most degenerate of\nJapanese priests; but I cannot here relate all those revolting stories.\nI already knew the strange history of the founder of this Tibetan\nsect, and so, when I noticed the two images worshipped side by side,\na sensation of nausea came over me. It was really blasphemy against\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, for Lobon was in practice a devil in the disguise of a priest,\nand behaved as if he had been born for the very purpose of corrupting\nand preventing the spread of the holy doctrines of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha.\n\nA curtain was hanging in front of the high altar, and one _tanka_,\nabout sixpence, was the fee for the privilege of looking at the relic\nbehind it. I paid the fee and found that the relic was nothing else\nthan the image engraved on stone of that abominable Lobon. Tradition\nsays that Lobon\u2019s image was naturally inscribed on the rock when he\ncame here and stood before it, and this fantastic story is fully\nbelieved in by the simple-minded folk of Tibet. They would not dare\nto look straight at the image, for fear that their eyes might become\nblind. I had no such superstition to deter me, and so I gazed with\ncareful scrutiny at the engraved image, and convinced myself that some\ncrafty priests must have drawn on a piece of rock a picture of some\npriest and that the picture must have been afterwards tricked out with\nsuitable pigments. The engraving too was a clumsy piece of workmanship\ndestitute of any merit whatever, and without even the slightest\ntechnical charm, such as might persuade the credulous to regard the\nimage as a natural impression on a rock.\n\nI felt sorry for the sake of the Tibetan religion that such wicked\nimpositions should be suffered to prevail, though the Tibetan priests\nmay on their part reply that Japan is not much better in this respect\nthan Tibet, and that such frauds are not unknown in Japan.\n\nOf whatever impious deeds the Lamas may be guilty, the whole\nneighborhood was such as to inspire one with chaste thoughts and holy\nideas. This seems to be widely accepted in Tibet, for the Tibetans have\na saying to this effect: \u201cNot to visit Reta-puri is not to visit the\nsnow-capped Kang Rinpoche; not to go around Lake Kholgyal is not to\nperform the sacred circuit around Lake Mapham-yumtso.\u201d\n\nThis saying means that the visit to Kang Rinpoche only completes\none-half of the holy journey unless Reta-puri is visited at the same\ntime, and that the visit to Lake Mapham-yumtso (M\u0101nasarovara) will\navail nothing unless Kholgyal is visited at the same time.\n\nThe place indeed deserves this high honor, and undoubtedly it\nconstitutes one of nature\u2019s best essays in landscape. Let me describe\nhere a little of this enchanting sight. First there was the river\nLangchen Khanbab, flowing towards the west, with the opposite bank\nsteep and precipitous, and with rocks piled up here and there, some\nyellow, some crimson, others blue, still others green, and some others\npurple. The chequered coloring was beautiful, and looked like a rainbow\nor a tinted fog, if such a thing could exist. It was a splendid sight.\nAnd the rocks were highly fantastic, for some were sharp and angular,\nand others protruded over the river. The nearer bank was equally abrupt\nand was full of queerly shaped rocks, and each of those rocks bore a\nname given to it by the priests of the temple. There was a rock which\nwas known by the name of the \u201cDevil Surrender Rock;\u201d another was called\nthe \u201cTwin Images of the saintly Prince and his Lady;\u201d a third bore the\nname of \u201cTise Rock;\u201d a fourth \u201cGoddess of Mercy Rock;\u201d and a fifth\n\u201cK\u0101\u1e63yapa Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Tower.\u201d All these rocks were objects of veneration to\nthe common people.\n\nI should have been deeply impressed by this unique grandeur of nature,\nhad it not been that I was scandalised by the sight of the misguided\nveneration, if not worse, paid to the memory of Lobon Rinpoche. As it\nwas, even the kind explanations of my cicerone jarred on my ears.\n\nAbout two hundred and fifty yards down the bank, from a cavern known as\nthe Divine Grotto, several hot springs were gushing out from between\nthe rocks. Three of them were rather large, while the other three were\nsmaller. The water of all the springs was warm, indeed some was so hot\nthat I could hardly dip the tip of my finger into it. The temperature\nof that particular spring must have far exceeded 100\u00b0 Fahrenheit. The\nwater of the springs was quite transparent, and all about them there\nwere many hard incrustations, some white, others red, still others\ngreen or blue. The visitors to the place are said to carry away pieces\nof this incrustation, which are believed to possess a high medicinal\nvalue, and so they must have, if properly used.\n\nAfter having visited all the places of interest, I returned to my\nquarters and passed the night in meditation. The next morning I left\nthe place, and resumed my journey toward the tent.\n\nSomehow I lost my way in the plain, and when I had already walked five\nhours I had not reached the river which I ought to have reached in\nabout three hours. I looked round and noticed to my surprise that I had\nbeen travelling towards the north, instead of towards the north-east.\n\nProceeding briskly onward in the right direction I at last reached a\nriver, which I crossed. By that time the sun had begun to decline, and\nI had had nothing to eat all that day. I afterwards heard that the\npeople of the tent began to be alarmed at my non-appearance, and feared\nthat I must have been carried away by the river and drowned. When I\narrived at the tent, weary with the walk and with hunger, I saw the\ndaughter of the family coming out of the tent with some sheep. She was\nhighly delighted to see me, and I was told that she was about to go out\nin search for me.\n\nOn the following day we proceeded eastward and arrived at the steppe\nlying to the north-east of Lake Rakgal and north-west of Lake\nM\u0101nasarovara. It was a slope formed by the gradual descent of the spurs\nof Tise toward M\u0101nasarovara. That night we pitched our tent on that\nplain, and then our journey towards the sacred mountains began.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\nWonders of Nature\u2019s Mandala.\n\n\nThat evening it transpired that the pilgrims could not perform the\npilgrimage in company, for every one of them declared his or her\nintention of performing as many circuits as possible during a stay\nof four or five days. Now the ordinary circuit--for there were three\ndifferent routes--measures about fifty miles, which was more than I\ncould perform in a day, even if I had wished to do as my companions\nhad resolved, and they intended to undertake three circuits during the\nshort stay; even the women wished to go round twice.\n\nThe pilgrims had to get up at midnight and to return to the tent at\nabout eight in the evening, after having performed the arduous journey.\nI myself made rather elaborate preparations, and started on the holy\njourney carrying four or five days\u2019 food on my back. The route I\nselected for my circuit was what was called the outermost circuit, and\nled me round a snowy peak resembling in shape a human image, believed\nhere to be that of Sh\u0101kyamuni, and around the lesser elevations rising\nabout that peak. Those elevations were compared to the principal\ndisciples of the Founder of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. The route was indicated by a\nnarrow track, but it was really a breakneck journey, for in several\nplaces the track went up to the summit of the central peak or to those\nof some of the elevations round it.\n\nThe middle route is more difficult of accomplishment, and the innermost\nroute considerably more so. The last is therefore regarded as fit only\nfor supernatural beings, and he who accomplishes twenty-one circuits\nround the outermost route obtains permission from the Lamas of the\nfour temples, to go round the middle route. This circuit is to a\nlarge extent indicated by a more or less beaten track, but is so steep\nand dangerous that ordinary persons hardly ever dare to try it. Not\nunfrequently pilgrims who boldly attempt this most perilous journey are\nkilled by snow-slips, while huge boulders obstruct their passage in\nseveral places. Since therefore this route is very rarely attempted by\npilgrims, quite marvellous tales are told about it.\n\n[Illustration: NEAR MOUNT KAILASA.]\n\nThe outermost route, round which I undertook my circuit, has at each\nof its four quarters a temple. These four temples are called the \u201cFour\ntemples of Kang Rinpoche\u201d. I first visited Nyenbo Rizon, which is\nthe name of the temple standing at the western corner. The temple is\ndedicated to the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Amit\u0101bha and I heard that it is a very good\ninvestment in a worldly sense, the donations from pious folk amounting\nto as much as ten thousand yen during the three months of the summer\nseason. This coincidence between Japan and Tibet, concerning the\nreceipts of temples, is exceedingly interesting, for even in Japan\ntemples dedicated to the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Amit\u0101bha are the most popular and\nenjoy the largest share of donations. At any rate such an income must\nbe regarded as extraordinary for a temple situated in a remote part\nof Tibet. The income, I was told, all goes to the Treasury of the\nCourt of Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n, in whose jurisdiction are placed all the religious\nestablishments at Tise. This anomaly seems to have originated from the\nfact that the priests of the Dugpa sect of Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n formerly reigned\nsupreme at this seat of religion.\n\nThe image of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Amit\u0101bha, as enshrined in the temple, is made\nof a white lustrous stone, and it struck me as a work of high technical\nmerit for Tibet. The features are of the Tibetan type, and looked mild\nand affable, awaking in me pious thoughts.\n\nIn front of the image are erected two ivory tusks about five feet high\nand very thick, and behind them I saw a hundred volumes of Tibetan\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist works arranged on shelves. These books were not there for\nreading, but in order to receive as sacred objects the offering of the\nburning lamp.\n\nThis use of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist books is peculiar, though it is preferable to the\noutrageous treatment to which these books are sometimes subjected by\nimpious priests, who do not scruple to tear out leaves and use them for\nvarious improper purposes.\n\nAfter worship, I took from the pile a book that related to the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\nAmit\u0101bha, read it, and then left the temple. Then began my journey\nthrough Nature\u2019s Tabernacles, the first object in which was the \u2018Golden\nValley\u2019.\n\nThe adjective \u2018golden\u2019 should not be taken in a literal sense,\nfor gold is not found near this place. Rhetorically, however, the\nvalley deserves this distinction, the scenery all round being really\nmagnificent. There are several fantastic rocks of great size towering\nfar into the sky, while beyond them peeps the snow-clad summit of the\npeak of Tise. And from the crevices and narrow grooves between those\ntowering rocks shoot down several cascades as much as a thousand feet\nin height. There are quite a number of them, but only seven are really\nlarge. Those seven waterfalls have each a distinct individuality. Some\nshoot down with great force and look not unlike the fabulous dragon\ndescending the rock, while others look milder and may be compared to\na white sheet suspended over the rock. I sat down in rapture at the\nsight, and felt as if I had been transported to some heavenly place.\nThere are to the left several falls and also a range of snow-capped\npeaks, but they are not to be compared in grandeur with those on the\nright, at which I had been gazing with extasy. This one sight alone, I\nthought, well repaid the labor of the journey. I wished to embody my\nsentiments in a few verses, but the inspiration would not come, and\nso I proceeded on my way, and soon emerged on the northern section of\nthe Tise group. There I found another Lama monastery, which bore the\nquaint name of \u2018Ri Ra Puri\u2019 (meaning, \u2018The place of the female yak\u2019s\nhorn\u2019). It originated in a tradition that once, in ancient times, Gyrva\nGottsang Pa, from Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n, went round this natural Ma\u1e47dala in order to\nfind his way in the wilderness. Whilst he was going to the mountain,\nhe found a female yak which proceeded before him and led him on an\nuntrodden path over the snows.\n\nAfter finishing his route round the Holy Place, he arrived at this\nspot; the female yak concealed herself in a cavern, now in the temple,\nand accidentally one of her horns struck against a rock. It was\nbelieved by the Lama that the female yak was a disguised form of the\nmother of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha named Vajra.\n\nThis \u2018Yak\u2019s Horn Temple\u2019 ranks next to the first temple in respect to\npecuniary income. It contains, however, a larger number of priests than\nthe other, there being about fifteen, while the latter has only four.\n\nIt was towards dusk that I reached this temple, and I was allowed to\nlodge there for the night. The priest who appeared to be the senior man\nin the place was very kind to me and offered his own chamber for my\nuse. It faced towards Mount Kail\u0101sa. My host told me that the view of\nthe moon from this chamber was quite enchanting. He brought me a cup\nof tea with plenty of butter in it, for I had told him that I made it\na rule to dispense with the evening meal. I spent a few pleasant hours\nwith my host, who pointed out to me, on the south from the temple, the\nhigh majestic snow-covered peak of Mount Tise, representing the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\nSh\u0101kyamuni; the three small snowy peaks before the mountain, he said,\nwere the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas Manjushr\u012b, Avaloki\u1e6deshvara and Vajrap\u0101\u1e47i; he\nthen gave me a description in detail of other peaks, but I need not\nnarrate here what he explained to me, for the account of the range is\ngiven in most works treating of Tibet and its geography.\n\nThat night I had one of the pleasantest experiences I remember during\nmy expedition to Tibet: it was a pleasure of an elevating kind. My mind\nwas subdued and captivated as I looked, in that still night and in that\nremote and far-off place, at the soft rays of the moon reflected on the\ncrystal-like current that was flowing with a pleasant murmur. Just as,\nin the holy Texts, the soft breeze stirring the branches of trees in\nparadise is said to produce a pleasant note, that sounds to the ears of\nthe happy denizens of that blissful abode like the voice of some one\nreading the Scriptures, so that sweet murmur of the moon-reflecting\nstream deluded my enchanted ears into believing that they were\nlistening to the divine music of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. Staying in that sacred\nplace, and surrounded by such soul-subduing phenomena, my mind soared\nhigher and higher, till it flew up to the eternal region beyond this\nworld of woe and care. The holy Founder tells us that the most sacred\nregion lies in one\u2019s own pure mind, but I, sinful mortal as I was, felt\nelevated and chastened when I found myself in such an environment.\n\nThe next day I stayed at the temple and spent the time with great\nenjoyment. The following day I left the hospitable monastery and\nresumed my journey, which included the surmounting of a steep hill,\nknown under the name of the \u2018Hill of Salvation\u2019. My host seemed to have\nhad some spiritual affinity with me in a past life, so considerate was\nhe in his behavior to me. For instance, he lent me a yak to carry me\nover the hill, and moreover gave me some articles of food and various\ndelicacies. I took friendly leave of him, and then started on my\njourney on the back of the yak, which was led by a guide.\n\nOn the hill I came across many Tibetan pilgrims intent on displaying\ntheir religious zeal and piety, and their behavior more than ever\nconvinced me that a strong fanaticism characterises the people of that\nland. Climbing alone was no easy task, and was one that strained even\nthe sturdiest of legs, and yet I noticed several young pilgrims of\nboth sexes performing the journey according to the \u2018one-step-one-bow\u2019\nmethod, commonly adopted as a penance. As for me I felt greatly\nfatigued, though I was riding on the yak, for the atmosphere in that\nelevated region is very rare and was highly trying to my lungs. When I\nhad ascended the hill for about five miles my respiration became very\nrapid and I was much exhausted. I therefore rested for awhile, and\nrefreshed myself by taking some medicine. It was while I was taking\nrest that I noticed a burly fellow frantically confessing to and\nworshipping the snowy Tise.\n\nMy guide informed me that that man was a native of Kham, a place\nnotorious as being a haunt of brigands and highwaymen. He really looked\nlike a typical highwayman, with ferocious features and fierce eyes,\nand was performing his penance in a loud voice. He must have been a\nnotorious figure even in that land of universal crime.\n\nI was highly amused to find that this fellow was doing penance not for\nhis past offences alone, but also to obtain immunity for any crimes he\nmight commit in future. His extraordinary confession was something in\nthis way: \u201cO Saint Kang Rinpoche! O great Sh\u0101kyamuni! O all Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas and\nBo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas in the ten quarters of the world and in the time past,\npresent and future! I have been wicked in the past. I have murdered\na number of men. I have taken a great deal that did not belong to\nme. I have robbed husbands of their wives. I have quarrelled ever so\nmany times, and I have also thrashed people. Of all those great sins\nI repent, and so I solemnly perform my penance here on this hill for\nthem. I believe that by this act of confession and repentance, I have\nbeen absolved from those sins. I also perform here penance for my\nprospective sins, for I may in future repeat them, may rob people of\ntheir goods and wives, or thrash and beat them.\u201d\n\nThis fellow, I thought, was decidedly original in his conception of\npenance, and surpassed other sinners by performing a prospective\nrepentance instead of, as in the ordinary method, confining himself to\npenitence for his past sins. Yet I was told that this convenient mode\nof repentance was universal in the robber district of Kham.\n\nOur path next lay over a hill known as the hill of the Dolma-la,\nmeaning the Pass of the Mother of the Savior. On ascending the hill\none sees to the right a snowy range of the northern parts of Mount\nKail\u0101sa, named in Tibetan Gyalpo Norjingi Phoprang, which means the\n\u201cresidence of King Kuvera\u201d, the God of Wealth. The spot is very famous\nto Indians also; even in early times in India the great poet K\u0101li\u1e0d\u0101sa\ndescribed this magnificent mansion with its immense views in his\nmasterpiece of the _Megha\u1e0d\u016b\u1e6da--The cloud-messenger_. Seeing it, I said\nin my fancy: \u201cIs it not really the mansion of the God of Wealth--that\ncrystal abode shining in the emerald sky?\u201d I mused furthermore that a\nmammon-worshipper will certainly one day explore that shining region,\nexpecting to find a diamond mine. On the crest of Dolma-la stands a\nnatural stone image of the Mother of the Savior. On the north-east of\nit a number of queer-shaped rocks and fantastic stones are to be seen,\ntheir points all looking like images. These were explained by my guide\nas twenty-one images of the Mother of the Savior. This crest of the\nhill is very high, and indeed does not appear lower in height than the\ntop of Tise itself, the height of which is about 22,300 feet above\nsea-level. The air is therefore very rarefied and the temperature\nvery low. Even when I remained quiet I felt the effect of the high\naltitude, for my heart beat rapidly and I suffered much pain. I thought\nthat I should hardly have been able to perform the journey on foot,\nand that therefore I was deeply indebted to my host for lending me a\nyak to carry me over the series of hills. The Tibetan pilgrims did\nnot seem to suffer to any particular extent from the effects of the\nrarefied atmosphere. They possess capacious lungs and can therefore\nclimb any elevated hill without fatigue. Of course ordinary people,\nwho do not possess lungs half as large as those of the Tibetans, can\nhardly expect to undertake this journey with so much ease. As it was, I\nfelt very much exhausted, even though I did not walk on foot but rode\non the yak. Near the foot of the hill I found a large pond which was\nentirely frozen over--a pond associated with an interesting legend.\nIn ancient times, says that legend, the God of Wealth and his family\nused the water of this pond to wash their hands, for in those days it\nwas not frozen in summer. Afterwards a woman pilgrim carrying a baby\non her back came to the pond. As she bent over to wash her hands, the\nbaby slipped off her back into the water and was drowned. The guardian\ndeities of the place then consulted how to provide against such\naccidents, and they decided that the pond should be frozen over all the\nyear around.\n\nThe descent is rather sharp, and it was uncomfortable sitting on the\nyak\u2019s back, so I dismounted and trotted down after the animal.\n\nAt last we reached the eastern part of Tise and arrived at the Zun-tul\nphuk, which means the cave of miracles, founded by the hermit Jetsun\nMilaraspa, one of the most venerated saints in the Tibetan hagiology.\nVarious interesting traditions are told about this saint, but these I\nneed not give here, as they are too technical. I may say, however, that\nMilaraspa is said to have led a highly austere life, and that he did\nmuch to diffuse the true tenets of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. He was also a great poet,\nthe only poet who figures in the long history of Tibet. His biography\ntherefore reads like a romance or a great epic, full of sublime\nconceptions. Milaraspa being such a unique personality in the history\nof Tibet, his name has attracted the attention of western explorers,\nand extracts from his poems have been translated. After returning to\nDarjeeling I explained his poems to a certain Russian traveller and\nwriter, who translated them into his national tongue. He was much\ndelighted with the information which I gave him, and told me that my\ntranslation enabled him to interpret something of the spirit of the\ngreat Tibetan epic.\n\nWe stayed one night at that temple, and on the following day proceeded\nalong the banks of the river Ham-hung-gi-chu (shoe-dropping river) and\nreached a place which contained a temple called Gyang-tak-gonpa. This\ntemple is dedicated to Dorje Karmo, the Goddess named White Vajra. The\nplace is situated about one mile off the road and near by is a postal\nstation named Darchen Tazam. This station contains about thirty houses\nbuilt of stone, besides about a dozen tents pitched here and there. It\nis a business as well as a revenue centre for the whole district. I\nlodged at one of the houses, and here the guide took leave of me. That\nnight I performed my usual religious meditation, and on the morning of\nthe following day my pilgrim companions rejoined me.\n\nThe station lies on a steppe between the north-western corner of\nLake M\u0101nasarovara and the north-eastern corner of Lake Lakgal. On\nthe following day our party left the station, and proceeded in a\nsouth-easterly direction, to the west of M\u0101nasarovara. We advanced\nin the same direction the next day, till we reached the foot of a\nsnowy peak named Bon-Ri. This is, as I have mentioned before, a place\nsacred to the Bon, or ancient religion of Tibet. I saw a big temple\nin the place, which I found to be not a temple belonging to that old\nreligion, as I had expected, but one belonging to the New Sect. It\nlooked a magnificent establishment as seen from a distance, but we did\nnot go near it. This neighborhood produced various kinds of mushrooms,\nand some which were growing in damp places were gathered by the women\nof the party. They collected large quantities of the fungus, which\nwas fried with butter and eaten with salt. I tasted it and found it\ndelicious. By that time we had left the limits of the sacred region,\nand my male companions no longer considered themselves as pilgrims, but\nas men who had to face the stern realities of the material world. They\ndeclared that they must resume their worldly business, and proposed\nto start by shooting deer. It seemed to me that their shooting not\ninfrequently included extraordinary kinds of game, and I suspected,\non good grounds, that the three brothers had now and then turned\nhighwaymen and either robbed or murdered travellers. I therefore began\nto be afraid of them, and thought that I had better separate myself\nfrom them on some plausible pretext, and without awakening their\nsuspicion.\n\nOn the following day we reached the brow of a hill, and there one of\nthe brothers in my presence shot an animal called in Tibet _changku_.\nThe shooting was done merely for pleasure and not with the object of\neating its flesh or using its skin. The changku, or wolf, resembles a\nlarge species of dog with rather thin fur, which in summer turns a fine\nbrownish color. In winter the color is said to be a whitish grey. The\nears are erect and the face appears ferocious. It is said that this\nwild animal will attack solitary travellers and even kill them. When\nthe brothers brought down the animal their eyes gleamed with delight,\nand I secretly thought that their eyes would show that same cruel gleam\nwhen they murdered a wealthy traveller.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\nAn Ominous Outlook.\n\n\nThe next day, September 14th, snow again fell, and so we had to stay\nin the same place. The hunting-dogs went out of their own accord on a\nrabbit-hunting expedition, and came back with their mouths stained with\nblood. They must have hunted down some rabbits and made a meal of them.\nThe snow ceased, and we left the place on the following day. Proceeding\neastwards, we now came to a long undulating hill, and soon reached its\nsummit. Here the head of the family said that our pilgrimage must end\nat this spot, and when asked why at this particular place, he pointed\nto Lake M\u0101nasarovara, situated to the west, and also to the snow-capped\npeak of Manri that stood due south from the middle of the Lake, and\ntold me that we should here bid farewell and express our good wishes to\nthe sacred region, for this was the last point where we could have a\nfull view of the Holy Place, and that we should express in our prayers\nan earnest desire to visit this sacred region again in the future.\nSaying this, he bowed down and I and all the rest followed his example.\n\nWhen I thought that I (the first Japanese who had ever come to visit\nthis district from a remote country thousands of miles away) was now\nabout to take leave of Lake M\u0101nasarovara after having been in its\nneighborhood for several days, a peculiar sensation came over me, and\nI stood gazing at the lake for some time. As we were going down the\nhill, my host told me that as they had already departed from the Holy\nPlace they should now earnestly engage themselves in their worldly\npursuits; therefore they thought it time that I should leave them. We\nsoon reached a little encampment of some twelve or thirteen tents, and\nthither I wended my way to observe the condition of the small community.\n\nMendicancy was well suited for satisfying my curiosity, and as a\nmendicant I entered the encampment. My companions remained in the same\nplace that day and the next, the brothers occupied in shooting. On the\nlatter day I was reading a Chinese Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Text, and the two women\nwere outside engaged in some earnest talk. At first I did not pay any\nattention to what they were saying, but when my ears caught the word\n\u2018Lama\u2019 pronounced several times my curiosity was awakened. Dawa was\nsaying that she had heard the Lama, that is myself, say that her mother\nwas probably dead. She wished, she continued, to ascertain this of the\nLama, and so she had been pressing him for some definite information.\nHer aunt received this remark with a laugh. He must have seen, she\nsaid, that Dawa was in love with him, and had therefore told her this\nfib in joke. She must not mind what the Lama told her. However, the\naunt continued, her husband had been telling her that he must make the\nLama marry Dawa, and that should he refuse, her husband would kill him.\nIt was evident that this last portion of the conversation was intended\nfor my ears, for the aunt spoke in a loud voice.\n\nWhen I heard that intimidatory warning I at first felt alarmed, but the\nnext moment I recovered my tranquillity. I thought that if I should\nsuffer death for having resisted a temptation, my death would be highly\napproved by the holy Founder. He would be displeased if I should\ndisobey my conscience for the mere fear of death. Internally praying\nfor strength of mind to resist the temptation, even at the risk of my\nlife, I resumed my reading. However nothing occurred to me that day,\nnor the next, when we struck our tent and proceeded for about five\nmiles close to the brow of a hill, from which I saw at a short distance\nwhat appeared to be houses, and I was told that this was another postal\nstation called Tokchen Tazam. Again I visited the place in the disguise\nof a mendicant priest. I soon returned and found Dawa alone in the\ntent; the rest were all gone out hunting, so she told me. I at once saw\nthat the conspiracy was developing, and that matters were growing quite\ncritical.\n\nI concluded that I must do my best to dissuade the girl from pursuing\nthe object of her misplaced affection. Some spiritual affinity must\nhave brought me into the company of this girl, so it seemed to me\nthat I was bound to administer an earnest expostulation, so that she\nmight recover from her erring fancy. So thinking, I took my seat in\nthe tent. As soon as I did so, she brought me some mushrooms she had\ncollected for me in the morning, for she said: \u201cYou seemed to be very\nfond of them.\u201d I thanked her for her kindness, took all the mushrooms\nand a cup of baked flour, and then set myself to read my books. The\ngirl stopped me, saying that she had something which she must tell\nme, for she had heard something which filled her with fear. Then she\nnarrated what one of her uncles, that is one of my male companions,\nhad said about his intention to force me to marry his niece. When she\nhad concluded her story, I told her with the greatest composure that I\nshould be rather glad than afraid to be killed by the brothers of her\nfather. I had finished my pilgrimage, I added; I had nothing to desire\nin this world, and I was not in the least afraid to die. Moreover, I\ncontinued, I would not harbor any ill-will, even if I should be killed\nnow by her father and uncles. I should rather thank them for hastening\nmy departure to the plane of Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas; so I would pray for them\nwhen I was enabled to reach that Happy Abode. I would therefore ask\nto be killed that very evening. The girl seemed surprised to find\nher revelation producing an effect quite the reverse of what she had\nexpected. She tried to remonstrate with me on what she considered a\nfoolish resolution, and spoke some commonplaces about death and the\npleasures of life. Of course I easily refuted them, and at last she\ngave up the evidently useless task of persuading me.\n\n[Illustration: QUARREL BETWEEN BROTHERS.]\n\nAbout four o\u2019clock that afternoon the four returned. They must have\nlistened for some time to the conversation between Dawa and myself, for\nas soon as they entered the tent, the most wicked of the three brothers\nseverely scolded Dawa for flirting with a man. Upon this, the girl\u2019s\nfather at once took her side, and snappishly told his brother that his\nDawa had a father to protect her, and therefore wanted nobody to meddle\nwith her, much less an uncle who had never given her even so much as\none bowl of flour since she was born.\n\nThe quarrel waxed hotter and fiercer, and the brothers began to abuse\neach other and to divulge each other\u2019s crimes. One accused the other\nof being a robber, and of having murdered men at such and such places,\nand was met with the recriminating accusation of having attempted to\nrob the Government and of having fled for fear of arrest. The wordy\nwarfare at last developed into actual blows, and the brothers exchanged\nfisticuffs, and even began to hurl stones at each other. I thought\nI must interfere, and so I jumped up and attempted to hold back the\nyoungest brother as he was about to spring at Dawa\u2019s father. The fellow\nstruck my cheek with his bony knuckles with such force that I fell, and\nmy whole frame shook with pain. The confusion in the tent had reached\nits climax, and Dawa was beginning to cry and so was also her aunt.\nI remained a passive spectator of the rest of this terrible scene,\nfor I had to lie prostrate from the pain. Presently the sun set and\nthe quarrel too spent itself and the night passed without any further\noutbreak.\n\nThe next morning the party broke up, for each brother wanted to go his\nway, the eldest with his wife, the second with his daughter, and the\nthird alone, as was also the case with me; so we had to disperse, each\nfor his own destination. One thing that troubled me was the lack of\nsheep to carry my effects. At last I purchased two at six tanka each,\nand separating myself from the rest proceeded in the south-easterly\ndirection. One of the brothers started for the north, while I could see\nthe others were retracing the road we had come along.\n\nI had heard before that I must push on rapidly, but I purposely took\nthe south-easterly direction, in order to throw off the scent any of\nthe brothers who might come after me to rob me, or even worse. And\nso I proceeded in this direction, and by about sunset I reached the\nbrow of a hill, where I was obliged to bivouac in the open, and on a\nsnow-covered plain. The change was too sudden after having lived for\nso long in the tent, and I could not snatch even one wink of sleep\nduring the night. On the following day, still continuing in the same\ndirection, I reached a small monastery of the name of Sha Chen Khangba,\nwhere I remained that day and the next. For the first time since I\nparted with the brothers and the troublesome women, I felt safe, for I\nconcluded that I was no longer in danger of being pursued by one of the\nmurderous gang. I saw only two priests in the temple, and I spent most\nof my time in stitching my worn-out boots and clothes.\n\nWhile I was staying in the monastery one of my sheep suddenly fell\nill and died. I felt sorely grieved at his death, and read a suitable\nservice for him. The other sheep I had to sell, at half the price I\nhad paid for him, to one of four traders who arrived at the monastery\nsoon after I had reached it, for I could hardly manage him now, as he\nwas so peevish and disconsolate at the loss of his partner. To the four\nmen I also gave the flesh of the dead sheep, and they accepted it with\nthanks. It happened that the party was travelling in the same direction\nas myself, and they proposed that I should go with them. This was quite\na welcome suggestion, especially as the men were kind enough to offer\ntheir services to carry my effects, for they had with them a number of\nyaks.\n\nSo once more I had travelling companions, and I left the monastery with\na far more cheerful heart than I had when I reached it. We proceeded\nin a south-easterly direction, and soon came to a small round pond, a\nlittle over half a mile in circumference. Proceeding along the right\nside of the pond, we next came to a lake which is very long from\nnorth-west to south-east, but very narrow. The whole circumference\nis said to be about forty miles. This lake is bounded by rocky hills\non all sides, and the blackish rocks scattered here and there were\npartially covered, especially in the crevices and sheltered spots\nbetween the adjoining rocks, with a thin layer of snow, so that they\npresented quite a pretty sight. I ascended a small elevation close by\nthe lake, and looked down on it and also on the small pond. From that\nheight the serpentine lake looked just like the fabulous dragon in\nthe act of clutching a round gem, the pond corresponding to the gem.\nThe snow-streaked rocks were not unlike a white fleece of cloud. This\nlake is known by the name of Kong-gyu-i Tso, as I heard from my fellow\ntravellers. After proceeding about seventeen miles south-eastwards,\nwith the lake on our left, we reached its extremity. Here we were to\nbivouac, as we had no tent, but I could not sleep on the snow-covered\nplain. I therefore passed the night in my usual style, that is to say,\nin religious meditation, the best expedient for a sleepless night.\n\nOur road lay next day over a steep hill, and it was indeed such a\nbreak-back ascent that it seemed to be trying even to the sturdy legs\nand lungs of my Tibetan companions. As for myself, I was lucky enough\nto get permission to ride on a yak\u2019s back, and so I could negotiate the\nascent with no great difficulty. Descending the opposite slope of the\nhill we soon reached a plain which, together with all the adjoining\ncountry, was situated in the Kong-gyu district. On this plain I noticed\na white spot, not unlike a lake at a distance. My companions informed\nme that the white thing was _puto_, and that the white spot indicated\nthe site of a lake which produced natural soda.\n\nWhen we reached the lake my companions eagerly collected the deposit,\nput it in skin-bags and fastened it to the back of the yaks. They told\nme that the soda was to be mixed with tea.\n\nWe then went on over several low undulating hills, and finally reached\nthe lower course of the river Chema Yungdung, where I had narrowly\nescaped drowning a short time before. As the season was now well\nadvanced, the river was much shallower and we were able to cross it\nwith comparative ease. I indeed could do so with perfect security, for\nI was carried on a yak\u2019s back.\n\nWe were travelling all these days at the rate of about twenty-five\nmiles a day, and I should hardly have been able to make such good\nprogress had it not been for the fact that I could ride every now and\nthen on a yak. What distressed me most was bivouacking in the open,\nwhere sleep was out of the question in the cold autumn nights and on\nground covered with snow. After proceeding some twenty-five miles\nto the south-east, on the following day we reached the Brahmapu\u1e6dra,\nknown in this region as Martsan-gi-chu or Kobei-chu, according to\nthe districts which it traversed. The lordly river was quite shallow\nand could be crossed without trouble, and I did so as before on the\nyak\u2019s back. We found some tents by the bank of the river where we were\nallowed to pass a night--quite a cheering change after so many nights\nof bivouacking.\n\nIt was a moonless night, but the sky was full of stars, which threw\ntheir twinkling rays on the water of the river. The vast range of the\nHim\u0101layas was clearly silhouetted, so as to make its sharp outline\nperceptible. The majestic scene inspired me with poetic fervor:\n\n Like to the Milky Way in Heaven at night,\n With stars begemmed in countless numbers decked,\n The Brahmaputra flashes on the sight,\n His banks, fit haunt for Gods, appear\n In gorgeous splendors from the snowy height.\n\nThe following day I had to part from my companions, who were going to\na destination different from mine, and so I was again thrown on my own\nwits and my own legs for continuing my journey. After having travelled\nfor so many days with the help of other people, I now had to travel\nalone with nothing but my back on which to carry my effects, and my\njourney on the following day was a cheerless and fatiguing one. The\nload weighed heavily on my back, and the time I occupied in taking rest\nwas perhaps longer than that spent in actual progress. At last I was so\nmuch exhausted that I could hardly move my limbs.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\nA Cheerless Prospect.\n\n\nWhile I was taking rest in that helpless condition, I was fortunate\nenough to see a Tibetan coming along my way leading a yak. When he\ncame to where I was sitting I greeted him, and asked him to carry my\nluggage as far as he could without compromising his own convenience,\nand promised him suitable pay for his trouble. He willingly consented,\nand relieved my aching back of its load.\n\nAfter travelling about three miles, I observed three men coming towards\nus on horseback. They were fully armed, each with a gun, a lance and\na sword, and as they approached they looked like burly men, wearing\nTibetan hunting caps. I at once concluded that they must be highwaymen,\nfor evidently they were not pilgrims, the latter generally travelling\nwith a pack-horse or a yak to carry their necessaries; nor could they\nbe merchants, for they would travel in a caravan, according to the\nfashion of the country. My companion came to the same conclusion and\nbegan to show signs of fear. To encounter highwaymen is not quite\nagreeable under any circumstances, so I was not cheered at the thought\nof meeting those three fellows, but I was not at all afraid, for I made\nup my mind to surrender whatever things they wished to have out of my\neffects. I simply wished to keep my life, and for this the highwaymen\ncould have no use. With that idea I boldly advanced and soon came face\nto face with the three cavaliers. They asked me whence I came, and\nwhen I replied that I was returning from a visit to Mount Kail\u0101sa they\nfurther asked me if I had not seen some traders on my way. The traders\nwere their friends, they continued, and they were searching for them.\n\nWhen I replied that I had not met with any such persons, the men\nthen said that I must be a Lama-priest, and as such they wished me\nto perform some divination for them, to find out the whereabouts of\ntheir friends. Now the meaning of their request was quite clear, they\nwished to find the traders in order to assault and despoil them. For my\nown part I was rather relieved when the three fellows disclosed their\nintention, for I knew that highwaymen who were after traders with rich\ngoods would scorn the idea of robbing a poor Lama-priest such as they\ntook me to be. On the contrary they might offer some donation to such\na priest, if they asked him to undertake divination for their sake.\nHighwaymen who do business on a large scale often prove a source of\nsubstantial profit to Lama-priests, if a donation coming from such\nquarters can be regarded as a legitimate profit.\n\nWell, placed under such peculiar circumstances, I was obliged to give\nthem a \u2018direction,\u2019 and of course the direction I gave them was the one\nwhich I judged least likely to be frequented by traders. The highwaymen\nwere highly pleased at my divination, thanked me, and then galloped\noff in the direction I indicated. They did not offer me any donation,\nhowever, for they said they had nothing to present to me now.\n\nMy companion had remained at a distance all the while as a terrified\nspectator of this strange transaction between the highwaymen and\nmyself. When they had galloped away he emerged from his hiding-place,\nand asked me what I was talking about with those dreadful men. I told\nhim in detail what had passed between the highwaymen and myself, and\nrelieved his anxiety by assuring him that my divination was a mere\nsham, and was really intended to mislead them instead of giving them\nany probable direction.\n\nAfter having walked along a river bank for about eight miles we came\nto a tent which belonged to my companion, and there were two or three\nothers besides. That night I slept in the tent of my guide, and I also\nstayed there during the following day in order to give rest to my\nfatigued limbs. On the following morning (that is on September 26th)\nI purchased a goat according to the advice of my host, and packing my\neffects on the animal\u2019s back I left the place.\n\nI was soon after overtaken by a fearful snowstorm, which obstructed\nmy sight and blocked my progress. My Tibetan garment was completely\ndrenched, and I was wet to the skin. I could not determine in which\ndirection I should proceed, for the storm blinded my eyes and I had\nlost my compass; but though I could not be certain of the right\ndirection I had to move on as best I could, for to stand still was out\nof the question. My situation was growing more and more desperate,\nand I was at my wit\u2019s end, not knowing what to do. As luck would have\nit, just at that moment I met with a horseman. He at once noticed the\nplight I was in and kindly offered me the hospitality of his tent. It\nwas a little _d\u00e9tour_, he said, for one going to Lhasa to go with him\nto his tent, but it would be dangerous (though not probably fatal, as\nthe season was not yet far advanced) to pass that snowy night in the\nopen; the cold was too severe to expose oneself to it with safety at\nnight. I gratefully accepted the hospitable offer, transferred, as he\nbade me, a part of my goat\u2019s load on to the back of his horse, and\nthen, leading the goat, followed the horseman and soon reached his tent.\n\nThe following morning my host left quite early, and the people of the\ntent, and of four or five others, broke up their camp and moved on in\nthe direction in which I also was to proceed for my journey towards\nLhasa. So I followed them, and trudged along the snow-covered ground\nin a south-easterly direction for about fifteen miles. I had not yet\nhad occasion to talk with any of them, but I felt sure that they\nwould again extend to me their hospitality, and at least allow me to\nshare their tent at night, for they must see, I thought, that it was\nimpossible for me to sleep outside among the snow-covered hills. In\ntime the party made a halt, selected a suitable site for pitching their\ncamp, scraped off the snow, and set up their tents. All that while I\nwas watching the people at work, or gazing at the surrounding scenery.\nWhen the tent-pitching was finished, I asked the people of the tent in\nwhich I had slept the preceding night for permission to enjoy a similar\nfavor again. I was astonished to receive from them a blunt refusal.\nThen I tried another tent, but with no better success, and my earnest\nrequests at the five or six other tents were all in vain. I at last\ncame to the only remaining tent, and I thought that as this was my\nlast chance I must somehow or other persuade the inmates to admit me,\nwhether they were willing to receive me or not; so I begged them--they\nwere an old dame and her daughter--for permission to sleep in their\ntent, on the ground that I should probably be frozen to death if I were\nto stay outside in the snow on that cold night, and urged that they\nshould take compassion on me. I added that I might repay their kindness\nwith a suitable present of money. The old woman was not softened at all\nby my appeal. On the contrary she was angry with me, saying that I was\ninsulting her by trying to force hospitality from her. Why had I not\ntried other tents inhabited by men, and why should I be so importunate\nwith her alone? I was insulting her because she was a woman, she added,\nand she insisted on my leaving her tent. When I tried to protest\nagainst this merciless treatment she stood up in an awful passion, and\nraising aloft the Tibetan tongs, with which she was scraping together\nthe kindled yak\u2019s dung, she made as though she would strike me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.\n\nAt Death\u2019s Door.\n\n\nNo one would take me into his tent, and I was thus quite at my wit\u2019s\nend. I retired to a distance of some dozen yards and, looking at the\nfour or five tents which appeared to be warm and cozy, remembered\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s words: \u201cFor him who has no relationship to me, it is very\ndifficult to receive salvation from me.\u201d These people were perfect\nstrangers to me, and therefore slept comfortably in their tents, while\nI had to lie down on the cold ground, exposed to the severe winds. But,\nI thought, the fact that I had asked them for a lodging might have\ncreated a certain relationship, by means of which they might yet be\nsaved, and that it would not be quite in vain if I read the Holy Texts\nfor their salvation. Of course this was merely my duty as a follower\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, whose love is universal. So I sat down on the ground and\nrecited the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Text, with the kindest intentions. After a while\nthe girl whom I had lately asked for a lodging peeped from her tent and\nstared at me, then hastily withdrew. Presently she appeared a second\ntime and, approaching me, said that she supposed I was conjuring evil\nspirits to punish her and her mother for their refusal to lodge me.\nThis must not be done, said she. She and her mother had now agreed\nthat they should entertain me in their tent, and she had been sent for\nme. There was something comical in the fact that my kind intentions\nshould be taken for revengeful motives, and that those motives should\nbe rewarded with kindness. But I attributed all to the benevolence\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and thankfully accepted the girl\u2019s invitation. A Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nservice was held that evening.\n\nThe following morning I left the tent very early, and walked south-east\nfor two miles and a half in a hilly district. Quite unexpectedly, two\nmen rushed out from behind a rock and stopped me. As they did not seem\nlike robbers, though they were armed, I was simple enough to think that\nthey were natives of the place making a trip. They approached close to\nme and asked me what I had. I replied, \u201cI had Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism\u201d. They did not\nunderstand what I said and exclaimed:\n\n\u201cWhat is that you have on your back?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my food.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that sticking out on your breast?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my silver.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had the last answer been given, than the men seized my\nsticks, and I understood at once that they were robbers. Promptly\nmaking up my mind what to do, I said:\n\n\u201cYou want something of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course!\u201d one of them said, showing his teeth.\n\n\u201cWell, then, there is no use in hurrying. I will give you all you want.\nBe calm, and say what you want.\u201d\n\n\u201cProduce your silver first.\u201d\n\nI gave them my purse.\n\n\u201cYou seem to have some valuables on your back. Let us see.\u201d\n\nI obeyed. They also demanded to see my bag, which was being carried on\nthe goat, and, after ransacking it, returned me the Scriptures, the\nbed-clothes that were heavy, and a few other things that were useless\nto them. They took, however, all my food, saying that they needed it,\nalthough neither could I do without food.\n\n[Illustration: ATTACKED BY ROBBERS.]\n\nIt is a rule among the robbers of Tibet that, having taken all they\nwant, they should give their victim enough food for some three days,\nprovided that the latter read the Texts and ask for food. I thought\nI would follow this custom, and I said that I possessed in my\nbreast-cloth a silver pagoda, containing relics of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, which Mr.\n\u1e0chammap\u0101la of India had asked me to present to the Dalai Lama, and\nwhich I did not wish to lose. The highwaymen at once wanted to know if\nI could not give it to them, and I replied that if they wanted it I\nwould give it, but that as a layman could not keep it properly, they\nmust expect some misfortune as a punishment for their sacrilege.\n\nSo saying, I produced the pagoda and invited them to open it. This\nwas probably more than they expected. They would not even touch it,\nbut asked me to place it upon their heads with my benediction. I held\nthe pagoda over their heads and, reciting the three Refuges and Five\nCommandments of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, prayed that their sins might be extinguished by\nthe merit of \u1e0charma.\n\nThen I stood up, and was going to ask of them a few days\u2019 rations, when\ntwo men on horseback put in an appearance far ahead, and before I could\nlook round, the robbers had gathered together all that they had seized,\nand made off in the opposite direction. They ran over the mountains\nlike hares, and it was quite out of the question for me to give them\nchase. I thought, therefore, to ask the horsemen for provisions. But\nfor some reason or other they climbed a mountain ahead of me, and did\nnot come as far as where I was. I called out to them and made signs by\nturning my right hand inwards, according to the Tibetan custom. Perhaps\nmy voice did not reach them, or they had some business demanding urgent\nattendance, for they paid no attention to me. Still I had left eight\nIndian gold coins which I had kept close to my skin. My baggage having\nbeen greatly diminished, I placed it all on my goat, and went on with\nmy journey. It was a steep mountain pass, and before I had travelled\neight miles it became dark. The night was spent as usual in bivouacking\nin a crevice between the rocks.\n\nThe following morning I wished to take a north-easterly direction, so\nas to reach a certain post-town; but having no compass, I could not\nascertain my bearings, and seem to have strayed off to the south-east\nand eventually due south, instead of north-east, as I should have done.\nThe snow began to fall at three o\u2019clock in the afternoon, and I walked\nand walked until the evening, but met not a single human being. I was\nexceedingly hungry, and so thirsty that I ate the snow. One meal a day\nwould have been sufficient for me, but the absolute fasting gave me no\nsmall pain.\n\nDarkness and hunger compelled me to stop, and I selected a hollow in\nthe ground as my bed, clearing it of snow. As there is always a danger\nof being frozen dead when one is beset by a snow-storm in a vast\nplain, I took the precaution to hold my breath, so as to minimise the\ncommunication with the outside air, according to the methods learned\nduring my Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist training. This, I think, is the best method for\nbivouacking in the snow, and I soon fell asleep in the hollow.\n\nOn waking early next morning I saw the snow had fallen to a great\ndepth, but the weather was fine; and when I looked around, I thought\nthe mountains ahead resembled the hilly district called Nahru-ye, where\nI had once been in the company of some herdsmen. Proceeding further,\nI found the familiar Kyang-chu river, which I was delighted to see.\nSustained by the hope of finding some old acquaintances at Nahru-ye,\nI walked some five miles in that direction. But nowhere was there any\nhuman being to be seen; there was nothing but the snow. I was almost\ndespairing, owing to my extreme hunger and thirst, for I was entirely\nexhausted, though I had no heavy baggage to carry. But I had to walk on\nand on, eating a little snow from time to time to allay my hunger.\n\nI thought that by travelling farther across the Kyang-chu river, I\nshould reach the place where Alchu Lama lived. He never wandered far\naway from that place, and I might find him there; so I decided upon\ntravelling in that direction. I crossed the river about nine miles\nabove the place where I had crossed it on the previous occasion. The\nwater had decreased to about one-fifth of its usual amount, and it was\njust freezing. I broke the ice with my sticks and crossed the river.\nIf the ice had been thick, the crossing of the river would have been a\nvery easy task, but the thin ice entailed the danger to the traveller\nof being thrown into the deep current, and injured by the ice-blocks.\nAfter many difficulties I reached the opposite bank, and walked due\nsouth.\n\nThen the baggage which was being carried by the goat got lost. It\ncontained what the robbers had left--a carpet made of sheep-skin,\nshoes, drugs, and such things. I searched everywhere, but in vain. I\nhad to give up my search and proceed further, for I wished to reach\na tent before night, as sleeping amid the snow on the open field\nfor several nights consecutively would mean the end of my life; so\nI pushed on until eight o\u2019clock and had covered twenty miles, when\nanother trouble cropped up in the shape of terrible pain in the eyes,\nthe result of the strong glare of the sun on the snow. My eyes felt as\nif they would burst, and I could not remain quiet. Moreover the snow\nrecommenced falling in the evening, and the cold was extreme, and when\nI lay down I felt the biting coldness of the snow on my head. I pressed\nthe snow on my eyes, but it did not lessen the pain in the least. A\ncold sweat broke out all over me from the pain and cold, and, in trying\nto calm myself, I found that my body was becoming benumbed by the\nfrost. I tried keeping my eyes shut, and anointed them abundantly with\nthe oil of cloves. But slumber was far from me. I rivetted my thoughts\non Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and was doing my best to keep down the pain, when, quite\nunexpectedly, I was inspired with an _uta_, which runs:\n\n Upon these plains of snow, my bed is snow,\n My pillow, snow; my food also the same;\n And this my snowy journey, full of pain.\n\nThe effusion soothed my heart, and I felt more than ever thankful for\nthe beauty of the Japanese language.\n\nThe next day, October 1, 1900, at about six in the morning I decided\nto proceed on my journey. The snow had ceased, and the sun was shining\nbrightly, to the increased pain of my eyes. I could not walk with my\neyes shut; and yet the pain of keeping them open, however slightly, was\nmore than I could bear. I was so overcome by it that I would from time\nto time fall down, wherever I might be. I had had no food for nearly\nfour days, and was so weak that the smallest stone lying in the snow\nwould bring me down. Fortunately I sustained no injury, owing to the\nsoftness of the snow and the lightness of my body. There was a time,\nhowever, when I got quite exasperated by hunger, the pain in my eyes,\nand the weakness of my legs, and sat down in the snow, feeling that\nI was fated to die. Intellectually, however, death was far from my\nthoughts. Were there only some means of getting rid of my bodily pains,\nI thought I could walk on and on, and at last reach safety.\n\nAt this juncture a horseman put in an appearance far ahead. I strained\nmy eyes, though with terrible pain, and thus made out that it was a\nhorseman. I stood up at once and signalled him to approach. I wished\nto shout but could not; the effort seemed to choke me, and it was\nonly after enormous exertion that I squeezed out two feeble shouts\nand wildly gesticulated. The horseman, having apparently observed me,\ngalloped towards me, to my great joy. Soon he was beside me, asking me\nwhat I was doing in such a desert of snow, and I told him with uncommon\ndifficulty that I had been robbed of most of my baggage, had lost what\nremained to me _en route_, and had had nothing to eat for over three or\nfour days. He was a young man, full of sympathy. Though he was provided\nwith extra provisions, he said, he would give me only some sweetmeats,\nmade of cream and brown sugar, a food which is esteemed as a rare\ndelicacy in the northern steppes of Tibet. I swallowed down the food\nwhich he gave me so hurriedly that I did not even taste it.\n\nI then enquired of him if I could not find a lodging hereabouts. His\nreply was that he was a pilgrim, and that his parents and others were\nstaying beside the mountain ahead of us, and that I should be able to\nobtain some accommodation there. He therefore advised me to come to his\ntent, and, saying that he was in hurry, galloped away in that direction.\n\nThe distance was only a little above two miles, but I do not remember\nhow often I stumbled and fell down, and rested, and ate snow, before I\nreached the tent. More than three hours were occupied on the journey,\nand I did not reach the tent till past eleven o\u2019clock, when the\nyoung man came out to welcome me. His parents congratulated me on my\nnarrow escape from death, and entertained me with the best sort of\nTibetan food, which consisted of boiled rice covered with butter, and\naccompanied by sugar and raisins. I did not take much of the food, for\nfear that the sudden repletion might injure me, but I took a little\nmilk after a very modest repast. The pain in my eyes was no better.\nThere was no medicine, and the best I could do was to cool them with\nsnow. In spite of the fine bed with which I was accommodated I could\nnot sleep that night, owing to the pain I felt in my eyes.\n\nThese people, being pilgrims, were intending to move on day by day. The\nnext morning, therefore, I also had to proceed on my journey. But it\nwas some time before they could start, for they had to pull down the\ntents and pack them on the yaks. I finished my tea therefore, and went\nout of doors, while they were busily engaged in packing their effects.\nI had walked to the further end of a row of four or five tents, when\nseven or eight ferocious Tibetan dogs attacked me, barking loudly.\nHandicapped as I was with the pain in my eyes, I could not deal with\nthese dogs so deftly as at other times. At first, I kept my eyes open\nand brandished my two sticks, driving back the animals, which attacked\nme from all sides. But once I was obliged to close my eyes, and\nimmediately a dog behind me seized one of my sticks. The next moment\nanother dog fastened his teeth on my right leg, and threw me down.\n\nI uttered a feeble cry for help, which brought several men on the\nscene, and they drove away the dogs with stones. But the blood flowed\nout abundantly from the wound, which I held fast with my hands, and I\nlay motionless until an aged dame brought me some medicine, which she\nsaid was a marvellous cure for such wounds. I dressed the wound with\nthe medicine and bandaged it, and attempted to rise, but in vain. It\nwas impossible for me to stand up.\n\nBut as it was equally impossible that I should lie down there for ever,\nI asked the people what they would advise me to do, and if they did\nnot know the whereabouts of Alchu Lama, whom I thought to be in that\nvicinity. They asked me if I was acquainted with Alchu Lama, and, on\nbeing answered in the affirmative, one of them volunteered to carry me\non his horse to the tent of Alchu Lama, who he said, being a physician,\nwould be able to cure me alike of the wound and of the eye-disease. I\nrose with the support of the sticks, one of which broke under me and\nhad to be thrown away, and mounted on the horse.\n\nArriving at a place where there stood two tents, I perceived that these\ntents were smaller than those of Alchu Lama. Though wondering at heart,\nI alighted from the horse, and enquired at one of the tents for the\nLama, and I was informed that this was not the Lama\u2019s tent, but that\nof his wife\u2019s father. I wanted to reach the Lama\u2019s tents somehow, and\nwas speaking to that effect, when the wife, hearing my voice, said that\nI was the revered Lama who had made a pilgrimage to the snowy peak of\nTise, and came out to see me.\n\n\u201cWhere is your Lama?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cHe lives about two miles east of this place.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish to find him. Have you no one to take me to him?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing to do with the Lama any more, nor can I take you. But\nif you want to go there, I will direct the man who has brought you here\nto accompany you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why do you not yourself return to your own home?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, there is no man so wicked as he; I intend to leave him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not good,\u201d said I.\n\nThen we had a long talk, and after I had been given a repast, I rode to\nthe Lama\u2019s tent.\n\nThe Lama being out, I was received by his domestics. When he returned\nhome in the evening, I related my adventures to him and asked him for\nsome medicine. He kindly dressed my wound with excellent drugs, and\ngave me purgatives, saying that it was necessary for me to purge my\nbody in order to prevent the diffusion throughout my system of poison\nwhich some of the dogs injected by their bites. He also said that I\nshould stay with him for at least a week, in order to recuperate.\nThanks to his directions, which I obeyed, I was in a few days greatly\nrelieved of the suffering both in my leg and eyes.\n\nI had experienced enough of hardship, and had very poor prospects of\nan easy life in the future. But still there was a genuine pleasure in\npushing on through hardships. About that time I composed a poem:\n\n All bitter hardships in this world of woe,\n Have I thus tasted now during this life;\n None will be left for me to suffer more.\n\nOne day I asked the Lama why he had sent his wife to her parents,\nwhereupon he explained the shortcomings of his wife. Both had their\nreasons, and I could not say which was wrong. But, I said, the man\nought to have magnanimity and to console his wife, so that it was\nadvisable for the Lama to send for his wife to come back. I supported\nmy advice by the doctrines of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and made him yield to my\nproposal. He sent two of his men for his wife, who, after making some\nfuss, returned to his tent the same evening.\n\nThe following day, when I referred to the Discourse on the Five Vices,\nwhich is included in the Gospel of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha _Life Eternal_ (one of\nthe three books of the J\u014dd\u014d Sect, but not found in the Tibetan Canon)\nthe Lama expressed his desire to hear a lecture on it. I consented to\nthe request and expounded the discourse on the days following. The\nsermon in question treats of all imaginable vices and sins devised by\nmankind, arranging them into five classes and explaining them in the\nmost appropriate manner. During my lecture on this discourse the couple\nwere so deeply moved to repentance for their sins that they wept and at\ntimes asked me to suspend the lecture. As their repentance was sincere,\nI congratulated them on their progress in virtue. I stayed with them\nfor some ten days, and my bodily troubles were so much relieved that I\nwas able to regale my eyes with the magnificent view of the snow and\nice, lit up by the serene moon-light. This lovely scenery of nature\ncaused me to think of my country, and I had occasion to compose many\n_utas_, two of which were as follows:\n\n The spotless sky is bathed in light serene\n By that cold moon with her all-tranquil ray;\n This pleasant scene fires me with memories sweet\n Of that dear mother-land now far away.\n\n Here on these lonely steppes the grass is dry,\n No reeds, no autumn flowers show their smiles;\n On high the moon shines on these wilds alone,\n Enhancing thus the loneliness profound.\n\n[Illustration: THE COLD MOON REFLECTED ON THE ICE.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV.\n\nThe Saint of the White Cave revisited.\n\n\nI spent some pleasant days here and was perfectly cured of my illness.\nAt the instance of Alchu Lama I decided to pay another visit to Gelong\nRinpoche. Our party, including the Lama, his wife, myself and three\ndomestics, all on horseback, and a horse which carried my baggage\nand our presents to the holy man of the White Cave, rode south at\nfull speed, covering a distance of thirteen miles in a short time. It\nwas before eleven when we reached the cave, and we were ordered to\nwait for a time before we could see the priest. At eleven those who\nhad assembled at the cave, about thirty in all, held a service, the\nillustrious priest officiating, answering questions, and receiving\nofferings. When all were about to withdraw, the Lama detained me,\nsaying he had something to talk to me about. Alchu Lama and his wife\nthereupon bade me farewell, saying that I should take the road to\nLhasa, and we parted, I thanking them for their kindness.\n\nI sat in front of the Lama, who was engaged in deep meditation, the\nsubject of which was not difficult to guess, for when I was at the\ntent of Alchu Lama I had heard it stated that rumors were persistently\ndisseminated to the effect that the Lama who had made a pilgrimage to\nthe snowy peak of Tise (this referred to me) was not a Chinaman, though\nhe pretended to be one, but an Englishman, who was investigating the\nsituation of affairs in Tibet. Alchu Lama added that the ignorance of\nthe masses, who would take such a true lover of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism as myself\nfor a spy, was incorrigible. Such being the situation, I thought\nthe rumor must have reached the ears of the good man, who was in\nconsequence going to tell me something in reference to it. Presently\nthe priest asked me a most matter-of-fact question: what was my object\nin proceeding to Lhasa, in spite of the overwhelming hardships which\nbeset me? I answered that I had no other object than to save all beings\nby prosecuting my studies in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. Thus I tried to parry his\nmatter-of-fact question with a metaphysical answer. The Lama at once\nsaid:\n\n\u201cWhy do you want to save all beings?\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly because they are suffering from all sorts of pains.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you have all beings in view?\u201d\n\nI retorted with an equally idealistic answer: \u201cHaving no Ego, how can\nI have all beings in view?\u201d\n\nThe priest smiled, and, changing the subject of the conversation, asked\nme if I had ever been troubled with love affairs. In reply I said that\nthough I had once greatly suffered in that connexion, I was at present\nfree from that torture, and hoped to remain so. Then he at once turned\nto my adventure with the robbers, asking me whether I had hated those\nrobbers during the time I was with them, and whether I had not cursed\nthem after our parting, for the purpose of revenging myself on them.\nI replied that there was no use in hating them, as they had robbed me\nbecause I deserved to be robbed. I myself rather was hateful, who had\ncommitted the sins which made me deserve the misfortune, and I was glad\nthat I could pay my debts. Such being my thoughts, there was no use in\ninvoking evil on their heads. On the contrary, I had prayed that on\naccount of their having come across me, they might become true men, or\nsaints, in the next life if not in this. The Lama then said:\n\n\u201cAll your words are rightly said. But you will probably meet with many\nsuch robbers on your way to Lhasa. They may even kill you. Then you\nwill not be able to accomplish your object of saving all beings. You\nhad better give up your intention of proceeding to Lhasa, and betake\nyourself back to Nep\u0101l. There is a good road from Lo to Nep\u0101l. You must\ngo at once to Lo. If, on the contrary, you go to Lhasa, I believe you\nwill certainly be killed on the way.\u201d\n\nThis he said suggestively, and continued in a solemn tone: \u201cIn order\nto attain your object, you may take any means. Your journey to Lhasa\nis not your only object. If you are sincere in saying that you want to\nsave all beings, you must leave for Nep\u0101l!\u201d\n\nI replied: \u201cI cannot commit myself to such an equivocal argument, and\nI fail to concur in your opinion that any means is justifiable by its\nend. The Gospel of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, _Mighty Sun_, has it that the means is\nthe object, meaning that the practice of honest means is identical with\nthe attainment of an object. The fact that I enter Paradise is no more\nthe attainment of the object of my life, than is my arrival at Lhasa.\nThe practice of honest means being the object itself, I believe that at\nthe moment when I adopt honest means, I have attained my object.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen what route will you take in your journey and whither will you go?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a matter of fact, I shall take the mountain pass, and steer my way\nto the capital of Tibet.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is curious, that you should take the road exposed to fatal risks.\nBetter return to Nep\u0101l. You say rash things. I know your future fate,\nand know that if you go on your way, you will die!\u201d\n\nHis words were intimidating, but I replied: \u201cReally? But I do not know\nmy death, much less my birth. What I know is only to do what is honest.\u201d\n\nThe Lama meditated for a while in deep silence, and then suddenly\nchanged the conversation, referring to the _Ma\u1e47i_, or the sealed book\nof Tibet. I omit here our dialogue on this subject, as it is too\ntechnical for general readers. We were so taken up with our religious\ntalk that we were unconscious of the approach of the evening.\n\nThe Lama\u2019s suspicions were largely allayed, and he said that he\nwondered how the people of the neighborhood were able to invent such\nrumors, and that I was a true seeker after Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. He was sincerely\ndelighted with me and, saying that money and provisions were my first\nnecessaries, gave me twenty tankas of Tibetan silver, a lump of tea,\na big bag of baked flour, a copper pan, and other articles required\nby travellers. The whole of the presents were valued at perhaps sixty\ntankas, or fifteen yen in Japanese currency. I asked him to reduce the\namount of the presents, for I could not easily carry so much. He said\nthere was no need for my being troubled about that; for all along my\nway farther on I should everywhere find his disciples, who when they\nsaw the travelling bag, would remember their master and carry the\nbaggage for me. So I accepted the presents and retired, but not before\nhe had promised to invest me the next morning with the mysterious power\nof the _Ma\u1e47i_, for which I thanked him sincerely.\n\nDuring that night, I decided to take the highway to Lhasa, for, I\nthought the mountain pass was full of the Lama\u2019s disciples, who,\nin spite of their master, would cast suspicious eyes on me, and I\nconcluded, that if the highway was a little longer than the bye-way, it\nwas much safer.\n\nThe following morning I was initiated in the mysteries of _Ma\u1e47i_,\nand about noon the following day I left the Lama Gelong\u2019s cave. For\nabout five miles I descended the hill, carrying my baggage on my back,\nand it was pretty heavy. Then I proceeded north, with the object of\nreaching the highway and not as directed by the Lama, and when I had\nwalked another five miles, I saw two tents and a man, apparently a\nwealthy grazier, coming out from one of them and cordially greeting\nme. I was rather surprised, for I knew I had no acquaintances in that\nneighborhood and I did not know his face. I felt a little embarrassed,\nbut I followed him into his tent, where I was met by Alchu Lama. He had\nstayed the previous evening at the tent, and had told the man of our\nblessed religious talk of the other night. The man, in consequence,\nhad wished to receive my benediction. Being informed of these facts,\nI did as he wished. Soon after I left the place, accompanied by a man\nand two horses carrying my things. I travelled eight miles east along\nthe bank of the Ngar Tsang-gi-chu, which I had crossed once on my way\nfrom the cave of the White Cliff to the snowy peak of Tise. The same\nevening I arrived in a place on the riverside, where the man who had\naccompanied me put down my baggage and took his leave. During the\nevening, I enquired about the best way to reach the high-road, and was\ninformed that I had to cross the Brahmapu\u1e6dra for a second time, and\nthat I needed a guide and a carrier in order to cross it. So I engaged\nthe men required.\n\nThe next morning I walked eastwards ten miles through a swampy plain,\nand over a hilly pass which was five miles long, and then crossed\nthe Brahmapu\u1e6dra. On the farther bank of the river I found a tent of\nmiserable appearance, kept by an old woman and her daughter, whose\nbusiness it was to watch yaks straying about. I spent the following day\nin patching up my shirts.\n\nOn October 16, I again walked over the swampy plain in an easterly\ndirection. The swampy plain in Tibet is dotted about with pools of\nvarious depths in which grass is growing. Walking through the damp\nplace for about ten miles, I reached the Na-u Tsangbo, a large river\nflowing from the northern steppes of Tibet and into the Brahmapu\u1e6dra.\nI had previously been informed of the place where I could cross the\nriver, but the water reached my breast, and the current was rapid,\nso that, as I was carrying the heavy baggage on my back, there were\ntimes when I thought I should be swept away by the river. Moreover the\nsandy mud which formed the river-bed sucked my feet deep down, and\nmade walking very difficult. Happily, however, I reached the opposite\nbank in safety. Proceeding a little farther, I found a big tent, where\nI was lodged that night. My invariable question was about the way to\nthe high-road. The people there informed me that ten or twelve miles\nfurther to the north-east there was a post-town called Toksum Tazam,\nwhich stood on the high-road. The Tibetan high-road over the steppes\nhas post-towns at intervals of four or five days\u2019 journey from each\nother. On this side of Toksum Tazam, on the side nearer to the snowy\npeak of Tise, there is a post-town called Satsan Tazam. From this place\nI was to travel along the highway, and I should be able to locate my\nwhereabouts exactly.\n\nThe following day I steered my way due east, and not in the\nnorth-easterly direction, which would have led me to Toksum Tazam,\nfor this route was, I thought, rather a round-about way to reach the\nhigh-road. The next day, the 19th October, 1900, I again proceeded due\neast; but I met with a serious accident, which I must now describe.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV.\n\nSome easier days.\n\n\nThe plain was nothing but a swamp, and I was obliged to wade across\nshallow streams alternating with mud flats. At one place I came to a\nbog which, when I tried it with my stick, appeared to be very deep, so\nthat my only course was to select what seemed to be the narrowest part,\nand to cross it as best I could. The bog at this place was not more\nthan four yards in width, and did not look as if it could be deep, as\nit was covered with fine sand at the bottom of some shallow water, so\nI began at once to cross it by making a bold plunge.\n\nBut alas! before I had gone two steps I had sunk deep into it, and,\nthough I tried to save myself by means of my sticks, I found myself\nmomentarily sinking further and further into the mire. I then took the\nbundles I was carrying one by one off my shoulders, and threw them\non to the other side; then I stripped off my clothes and threw them\nlikewise, leaving myself exposed to the icy wind. Then I commenced\nwith the aid of my sticks to balance myself across the bog with as\nmuch care and as gingerly as though I had been balancing myself on\na tight rope in my younger days. As soon as I got my body back into\na vertical position (for I had fallen almost flat upon my face), I\nlaid the shorter of my sticks horizontally across the mud so as to\ngive a resting place for my feet, and then with the aid of the longer\nstick raised myself slowly until I got both my feet upon it. Then I\nslowly moved my feet along the top of the horizontal stick, and thus,\nthanks to the lightness of my body, which had been freed from all\nencumbrances, I managed in a few minutes to reach _terra firma_.\n\n[Illustration: FALLEN INTO A MUDDY SWAMP]\n\nI was shivering with cold when I got there, but I was exceedingly\nproud of my acrobatic feat, and, wringing out my wet clothes as best\nI could, put them on again and made my way to a tent which I saw near\nthe high-road, where I fortunately found some pilgrims who gave me\nhospitality for the night.\n\nThe word \u201chigh-road\u201d suggests to the mind the idea of a macadamised\nthoroughfare, but that is not what the traveller finds in Tibet. The\nhigh-road was nothing more than a beaten track, along which men and\nbeasts trod their way as best they could. In fact anything is called a\nhigh-way in Tibet, if it is frequented by travellers, free from grass,\nand not too stony. In desert places, where there is no grass to be\nworn off, there are no high-roads, except in the immediate environs of\nLhasa. It would be a mistake to suppose that carriages could be used\non the high-road; there is no road in Tibet capable of being used by\neither carriage or jinriksha. When some years ago the R\u0101j\u0101 of Nep\u0101l\npresented the Dalai Lama with a carriage of European make, to be drawn\nby four horses, many of the Dalai Lama\u2019s advisers recommended him to\nreturn the gift, as one which could not possibly be used in Tibet.\nAnother opinion, however, prevailed: it was urged that the carriage\nhad been brought from a great distance and could not well be returned\nwithout impoliteness, and it was therefore placed as a curiosity in the\nPalace at Lhasa, where it can be seen to this day. This was about four\nyears ago.\n\nBad roads are universal in Tibet, except around Lhasa and Shigatze, the\nmost advanced cities in the country. Still, bad as it was, I was glad\nto be once more on the high-road, where there were no fortresses for\nthe molestation of travellers, and by which I might reasonably hope\nto reach Lhasa in due time. One day, after a long stretch of desert\ntravelling, I reached a tent which was also a grog-shop--a somewhat\nstrange oasis in the midst of a desert. But it became intelligible\nwhen I found that a large fair of salt, wool, and cattle had recently\nbeen held in this locality and that the grog-shop had been opened in\nconnexion with the fair by a man from Mondan in the province of Lo. The\nliquor sold was a kind of beer made from barley, and the grog-shop was\nto remain here for about another month.\n\nI reached the tent about dusk, and was delighted to find myself amongst\nfriends, for I had made the acquaintance of the landlady sometime\nbefore at Tsarang. The old dame was delighted to see me. She had been\nwondering what had become of me and was very glad that fortune had\nguided my steps to her tent. She was anxious to know if I were going to\nreturn to Tsarang, to which I gave an evasive answer, and she gave me\nsuch a kind reception that I should have hesitated to accept it from\nany but herself.\n\nThe next day I travelled over twelve miles to the south-east, with one\nof the old lady\u2019s servants to guide me and a yak to carry my luggage.\nAt the end of the journey we reached the house of a man named Gyal\nBum, to whom the dame introduced me as a venerable Lama, desirous of\nhospitality. Gyal Bum is the second man in the province of Bomba, and\npossesses two thousand yaks, five thousand sheep, and an enormous\namount of wealth. One of his tents was ninety yards square and had a\nstone chapel annexed. There were two other tents, one of ordinary size,\nthe other very small and fitted up like a tea-house. The bottom edge of\nthe canvas of the large tent was turned inwards, and on it were placed\nlarge quantities of goods, which served as weights to secure the tent.\nThe goods were all concealed under Tibetan blankets, and were mostly\nbutter, barley, wheat, wool, and the like. It was in this tent that I\nstayed.\n\nGyal Bum was about seventy-five years old, and his wife over eighty\nand blind. They had no children, and the Tibetan law does not permit\nthe adoption of a child from another family. Should a man die without\nchildren, his nearest relative, as a general but not universal rule,\nbecomes his heir. The old couple asked me many questions about\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, which I answered as kindly as I could. They thought the\nteaching was excellent, and as they had now no hopes except in a future\nlife, they asked me to conduct a benedictory service for them during\ntheir life-time--a request to which I gave consent the more readily,\nbecause I was much fatigued and wished to recuperate. The old gentleman\npressed me, indeed, to make a long stay of a year or more with him, but\nthis I declined, as I feared running any risks in view of the many wild\nrumors about me that were being circulated throughout the Lo province.\nFurthermore I was afraid that, however warmly I might be clad, I should\nbe unable to endure the severe rigors of a winter in those regions, for\nI had already been obliged to borrow two fur coats from my host, and\nstill felt so cold that I was sure I could not winter in the tent. I\nwas obliged therefore to resist his importunities.\n\nOne incident will show that my anxieties about my health were not\ngroundless. One day while walking I felt a lump in my throat, which\nI brought up and found to be a clot of blood, and the bleeding,\nhaving once begun, went on with such persistence that I began to fear\nconsumption. I was much alarmed, as may be imagined, but the excellent\nprecepts of my religion enabled me to keep calm, and the more keenly I\nfelt the pain of the bleeding, the more I kept myself under control.\nI sat down on the grass and stopped my respiration, as though for a\nmeditation, and was glad to find that the bleeding soon ceased, though\nnot before I had brought up quite a pool of blood. When I got home,\nmy pale face quite alarmed my host, and when I told him what had\nhappened, he said that the rarity of the atmosphere (he did not call\nit \u2018rarity,\u2019 for of that he knew nothing) often had a similar effect\nupon Chinese visitors. He fortunately knew of a very good remedy,\nwhich he applied with great success, and thus relieved me of my fears\nof a supposed consumption. Three days later I again brought up blood,\nthough in a decreased quantity, and the old gentleman told me that\nafter two such vomitings I should never be similarly troubled again.\nHe was quite right; henceforth I was free from these attacks, even at\nLhasa. The place Bomba is 15,000 feet above the sea-level; Lhasa is\nonly 12,000, and no one spits blood on account of the rarity of the\natmosphere at this latter place. My host kindly fed me up with milk and\nother nourishing food, and when, a week later, I took my departure, he\npresented me with the fur of an animal called _yi_, which he said was\nthe only thing that would do me any good. The yi is a sort of cat that\nlives in the snow. It is somewhat larger than an ordinary cat, and its\nfur is much valued in Tibet. My host\u2019s present was a tippet of yi fur,\ncovering the shoulders, and I learned afterwards that such a tippet\nwould cost twenty-five yen when new, and ten yen for an old one. He\nalso gave me a quantity of butter and ten tankas of coin, and sent his\nservant with a horse to put me well on my journey. Thus I travelled\nsome ten Japanese miles and reached the house of one Ajo-pu, a village\nheadman, where I lodged. I was very thankful that I had stayed with\nGyal Bum, for had I spat blood on the journey I should have died.\n\nI left Ajo-pu\u2019s house on the 29th October, 1900, and after going ten\n_ri_ to the south-east, down a descent, reached the banks of the\nBrahmapu\u1e6dra, which was already covered with ice and glittering in the\ndazzling sun. I had not originally intended to go by this way, but by\nthe high-road, which would have taken me more to the east but Ajo-pu\nhad told me that at this season I should find no herdsmen along the\nhigh-road until I reached Tadun-Tazam, while by the other road I\nshould come across them frequently. Sure enough, I found a tent on\nthe banks of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra, and was hospitably received by its kind\nowner, a man of the name of Gyal-po. He told me that he was starting\nthe next day along the same route that I was taking, and offered to\ntake my baggage on one of his yaks. I was glad to be thus relieved of\nmy burden, and the next morning we all set off towards the south-east\nalong the river.\n\nIt was a sandy swampy country, and after some four _ri_ (ten miles) we\ncame to a plain of soft white sand which was very tiring to the feet,\nso that I thankfully accepted Gyal-po\u2019s offer of a bare-backed horse.\nI am not a good horseman, but I trotted on bravely for a while, till\nthe pain in my hip-bone became unbearable. Then I changed my position\nand rode sideways, like a lady, but then my legs began to hurt me, so\nI jumped off at last and resumed my journey on foot. It was very hard\nwalking, but I consoled myself with thinking that, at any rate, I had\nno luggage to carry, and so after a weary walk of five miles I came to\na narrow ca\u00f1on through which the river flowed.\n\nThrough this defile we went, threading our way among the numerous\nrocks, until at last we came to a place where three great rocks, in\nshape like a man\u2019s clenched fist, blocked the valley. Here the river\nmade a sharp turn to the south, while our road lay through a valley\nto the south-east; so we bid adieu to the Brahmapu\u1e6dra. Presently we\ncrossed a big mountain and came out on an extensive plain. We had\ntravelled nearly twenty miles that day, and near the close of it I\nseparated from Gyal-po\u2019s party. I was told that evening that there was\nanother river for me to cross before I got to Tadun-Tazam, and that as\nit was full of perils I must hire a guide. This I did, and the next\nday, after walking for fifteen miles towards the south-east, arrived\nabout ten o\u2019clock at a river a hundred and twenty yards wide, which\nwas still covered with ice. The guide was afraid that the ice, which\nwas not thick enough to bear us, would cut our legs if we attempted to\nwade through it, and on his advice we waited for the sun to melt it a\nlittle. We therefore took our lunch, and at last about noon broke the\nice and began to wade across. The ice cut our legs in several places,\nand our feet were quite benumbed with cold by the time we had got\nacross; but we walked on for another eighteen miles, and then stopped\nfor the night in a little tent.\n\nThe next day, November 1, I started at nine o\u2019clock and walked till a\nlittle past noon, when we crossed another icy rivulet. Twelve miles\nmore brought us to Tadun, the most famous temple in northern Tibet.\nTadun means the \u2018seven hairs,\u2019 and the tradition is that the hair of\nseven Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas are interred here. The temple stands on the summit of\na hill, and in its enclosure is a revenue office. It is in fact not\na temple but a town (Tazam), one of the most populous and wealthy in\nnorthern Tibet.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI.\n\nWar Against Suspicion.\n\n\nI spent the whole of November 2nd, 1900, at the temple seeing its\ntreasures and images. The place was just sixty miles north of Tsarang\nin the province of Lo in the Him\u0101layas, and was frequented by merchants\nfrom the latter. I did not know this fact, and after I had seen the\ntreasures I was walking round the temple, when to my astonishment I\nwas accosted by an old acquaintance. He was a notorious drunkard and\ngambler, feared even by the natives of the Him\u0101layas. While I was\nin Lo he used to accuse me of being a British spy. When, however, a\nmember of his family became sick I gave him medicines, and this act of\nkindness of mine softened down his bitterness against me, though it was\nevident that he intended to take the first opportunity to quarrel with\nme. On the present occasion it was clear that should I take no notice\nof him. He would denounce me to the Tibetan Government and obstruct\nthe execution of my object; so I decided upon a plan of campaign.\nApproaching him with a smile, I said I was delighted to see an old\nacquaintance. I was myself a teetotaller, I added, but I had heard it\nstated that the place had very good liquor. I would treat him to the\nbest to be obtained in the place if he did not object to coming to my\nroom. He accepted my invitation at once.\n\nOrdering my landlord to bring a large quantity of the best liquor I\nplied him with drink until four in the morning. I did not take anything\nmyself, but made believe to be drunk. After many glasses I got him dead\ndrunk, and he fell asleep. I also pretended to sleep. But as soon as\nthe landlord awoke at about half past five, I also rose and told him\nthat the man lying there was a dear friend of mine, and that I would\nhave him treated with the best liquor whenever he awoke, and that he\nwas never to let him go out of the house. If he should ask for my\nwhereabouts, he was to be told that I had gone towards Tsarang. With\nthese orders I paid my bills, tipped the landlord liberally, and set\nout on my journey at six o\u2019clock.\n\nI did not of course go towards Tsarang, but took the highway running to\nLhasa. Yet my fears were not quite pacified, for the man I had to deal\nwith was noted for his shrewdness even among the Him\u0101layans. He would\nnot only doubt the words of the landlord, but would suspect my reasons\nfor plying him with liquor, and would inform the Tibetan revenue\nofficials of my escape towards Lhasa. In the event of the mounted\nofficials giving chase to me, it would be all in vain for me to walk\nas I was doing. What I wished with all my heart, even at the cost of\nall my money, was to get a horse or to hire a man to carry my luggage.\nBut the plain being absolutely deserted, my desire was in vain. I was\nhastening along the highway to the south-east, when a large body of\nhorsemen came galloping up from behind.\n\nIt was a caravan of eighty or ninety horses and sixteen men. I stopped\none of them, and asked him to tie my luggage on to one of the horses,\nfor which trouble I would pay, and to allow me to run behind them.\nThe man was a servant, and could not give me any definite answer. I\napproached another man, who seemed to be the master and brought up the\nrear, with a similar petition. He said that he was not able to comply\nwith my request for the present. But as the party was stopping that\nnight in a valley between the two hills which were visible ahead, he\nadvised me to push on, hard though the work might be, and wait there\ntill some arrangements could be made. I took his advice and summoned\nup all my courage to reach those hills. At eight o\u2019clock I reached the\nmountain slope and found two big white tents. The chief and second\nchief of the caravan seemed to be Lamas, the caravan itself having a\nreligious appearance. They offered me tea and meat, but I said I did\nnot eat any meat and gave my reasons for not doing so. The Lama was\napparently interested by my explanation, and asked me where I had come\nfrom. I said I was a Chinese priest. The Lama thereupon spoke to me in\nChinese, which he seemed to understand a little. I told him that his\nChinese was the Pekin dialect, which I could not understand, and so\nour conversation was held in Tibetan. He then produced some Chinese\ncharacters and made me read and explain them, and until I had satisfied\nhim in this connexion he did not believe in my being a Chinaman.\n\nI learned then that he was the Lama of a temple called Lhuntubu-ch\u0153-ten\nin the province of Luto on the north-western frontier of Tibet, near\nto Ladak on the eastern border of Kashm\u012br. The first Lama was named\nLobsang Gendun, and the second Lobsang Yanbel. The man who advised me\nto go there was the _Tsongbon_, or chief of the caravan, and acted as\nthe business manager for these Lamas. The rest of the party were either\nmonks or servants. They carried dried pears, raisins, silk, woollen\ngoods and other products of Kashm\u012br to Lhasa, whence they brought home\ntea, Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist pictures and images. They were a very good company, and\na very convenient one for me, if I could get them to carry my luggage\nthrough this vast pastoral plain of Jangthang; but I did not wish them\nto accompany me as far as Lhasa.\n\nThe Lama interrogated me as to the kind of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism I had learned and\nthe things I knew, and put before me many questions about Tibetan\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. Happily, as I have already stated, I had been fully\ninstructed in Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism while at Tsarang by Dr. Gyaltsan, and\nhad studied the grammar with special care; so that not only was I able\nto answer the questions quite easily, but I could explain many things\non the subject that these Lamas did not know. He was greatly surprised,\nand asked me hundreds of questions in grammar, which he seemed to\nhave been studying, though without any insight. Without the help of\nscientific analysis, which seems impossible for persons in these\ncountries, one cannot fully understand the grammar. As I proceeded with\nthe explanation of the subject, he proposed that I should accompany\nthe party, and said that they rode until two o\u2019clock in the afternoon\nevery day, but that after that hour they always had plenty of leisure,\nduring which he wished to learn grammar. Moreover, he offered to pay me\nsuitable fees and give me food during the journey, if I would consent\nto his request. This was just what I was longing for; even if he paid\nme no fee, I should have been glad to comply with his wish.\n\nWhen I awoke at four the next morning the party were making tea on a\nfire of dry yak dung. Presently everybody was up, and seven or eight\nmen went out to collect the mules and horses, which had been left\nduring the night to find pasture for themselves. These animals often\nwander over the mountains, and it will take at least one hour to bring\nthem back, and at times three hours. But these horses did not try to\nget away from the men who went to fetch them, for they knew that they\nwould be well fed with beans as soon as they reached the tents and\nbefore being loaded. The meal served to the caravan consisted chiefly\nof the flesh of sheep, yaks and goats, and occasionally pork. The\ngrooms had thus to catch and feed the horses, strike the tents, load\nthem on the horses, harness the horses for their own use, and drive\nup their own especial charges. My companions were sixteen in number,\nfifteen of whom rode, and one walked. The latter was going to Lhasa for\nthe purpose of prosecuting his studies, and was in company with the\ncaravan simply for the reason that they came from the same province.\nHe and I, being pedestrians, took tea before the caravan packed its\neffects, and left the place in a south-easterly direction.\n\nMy walking companion was a pedantic scholar. He had a very high\nopinion of himself, but he knew nothing of the essential principles\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, nor did he recognise the existence of any sectional\ndifferences. It seemed as if he had only a vague notion of the\ndoctrines. I was glad to have his company, such as it was, but he vexed\nme greatly by his evident animosity towards me, which unfortunately\ngrew more violent as time progressed. The cause of this animosity\nwas, as I learned afterwards, the fact that I had explained on a\nprevious evening the Tibetan grammar, which, scholar though he was,\nwas all untrodden ground to him. He was of opinion that the knowledge\nof grammar, unaccompanied by that of true Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, was a worthless\nacquisition, which only fools would take the trouble to make. As his\nmanner disclosed his jealousy, I treated him with circumspection.\n\nOn that day we passed over a large hill and spent the night at a swampy\nplace, after having walked nearly twenty miles in all. A lecture on\ngrammar was again given, by request. On the 5th, I again walked in\ncompany with the pedantic monk. After we had arrived at Lhasa he fell\ninto a destitute condition, and I, being then in happier circumstances,\ndid all I could to help him. But this occurred long afterwards. During\nthe journey, after some interesting conversation was held in connexion\nwith religious questions, the monk applied himself to the work of\nsystematically investigating my personality. Apparently he suspected\nthat I was an Englishman, or at least a European, on account of my\ncomplexion, and his suspicion speedily grew into conviction. But as\nhis questions did not soar above what I had expected, I was able to\nreply in a manner which dissipated his doubts. After we had traversed\nthe desert for five miles, we again reached the Brahmapu\u1e6dra, and a thaw\nhaving set in at that time, we found the water was flowing on smoothly.\nThe clashing sound of the blocks of ice was inspiriting, and the sun\nwas beautifully reflected on the surface of the river. We walked\neastward along the bank for about seven miles, and then, leaving the\nriver, walked in a north-easterly direction by an up-hill road along\nthe Brahmapu\u1e6dra for another seven miles. Then we crossed the river on\nhorseback. A post-town called Niuk-Tazam stood a little to the north\non the river bank, but we did not visit it. We travelled two miles and\na half in an easterly direction and encamped on the slope of a hill.\nThat day I walked about twenty three miles. Until we had come to the\nneighborhood of a town called Lharche the caravan which I accompanied\navoided stopping in towns, for the grass on which their horses fed was\nnot to be found abundantly in such places.\n\nThat night I felt for the first time safe from the man whom I had left\nbehind at Tadun, which was now sixty-five miles off. I felt that it\nhad been most fortunate that he had not awaked from his drunken sleep\nuntil it was too late for him to inform the authorities of my presence,\nfor if he had had the least suspicion of my escape, he would not have\nmissed the opportunity for making money, enough to enable him to\nindulge himself in a good bout of drinking.\n\nThe usual lessons in the Tibetan grammar and Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism over, the\nsuspicious monk, who posed for a learned scholar, suddenly addressed\nme, saying that having been in India, I must have seen Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra\n\u1e0c\u0101s, who explored Tibet. I replied that I did not know him, even by\nname. There were three hundred millions of people in India, and however\nfamous a man might be, he must always be unknown to some. There was\na great difference between India and Tibet, and I asked to hear\nsomething about the man the monk referred to. The monk then narrated\nhow Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, twenty-three years ago, had cheated the Tibetan\nauthorities with a passport; how he had robbed Tibet of her Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism,\nwith which he had returned to India; how on the discovery of the\naffair, the greatest scholar and sage in Tibet, Sengchen Dorjechan, had\nbeen executed, not to mention many other priests and laymen who were\nput to death and many others whose property was confiscated.\n\nAfter this the monk added that as Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s was a renowned\npersonage in India, it was impossible for me not to be acquainted with\nhim. Probably I pretended not to know him. These words were spoken in a\nmost unpleasant manner, but I put him off with a smile, saying that I\nhad never seen the face of the Queen of England, who was so renowned,\nand that such a big country as India made such investigations hopeless.\nThe stories about Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s are quite well known in Tibet,\neven children being familiar with them; but there are few who know him\nby his real name, for he goes by the appellation of the \u2018school b\u0101b\u016b\u2019\n(school-master). The story of the Tibetans who smuggled a foreigner\ninto Tibet and were killed, and of those who concealed the fact from\nthe Government and forfeited their property, are tales that Tibetan\nparents everywhere tell to their children.\n\nOwing to the discovery of the adventures of Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, all the\nTibetans have become as suspicious as detectives, and exercise the\ngreatest vigilance towards foreigners. I was fully acquainted with\nthese facts, so that I too exercised great caution even in dropping a\nsingle word, however innocent and empty that word might be. But the\nTibetans were very cunning questioners; and the monk was one of the\nmost cunning. When I tried to laugh away his questions, he put other\nqueries on every imaginable point. Other Tibetans who were equally\nsuspicious joined him in harassing me. I felt for the moment just\nas though I were besieged by an overwhelming force of the enemy. I\nthought myself in danger, and with the view of changing the subject\nof the conversation I turned the tables on them by asking them which\nthey revered more, the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha or Lobon Rinpoche, the founder of the\nold religion of Tibet. There is a saying in Tibet: \u201cPadma Chungne is\nsuperior to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha,\u201d Padma Chungne meaning \u201cborn from the Lotus,\u201d\nthe founder of Lamaism. This question is an old one, and one about\nwhich Tibetans are never tired of disputing, so when this subject was\nintroduced a most violent debate was started, and no one questioned me\nany more about my personality.\n\nBut the incident was sufficient to put me on my guard. The Mongols have\na saying \u201cSemnak Poepa,\u201d meaning \u201cblack-hearted Tibetans.\u201d Tibetans are\nextremely inquisitive, and one of their characteristics is to conceal\ntheir anger behind a smile, and to bide their time for vengeance. The\nword, \u2018Poepa\u2019 means Tibetans, and they call their own country \u2018Poe\u2019.\nThey do not know that their country is called Tibet. \u2018Poe\u2019 means in\nTibetan \u2018to summon\u2019. The founders of that country, according to the\ntradition, were a man of the name of Te-u Tonmar (red-faced monkey)\nand a woman named Tak Shimmo (stone she-devil). The former was the\nincarnate God of Mercy, and the latter the incarnate Yogini, who\ninduced Te-u Tonmar to be her husband. To them were born six sons,\nwhom they summoned into being, respectively, from the six quarters\nof the universe: namely: Hell, Hunger, Animalism, Asura (fighting\ndemon), Humanity and Heaven. Thus the Tibetans called their country\n\u2018the summoned\u2019 or \u2018Poe\u2019. This tradition was perhaps fabricated by some\ninventive Lama, for the purpose of connecting Tibetan religion with\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. But it is a tradition which is believed by the natives.\nThe Hin\u1e0d\u016bs do not call this country by the name of Tibet. They call\nit Bo\u1e0dha, one of the meanings of which is \u2018knowing\u2019 or \u2018idea\u2019. It is\nnot known how they came to call Tibet Bo\u1e0dha, but according to their\nscholars Poe is a contraction of Bo\u1e0dha. The Hin\u1e0d\u016bs have another name\nfor Tibet, namely, the country of \u2018Hungry Devils\u2019. This is clear even\nfrom the fact that Paldan A\u1e6d\u012bsha invented, as I have already mentioned,\nthe name of Pre\u1e6dapur\u012b (town of hungry devils). Tibet has many other\nnames which deserve study, but which are too peculiar to be expounded.\nAt all events the \u2018pa\u2019 of Poepa means men, so that Poepa means the\nTibetans.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII.\n\nAcross the Steppes.\n\n\nOn November 6th, 1900, we took our way to the south-east, and marched\nup and down several rolling hills, till after walking more than\ntwenty miles we reached the foot of a great snow-covered peak and\nlodged there. On the 7th we again climbed up and down the spurs of\nthe Him\u0101layas for a distance of over five miles, and arrived at the\nChaksam Tsangbo (river of the iron bridge). It was no fine suspension\nbridge, but an iron rope, fastened to the rocks on either side, by\nwhich travellers crossed the river hand over hand, and which gave the\nriver its name. For I heard that there is in the vicinity of Lhasa\nanother iron bridge, which consists of two iron chains, by means of\nwhich one can very comfortably pass over the river. The bridge over\nthe Chaksam does not now exist; but the name of the river of the iron\nbridge seems to have been derived from the fact that it was crossed\nby one of these iron ropes, though which kind it was is more than I\ncan say. The river had a tremendously rapid current, thickly strewn\nwith blocks of ice; but I easily crossed it on my horse. Then we had\nto travel through a plain between the hills, which were generally bare\nand devoid of vegetation except when there was a swamp where grasses\nwere seen growing. The scene was exceedingly dismal, and there was\nnothing to relieve the eye. We went on for some four miles, and came\nto a rivulet, and at the end of another four miles arrived at a castle\ncalled Sakka Zong. We lodged beside a swamp on the west of the castle,\nwhich stands upon the summit of a hill. The style of its architecture\ndiffers not much from that of a temple, though it presents a certain\nmartial aspect. There were no regular troops stationed there. When\nneeded the people in that vicinity, some two hundred in number, take\nup arms. I was told that the year before last a tribe on the northern\nplain had made an attack on this locality, with the result that the\nlatter lost twenty or thirty men and about two thousand yaks. The\ntrouble was still pending as a subject of litigation. Thus the castle\nseems to be a fortification against the attacks of roaming tribes,\nthough it also has a revenue office in it. That day we travelled some\nfifteen miles, and the evening was spent in my lecture on grammar, as\nwere many succeeding evenings.\n\nThe following day, after we had travelled eight miles, we passed the\nsouthern fort, on a snow-clad mountain called Chomo-Lhari. Then we\ntravelled five miles more in a south-easterly direction, and encamped\nfor the night. Nothing occurred worthy of mention.\n\nOn the 9th we travelled for seventeen miles along the same lonely\nmountain-pass leading to the south-east, and reached a valley in which\nwe observed an exceedingly large animal ahead of us. This strange beast\nresembled a yak, though there was no doubt that it was not an ordinary\nyak. On asking its name, I was informed that it was what the Tibetans\ncalled a dongyak (wild yak). Its size was twice or three times that of\nthe domesticated animal, and it stood about seven feet high. It was\nsmaller than the elephant, but its eyes looked dangerous. Its horns\nmeasured twenty-five inches in circumference and five feet in length.\nThese measurements were taken afterwards at Lhasa, where I saw the\nhorns of a wild yak. It is described as graminivorous; when it becomes\nangry it will attack men or animals with its horns, often inflicting\nfatal injuries. Its tongue is extremely rough and anything licked by\nthe animal would be torn to pieces. Once I saw the dried and very large\ntongue of a young dongyak, which was being used as a brush for horses.\n\n[Illustration: MEETING A FURIOUS WILD YAK.]\n\nAn honest fellow in the party asked me to prophesy, by my art of\ndivination, whether that night was to be passed in safety or not. I\nthought he was afraid of the dongyak, but the truth was not so. He\npointed to a place a little below the slope, and said that in the\npreceding year six merchants had been killed by robbers there. He was\ntherefore going to keep watch that night, and wished to know whether\nrobbers were coming. In order to pacify him, I said that nothing of the\nkind was going to take place that night. But the features of the place\nwere anything but agreeable, as may be guessed from the fact that the\ndongyak was quite at home there. The night was, however, spent without\nany accident. The following day we travelled over the steppes for a\ndistance of fifteen miles, and again lodged near a swamp; we always\npreferred swampy places for lodging, on account of the abundant grass.\n\nOn the 11th we travelled again for fifteen miles, and on the 12th\ncrossed a steep pass called Kur La, seven miles in length, and walked\nseventeen miles eastwards, lodging again beside a swamp. It was about\nthat time that a change for the better came over the relations between\nthe pedantic monk and myself. Proud as he was, he seems to have thought\nthat hostility could not be maintained without serious loss to himself,\nas the majority of the party had come to entertain a sincere love for\nand confidence in me. He approached me with a kindly face, which could\nnot be repelled; whatever his motives may have been, it would have been\nvery ill-advised for me to quarrel with him, so I reciprocated his\nkindness, with the result that our relations became perfectly smooth,\nand I was glad to get rid of the fear that he might inform the Tibetan\nauthorities of his suspicions about me.\n\nThe following day, November 13th, we passed over two long slopes, and\nthe night was spent at the foot of a steep and rugged mountain. On the\nmorrow we proceeded about seven and a half miles in a south-easterly\ndirection, along a river flowing between rocks. A gentle slope of about\ntwelve miles was then accomplished, and the night was spent on the bank\nof the river. On the 15th we proceeded further to the south-east along\nthe river-side route. When five miles were covered, we came out upon a\nplain, which we crossed in an easterly direction. A journey of about\nseven and a half miles over the plain brought us to a post-town called\nGyato Tazam, where I found a far greater number of stone buildings than\nat any other post-town I had visited _en route_. I was informed that\nthe inhabitants of the town numbered about four hundred, representing\nsixty families. The people differed much from the nomadic population\nfound in the Jangthang which we had visited before, something of\nurbanity being visible in their manners. While the nomads are so rude\nand vulgar that, whenever they speak, they speak bluntly, without any\nregard to the persons addressed, the inhabitants of Gyato Tazam have a\nmore refined tone in their language, though it is of course modified by\nthe local dialect. After making some purchases in the town, we resumed\nour journey. Wending our way about five miles into a mountain region,\nwe reached the bank of a stream, where we decided to pass the night.\n\nBeing the middle of November it was pretty cold, but fortunately my\ncompanions proved themselves so obliging that, on our arrival there,\nthey went to the trouble of gathering a great mass of yak-dung, which\nwas burnt within the tent throughout the night. As I gave them lectures\non Tibetan grammar, the head priest of the party and a junior Lama were\nvery hospitable towards me and provided me with bedding, so that I felt\nno cold at all. The following day, after proceeding a little less than\nfifteen miles over two long steep slopes, we found ourselves on the\nedge of a plain. We went about four miles further, and found in the\ncentre of the plain a temple standing upon two large pillar-like rocks,\nwhich stood together and towered high into the sky. As these rocks\nalone are 360 yards high, the entire height may well be imagined. The\ntemple is called the Sesum Gompa, and belongs to one of the old schools\nof Lamaism. Passing under the temple, we proceeded further and reached\na marsh lying to the east, where we stopped for the night.\n\nThe following day we made a journey of about twenty miles through a\nmountain district situated to the south-east, at the end of which\njourney we found ourselves at a post-town called Sang Sang Tazam. We\ndid not take lodging in the town, but encamped upon a plain in the\neastern suburb, where we made as big a fire as we could, and yet felt\npretty cold, especially late at night. We awoke in the morning to find\nourselves completely frost-bound; indeed I wondered, at first sight,\nif it had not snowed during the night. Thereupon I produced a short\n_uta_, which may be rendered into English thus:\n\n How beautiful\n It is to see grass dead, but blooming yet\n With frost, upon a high plateau.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII.\n\nHoly Texts in a Slaughter-House.\n\n\nHeading in a south-easterly direction as before, we proceeded about\nfour miles, now over hills and then across moorland, and arrived at\nthe base of a mountain, where there stood three buildings. A strange\nsensation came over me when I saw dozens of sheep\u2019s hides dangling\nfrom the eaves of these buildings. Nor was that all. They were also in\nthe habit, so I was told, of butchering yaks on the premises. It is\nthe custom of the Tibetans, I was told, to butcher cattle towards the\nlatter part of autumn, and dry the meat for preservation, there being\nno fear of decomposition, owing to the cold climate of the country. The\nTibetans esteem this dried meat as quite a luxury, and claim that it\nis the best food in the world. Not infrequently I heard people speak\nanxiously about their stocks of preserved meat in summer. I was told\nthat autumn was the best time for killing cattle, because they yielded\nexcellent meat after their feast upon the rich summer grass. Tibetans,\nhowever, dare not slaughter animals in their own villages, or near\ntheir tents, and the three buildings in question are used as a common\nslaughter-house by neighboring inhabitants. Generally the slaughter is\nnot carried out on behalf of a single individual or family, but of the\nwhole village. The beasts butchered on the day we visited the place\nincluded two hundred and fifty sheep and goats, and thirty-five yaks.\nOf the latter, fifteen were despatched after our arrival there. They\ntold me that the cries of the yak were very strange, and invited me to\nwitness the scene of the slaughter. What cruelty! how could I bear to\nsee it? Desirous, however, of knowing something about the operations, I\nstood and watched the spectacle. Sadly and slowly a yak was conducted\ninto the yard, two men pushing the animal on from behind. As soon as\nthe proper point was reached, the legs of the poor creature were tied,\nand tears were seen standing in its eyes, as if it were conscious of\nits impending death as soon as it found itself in the pool of blood\nleft by its companions. The scene was indeed unbearable. I wished I had\nmoney enough to redeem their lives, but I could see no help for it.\nJust then a priest came in, Holy Texts in hand, and read them for the\ndoomed animal, on whose head the book and a rosary were placed. The\nnatives believe that this religious proceeding will enable the poor yak\nto enter into a new state of existence and also absolve the doer of the\ncruel deed from the evil consequences which might otherwise follow. I\nhoped so, too, but even the Holy Texts read by the priest were now too\nmuch for my endurance. A flood of tears came into my eyes, and I could\nno longer stand the ghastly spectacle, but ran indoors. Presently,\nthump! something fell outside the doors; alas! the poor creature was\nbeheaded. The natives handle a sharp knife so dexterously, that a\nsingle blow with it is said to be sufficient to finish the deadly work.\n\nThe blood gushing forth from the body of the dead beast was received in\na pail, and afterwards boiled down into a kind of food said to be very\ndelicious. When desirous to obtain this food, the Tibetans often draw\nblood even from the bodies of living yaks; this is done by means of a\ngash made in the neck of the poor beast, wide enough to cause a flow of\nthe blood, but not to kill it. The blood taken in this way is said to\nyield much less delicious food than that obtained from the slaughtered\nanimal. I then thought that the scene was the very extreme of cruelty,\nbut afterwards found that I had been miserably mistaken, for I observed\nduring my subsequent residence at Lhasa that more than fifty thousand\nsheep, goats and yaks were slaughtered there during the three months\nending in December every year.\n\nBut to return to my itinerary. Leaving the scene of this tragedy, we\nhad to proceed up a very steep slope about nine miles long, and then\ndown another, seven and a half miles long. At the end of the latter\ndistance we found a river, on the banks of which we passed the night.\nThe next day, November 19th, we skirted the base of a mountain (upon\nwhich there stood a big temple of the Old School, called the Tasang\nGompa) until we reached the bank of a river where we encamped for the\nnight. On the 20th we made a journey of five miles, again in a mountain\nregion, at the end of which we found ourselves at a village called\nLarung, which was situated on the western shore of a lake bearing the\nname of Manuyui Tso. It was about twelve miles in circumference, and\nappeared to be very deep. For the first time during my journey, I\nobserved in this village patches of wheat-fields, dotted with cottages.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX.\n\nThe Third Metropolis of Tibet.\n\n\nOwing to the cold season I could not observe the condition of the wheat\nactually growing in the fields, but I learned at the above village that\nin that locality the wheat crop was considered ordinary when it was at\nthe rate of two bushels from two pecks of seeds, and unusually abundant\nwhen the rate reached three bushels. In the neighborhood of Lhasa four\nor five bushels are obtained from two pecks of seeds, if the weather\nproves favorable, but three bushels are passed as fair.\n\nThis testifies to the primitiveness of the methods of farming obtaining\nin Tibet. One cannot but be surprised at the ill-kept condition of\nthe fields which, with their \u2018rich\u2019 deposits of pebbles, cannot be\ntermed cultivated land in the proper sense of the word. I do not mean\nto speak ill of the Tibetans, but this curious neglect of cleaning\nthe land is a fact; indeed, it is a universal feature of the country.\nI once suggested to a native farmer the advisability of removing the\npebbles, but the reply was simply that such practices were not endorsed\nby tradition. Tradition is to the Tibetans a heavenly dictate, and\ncontrols all social arrangements. Those residing in more civilised\nparts of the country, however, entertain somewhat more progressive\nideas, and have learned to utilise the products of modern ingenuity\nfrom the West. The case is quite different with the mass of the people,\nwho are still laboring under a thousand and one forms of conservatism.\nA very curious story, in a way substantiating the foregoing statement,\nwas told me by a village pa\u1e47di\u1e6d whom I could hardly credit, because\nof the apparent absurdity of his narrative. The story, which is given\nbelow, was subsequently confirmed, quite to my surprise, by more than\none citizen of Lhasa.\n\nIn Tibet, as in other countries, taxes are assessed on cultivated\nfields, but, as the Tibetans are practically strangers to mathematics,\nas stated in a preceding chapter, a very curious and primitive method\nis adopted with regard to the land-measuring which forms the basis of\nthe assessment.\n\nThe method consists in setting two yaks, drawing a plough, to work upon\na given area, the assessment being made according to the time taken in\nthe tillage. In other words, the different plots of cultivated lands\nare classified as lands of half a day\u2019s tillage, or a day\u2019s tillage,\nand so on, as the case may be, and assessed accordingly.\n\nAfter being entertained by the aforesaid scholar with many other\ninteresting stories concerning the manners and customs of Tibet,\nas well as the conduct of native priests, we left the village and,\nproceeding for twelve miles along the edge of the lake mentioned above,\nreached a spot where we passed the night. On November 21st we struggled\non our way through a gorge extending over a distance of five miles,\ntill we found ourselves again on the edge of a big lake, called Nam\nTso Goga. It measured about twelve miles in circumference, and its\nwater was very pure. Proceeding along the northern bank of the lake, we\npassed into a valley commonly called the Senge Rung, or Lions\u2019 Vale.\nThis name must have been derived from the surrounding rocks, which\nsomewhat resemble the figure of the king of beasts. After a journey\nof seven and a half miles through the vale, we arrived at a village\nbearing the same name, and then at another, where we took lodgings.\nWe covered more than twenty-five miles that day, this forced journey\nbeing due to the necessity of altering our travelling arrangements.\nThe fact was that, while our previous journey was through Jangthang,\nso that it was necessary for us to stop early and graze our horses\nsufficiently, we had now entered into a more peopled and cultivated\npart of the country, where pastures were few, so that we could not stop\nuntil we reached a village where we could secure sufficient fodder for\nour animals. The fodder, which in Tibet usually consists of wheat and\nbarley stalks and the stems of bean plants, is generally purchased from\ninn-keepers. The latter, however, extort such high prices, that fodder\nenough to feed a horse during a night often costs the traveller full\nthirty sen, though in some cases half that sum will be sufficient. In\naddition, beans and a solution of butter are sometimes given to horses,\nso that the caravan trade in the interior of Tibet is at once trying\nand expensive.\n\nOn November 22nd we proceeded about twelve miles over a steep slope\nand across plains, and arrived again on the northern bank of the\nBr\u0101hmapu\u1e6dra. At this place the river was not quite as it was when we\ncrossed it on our way. It now appeared quite fathomless, with its\nwaters azure-blue, though it was only about two hundred yards wide.\nThere was no hope of negotiating the stream on horseback, and we were\ntold that the river-bed would become much wider in summer. There was,\nhowever, a ferry-boat service, a rectangular flat-bottomed boat,\nresembling those we see used for the purpose in India. The boat had in\nthe middle of her stern a figure representing the head of a serpent,\nand had capacity enough to accommodate thirty or forty persons and\ntwenty horses. When we landed on the opposite bank of the river, we\nfound ourselves in the outskirts of Lharche, the city which is the\nthird in importance in Tibet. Once there, we could fairly claim that we\nhad gone far into the interior of the forbidden country, for it is only\nfive days\u2019 journey thence to Shigatze, the second Tibetan city.\n\nLooking southward, we could see a caravanserai erected by the Chinese.\nIt is spacious but unfurnished, no one being in charge of it. It\nserves the double purpose of accommodating the Chinese itinerant\ntraders and the native soldiers on march. We betook ourselves to the\nbuilding for the night, which proved a jolly as well as a noisy one.\nIt was thought very fortunate for us to have escaped from the dangers\nof robbers and wild beasts which infested the north-western regions,\nand my companions decided to celebrate the successful journey to their\nhearts\u2019 content.\n\nThroughout the night they indulged themselves in a carouse, which was\nenlivened by the attendance of several girls. During the next day,\nNovember 23rd, I was still staying with the rest of our party at the\ncaravanserai, but as I was to part company with them on the 24th I read\nthe gospel of _Hokekyo_, as a mark of appreciation of the kindness\naccorded to me by them throughout my journey with them. When the date\nof my departure came, the head Lama gave me ten tankas as a reward\nfor my lectures on Tibetan grammar, while the rest of the party also\ncollected among themselves a certain sum of money which they presented\nto me. A few of the party were to accompany me, for the Lama, with the\njunior Lama and a servant, decided to go with me, so that I was not\nalone on my road. We then set out, taking the road leading to the grand\nSakya monastery. As for the men of the caravan, they were to proceed to\nShigatze through Puntso-ling by the highway. Besides kindly carrying\nmy personal effects together with their own, the senior Lama and party\noffered me the use of one of their horses, so that my trip with them\nwas a very comfortable one.\n\nWe proceeded in a southerly direction, and for a distance of five miles\nour way passed through wheat-fields, the soil of which appeared to be\nvery rich. Of all the districts in Tibet, Lharche can supply barley,\nwheat, beans, and butter at the lowest possible prices, which testified\nto the position held by it with regard to agricultural products. We\nthen ascended a rapid slope for another five miles, again traversed\ncultivated fields for about eleven miles, going in a south-easterly\ndirection, and reached a hamlet called Rendah. The next day, after we\nhad proceeded along a river for some eighteen miles, we saw before us\nthe imposing monastery of Sakya, which was surrounded by high stone\nwalls of about two hundred and twenty yards square, twenty feet high\nand six feet thick. All the structures were of stone, painted white,\nand the main edifice alone measured sixty feet in height, two hundred\nfeet from east to west, and two hundred and forty feet from south to\nnorth. Over the walls, which were bow-shaped, rose a dark-colored\ncastle, crowned with _Saisho-doban_ (the victorious Standard of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism), and _rodai_ (the disc for the dew of nectar) of dazzling\ngold. The spectacle was sublime and impressive, at least so far as\noutward appearances were concerned.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL.\n\nThe Sakya Monastery.\n\n\nWe lodged at a neighboring inn which placed a cicerone at our service,\nand proceeded to pay a visit to the celebrated monastery. Going through\nthe front gate and past several smaller buildings, we arrived in\nfront of the main edifice. At first sight the interior of the latter\nappeared to be completely enclosed, but a closer examination showed\nthat light was let in through a courtyard. Entering the front hall,\nseventy-eight feet by forty-two, we saw standing on both sides statues\nof Vajrap\u0101ni, each about twenty-five feet high, one painted blue and\nthe other red, such as are seen on each side of the gate of every great\nJapanese Temple. Each image has its right leg a little bent and the\nleft one put forward, while the right hand is raised towards the sky\nand the left one vigorously stretched downward. The workmanship seemed\neven to my lay eyes representative of Tibetan art, the muscles, for\ninstance, being very excellently moulded. There are also images of the\nfour heavenly kings, each thirty feet high, standing on the right side.\nAgain, looking to the left, we saw on the wall (which was of stone\nover-laid with mud and then with some lime-like substance) beautiful\npictures of deities and saints, which covered a space twenty-four\nfeet by twenty-one. There is no fissure visible in the pictured area,\nin spite of its dimensions. The structure as a whole is in good\nrepair. The front hall opens to an inner courtyard, paved with stone,\nthirty-six feet by thirty, where the priests of the inferior orders\ngather to dine and to read the scriptures, while the higher Lamas have\nthe privilege of living inside the building. Passing this courtyard\nwe entered the main chamber (which faces west) where the images of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist deities are placed. There are two entrances to this chamber,\nthe southern one being open to the priests and the northern one to the\nvisitors. Once inside, we were lost in a sea of dazzling gold; the\nsplendor was simply beyond description. The ceilings and pillars are\nall covered with gold brocade, and the images, more than three hundred\nin number, are emblazoned with very fine gold. In the centre of the\nroom there stands a statue of Sh\u0101kyamuni Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, thirty-five feet high,\nwhich, we were told, is made of mud covered with gold. In front of this\nimage are placed seven water-trays, some candle-sticks and a table for\noblations, all of pure gold, with the exception of a few articles made\nof silver.\n\nThe disorderly manner in which the images are arranged, however,\ngreatly detracts from the impression produced by their intrinsic\nmerits. The spectacle is a grand exhibition of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist fine arts, but\nput together without much order. In short, the chief feature of the\nchamber consists in its splendor, but its effect is greatly impaired by\nthe tasteless and excessive decorations.\n\nAt the rear of this chamber there is another, sixty feet high and two\nhundred and forty feet wide, which is full of valuable collections of\nancient Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist manuscripts, some written in gilded letters on dark\nblue-colored paper and others in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d on the leaves of the fan palm\ntree (_Borassus flabelliformis_). Many of these scriptures were brought\nall the way from India by the founder of the temple, Sakya Pan\u1e0di\u1e6d, and\nhis successors, who sent their priests to that country for the purpose.\n\nWith regard to the scriptures in the Tibetan language, I was told that\nthey had a great number of them there, and that they were all written,\nnot printed. We left this chamber, and while we were again looking\nround the main chamber I was struck with a strong and offensive smell\nwhich, as my subsequent experiences taught me, is a curious feature of\nevery monastery in Tibet. I wondered how I had been insensible to such\na stench up to that time. Where did it come from? you may ask. Well! in\nTibetan temples clarified butter is used in lighting the lamps offered\nto Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and the priests are so careless as to throw away upon the\nfloor the residue of tea and butter, which not only keeps the floor\nalways wet but also putrefies. This is why the chamber is filled with\nsuch a sickening odor. Strangely enough, Tibetans regard this smell as\na sweet one, but I declare myself emphatically to the contrary. On both\nsides of the main chamber we found two more chambers where different\nfigures were also kept. Of these images, the one which especially\nattracted my attention was that of Padma Chungne, the founder of the\nold school of Lamaism, for it is made entirely of precious stones. The\nsurrounding walls and the floor are also inlaid with gems, which are\namazingly beautiful.\n\nOutside the main edifice there are several dormitories where some\nfive hundred men of the order live. Then standing to the south is the\nstately residence of the \u2018great instructor\u2019 of the temple, Chamba\nPasang Tinle, who looks after the spiritual education of five hundred\nsouls.\n\nWe had an interview with this spiritual superior, who looked very\nsaint-like, seated on a dais covered with two mats in one of the\nupper rooms. I wanted to ask him a few questions with regard to the\ndifference between the Sakya doctrines and those of the other sects\nof Lamaism, but he told me that he was busy then and asked me to come\nagain the next day. We then retired and left the temple grounds.\n\nI noticed several palatial buildings rising above a far-off willow\nplantation. My companions told me that these buildings were the\nresidence of the Abbot of the temple, Sakya Koma Rinpoche, and we\nproceeded to pay our respects to him. Koma Rinpoche means the \u2018highest\ntreasure\u2019 and is used only in addressing the Chinese Emperor and the\nAbbot of the Sakya Monastery, whom Tibetans esteem as one of the two\nsacred beings of the world. This being so, the natives who are honored\nwith an audience by the Abbot pay special respect to him, and when he\ngives them his blessing in return it is not infrequently accompanied\nby some presents. But in reality the Abbot is a layman, the essential\npoint of his excellence being that he is the descendant of Sakya Pan\u1e0di\u1e6d\nhimself. He is married, takes meat for dinner, and even drinks wine, as\ndo all the secular people. In spite of these facts, not only the public\nat large but also priests salute him with the rite of \u2018three bows\u2019\nwhich as laid down by Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha is a mark of reverence due only to high\npriests and not to laymen.\n\nWhen we were received by the Abbot, I therefore paid him only such\nrespect as would be due to a personage of his rank. He has, however, a\nvery dignified mien, which bespeaks his noble descent.\n\nWhile we were returning to our lodgings, I was blamed by my companions\nfor my failure to give the Abbot the \u2018three bows,\u2019 and when I told them\nthe reason of the omission they were astonished at my rigid observance\nof the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s teachings. The next day, when I called upon the \u2018great\nteacher\u2019 at the appointed hour, I found him playing with a boy who was\nbehaving toward him in a very familiar way, as if he were his son. I\ncould not think that such a man, who was a genuine priest, was married,\nand yet I very much suspected some such relation--a suspicion which was\nafterwards confirmed during my sojourn at Lhasa.\n\nAt first I had intended to stay and study at the temple for at least\ntwo weeks, but after this discovery I was now loath to remain with\nsuch a degenerate priest. I left the town the next day, and as I was\nnow separated from my companions I had to carry my effects myself. For\na distance of two and a half miles the road gradually ascended along\na mountain rivulet in a south-easterly direction and then, turning\neastwards, became a steep descent of five miles. Proceeding ten miles\nfurther in a south-easterly direction and along the stream I found\ntwo dwellings, in one of which I lodged for the night. The next day I\nagain ascended a steep slope, two and a half miles long, and climbed\ndown another twice that length. As the day was snowy and my baggage got\nwet, I was obliged to take lodgings at the first house I could find.\nThe next day, November 30th, I fortunately met seven or eight men who\nseemed to be transport agents, and were driving forty or fifty asses,\nand I was glad to place my things in their charge. Thus freed from\nencumbrances, I, with the party, descended the Tharu river for five\nmiles. It then turned to the south-east, and after proceeding fifteen\nmiles further along the riverside, we found a village where we stopped.\n\nThe drivers, however, encamped in a neighboring meadow, where they\nunburdened their animals and surrounded themselves on all sides\nexcept one with the goods thus unloaded. As was customary with them,\nthe men improvised a kind of fire-place. On the first of December we\nproceeded along the river for about ten miles and then left it; again\nfor ten miles, we ascended the eastern mountain called Rangla with\nits perpendicular peaks of red rock. We lodged under the rock and on\nthe following day we ascended Rangla for five miles and marched more\nthan another five miles on the mountainous plains; we reached a big\nmonastery named Kang-chen and passed that night in a field south of the\nmonastery. At first, when I saw my drivers recklessly making their\nway through the cultivated fields, I expressed my fear to them that we\nmight be caught by the farmers. \u201cNo,\u201d was their reply, \u201cyou need not\nbother yourself on that score.\u201d They explained to me that these fields\nwere fallow ones, \u201cwhich were enjoying their holidays\u201d for this year,\nso that any person might choose them as roads. It was a custom in this\nlocality to raise the wheat-crop every other year, leaving the fields\nunemployed for the intervening year--a custom which did not obtain in\nLhasa and the neighborhood. Moreover, I was told, it was winter, when\nthe privilege held good in any year, and no one need entertain any fear\nof intruding. At night I preached to my drivers, and the next day we\nset out together, taking an easterly direction. We proceeded seven and\na half miles, when we found rising among the mountains a magnificent\ntemple, still under construction. On making enquiries I learned that\nthe work had been undertaken by the Tibetan Government, which is acting\nunder the advice of a soothsayer.\n\nThe latter had, I was told, declared that there exists a spring just\nbeneath the site of the building, that it is the mouth of a monstrous\ndragon, and that unless a temple be erected over it, it will ultimately\nburst out and deluge the whole country. Unfortunately this idea\nis supported by a book of prophecies brought from China, which is\napparently the work of some priest with hidden motives. I read the book\nand found it to be full of awe-inspiring predictions. It states, for\ninstance, that as wickedness obtains on the earth, a flood of water\nwill be brought upon it and everything on the face of it destroyed;\nthat fatal calamities, such as a great famine or war, will break out\nas a prelude to such a flood. In addition, it is stated that the book\nhad been sent from heaven, and that therefore any one who is so\ncareless as to doubt its truth will be punished with immediate death.\nI declared that these prophecies were all false, but of course nothing\nextraordinary happened to me. The book may be well meant, but it is\nfull of nonsensical sayings. But Tibetans believe in it so firmly that\ntranslated copies are being circulated all over the country. It is most\nsurprising that such superstitions should have led the Government to\nbegin a foolish undertaking at a great cost. But indeed, oracle-mongers\nare held in high esteem, not only by the Government but also by the\ngeneral mass of the people, who consult them whenever they are at fault.\n\nPassing under the above-mentioned temple we proceeded further, and\nbefore we had gone far, we found some five vultures (known among\nthe natives by the name of Cha-goppo) perched on a hill-side. On\nquestioning my companions, I was told that there exists in Tibet a very\ncurious and unpleasant custom of offering the corpses of dead men to\nvultures as a part of the funeral ceremony; that as in this locality\nthe people do not bring enough carrion to these birds, the latter are\nalways hungry; and that therefore they are granted an allowance of meat\nfrom the kitchen of a temple called the Tashi Lhunpo. How they are fed\non human flesh at a funeral ceremony I shall relate later in my account\nof Lhasa.\n\nAfter some further journeying we arrived at an \u201cabstinence house\u201d (Nyun\nne Lhakhang in Tibetan), in the neighborhood of which there stood a\ntemple called the Nartang. Wanting to make some enquiries, I decided\nto stay at this house, so that I parted company with my carriers, who\nproceeded towards Shigatze. This house is used both by priests and\nlaymen for observing the \u2018Eight rules of abstinence\u2019 enjoined by the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, or other forms of religious self-denial, such as silence or\nabstinence from meat. Abstinence from flesh is considered an austerity\nby Tibetan priests, because they eat meat, contrary to the ordinary\nusages of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist monks.\n\nThe next day I visited the Nartang Temple, where I inspected the\nmost valuable of its treasures, which are immense heaps of wooden\nprinting-blocks, comprising the collection of all the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist writings\nin Tibet, divided into two departments--Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s own preachings and\nthe works of the saints. In addition, they have an equally large\nnumber of printing-blocks for the commentaries prepared by the native\nLamas. These blocks are kept in two large buildings, one of which\nmeasures about 180 feet by sixty. This temple is the sole publisher\nof the \u2018collection of all the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist writings,\u2019 the three hundred\npriests who live there being printers. I called upon the head priest\nof the temple, who had been specially sent from the Tashi Lhunpo\nTemple, and found him very clever in conversation. The interview was\nat once very instructive and agreeable to me, for the priest not only\ngave me valuable information on Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism but also accorded me cordial\ntreatment.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLI.\n\nShigatze.\n\n\n[Illustration: OUTLINE OF THE MONASTERY OF TASHI LHUNPO.]\n\nThe next day, December 5th, I proceeded for about eight miles across\na plain in a south-easterly direction, when the gold-colored roof of\na palatial building, with many white-painted dormitories for priests\nclose by, presented itself before my view. In addition, temple-like\nbuildings in red paint were seen rising amidst these structures,\nmaking in all a grand and beautiful spectacle. The town before me was\nShigatze, the second capital of Tibet, and the palatial building was\nthe Tashi Lhunpo Temple. The name means \u2018a glorious mass\u2019 or \u2018Mount\nSumeru,\u2019 a legendary mountain mentioned in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Scriptures. The\nmonastery owes its name to its founder, Gendun Tub, who thought that\nthe mountain at the rear of the temple resembled Sumeru. There were\naltogether three thousand three hundred priests in the temple, but\nsometimes the number increases to over five thousand; and though it\nis but the second temple in the country it maintains the same dignity\nas the papal see. The secular part of the city lay beyond the temple\nand consisted of some three thousand five hundred dwellings. The\nnumber of the inhabitants was stated by the natives to be over thirty\nthousand, but this calculation cannot be much trusted, as the science\nof statistics is utterly unknown in Tibet. I visited the temple, where\nI asked for the dormitory called Peetuk Khamtsan, which is allotted to\nthe Lamaist monks from the north-eastern plateau, since I had feigned\nmyself to be one of these. At length I found it and settled myself\nin it, for I intended to stay there for some time and to pick up any\nknowledge I could from those with whom I might come into contact.\n\nThe Lama Superior of this temple is regarded as the second Grand Lama\nof Tibet, for, though he does not possess any political influence, yet\nwith regard to the rank bestowed by the Chinese Emperor he is superior\neven to the Dalai Lama himself. Sometimes a kind of regency under this\n\u2018second Grand Lama\u2019 takes place during the interval between the Dalai\nLama\u2019s death and the enthronement of what in Tibet is believed to be\nhis re-incarnated self.\n\nThis second Grand Lama is commonly called Panchen Rinpoche, but his\nreal title is _Kyab-kon Chen-bo_, meaning \u2018Great Protector,\u2019 while\nhis name is Lobsang Choe-ki Nima, the \u2018noble-minded religious sun\u2019. I\nwas told he was eighteen years old, having been born in the year of\n\u201csheep,\u201d and was believed to be an incarnation of Amida-nyorai. At\nthe time of my visit he was away at a distant palace, so that I could\nnot see him. During my stay in the town my only business was to visit\nvarious Lamas and scholars, with whom I discussed the teachings of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha.\n\nOne day I called upon the tutor of the second Grand Lama, Tsan Chenba,\na venerable priest, seventy-four years of age, who was very kind to me.\nAs he was reputed to be the highest authority on Tibetan grammar and\nrhetoric among the three thousand priests in the temple, I asked him\nseveral grammatical questions, and in doing so I took care to select\nsuch questions as were familiar to me, for I wanted to know in what\nway my host would try to explain them. I was, however, disappointed,\nas he confessed that he could give no answer and said that he could\nonly refer me to a learned physician living at Engon on the road to\nLhasa, who, he was inclined to believe, could give me a satisfactory\nanswer. I was, therefore, glad to take leave of him. _En passant_ it\nmay be stated that five branches of science--phonetics, medicine,\nlogic, engineering and religious science and philosophy--were centuries\nago introduced into Tibet from India, but now-a-days very few--I will\nalmost say no--Tibetans are proficient in them, or even in one of them.\nUnder present circumstances, those who take to the study of grammar\nbelong to very limited classes, the majority of them consisting of the\nmen in the Government service who learn just the elementary rules of\ngrammar, in order to be able to prepare official documents. It is not\nwonderful therefore that there should be scholars who, in spite of\ntheir zeal in the investigation and exposition of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s doctrines,\nare absolute strangers to history and other branches of science.\n\nAfter a stay of several days at the temple, I was one day thinking of\nleaving the town, when I was informed that the Grand Lama was expected\nhome presently, so I went out to witness his procession. It must be\nnoted that owing to the absence of roads in Tibet the procession\npassed through the more beaten parts of the country, which served\nas roads. On both sides of the route there stood cylindrical posts\nupon which incense was burnt by the waiting crowds, both sacerdotal\nand secular, most of whom prostrated themselves on the advent of the\n_cort\u00e8ge_. The second Grand Lama was borne in a palanquin decorated\nwith gold brocades and gorgeous kinds of silk, and was accompanied by\nabout three hundred mounted attendants who, instead of being armed,\ncarried Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist utensils. The procession was heralded by the native\nband, using some kind of wind instruments and drums. The spectacle was\nso splendid that I congratulated myself on my good fortune in having\nwitnessed it.\n\nDuring that night, in compliance with the request of the priests\nin my dormitory, I delivered a sermon on the ten Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist virtues,\nwhich seemed to please them greatly. They confessed to me that,\npriests as they were, they found no interest in the theoretical and\ndry expositions of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s teachings to which they had been used to\nlisten, but that my delivery was so easy and pleasing that it aroused\nin them a real zest for Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. This fact is a sad commentary on the\nignorance of the average Tibetan priests.\n\nI learned subsequently, however, that the priests in this temple were\nvery rigid in their conduct, except in the habit of drinking. With\nregard to this latter an amusing story is told. One day the Dalai\nLama of Lhasa met with the Grand Lama of the Tashi Lhunpo monastery.\nIn the course of conversation, the former said he was very sorry that\nhis priests were addicted to the use of tobacco. Panchen Rinpoche\nsympathised, but stated that he was no less sorry that his own priests\nwere exceedingly partial to alcoholic drinks. They then discussed which\nof the two luxuries was the more sinful, and also whether or not some\neffective measures could be taken to prevent these vicious habits. But\neven their great influence could do nothing, and the vicious practices\nwere open secrets. A curious rule was however enacted in order to\nprevent the habit of drinking. Every priest returning from the street\nwas bound to present himself before the priestly guard at the gate of\nthe temple, who examined his breath, any disclosure of his drunkenness\nbeing followed by an immediate punishment. Some impudent priests often\nattempted to conceal their inebriation by eating a good deal of garlic,\nthe strong smell of which impregnated their breath and thus might\nprevent detection.\n\nLeaving the temple at ten on the morning of December 15th, I proceeded\nabout two miles across the city of Shigatze, when I reached the Tsanchu\nriver. The great bridge erected over it is called the Samba Shar, which\nmeans eastern bridge. It measures about three hundred and sixty yards\nin length and eight yards in breadth. It is unlike our own bridges,\nfor it consists of slabs of stones covered with earth, which are in\nturn placed upon rows of long wooden boards spanning stone structures\nerected in the water at equal distances of about ten yards. The bridge\nhas parapets made of stone. Passing over the bridge, I proceeded four\nmiles to the north, till I found myself on the bank of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra.\nThe road now turned to the east along that river, and a further journey\nof about twelve miles brought me to a village called Pe, where I lodged\nat a poor farmer\u2019s. There I noticed with curiosity that turf instead of\nthe usual yak-dung was heaped besides the fire-place. I was told that\nin that locality the dried roots of grasses were used as fuel; hence\nthe heaps of turf.\n\nI also found a boy of about twelve years old sitting beside the\nfire-place and learning to write. He had a bamboo stick for his pen,\nand was writing with it upon white powder sprinkled over a small piece\nof wood. Every now and then he presented his work to his father\nand had its ill-done portions corrected by him, this process being\nrepeated over and over again. I wondered at the care with which the\nchild was taught to practise penmanship, in spite of the poor condition\nof the family, but I soon learned the secret. Agriculture was the\nsole industry in this locality, and if the tenant did not know how to\nwrite and count, he would possibly be imposed upon by his landlord in\nthe payment of his rent. As to the art of counting, it was taught in\na very primitive way, stones, sticks or rosaries being used for the\npurpose. With respect to writing and counting the poorer classes of\nthis locality were far above those in Lhasa, who were totally ignorant.\n\nAt night I preached to the members of the family, and the next day I\nproceeded about five miles along the river already mentioned. The road,\nwhich sloped eastward, now became very narrow, with the river on the\nleft and a very steep and rugged mountain on the right. I struggled\non for about four miles further, and then came out upon a wide space.\nLooking to the right, I saw two large buildings standing on the summit\nof a mountain. These buildings constitute the Engon temple where, as\nthe old priest of the Tashi Lhunpo temple had kindly informed me,\nlives the celebrated grammarian. I climbed the mountain, and reached\nthe temple after an arduous ascent of more than two miles. There I\nlearned that the larger of the two edifices accommodates two hundred\nand thirty male priests, while the other, situated a little lower, is\na nunnery where live seventy-two nuns. The history of this temple is\nvery interesting, but I need not dwell on it here in detail. I stayed\nat the temple for the night, and the next day I had an interview with\nits principal priest. The latter, however, talked only something of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, being ignorant of grammar and rhetoric, but was kind enough\nto refer me to the physician, Amdo Ka-sang, of whom the old priest of\nthe Tashi Lhunpo had such a high opinion.\n\nI then called upon this physician and grammarian, to whom I gave some\npresents in token of my respect. After the usual greetings had been\nexchanged, the host questioned me how long I had been studying the\nTibetan language. \u201cThree years,\u201d I replied. My host declared that the\nstudy of grammar and rhetoric greatly depended upon the method used\nand that, if the method were a poor one, the period of three years\nwould prove too short to accomplish anything. He then asked me a few\nquestions on grammar, which, as they were very simple, I answered\nquickly. I asked him to put to me some more difficult questions on\nrhetoric, but, to my great disappointment, he confessed that he had\nno knowledge of rhetoric. I next asked him which of the Tibetan\ngrammarians he thought the best, to which question he answered that he\npreferred Ngul-chu Lama\u2019s grammar (Ngul-chu being the name of a temple)\nwhich, in reality, is very imperfect. I almost doubted his sincerity,\nso that I again asked him why he did not follow the views taken by Situ\nLama, who is well-known as the highest authority on Tibetan grammar.\nTo my great surprise, my host had never read Situ\u2019s works, though he\nhad heard something of the grammarian. I then turned my questions to\nthe number of vowels in the Tibetan alphabet, about which there are\ntwo different opinions among grammarians. This question, simple as it\nmay appear, has been the subject of much discussion, so that the study\nof the Tibetan language must be started with this theme. My question\non this subject seemed to embarrass my host who, after some pondering,\nsaid that there were sixteen vowels in the Tibetan alphabet, and began\nto enumerate them. Curiously enough, all the vowels mentioned by him\nwere those of the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d alphabet, so I asked him what he thought of\nthe opinion that the number of the Tibetan vowels was five.\n\nThe doctor seemed abashed. He apologised for his mistake in having\nmentioned the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d vowels, and admitted that the Tibetan vowels\nnumbered only five. (This five-vowel opinion is erroneous, though\nseveral western scholars maintain it in their works. It must be noted\nthat the Tibetan characters were invented by Thumi Sambhota, who tells\nus in his work that there were only four vowels in his language.) In\nshort, the interview proved a disappointment. The doctor possessed\nvery limited knowledge, being a great grammarian and rhetorician only\nin the eyes of ignorant native priests. I returned to my room, where I\nwas asked by a priest on what subject I had talked with the \u2018learned\u2019\ndoctor. When I answered him that I had discussed some grammatical\nquestions with the doctor, the priest said with an air of importance\nthat the doctor was the highest authority on grammar and rhetoric\nthroughout the province of Tsan, that one or two interviews with him\nwould be insufficient to secure any benefit, and that I should stay\nwith him for at least two or three years if I really wished to study\ngrammar. In addition, the priest confessed that, long as he had had\nthe fortune to listen to the doctor\u2019s lectures, he was still a total\nstranger to grammar. I was so much tickled by these remarks that I\nburst out laughing, which seemed somewhat to embarrass the priest.\n\nThe next day, December 18th, I proceeded about five miles over an\nundulating country, going in a south-easterly direction, when I again\nreached the Brahmapu\u1e6dra river. Crossing a vast plain which stretched\nalong the river, I made my way eastward, and was within some two miles\nand a half of the Pombo Ri-o-che, a temple belonging to an older sect\nof Lamaism, and situated upon a towering peak, when I was unexpectedly\ncalled and stopped by someone.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLII.\n\nA Supposed Miracle.\n\n\nTurning about to see what it could be, I caught sight of two stout\nfellows armed with Tibetan swords. On their approach, I asked them\nwhat they wanted. Abruptly picking up a stone, the younger of them\nthreatened me and said: \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\n\u201cRun off,\u201d he menaced, \u201cor you shall die.\u201d\n\nThen I took my seat on a stone by the roadside and gave myself up for\nlost. The men strode toward me, and violently seized my stick.\n\n\u201cTell us what you have and where you come from,\u201d they said.\n\n\u201cI am a pilgrim,\u201d I answered, \u201cand I come from Tise.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have money?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a little,\u201d I said, \u201cnot worth taking, as I was robbed at\nJangthang.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat have you on your back?\u201d\n\n\u201cSome food and the Scriptures.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnpack it and let us see; you may have much money there.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, the money is in my pocket,\u201d I said \u201cand not in the baggage. Being\na priest, I never tell a lie. You may have either the money or the\nbaggage, if you wish.\u201d\n\nI was just going to give them money when three horsemen appeared riding\ntowards us, and at sight of them the highwaymen took to their heels,\nleaving the stick and everything else. Thus I was saved.\n\n\u201cWho are they?\u201d asked the horsemen, and on my answering that they had\ndemanded of me my money and baggage, they expressed their disgust.\n\n\u201cGo to yonder temple,\u201d they added after a little pause, \u201cand you will\nfind a village. Be quick and we will see you safe there.\u201d\n\nI thanked them and walked on toward the village, and the horsemen went\naway westward after a little while. Instead of stopping there for the\nnight, I proceeded eastwards as far as Nya-mo-Hotta, a little village\nabout seven miles off, where I lodged. The following day I took lunch\nat Teshok, and stopped at Tak-tsu-kha in the evening. On December 20th\nat dawn, I went south-east through the deep snow, it having snowed very\nhard the night before. While going along the river Brahmapu\u1e6dra, I saw\nsome cranes walking in the snow, and was so delighted that I forgot\nthat I was in so cold a climate.\n\nThen I amused myself with composing _Utas_, of which the following is\none:\n\n With crystals of the snow, how white the sand\n All spotted gleams upon the river banks!\n The flocks of cranes to me appear to sing\n The changeless glories of the Path of Truth\n In their melodious joyful bursts of song:\n On those bejewelled banks they tread in pride;\n With gait majestic slow they strut about.\n\nAmid such beautiful scenes I went down along the southern bank of the\nriver, and after about eight miles\u2019 walk I came to Kurum Namse, where\nI took lunch. I proceeded still further east along the same stream for\nabout five miles, and found the river running north-east, while my road\nlay south-east into the mountain. I went up the hill about four miles,\nand stopped at Shab-Tontub.\n\nOn the following morning I went eastwards again along a clear stream,\nand after about four miles I could see from its banks a rocky mountain,\nat the foot of which there was a temple called Cham Chen Gompa (meaning\n\u2018the monastery of the great image of Charity\u2019, _i.e._, the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva\nof that name), where there was an image of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Mai\u1e6dreya\nabout thirty-five feet high. Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva Mai\u1e6dreya (which name means\n\u2018Charity\u2019) is honored as next to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha in rank, but in Tibet he is\nworshipped as a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha who will hereafter appear again on earth. I\nworshipped at this temple, and then at the shrine of the divinities,\nand of Sh\u0101kyamuni Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha beside the temple. Then I entered a lamasery.\nThis temple, which is the largest between Lhasa and Shigatze, has two\nhundred dormitories, with three hundred priests. The chief priest of\nthe house where I stopped was in great distress on account of some bad\ndreams which he had had on several successive nights. He had dreamed\nthat he was dying, and this troubled him much, for he had immense\nwealth. So he asked me to read the Scriptures to him, so that he might\nbe free from the supposed evil. I knew of no gospel specially suitable\nfor such purposes, but I thought that the reading of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist canon\nmight do him good, so I told him that I would do as he wished, and from\nthe following day began reading _The Aphorisms of the White Lotus of\nthe Wonderful Law_ and other Scriptures in Tibetan.\n\nIt was on the 28th of December, as I remember, that a priest was going\nto K\u0101tm\u0101ndu in Nep\u0101l, and I seized the occasion to send a letter home\nby him, addressed to my bosom friend Tokujuro Hige. I paid him a\ncomparatively large sum of money and asked him to send it registered\nfrom the post office of Nep\u0101l. The man was reputed so honest that he\nhad never been known to tell a lie, but strangely enough the letter\nfailed to reach its address, as I have since discovered.\n\nDuring the afternoon of the 31st I was sped on my way by the head\npriest, who lent me a horse. I got on the horse, loaded it with my\nbaggage, and going east for about three miles, came to Ta-mi-la, where\nI was asked to read the Scriptures. While riding to the village, I\nlifted up my thanks to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha for the grace by which I had been saved\nthrough so many calamities and afflictions during the year, it being\nthe last day of the 33rd year of Meiji according to the Japanese mode\nof reckoning (A.D. 1900). I did not know what adversities were yet in\nstore for me, but I could not but think that I might be kept safe to do\nall I could for the cause of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\nThe New Year\u2019s Day dawned, but I met with nothing special to mark the\nday, as the Tibetans use the old calendar. Still I got up early at\nthree o\u2019clock in the morning, and turning east, as I had done every\nNew Year\u2019s Day, I began the New Year\u2019s reading of the Scriptures.\nFor, as Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism teaches us, it is our duty to pray for the health of\nthe sovereign, and every Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist reads the Scriptures on New Year\u2019s\nDay, in however remote a place he may happen to be, and prays for the\nwelfare of the Imperial Family. I read the Scriptures at the village\ntill the 5th, and on the following day I proceeded seven miles to Omi,\nwhere I stopped for the night. In a temple of this village there was\nan image called in Tibetan _Sung Chung Dolma_ (the Mother of Salvation\nwho utters a command) which was about three feet high, and so beautiful\nthat it seemed as if it might even speak. The Tibetans told me that\nthe image at one time actually spoke. I read the Scriptures there for\ntwo days, and received many gifts. I had met the highwaymen, and had\nbeen robbed of my money, but money was constantly given to me, and my\nreading the Scriptures earned me so many gifts, that I had now laid by\na considerable sum of money, and I was living on the food given to me\nby others.\n\nOn the 12th of January, at 5 o\u2019clock in the morning, I set out on my\njourney with a coolie, who carried my baggage. We went on south-east\nalong the bank of a stream flowing through the mountains. Here we\nfound the snow turned into ice, and so slippery was the ground that\nwe had to take great care, lest we should fall. Going on for about\ntwelve miles, we found ourselves at Choe Ten, where there were many\nhot springs, three of them warm enough to bathe in. I do not know for\nwhat disease they might be really efficacious, though they seemed to\nme to be good for rheumatism. I saw several places in the stream where\nsteaming springs could be seen boiling up. We took our lunch and again\nwent on eastward for about nine miles, till we came in sight of a\ntemple called Mani Lha-khang, in a willow plantation along the river.\nThis temple was so called, because it enshrined a large bronze cylinder\nholding many pieces of paper each bearing the spell _mani_, consisting\nof the following six sounds \u2018Om-ma-ni-pad-me-hum\u2019 and meaning \u201call will\nbe as we will.\u201d The tube was beautifully wrapped in copper foil, and\nornamented with gold and silver. It had an iron axle through it and\nwas so formed that it would revolve from left to right. This temple\nis among the most famous in Tibet. The founder of the temple was Je\nTsong-kha-pa, who started a new sect. His memory is held in great\nesteem in the country, and especially in this temple, mostly because he\nwas the inventor of the \u201cprayer-cylinder\u201d.\n\nI stopped at this temple, the keeper of which was very rude; without\nany scruple he asked me to read his face for him, for he said I\nlooked out of the common. I had never studied physiognomy, but I\nthought that I might thus teach a lesson to the Tibetans, who are\nvery superstitious. So I told him that I was very sorry for him, for\nhe seemed to be a man who, though often given money and other things,\nwould sustain much loss through other men, and for whom the future\nwould have nothing but debt. Singularly enough, this exactly told his\npast life, and he was so surprised at my words, that he told all about\nme to his richest neighbor, called Dorje Gyalpo (Prince Diamond). That\nvery evening a fine lady, who I was told was the wife of the rich\nman, came to me with a child, and asked me to tell its fortune. This\ntroubled me not a little. But when I saw the sickly and feeble state\nof the child I could easily guess what would happen, so I ventured to\ntell her that I was very sorry, for the child seemed likely not to live\nlong, and I also told her about the philosophy of retribution. She\nasked me if there was no way of saving its life. I thought how glad\nI should be if I could have an opportunity of reading the \u2018complete\nText,\u2019 as I knew that I should have very little chance of doing so\nafter reaching Lhasa. I said therefore that a long reading of the\nScriptures might do some good. She went home early that evening.\n\nVery strange indeed! the child fell so ill the following morning that\nthe whole family was struck with my chance prediction, and I was asked\nto come to the house to read the Scriptures, even though it might take\nseveral days to do so. I said I would, but as they had no copy of the\n\u2018complete Scriptures\u2019 I asked for a man to be sent to Rong Langba, a\nlittle further up the hill, to borrow a copy. In the meanwhile I sat\nin the usual religious meditation, when suddenly my ears caught the\nsound of weeping and crying women in the kitchen. What could all that\nmean? Something serious must have happened in the house. Still I kept\nquiet, as it was none of my business to go and see. Soon, however,\nthe mistress of the house came to tell me that the child had died as\npredicted, and she asked me to save it. I was also surprised to learn\nhow my words had come true, and hurried into the room, only to find the\nchild quite senseless and cold.\n\nI felt the child\u2019s pulse, which was beating faintly, though his body\nwas not warm and his neck was nearly stiff. I thought the disease might\nbe congestion of the brain, as I had read a few books on medicine. So\nI called for some cold water, and put on to his head a piece of wet\ncloth, while, at the same time, I rubbed his neck and head vigorously\nfor twenty minutes. It was only a short faint, and the child began\nto come to his senses. You can easily imagine how glad was his\ngrandmother, who was almost beside herself with joy to see restored\nto life the child whom they had supposed to be dead. I told her to\nkeep quiet and to continue rubbing till the child was perfectly well.\nThis won for me no small respect from all present, and I was asked to\nstay for a long time to read the Scriptures. I, too, was glad to stay\nthere over two months during the cold season, enjoying my reading.\nBesides reading the Scriptures, I often took walks among the hills and\nvalleys and on these occasions many children, with the one I had saved,\nfollowed me in my walks quite as if they were my own children. I loved\nthe children so much, or rather was so loved by them, that my only\nbusiness besides my reading was to take them for walks.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIII.\n\nManners and Customs.\n\n\nThe Tibetans are very foul in their habits, some of which I may mention\nhere. In the house in which I stayed there were some twenty servants,\nand they brought me a cup of tea every morning. They never washed the\ncup which I used, but brought tea in it every day, and they would say\nthat it was quite clean, for I had used it only the night before,\nthough it was as dirty as it could be. They think cups are unclean\nif they have been used by their inferiors, but they never wash those\nused by themselves or their equals, for these are clean in their eyes,\nthough it is disgusting even to look at them. If I asked a servant to\nwash my cup, it was wiped with his sleeve, which might be quite wet and\ndirty from being used as a handkerchief. Then he said it was clean, and\npoured tea into it. Just think of it! It is impossible to drink out of\nsuch a cup, but still one must do so, for it would only arouse their\nsuspicions to be too strict about such matters. It seems to be nothing\ncompared with his other unclean habits that the Tibetan does not wash\nhis plates and dishes. He does not even wash or wipe himself after the\ncalls of nature, but behaves like the lower animals in this respect.\nTo this there is no single exception, from the high priest down to the\nshepherd; every one does the same. I was, therefore, much laughed at\nand suspected when I followed the Japanese custom in this particular,\nand even the children would laugh at me. I was much troubled at this;\nstill I could not do otherwise. This was a still greater trouble in\nthe tents, for in Jangthang I used to have four or five dogs beside\nme whenever I retired for private purposes. You can well imagine how\nterrified I was at first, though I soon got accustomed to them. And no\nsooner had I gone away than the dogs devoured the excrement. For this\nreason there is little or no filth lying about in Jangthang.\n\nNor are these the Tibetan\u2019s only unclean habits. He never washes his\nbody; many have never been washed since their birth. One would scarcely\nbelieve that they boast in the country, if not in towns or cities, of\nnever having been washed. It calls forth laughter from others to wash\neven the hands and face, and so the only clean part about them are\nthe palms of the hands and eyes, all other parts being jet-black. The\ncountry gentlemen and the priests, however, have partially cleaned\nfaces, mouths and hands, though the other parts of their bodies are\njust as black as can be. They are quite as black on their necks and\nbacks as the African negroes. Why then are their hands so white? It\nis because they make dough with their own hands with flour in a bowl,\nand the dirt of their hands is mixed with the dough. So Tibetan dishes\nare made of dirt and flour, and the Tibetans eat with their teeth\nblack with sordes. It is a sickening sight! Why do they not wash their\nbodies? Because they have a superstitious belief that it wipes off\nhappiness to wash the body. This belief is not quite so prevalent among\nthe inhabitants of Central Tibet as among those of the remote provinces\nnorth of the Him\u0101layas.\n\nIt is necessary at betrothal to show not only the countenance of the\ngirl, but also to show how black she is with filth. If she is all black\nexcept her eyes, and her dress is bright with dirt and butter, she\nis regarded as blessed. If she has a white face and clean hands she\nwill be less fortunate, for she is said to have washed away her luck.\nGirls are equally superstitious about this, for they too attach much\nimportance in courting to the blackness of the boys. I know it is\ndifficult to credit what I have just stated; even I myself could not\nbelieve it until I had visited several places and seen Tibetan habits\nfor myself. People below the middle class have no change of clothes,\nbut generally dress themselves in torn and filthy rags. They blow\ntheir noses into their clothes in the presence of others. Their dress\nis often as hard as hide with dried dirt. It is as it were a concrete\nof butter, filth and mucus. But people above the middle class are a\nlittle less untidy. The priesthood especially are instructed to wash\ntheir hands and faces and keep their clothes clean. They are somewhat\ncleaner, therefore, but only in comparison with their people. It was\noften very difficult for me to accept invitations to dinner and tea\namid these foul habits. While at Tsarang I tried very hard to get\naccustomed to them, but it is difficult to overcome physical revolt.\n\nStill, amid these disagreeable things, the natural beauty of the\ncountry often much comforted me. Once before the Tibetan New Year I\nwas reading as usual at my desk, while the people were busy preparing\nfor the New Year. I looked out of my window to see the snow. Oh the\nsplendor of the sight! You can little imagine how much I was delighted\nwhen a crane appeared, strolling along in the snow, and filling me\nwith sentimental and poetical reminiscences of my native land. In this\nwise I was comforted, amid the unpleasant habits of the people, by the\nbeautiful charms of nature, as well as by some interesting things which\nI noticed among the ceremonies of the New Year.\n\nThe Tibetans use neither the Indian calendar, nor the Chinese, but the\nTurkistan, which resembles the Chinese in that it has one leap year in\nevery four, but it is always one year behind the latter. We find many\nstrange things in its way of counting days. There are often given,\nsay, two seventh days, or we sometimes find the eleventh day after\nthe ninth but without the tenth. I could not quite make out what all\nthese meant. Upon inquiring from an astrologer, I was told that it was\nsometimes necessary to add one day, or to leave one out, because they\nwere lucky or unlucky, and a lucky day was duplicated, while an unlucky\none must be omitted. In this convenient way is constructed the calendar\nas generally used in Tibet, though some disagreements are found between\nthe calendars used in different parts of the country, as for instance\nin fixing the New Year or other great days. But this is a matter that\nshould cause little wonder. The Tibetan calendar is computed by four\nofficials appointed by the Government, who count days with black and\nwhite stones or shells. When their calendars differ, the best ones are\nchosen, and an oracle is consulted to decide which is the proper one\nto be adopted. The New Year\u2019s ceremony is generally held on the day\ngiven in the Government calendar, but it is very rarely that the New\nYear\u2019s Day of the Tibetan calendar falls on the same day as that of the\nChinese, there being generally a difference of one, two, or even three\ndays between them.\n\nOn New Year\u2019s morning a piece of fire-colored silk, or handkerchiefs\nsewn together in the shape of a flag, is put over a heap of baked\nflour, on which are strewn some dried grapes, dried peaches and small\nblack persimmons. The head of the house first picks up some of the\nfruits with his right hand, tosses them up three times, and eats\nthem. Then his wife, guests and servants follow his example one after\nanother. Next comes Tibetan tea, with fried cakes of wheat flour\nfor each. These are brought in on a tray, something in the shape of\na copper plate, gilded and white at the centre. They drink the tea\nand eat the cakes, but, unlike the Japanese, exchange no words of\ncongratulation, and seem mostly to enjoy the eating. They take meat\ndried, raw, and boiled, but roast meat is regarded as unceremonial.\n\nTibet produces fresh-water fish, but the Tibetans do not usually eat\nit; they subsist chiefly on the meat of the yak, goat, and sheep,\nfor they consider it sinful to kill fish. Pork is eaten, but only by\nthe Tibetans who have dealings with the Chinese. After the morning\nceremony, they again meet at about ten o\u2019clock to drink tea or wine,\nand eat cake or fruits. At two in the afternoon they have dinner, at\nwhich they eat, if rich, a sort of macaroni mixed with eggs. The soup\nhas mutton or something else dipped in it. At nine or ten o\u2019clock in\nthe evening they make a sort of meat gruel, commonly composed of wheat\nflour, wheat dumplings, meat, radishes, and cheese. But the course of\ndishes mentioned above is not settled, for they sometimes eat the gruel\nin the morning, though generally in the evening. The above are the\ndishes taken by the Tibetans of the higher circles.\n\nThe lowest class find it hard to get cheese and meat for their gruel,\nand put fat in their stead. Nor is it less difficult for them to get\nradishes. If they put wheat dumplings in the gruel, which they make\non special occasions, it is reckoned among their best dishes; their\nusual gruel is made very thick with baked flour with some herbs and\nflowers put in it. In the winter, when they have no fresh herbs or\nflowers, they use what they have stored and laid by during the summer.\nThe radish is however much grown in some parts of Tibet, where it is\nlargely used. The Tibetan is fonder of baked flour than of rice, all\nclasses generally living on the former. The Tibetans at Darjeeling live\non baked flour from Tibet, for they fall ill if they live on rice.\nBaked flour can of course be had in India, but the Tibetan seems much\nsuperior to the Indian, for they send orders to Tibet for their native\nproductions.\n\nIn this way I passed the festive New Year season, and, while reading\nmy Scriptures amid these charming scenes, learned much about Tibetan\ncustoms and homes, and found good material for my study.\n\n[Illustration: READING THE TEXTS.]\n\nA little white and black bird like a crow, called _Kyaka_ in Tibetan,\nused to come to my window. It was a knowing bird, and could tell one\nman from another, and was very regular in its ways. One day while I was\nlooking out of my window I saw one of a flock, seemingly their head,\npecking another to death, as if angry with the latter because it had\nquarrelled with the other members of the flock. I was surprised and\ntold my landlord about it, when he told me that birds were more regular\nthan men, and related several stories which showed how strict the birds\nwere. It is a common saying, he added, that one might deviate from\nhuman laws by the breadth of a log, before a hair-breadth\u2019s deviation\nfrom bird\u2019s law would be tolerated.--(_Cha tim ta nga tsam shikna mi\ntim nya shing tsam shik go._)\n\nHaving stayed in this place a long time in order to read the\nScriptures, I was determined to leave on the 14th March, as it was\ngetting warmer. In the morning the family asked me to recite to them\nthe Three Refuges, and the Five Commands or moral precepts of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism,\nwhich I did with pleasure. After dinner as I was leaving the house I\nwas presented with some money and a priest\u2019s robe, red in color and\nmade of wool, which must have cost some thirty-five yen. I departed\naccompanied by a servant, who carried my luggage, for they told me they\ncould not send me off on horseback, much though they desired to do so,\nfor all their horses were away on trading journeys.\n\nUp the Yak-Chu river I went for about ten miles eastwards, till I came\nto a post village called Che-sum, where I stopped for the night. I\nstarted at six o\u2019clock the next morning, and went on along the river\nfor another seven miles. It was a narrow pass, walled up between high\nmountains; the snow lay deep in the valleys and the water of the\nstreams was frozen. At the end of about seven miles I came to a little\nopening and, looking up to the top of a mountain on the left, I noticed\na white building which looked neither like a temple nor like the\ndwelling of a priest. What could it be? Upon inquiring of my companion\nI was told it was a hail-proof temple.\n\nI had never heard of such a temple, and was surprised at seeing one.\nWhen I heard the name for the first time I could not believe my own\nears, but when I asked more particularly about it at Lhasa, I found\nthat what had been told me was true. I will now relate the strange\nmethod which the Tibetans have for keeping off hailstones, which they\ndread exceedingly, especially in summer, for then the crops of wheat\nand barley, which they can reap only once in a year or two, may be\nentirely destroyed. So they naturally try to find some means to keep\noff the hailstones, and the method they have discovered is certainly\ncurious enough.\n\nThe nation is so credulous in the matter of religion that they\nindiscriminately believe whatever is told to them by their religious\nteachers, the lamas. Thus for instance they believe that there are\neight kinds of evil spirits which delight in afflicting people and\nsend hail to hurt the crops. Some priests therefore maintain that\nthey must fight against and destroy these evil demons in order to\nkeep them off, and the old school profess that in order to combat\nthese spirits effectually they must know when the demons are preparing\nthe hail. During the winter when there is much snow, these spirits,\naccording to the priests, gather themselves at a certain place, where\nthey make large quantities of hail out of snow. They then store the\nhail somewhere in heaven, and go to rest, until in the summer when\nthe crops are nearly ripe they throw down the hail from the air.\nHence the Tibetans must make sharp weapons to keep off the hail, and\nconsequently, while the spirits are preparing their hail, the Tibetans\nhold a secret meeting in some ravine where they prepare \u2018hail-proof\nshells,\u2019 which are pieces of mud about the size of a sparrow\u2019s egg.\nThese are made by a priest, who works with a servant or two in some\nlonely ravine, where by some secret method he makes many shells,\nchanting words of incantation the while, whereby he lays a spell on\neach shell he makes. These pellets are afterwards used as missiles\nwhen hail falls in the summer, and are supposed to drive it back.\nNone but priests of good family may devote themselves to this work.\nEvery village has at least one priest called Ngak-pa (the chanters of\nincantations of the old school) and during the winter these Ngak-pas\noffer prayers, perform charms, or pray for blessings for others. But\nthe Tibetans have a general belief that the Ngak-pas sometimes curse\nothers. I was often told that such and such person had offended a\nNgak-pa and was cursed to death.\n\nHaving spent the winter in this way, the Ngak-pas during the summer\nprepare to fight against the devils. Let me remark, in passing, that\nTibet has not four seasons, as we have, but the year is divided into\nsummer and winter. The four seasons are indeed mentioned in Tibetan\nbooks, but there are in reality only two.\n\nThe summer there is from about the 15th of March to the 15th of\nSeptember and all the rest of the year is winter. As early as March or\nApril the ploughing of the fields and sowing of wheat begins, and then\nthe Ngak-pa proceeds to the Hail-Subduing-Temple, erected on the top\nof one of the high mountains. This kind of temple is always built on\nthe most elevated place in the whole district, for the reason that the\ngreatest advantage is thus obtained for ascertaining the direction from\nwhich the clouds containing hail issue forth. From the time that the\nears of the wheat begin to shoot, the priest continues to reside in the\ntemple, though from time to time, it is said, he visits his own house,\nas he has not very much to do in the earlier part of his service. About\nJune, however, when the wheat has grown larger, the protection of\nthe crop from injury by hail becomes more urgent, so that the priest\nnever leaves the temple, and his time is fully taken up with making\nofferings and sending up prayers for protection to various deities. The\nservice is gone through three times each day and night, and numberless\nincantations are pronounced. What is more strange is that the great\nhail storms generally occur when the larger part of the crops are\nbecoming ripe, and then it is the time for the priest on service to\nbend his whole energies to the work of preventing the attack of hail.\n\nWhen it happens that big masses of clouds are gathering overhead, the\nNgak-pa first assumes a solemn and stern aspect, drawing himself up\non the brink of the precipice as firm as the rock itself, and then\npronounces an enchantment with many flourishes of his rosary much in\nthe same manner as our warrior of old did with his baton. In a wild\nattempt to drive away the hail clouds, he fights against the mountain,\nbut it often happens that the overwhelming host comes gloomily upon\nhim with thunders roaring and flashes of lightning that seem to shake\nthe ground under him and rend the sky above, and the volleys of big\nhailstones follow, pouring down thick and fast, like arrows flying in\nthe thick of battle. The priest then, all in a frenzy, dances in fight\nagainst the air, displaying a fury quite like a madman in a rage. With\ncharms uttered at the top of his voice he cuts the air right and left,\nup and down, with his fist clenched and finger pointed. If in spite\nof all his efforts, the volleys of hail thicken and strike the fields\nbeneath, the priest grows madder in his wrath, quickly snatches\nhandfuls of the bullets aforementioned which he carries about him, and\nthrows them violently against the clouds as if to strike them. If all\nthis avail nothing, he rends his garment to pieces, and throws the\nrags up in the air, so perfectly mad is he in his attempt to put a\nstop to the falling hailstones. When, as sometimes happens, the hail\ngoes drifting away and leaves the place unharmed, the priest is puffed\nup with pride at the victory he has gained, and the people come to\ncongratulate him with a great show of gratitude. But when, unluckily\nfor him, the hail falls so heavily as to do much harm to the crops, his\nreverence has to be punished with a fine, apportioned to the amount of\ninjury done by the hail, as provided by the law of the land.\n\n[Illustration: PRIEST FIGHTING WITH HAIL.]\n\nTo make up for the loss the Ngak-pa thus sustains, he is entitled at\nother times, when the year passes with little or no hail, to obtain\nan income under the name of \u201chail-prevention-tax;\u201d a strange kind of\nimpost, is it not? The \u201chail-prevention-tax\u201d is levied in kind, rated\nat about two _sho_ of wheat per _tan_ of land, which is to be paid to\nthe Ngak-pa. In a plentiful year this rate may be increased to two and\na half _sho_. This is, indeed a heavy tax for the farmers in Tibet, for\nit is an extra, in addition to the regular amount which they have to\npay to their Government.\n\nThere is another custom even more singular than that. The power of\njurisdiction over the district resides in the person of the Ngak-pa,\nthis being founded on the belief that the plentitude or deficiency of\nthe crops each summer is dependent entirely on his power. The Ngak-pa\nbeing thus the administrator of justice receives a large salary in\nthat capacity in addition to his income as preventer of hail. It might\ntherefore be supposed that this class of priests is quite wealthy, but\nthe Tibetan Ngak-pas are most of them singularly poor. Their gains,\ncoming from deception founded upon the superstition of the people, are\nsoon dissipated, for what is ill-got is ill-spent, as the saying is.\nBut the influence they exercise over the people is very strong. For\ninstance, when a poor-looking Ngak-pa, attired like a beggar, meets\nwith a fine gentleman on the road, the latter is sure to stick out his\ntongue and to bow down in profound respect. So these Ngak-pas gain much\nin peaceful days, though they are at the same time subject to a heavy\npenalty when the hail season sets in. Occasionally too, some of them\nare flogged on their naked bodies. The Tibetans are very strict in this\nrespect, and no nobleman who has committed wrong is spared a flogging\nbecause of his caste. So far about the hail tax.\n\nFrom this temple I went eastwards for about seven miles, when I came to\na village called Yase. From the mountains east of this village flows a\nriver called Yakchu, which, running north-west, empties itself into the\nBrahmapu\u1e6dra. Some European maps incorrectly give the Yakchu as having\nits source in lake Yamdo. Going on some two miles, I found one of the\nstrangest lakes in the world. It is called lake Yamdo-Tso in Tibetan,\nbut some foreign maps call it lake Palti. Palti however is not the\nname of the lake, but of the village on the western side. The lake is\nabout one hundred and eighty miles in circumference, and has an island\nwith a mountain range in its centre. Many lakes have small islands in\nthem, but authoritative geographers state that none has so large a\nmountain as this. I must, however, here say that the land in the lake\nis connected with the main land at two points on the south, so that it\nis not actually an island. No words can describe the beautiful scenery\nhere. The lofty peaks of the Him\u0101layas stand high in a line from the\nsouth-east to the south-west of the lake, and add to its magnificence,\nand the tempest often lashes it into high waves, which dash roaring\nupon the shore. Standing on a high rock by the shore, I marvelled to\nsee the terrible scene of the angry lake waves, with the peaks of the\nHim\u0101layan mountains amidst the clouds, looking like a superhuman being.\n\nI proceeded for about four miles to the east, and then the road turned\nto the north-east. On the left stood a wall of high mountains, while\non the right I could see the peaks of mountains in the lake. I went\neast and then north along a rather wide path by the lake for about\nsix miles, till I came to Palti. There is a castle on a hill in this\nvillage, and very beautiful the lake looks when the castle throws its\nshadow on the water.\n\nI lodged at a house at the foot of this castle. I had walked\ntwenty-five miles that day, but the invigorating mountain scenery\ndispelled my fatigue, though I had been very tired. On the following\nday, March 16th, I started at four o\u2019clock, in the snow and ice, and\nwent north-east along the lake. There were mountains on the left and\nthe lake on the right, as before. The path went pretty nearly north,\nbut straight up and down in a zig-zag along the mountain. Often I\nslipped on the ice, or went deep into the snow, and I encountered much\ntrouble, which was, however, almost nothing when compared with those\nwhich I had met in passing over the Him\u0101layas.\n\nAt dawn I climbed up the mountain in deep snow, and looked down upon\nthe surface of the lake. I could see among the shadows of the mountains\nthe crescent moon beautifully reflected dimly and faintly on the water.\nThe bright day was soon coming, the moon began already to lose its\ndim light, and the morning star twinkled on the surface of the water.\nAmid the charms of nature I lost all my fatigue and weariness, and I\nstood quite entranced. Soon the water-fowl were heard on the sands\nalong the lake, and some mandarin ducks were amusing themselves in\nthe water, while cranes were wildly flying about with noisy cries.\nWhat a contrast it was with the scene of the day before! No pleasure\non a journey can be greater than travelling in this way at dawn. I\nstill went on for about twelve miles along the lake and came to a\nlittle stream in the mountains at about nine o\u2019clock. It is here that\ntravellers make tea, and bake their wheat for eating. The lake is full\nof water, but it is poisonous.\n\nA strange story is told about how it turned poisonous. About twenty\nyears ago, as the Tibetans tell, the famous Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, an\nIndian by birth, who passed for an Englishman, came from India and\npronounced a spell upon the lake; the water at once turned as red as\nblood. A lama, they say, came along and turned the water back to its\noriginal color, but it still remained poisonous. One cannot believe\nanything that the Tibetans say, but the water seems to have really\nturned red. Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s cannot have done that, but, unfortunately\nfor him, it was just after his return from Tibet that the water thus\nchanged. Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, as every one knows, is an Indian, but\nTibetans, with few exceptions, think him to be an Englishman. Any way\nthe water of the lake must have been poisonous for a long time, for\nthe water is stagnant, there being no current, and there are divers\npoisonous elements near the lake.\n\nThere also seem to be places where I think there must be coal; I saw\nseveral kinds of strange ores and many kinds of herbs which I think\nmay have dissolved in the water and have colored it. I have seen some\nforeign maps in which the water of this lake is made to flow into the\nBrahmapu\u1e6dra, which is quite false.\n\nI found several persons taking lunch as we did amid this beautiful\nscenery. This being the way that runs between Lhasa and Shigatze there\nwere travellers on it, among whom was a soldier from Nep\u0101l. He was one\nof the most humorous fellows I ever saw, and was very good company for\nme.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIV.\n\nOn to Lhasa.\n\n\nThe soldier, whose company proved not altogether unwelcome in a travel\nlike mine, happened to be one of the Legation Guards of the Minister of\nNep\u0101l at Lhasa. His love of his mother had tempted him from his duty,\nbut at Shigatze on his way to Nep\u0101l his thought turned to his love of\na woman at Lhasa and this was so much greater than his love for his\nmother that he suddenly changed his mind and determined to go back\nto Lhasa. Among other things I asked him how many soldiers the Nep\u0101l\nGovernment kept stationed at Lhasa, and he answered that it was but a\nfew years ago that his Government first sent a guard to the Tibetan\ncapital. He told me that a great calamity befell the capital over ten\nyears ago.\n\nIt seems that there were about three hundred merchants of the Palpo\ntribe of Nep\u0101l at Lhasa. They are the most active and alert of the\nNep\u0101lese tribes, with regard to trading, and follow Indian, not Tibetan\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. They engage in trade at Lhasa in woollen cloth, cotton, silk,\ncoral, jewels, dry goods, rice, beans and corn.\n\nSome thirteen years ago, a Palpo merchant at Lhasa searched a Lhasa\nwoman on the charge that she had stolen a piece of coral from his shop.\nWhen the coral was not found he became so angry that, in spite of her\nprotesting tears, he took her by force into his house. When she was\nallowed to go out again, she told the people all that had happened.\nThe \u2018warrior-priests\u2019 of the Sera monastery heard of the affair and\nbecame so irritated about the ill-treatment of the woman that some of\nthem came to enquire into the matter, and having ascertained what they\nwanted went back to Sera and told their chief, who at once called out\nthe warrior-priests.\n\nThese warrior-priests are under one chief, at whose summons they gather\nthemselves together. Many of them were not in residence at that time,\nbut about one thousand assembled. These were preparing to march on\nLhasa to wreck vengeance on all the Palpo merchants, when the latter\ngot wind of the matter, Sera being only about four miles from the\ncapital. So they had fled from the city before the bellicose priests\nentered Lhasa, each armed with sword or a large iron hook. These men\nbroke into the deserted houses of the merchants, and carried off\nwhat they found. Among the raiders there were, besides the priests,\nvagabonds of the city, who dispersed with their spoil the next morning\nat daybreak. Presently the merchants returned to their houses, and were\nmuch distressed to find their merchandise gone--their only property, as\nthey owned no land. Their loss was estimated at something under 230,000\nyen.\n\nThis affair became a diplomatic question, and it took over five years\nto settle it. The Tibetan Government had to compensate the merchants\nand a party of twenty-five Nep\u0101lese soldiers came to be stationed at\nLhasa. The chief diplomatist in this affair on the Nep\u0101l side was\nJibbaha\u1e0dur, whose name has already been mentioned; he was the Clerk of\nthe Nep\u0101lese Government, and is the present Nep\u0101lese Minister to Tibet.\n\nAs we walked on we found ourselves at the foot of a steep hill called\nGenpala, which has an incline of about two and a half miles to its top,\nfrom which I obtained my first view of Lhasa. From the summit I could\nsee, to the north-east, the Brahmapu\u1e6dra running south-east. There is\na large tributary called Kichu running from the north-east that flows\ninto this river. It runs through a large plain, in the middle of which\nis a mountain with a high building; and this I saw showing beautifully\nin the golden sunshine. This was the residence of the Dalai Lama of\nLhasa, and is called Tse Potala. Beyond the castle are to be seen roofs\ntowering high in the air, which look like those of a town. These are\nthe streets of Lhasa, which look very small, when seen so far off. I\nrested for a while, and then gradually went down a great slope for\nabout seven miles till I came to Pache, where I stopped for the night.\nHaving walked all day in the snow and ice I was very foot-sore and\nfatigued, as well I might be, for I had made twenty-five miles on foot\nthat day.\n\nThe following day, the 17th of March, I descended for another two\nmiles and a half and found myself on the banks of the Brahmapu\u1e6dra. I\nwalked some six miles along the southern bank of the river before I\ncame to the ferry of Chaksam, where I had to cross the river. Formerly\nthere was an iron bridge at this place, the remaining chains of which\nmay still be seen a little lower down the stream. The ferry boats are\nrectangular in shape like Indian boats. But it is only in the winter\nthat these boats are used, for in the summer large vessels cannot pass\nacross. The Tibetans then use instead the yak-hide canoe. They sew\ntogether the hides of three yaks, and the seams are painted over with\na sort of lacquer, to make them waterproof. These hide canoes float on\nthe water, and are used as ferry-boats even in the winter when there\nare not many passengers. In Tibetan the word _Kowa_ (meaning \u2018hide\u2019)\nalso signifies a boat. The hide boat naturally absorbs much water and\nsoon gets too soft and heavy for use, and the Tibetan therefore dries\nhis hide boat in the sun after he has used it for half a day in the\nwater. It is so light that a man can easily lift it, and the Tibetan\nwill carry it on his back to the higher part of a stream, and will\nfloat it down for a day or two loaded with goods or men. When the boat\nis unloaded, it is again carried up the stream. But our party being\ntoo many for a hide canoe I was ferried over the river in one of the\nregular wooden boats.\n\nWalking for about three miles on the dry sandy bed of the river, I\ncame to a beautiful place where I saw rocks and high trees casting\ntheir shadows on the water. The ground about Lake Yamdo, of which I\nhave spoken elsewhere, is so elevated that it looks as much as 13,500\nfeet above sea level, but here it is only 11,500 feet high. Here, in\nsunny places beside the water, the buds of the willows were already\nout. After seeing only bald mountains and dead leaves for a long time,\nthe green leaves were a delightful sight. Though my coolie carried my\nbaggage, and I was not much troubled on that score, the old wounds on\nmy feet began to smart again, and I could hardly walk. In the midst of\nmy trouble there came along a horseman, to whom I gave a little money\nto carry me on horseback. About two miles and a half further on we came\nto a town called Chu-shur, a rather bustling place, situated in the\ndelta formed by the rivers Kichu and Brahmapu\u1e6dra, the former running\nfrom the north-east and the latter from the north-west.\n\nI hardly know any town on the way to Lhasa worse and more wicked\nthan this. The people of the town are indifferent, even unkind, to\nstrangers, and are much skilled in robbing them of their luggage. They\nwill steal both luggage and goods in transport in such a skilful manner\nthat they can hardly be detected. It is widely known in Tibet that no\nplace is richer in thieves than Chu-shur and I had often been warned to\nbe on my guard against them. There being so many skilful thieves and\nthe place being so much frequented by travellers, there is consequently\na good circulation of money, and one would suppose that Chu-shur had\nmany rich men; but strange to say, I was told upon enquiry that there\nwere more poor men in that town than in most of the other towns and\nvillages of Tibet. After dining there, I started towards the north-east\n(on foot, as I could procure no horse) along the stream of the Kichu\nriver and walked on until I felt so much pain in my feet that I could\nproceed no further. I had laid myself down on the grass to rest when,\nto my boundless joy, a donkey-driver came along and I was given a lift\non the back of his animal for some ten miles, till I arrived at Jang.\nAt Jang something happened that prevented my coolie from following me\nany further, and he deserted me. My feet were aching worse than ever,\nfor I had travelled about twenty-five miles that day by the help of\nthe donkey; but what to do on the following day I was at a loss to\nconceive. Happily I was told of some men who were going with tax-meat\nto the Government at Lhasa, and I asked them to take me on one of\ntheir horses. They were going to pay the tax to the Government, yet\nthey did not take their horses from their own village, but hired them\nelsewhere. They did not travel more than eight or nine miles a day, and\nI, too, hired a horse for myself, placed my luggage in their charge,\nand started together with them. We halted at a little village named\nNam to take rest, and here stopped for the night. On the following day\nwe went about six miles along a narrow rocky mountain path, which ran\nnorth-east along the Kichu river, till we came to Nethang.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLV.\n\nArrival in Lhasa.\n\n\nAt Nethang there is a temple of the Mothers of Salvation, who are most\ndevoutly worshipped in Tibet, and it is said that it was founded by an\nIndian hermit, Shr\u012b A\u1e6d\u012bsha by name, who organised a new sect in Tibet.\nI went there to worship the twenty-one Mothers of Salvation (Dolma\nNishu tsa chik in Tibetan) whose images I found very well made. On the\nfollowing day, the 20th, I again went on towards the north-east, along\nthe river, over a plain of about five miles, till I came to a large\nbridge which I crossed, went on north-east for another four miles, and\ncame to a village called Sing Zonkha, where I stopped for the night. I\nwas to arrive at Lhasa, the capital of the country, on the following\nday, March 21st.\n\nI hired a horse at the village, and asked my companions to take care\nof my baggage while I rode on amid the beautiful scenes of the place.\nAfter about two miles, I saw on the left a splendid monastery, which at\nfirst sight looked more like a large village, though it was in reality\nthe Rebung monastery, the largest of the kind in the vicinity of Lhasa.\nIt is indeed the largest monastery in the ecclesiastical district under\nthe Dalai Lama, and has an army of priests who number some 7,700 as\na general rule, though sometimes their number rises as high as nine\nthousand. During the summer, when the priests go out into the country\non pilgrimage, there remain some six thousand only. This is one centre\nof Tibetan learning, and has a college. I saw in all three colleges in\nCentral Tibet, the other two being the Sera college in Lhasa and that\nat Ganden.\n\nThe former has 5,500 students, and the latter 3,300. But these numbers\nare only nominal, and the colleges can, like the Rebung monastery,\ntake in either more or fewer students than their fixed number. At the\nside of the road below this monastery is a place where yaks, sheep, and\ngoats are killed for the table of the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetans have\nso superstitious a regard for the sheep (seven in number) the meat of\nwhich is offered to the Dalai Lama daily, that they ask for such things\nas the wool and other parts of the animal as keepsakes. Besides sheep,\nthe Dalai Lama eats other kinds of meat, which is also sent from the\nsame place.\n\nIt is not very sensible of the Pontiff to get his meat from such a\ndistant place, while he lives in the city of Lhasa; but he takes\nanother view. Lhasa is too near to his palace for the slaughter of\nanimals, and he does not want to have it thought that the animals are\nkilled for him. He desires to get his meat without being responsible\nfor giving the order to kill the animals. This looks very good,\nbut since it is settled that the meat served to him shall be taken\nfrom this place, special care is taken in selecting the animals for\nslaughter, and at bottom, therefore, it makes no difference whether his\nmeat is bought at Lhasa or at that particular place.\n\nI went on for another five miles, and came to the foot of the hill on\nwhich stood the palace of the Grand Lama, the place which I had seen\nfrom Genpala.\n\n[Illustration: OUTLINE OF THE RESIDENCE OF THE DALAI LAMA.]\n\nThe palace is so splendid that even its picture looks beautiful. I\nam not going to describe it in detail, but there is a quaint little\nstory about it which shows the impression it creates at first sight.\nA certain countryman once drove to Lhasa some asses heavily loaded\nwith butter. He saw the magnificent palace, and was so struck with its\nbeauty that he stood gazing at it, thinking that it must be a palace\nof the Gods. When he recovered himself, he was mortified to find that\nhis asses had strayed away. When he had gathered them, he found that\nthere were nine instead of ten, and looked about anxiously to find the\nlost one. When asked what he was looking for, he answered that some one\nmust have stolen his ass while he was looking at the palace, for he\nhad come thither with ten asses. It was some time before he found that\nhe had not counted the ass on which he was riding. This shows how the\nmagnificence of the palace had affected him. I went half a mile along a\nwide road, south-east of the palace hill, and came to a bridge called\nYuthok Samba, a hundred and twenty feet by fifteen, over which is built\na roof in the Chinese style. I crossed the bridge and went on another\nhundred and twenty yards before I found myself at the western gate of\nLhasa, constructed somewhat after the Chinese fashion. I passed through\nthe gate and rode on some two hundred and fifty yards, when I came to\na sort of large open court. Here I had to alight, for I was before the\nlarge temple of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. I enquired how the image of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha came to be\nplaced in the temple. It was before king Srong-tsan Gambo (who later\nintroduced Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism into the country) was won to the religion, and\nwhen he was engaged to Princess Un-ching, a daughter of the Chinese\nEmperor Ta-sung of the Thang dynasty. She demanded a promise from his\nfather that Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism should be widely preached in Tibet, and required\nat the same time that she might be permitted to take with her an image\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, which had just been brought from India. The request being\ngranted, the Princess took it to the city of Lhasa, where it has\nremained ever since.\n\nThe image was thus brought into the country by the Princess at the\nsame time as Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism itself. It was soon found necessary to preach a\nnew form of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and to invent new characters in which to write\nits teachings. So learned men, sixteen in number, were sent to India\nto study Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and to invent new characters. Consequently, new\nTibetan letters were formed, and Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist doctrines were translated\ninto Tibetan. Bud\u1e0d\u1e0dhism was thus taught for over thirteen centuries,\nto the great advantage both of Tibet and of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. This image of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was not originally carved in China, but was made by a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nsculptor, Vishvakarma by name, in India, whence it was introduced into\nTibet through China. When I lifted up my thanks before this image of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha for my safe arrival in Tibet, I could not help shedding tears\nover the goodness of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, which enabled me to see His image at this\ntemple as well as at Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101 in India. I need not say, for the whole\nstory shows it, how great is my faith in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. I do not mean that I\ndo not respect other Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist deities; still Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha claims the greatest\nworship from me, and I have entirely given myself up to Him and His\nreligion.\n\nThere are many cheap inns and hotels in Lhasa, but as I had been\ninformed that they were not respectable, I desired to stay with a\nfriend, a son of the premier of Tibet. While at Darjeeling I had become\nacquainted with this young noble, and he had offered me a lodging\nduring my stay in Lhasa. I liked him, and did many things for him, and\nnow, though I did not mean to demand a return for what I had done for\nhim, I had no alternative but to go to him. So I called at his house.\nIt was known as Bandesha--a magnificent mansion on a plot of about\nthree hundred and sixty feet square. I entered the house and asked if\nhe was in, but heard that my friend had become a lunatic. They told me\nthat he had gone out of his mind two years before, and that he went\nmad at regular periods. I learned that he was staying at his brother\u2019s\nvilla at Namsailing, and was obliged to go there for him, but there\nalso I could not find him, and was told the same thing. I waited there\nfor over two hours, as I was told he might come, and then I reflected\nthat it would be of no use for me to see a madman, on whom I could not\ndepend, so I made up my mind to direct my steps to the Sera monastery,\nfor I thought it would be better for me to be temporarily admitted\nin the college, and then to pass the regular entrance examinations.\nSo I at once hired a coolie to carry my baggage, and started for the\nmonastery.\n\nLike the Rebung monastery, it was built on the slope of a hill, and\nwhen seen from a distance looked like a village. Guided by the coolie,\nI arrived at the monastery at four o\u2019clock and at once called at the\ndormitory of Pituk Khamtsan, giving myself out as a Tibetan, as I came\nfrom Jangthang. Hitherto I had passed for a Chinaman, but as such I\nshould have had to go to Pate Khamtsan, where I feared I might be\ndetected. I had not trimmed my hair nor shaved my face, nor bathed\nfor a long time, and I cannot have been much cleaner than a Tibetan,\nso I made up my mind to pass for one and to live among them. The\nexaminations for a Tibetan might be too difficult for me; still I could\ncommand the Tibetan language almost as well as a native, and I was\noften treated as one. I thought, therefore, that I could pass without\ndetection, and so for my own safety I entered the monastery in this\nguise. The dormitory is occupied by several priests, who in turn, by\nthe year, take the charge of the house. The then head of the dormitory\nwas a very kind and simple old man, called La-toe-pa, and when I told\nhim about my desire to obtain temporary admission, he gave me every\nparticular as to what to do.\n\nBefore I go any further in my narrative, I must say something\nbriefly about the Sera college. It is divided into three\ndepartments--Je-Ta-tsang, Maye Ta-tsang, and Ngakpa Ta-tsang. The first\ndepartment contains 3,800 priests, the second 2,500 and the third five\nhundred. The former two departments have eighteen dormitories, named\nKhamtsan. They differ in size, for the small ones have about fifty\npriests in them, while there are over a thousand priests in the largest\nones. There were two hundred priests in the house at which I stayed.\nEach Khamtsan has its own property, and all the Khamtsans as a whole\nare called Sera. These are the largest divisions of the monastery, but\nI will not enter into the sub-divisions.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVI.\n\nThe Warrior-Priests of Sera.\n\n\nIn Tibet there are two classes of priests, scholar-priests and\nwarrior-priests, who in Tibetan are called Lob-nyer and Thab-to\nrespectively. The former class of priests come to Sera, as their name\nshows, with the purpose of study, at an expense of three yen or, if\nthey take the regular course, of eight yen a month. They graduate from\nthe college after a study of twenty years, during which time their\nspecial study is the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Catechism and philosophy, the principal\ncourse of the Sera college. As they come to the college after they\nhave finished the study of the regular courses, most of them are from\nthirty to thirty-five or thirty-six years of age when they graduate,\nthough a few clever priests receive the decree of doctor at the age of\ntwenty-eight years.\n\nThe warrior-priests have no money to pay for a course of study in the\ncollege. They earn their way by gathering yak-dung from the fields or\nby carrying from the bank of the river Kichu to the monastery wood\nwhich has been brought in boats from Sam-ya-e or Kongbo. Then they\nserve the scholar-priests as their servants. It is also among their\ndaily tasks to play flutes, lyres, harps, flageolets, to beat drums,\nand to prepare offerings for the deities. The above tasks may not be\ntoo humble for a low class of priests, but the warrior-priests have\nanother strange daily task to do by which they deserve their strange\nname. Every day they repair to certain hills and practise throwing\nlarge stones at a target, and thus test their muscles. They jump, run\nup mountains, or leap down from high rocks. At intervals they sing\npopular songs as loudly as they can, for they are proud of their good\nvoices. Then they practise fighting with clubs. When they have no fixed\ntask in the temple, they are seen going by threes or fives to their\nrespective places of practice. The reader may wonder of what use these\npriests are in Tibet, and will perhaps be surprised to know that they\nare of great use. When, for instance, the higher class Lamas travel\nin the northern plains or in some remote district, they take these\npriests as their body guards. They are very daring. Having no wives\nto look after, they meet death calmly. So invincible and implacable\nare these fighting priests that they are the most feared of any in\nTibet. They are very quarrelsome, too, though they rarely fall out\nwith one another without some serious provocation. They scarcely ever\nfight for a pecuniary matter, but the beauty of young boys presents\nan exciting cause, and the theft of a boy will often lead to a duel.\nOnce challenged, no priest can honorably avoid the duel, for to shun\nit would instantly excommunicate him from among his fellow-priests\nand he would be driven out of the temple. There are chiefs among the\nwarrior-priests, and they have rules of their own, with officers to see\nthem well carried out. This is an open secret, and the warrior-priests\nare therefore allowed sometimes to do things quite unbecoming to\npriests or anybody else. When any grave matter occurs, the chiefs are\noften ordered to attend to it with the other warrior-priests.\n\nA duel being agreed upon, both the fighters go to the appointed place,\nmostly in the evening. They fight each other with swords while the\numpires judge their way of fighting. If either of the combatants\ndoes anything cowardly or mean, the umpire leaves the fighters to\nthemselves, till one or the other is killed. If both fight bravely till\nthey are wounded, the umpire bids them stop fighting. He tells them\nto make peace, and takes them to Lhasa, where they make friends over a\ncup of chang (beer or wine). The use of all intoxicants being strictly\nprohibited in the Sera monastery, many warrior-priests, when they go to\nLhasa, take the opportunity of drinking much of them, and under that\ninfluence they do many rude things.\n\nOne day, some one accidentally discovered that I was a doctor, and\nfrom that time I came to be paid undeserved respect by these priests.\nWhen they were wounded in their feet or hands during their practice\nthey came to me for cure, and I was strangely successful with them. I\nthink that half-civilised people are more easily cured of wounds than\ncivilised people. A sprained arm was so easily set right, that the\nwarrior-priests began to consider me to be a doctor indispensable among\nthem. Besides, I scarcely ever took fees from them for their recovery,\nand I gave them medicine gratis, except when they offered me something\nin return and compelled me to accept it. This kindness won me their\nhearts. They saw that it often made them worse to go to a native doctor\nwhen they were wounded in a duel, while I treated their wounds, or\nset their bones, gratis and far better than their native doctors did.\nThis pleased them so much that I became a great favorite among them.\nEverywhere I was greeted with the protruded tongue of salutation.\n\nBesides, I was helped and guarded by them in many respects. They are\nvery true to their duties and obligations. They may look a little\nrough, but they are much more truthful than the nobles and other\npriests of the land, who, though kind and truthful at first sight, are\ndeceitful and crafty in seeking their own benefit and happiness. The\nwarrior-priests are as a rule not deceitful and cunning at heart, and I\nhave found in them many other points that claim my respect and liking.\nOn the other hand, I was often troubled in my intercourse with the\nLamas, who hide a mean and crafty behavior under their warm garments of\nwool. So far for the two classes of priests.\n\nI had trimmed and shaved neither hair nor beard in my journey of over\nten months, so that they had grown very long. On the day after my\narrival, therefore, when I got a priest to shave my head, I asked him\nto shave off my beard also. He wondered why I wanted to have it shaved\noff, and told me that it would be very unwise of me to do so when it\nhad grown so beautiful. He seemed to think that I was joking, and I was\nobliged to let it grow. A beard is much valued by the Tibetans, because\nthey generally have none, though the inhabitants of Kham and other\nremote provinces grow beards. They are so eager to have a beard, that\nafter I was known to be a doctor I was often asked to give medicine to\nmake the beard grow. They would say that I must have used some medicine\nto make my beard grow so long.\n\nAs my object was to be a student priest I bought a hat, a pair of\nshoes, and a rosary, according to the regulations of the monastery. I\ndid not buy a priest\u2019s robe, as I could in time use the one which had\nbeen given to me. So I went to Je Ta-tsang, chief professor of the\ndepartment which I was to enter, for him to question me before I was\nadmitted as a probationary student; but I found that no examinations\nwere to be given. I called on the professor with a present of the best\ntea to be procured in Tibet. His first question was: \u201cWhere are you\nfrom? You look like a Mongolian; are you not one?\u201d Being answered in\nthe negative, he asked me several geographical questions, for he was\nwell acquainted with the geography of the country. But I answered well,\nas I had travelled through the provinces on my own feet. It was thus\nsettled that I might be admitted on probation. So I saluted the Lama\nwith my tongue out, and he put his right hand on my head, as usual,\nand put a red cloth about two feet long round my neck as the sign of\nmy admission. The reader must know that one has to put such a piece of\ncloth round the neck in the presence of all noble Lamas in Tibet. I had\nthen to appear before the priest who sees that the laws are carried\nout, and to get his permission, and I found that as I had a permit from\nthe professor I could easily get the sanction of the priest, and thus\nI was admitted into the college. I had then to prepare myself for the\nregular entrance examination of the department of logic.\n\nOn the following day I found a teacher to help me in my preparation.\nFinding however that one teacher was not sufficient for the many\nsubjects I had to study, I engaged a second, and I was thus soon busy\npreparing myself. There was a Lama living in the dormitory opposite\nto mine, a stout priest who seemed to be very learned. One day I was\ncalled to his room to see him, and among other questions I was asked\nif I had not come with a caravan of Ruto from Jangthang to the Sakya\ntemple. I was told that among the disciples of the Lama there was one\nTobten, a nice gentle Tibetan, and this person happened to be the one\nwho had treated me very kindly during my journey with the caravan. It\nwas this man who had asked me if I would take meat, and whom I had told\nthat I did not take it. I had hitherto been supposed to have come from\nJangthang, but now I was entirely unmasked.\n\n\u201cThen you are not from Jangthang,\u201d said the Lama, and then he told\nme that he had heard I was a Chinaman and good at writing Chinese\ncharacters. On my confessing that I was not a Tibetan he was grieved,\nbecause he feared that my deceit might bring trouble upon the\ndormitory, for a Chinaman must go to Pate Khamtsan. He then asked\nme why I had violated the regulations of the place, and I replied\nthat I had been robbed, as he might have heard from his disciple, at\nJangthang, and that I had not money enough to enter into the Pate\nKhamtsan as a Chinaman. Besides, I said, I should have to pay something\nfor service every year, if I went to the Chinese house. Having told\nhim all these secrets, I then asked him to help me to stay with him,\nas I could not go to the other house. The Lama said that his disciple\nhad told him of the robbery, and that he was very sorry for me, adding\nthat he would leave the matter till objection should be made. So I\nwas left there without further trouble, and I passed for a man from\nJangthang. In this way I kept on studying day and night, till I had a\ngreat swelling in my shoulders. I was obliged to draw some blood from\nthe shoulders by a device of my own, and then I went to a druggist in\nthe city to buy some medicine, which soon cured the swelling.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVII.\n\nTibet and North China.\n\n\nOn the 7th of April I went to see a great service of prayer for the\nChinese Emperor in connexion with the \u201cBoxer\u201d war. It was held not only\nat Sera, but at every temple in Tibet. At the monastery where I lived\nthey held a secret meeting for seven days, during which time special\npriests offered secret prayers. They were then to perform something\nsecret for the victory of China. On enquiry I was told that Peking\nwas invaded by the troops of several foreign countries, and that the\nChinese seemed to have been beaten. They might be too late, they said,\nbut they prayed for the safety of the Emperor of China. I was quite\nanxious to know more particulars, but they were all kept secret, and no\none would tell me any more.\n\nThe prayer service was held in the Tsochen Hall at Sera, and\ncommenced with a long warlike procession. First came the players on\nlyres, flageolets, drums, and large flutes, followed by men carrying\nincense-burners. Then came ten nice looking Tibetan boys, still in\ntheir teens, all dressed in fine Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist robes ornamented with colored\nChinese crape, and each burning incense. Next followed fifty spear-like\nobjects on each side of the road, each surmounted with a movable blade\nlike that of a Chinese spear. These blades had hilt guards, under which\nhung gold brocade or fine colored Chinese crape, sixteen feet long,\nthus making the spear twenty-five feet long altogether. The spear, the\nhandle of which was either of gold or gilt, seemed rather heavy, for\ntwo strong warrior-priests carried each of them. Then came a triangular\nboard about six feet high, with various figures made of butter on it,\nand after it another triangular board, four feet high, with some red\nfigure made of a mixture of baked flour, butter and honey. These boards\nwere borne by seven or eight men. After them came some two hundred\npriests, dressed in handsome robes and scarfs quite dazzling to the\neye. Half of these beat drums, while the other half carried cymbals.\nAfter these priests came the chief Lama, who was to offer the secret\nprayer. He had dressed himself in the splendid robes of his high rank.\nLast of all his disciples followed.\n\nThus the procession presented a grand sight, and the people of Lhasa\ncame out in great crowds to see it. It marched out about two hundred\nyards from the great hall to an open yard outside the stone fence,\nwhere the view opened as far as Lhasa. Another two hundred yards\nfurther, the procession came before a grass-roofed shed, built of\nbamboo, wood and straw. There the chief Lama recited something in front\nof the triangular figures of butter and of baked wheat, and of the\nspear-shaped objects, while the two hundred priests around him chanted\nverses from the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Scriptures, and beat drums and cymbals. A\npriest with a pair of cymbals walked through the lines of the priests;\nhe seemed to be a sort of band-master, for he marched through their\nranks beating time. His steps and gait were very odd and different\nfrom any dancings that I had ever seen. Soon the chief Lama was seen\npretending to throw away his rosary, at which signal the spear-bearers\nthrew their spears at the shed and then the triangular board of baked\nflour was thrown at it also. They then set fire to the shed, at the\nburning of which the priests as well as the spectators clapped their\nhands, crying out \u201c_Lha-kyallo! Lha-kyallo!_\u201d This is a Tibetan word,\nmeaning \u201csurely the Gods will triumph.\u201d Thus was the ceremony over,\none of the most splendid I had ever seen in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. On the following\nday all the priests of the monastery were invited to Lhasa to attend\nthe _Cho-en Joe_ service, which lasted a month, to pray that the Dalai\nLama of Tibet might be kept from all evil during the year. This was a\ncelebration said to be only second in importance to the other. I also\nwent to Lhasa, and took lodging in the house of a Palpo merchant.\n\nIn the capital I got more definite information about the Boxer trouble.\nPerhaps some merchants who had returned from China, or some who had\ncame from Nep\u0101l or some who had been to India, might have brought the\nnews; but it was all very laughable and unreliable. Some would say the\nEmperor of China had bequeathed his throne to the Crown Prince and\nabsconded, while others told me that the Emperor was defeated and was\nthen in Sin-an. The trouble was brought about, some said, by a wicked\nminister, who married an English lady to the Emperor, while others\nasserted that there was a country called Japan, which was so strong\nthat her troops took possession of Peking. Another said that a famine\nprevailed in China and people were all famished; indeed, every sort of\nrumor was abroad in the Tibetan capital.\n\nI was especially pleased to hear something about Japan, even the very\nname of which had not yet been heard in Tibet, and some merchants told\nme that Japan was so powerful and so chivalrous that even when her army\nhad taken possession of Peking, she had sent shiploads of rice, wheat\nand clothing to the Chinese capital to relieve tens of thousands of\nnatives who were suffering from famine. But others would say against\nJapan that she could not be such a friendly country, but must have done\nwhat she had done merely out of her crafty \u201cland-grabbing diplomacy,\u201d\nas the British nation did. Rumor after rumor was making its way through\nTibet, and I did not know what to believe. Only I was pretty sure that\na war had broken out between China and other Powers. In the meantime\nthe Palpo merchant with whom I was staying was going to Nep\u0101l. I\nutilised the occasion and through his kindness sent two letters, one\nto Rai Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s in India, and the other to Mr. I. Hige of my\nnative province. I was glad to find afterwards that they reached their\ndestination, but it was very difficult to send a letter in that way;\none must first see that the man by whom it is to be sent is honest\nand not likely to betray one\u2019s secret, and one cannot easily trust a\nTibetan. But my Tibetan had more than once been shown to be true to his\ntrust.\n\nThe Cho-en Joe was a meeting of a kind I had never seen before. In\nthe first place there was a Sakya temple over two hundred and forty\nyards square, with another and central Sakya temple, one hundred and\ntwenty yards square. A wide pavement ran along inside the walls, where\nthe ordinary priests sat. The same kind of pavement was found on the\nsecond and third floors. No priest was admitted into the Sakya temple\nbut the Dalai Lama or the \u201cgreater\u201d professors, though they did not\nalways attend the meetings. Some twenty thousand priests attended\nthat celebration, while over twenty-five thousand assembled on the\noccasion of the festival held at Lhasa for the safety of the Emperor\nof China. About five in the morning the sound of flutes called all the\npriests in Lhasa to the place of meeting. They chanted the Scriptures\nand were given butter and tea, as usual, three times, at intervals of\nthirty minutes. Of the twenty thousand very few were regular priests,\nthe rest being either warrior-priests or loafers, who came only with\nthe mean object of filling their stomachs. Instead of reciting from\nthe Scriptures, therefore, they were openly doing all sorts of things\nduring the meeting, such as singing profane songs, or pushing each\nother about. One could see the rowdiness of these warrior-priests, who\nsat there making obscene jokes, and often quarrelling with one another.\n\nThe warrior-priests being so lawless, some guard-priests are detailed\nto keep order among them. The guard-priest does not judge between\nthe quarrelling priests, but strikes them any time he sees them\nquarrelling. So he is much feared by the other priests, who take to\ntheir huts at the first sign of his presence. Still he often takes\nthem by surprise, and thrashes them most mercilessly on head, limbs\nor body, so that occasionally they even die from the effects of his\nrough treatment. This is not, however, considered to be murder, the\nperpetrator of the deed is not punished, and the body of his victim is\nsimply thrown away for the birds to devour.\n\nWarrior-priests train themselves for two hours in the morning. They\ntake baked flour in tea during that time, and at the end they are given\nsome gruel. Usually the gruel is made of rice, with much meat in it,\nand is given gratis. Each priest brings a bowl which holds a pint or\nmore, and he takes a bowlful of gruel and three cups of tea. On their\nway back to their respective lodgings, they receive _ge_, which in\nTibetan means \u2018alms,\u2019 from the officers. It is said that some believers\ngive as much as twenty-five sen or fifty sen per head to each of the\npriests. In this respect some Tibetan merchants, landowners and high\nofficers are very generous, for they are sometimes known to give eight\nor nine thousand yen in alms to these priests. There are many who give\nthat sum in that way, and much money is known to be sent for that\nobject from Mongolia.\n\nThere once was among these priests a Russian spy from Mongolia. He\nhad the degree of doctor, and held the office of _Tsan-ni Kenbo_. He\noften made such donations, and his fame had spread far and wide. Such\nalms-giving, without religious faith, did not improve his spiritual\ncondition in the least; but so many merchants give money for the sake\nof their business, that this doctor was content to think his alms had\nalso promoted his virtue. In these ways the priests get much money, and\nthe festival season is the best time of the year for them. Sufficiency\nbegets bad conduct, and it is during such times that the priests are\nmost contentious and vindictive, and that duels are most frequent.\nA duel is not generally fought in Lhasa itself; as a rule they only\nappoint the place and time for it and fight it after they get back to\ntheir own dormitories, because while they are in Lhasa they are under\nthe authority of the magistrate priest of the Rebung temple, and not\nof their own temples. This magistrate is known to be so severe, strict\nand exacting, that they are afraid to fight a duel before him, and they\npatiently wait till they return to their own temples.\n\nOn the day that the great celebration was over, I saw a festival\nprocession. First came groups dressed as the four divine kings,\nfollowed by the eight devil kings, each with a special mark. Each group\nwas followed by three or five hundred priests, differently dressed.\nUnlike a religious procession in Japan, which is as a rule very solemn,\nthe Tibetan procession marched in a sportive manner, for the persons\nin it played with one another while moving. They would even joke with\nthe spectators. They carried in the procession various treasures and\nmusical instruments, such as drums, lyres, pipes, flageolets and Indian\nflutes, the most attractive objects being some imitations of dragons.\nThere were many strange figures formed, as they told me, after the\nmodel of the treasures of the submarine dragon\u2019s palace. Imitations\nwere there of every instrument, treasure, or dress found in Tibet, and\nof the old costumes that are found in Tibetan history; and several\nIndian tribes were to be seen in the long procession of over two and a\nhalf miles. It is impossible to enter into details, as I saw it only\nonce; my memory does not serve me for other particulars.\n\nThis procession had one of the strangest of origins. It is said that\nNgak Wang Gyamtso, the fifth Pontiff of the New Sect, devised the\nprocession after one which he saw in a dream in the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Paradise,\nand it seemed quite fitting that such a curious procession should have\nso vague an origin.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVIII.\n\nAdmission into Sera College.\n\n\nI did not see as much of the festival as I might have done, because I\nhad to go through my formal entrance examinations before the festival\nwas entirely over, and I devoted all spare moments to preparation. Once\nmore I overworked myself, but I bought some more medicine, and was\nsoon well again. This caused no little wonder among my neighbors, and\nI was often asked if I had studied medicine. I must have studied it,\nthey would say, because I could cure my own illness, and I was obliged\nto tell them that I had read a few books on medicine. This led me to\npractise it among them afterwards.\n\nBefore the celebrations were over, I went back to my own monastery\nfor my examination. It was on April 18th that I presented myself\nwith forty other candidates. I was given both written and oral\nexaminations, besides the recitation of a passage from the Scriptures.\nThe examinations were such as are generally given to those who have\nfinished the common course in Tibetan schools. They were not so\ndifficult for me as I had expected, and I was admitted to the college,\nthough all were not equally fortunate, for only seven out of the forty\npassed. Among the successful members were a few warrior-priests also.\nThey had run into debt, and had since studied hard to be admitted.\nBut, let me say, their object was something more than mere study.\nScholarships were awarded, from fifty sen to one yen and sometimes\ntwo yen a month per scholar-priest. The amount was not fixed, but it\ngenerally came to some ten yen a year. It was on account of that sum of\nmoney that many warrior-priests tried to pass the examination. I was\nadmitted as a student of the first class, in which priest-students\nvarying from boys in their teens to men in the forties and fifties were\nstudying the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist catechism, according to the Tibetan fashion.\nTheir way of studying was so interesting and active, and they were so\nearnest and fervent, that one would have thought they were quarrelling\nwith one another while discussing.\n\nThe catechism is a very pleasant performance, and the ways of\nquestioning, emphasis, and intonation are quite interesting. The\ncatechised sits in a certain attitude, and the questioner stands up\nwith a rosary in his left hand, and walks towards him. He stretches\nout his hands with the palm of the left hand downwards and that of the\nright hand upwards and claps them together, uttering the words, _Chi!\nchi tawa choe chan_. Here \u2018Chi\u2019 means the heart of the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva\nMa\u00f1jushr\u012b and its utterance is supposed to make the questioner one\nwith Him, whose real body is knowledge. The rest of the utterance\nliterally means, \u201cin that nature of the truth.\u201d The sense of the whole\nis \u201cWe shall begin the discussion following the nature of Truth as it\nis manifested in the Universe.\u201d Then the discussion begins in earnest\naccording the rules of the logic of Ny\u0101ya. The first question, for\ninstance, may be whether Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was human or not. Whether the answer\nis in the affirmative or the negative, the questioner goes on to ask;\n\u201cBut he was not above mortality, was he?\u201d If he be answered in the\naffirmative, he will say that it could not be so, for Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was no\nmore than mortal. The answerer, if bright enough, will then reply that\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, though himself above death, submitted himself to it in his\nincarnated body. He must say also that Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha had three bodies, called\nin Sa\u1e41sk\u1e5b\u1e6d \u1e0charmak\u0101ya, Sambhogak\u0101ya and Nirm\u0101nak\u0101ya, and in Tibetan,\nChoeku, Lonjoeku and Tulku. These terms mean: \u2018The all pervading body\nconsisting of the purest virtue of Truth in him\u2019, \u2018the body derived\nfrom his countless virtues, enjoying complete happiness with the\nlight of Truth,\u2019 and \u2018the body derived from his boundless mercy and\ntranscendental knowledge for the good of all beings.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: A VEHEMENT PHILOSOPHICAL DISCUSSION.]\n\nIf the catechised shows any weak point in his answers, the questioner\nnever fails to take advantage of the opportunity, and drives him on,\nsaying for example that Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was a real man born in India. Whether\nthe answer be in the affirmative or negative, he will go on asking many\nquestions in succession, and that with so much animation that, when he\nutters the words of a question, he beats time with hands and feet. The\nteacher always teaches the catechists that the foot must come down so\nstrongly that the door of hell may be broken open, and that the hands\nmust make so great a noise that the voice of knowledge may frighten the\ndevils all over the world, by a fearless heart and a brave attitude.\nThe object of the questions and answers is to free the mind from all\nworldliness, and to get into the very bottom of Truth, giving no power\nto the devils of hell in the mind.\n\nTo show how excitedly the catechism is carried on, it is said that a\ncountryman once came to see the scene. The question happened to be\nabout physiognomy (kan-sa), which in Tibetan is synonymous with a\ntobacco-pipe. The countryman thought that they were disputing over\na tobacco-pipe, and was very much surprised that a pipe should be\nthe matter of the quarrel, for the priests were seemingly very much\nprovoked and railed at each other and exchanged blows! Three years\nlater, the same countryman came to worship at the temple of Sera,\nand again happened to see the priests disputing hotly about what he\nthought to be a pipe. He saw them strike each other at the end of the\ndispute, and felt very sorry for them. So he thought he would settle\nthe dispute by arbitration. He then walked among the priests, holding\nout his pipe, which he meant to give them. Though it was none of his\nbusiness to come among the priests, he offered the pipe and begged them\nto settle the dispute, thereby causing great laughter among them. It is\nwith such excitement and with hardly any formality that the questions\nare asked and answered. Still it must not be supposed that one could\nanswer these questions without a knowledge of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. One has to\nread many texts and reference books before one can go through these\nquestions. It takes the natives twenty years of hard and unceasing\nstudy, with examinations every year, to obtain the degree of a doctor.\n\nThe catechism forms the chief part of the education of Tibetan priests.\nThis method seems to excite so great an interest among priest-students\nthat there are always many Mongolians in Tibet, who come so far and\nthrough so much hardship with the sole object of receiving education\nthere. There are three hundred Mongolians at the Sera college, and\nhardly fewer at other large temples, such as that of Tashi Lhunpo. The\nNew Sect of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism owes a great deal of its fine prospects to its\ncatechism, while the Old Sect has already lost popularity and is now\ntottering. It is by this spirited Catechism that the naturally dull and\nlazy Tibetans are goaded on to understand Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and are very rich,\nfor a half-civilised nation, in logical ideas. But let me add, it is\nonly the learned that are rich in logical ideas; the people at large,\nwho have received little education, are far from being intelligent.\n\nThe Catechism is generally held at some beautiful place, where there\nare many fine trees, such as elms, willows, nuts, peaches and various\nothers which are not found in Japan, though on the whole Tibet does\nnot possess a large variety of trees. The ground under the trees is\ncovered with beautiful white sand. When the first Catechism is over,\nthe priests have what is termed the Garden of Truth, at some equally\nwell-wooded place, where there are varieties of flowers. The ground\nthere is also covered with white sand, and enclosed by stone walls five\nor six feet high with a gateway constructed in Chinese fashion. The\npriests gather themselves there to read from the Scriptures, and after\nthe reading, they begin questioning one another. Here they make no\ndifference of classes, but ask one another concerning their text books\nand everything else. This helps them a great deal to improve their\nknowledge and wisdom.\n\nAt the other place, there may be no more than one questioner and one\nanswerer, the rest keeping silence, whether the class consist of fifty\nor a hundred priests. The questioner and the answerer might change, but\nthey could be taken only from that one class. In the garden, however,\nthere are no such limitations, there is no difference of classes, and\nyoung and old priests are seen questioning each other. So one may\neasily fancy how noisy and excited they are. While I was having a\nCatechism among them under a peach-forest in blossom, snowflakes began\nto fall on us. I stopped questioning and, struck with the beautiful\nscene around me, I wrote two Japanese poems which served to give my\nfriends at home some idea of my thoughts.\n\n In spring the blooming flowers of the peach\n Are fully blown in \u201cDharma-garden\u201d there,\n Greeting with welcome glee the friendly snows.\n Under their shades the wrangling priests discuss,\n With their vehement, uncouth gestures strange,\n Their doubts to melt, like to the melting snows\n Beneath these trees emitting odours sweet.\n\nDay and night I studied in this way. But finding soon that it left me\ntoo many precious hours to have only one teacher, I now found another\npriest to teach me. I went to them to receive their instruction, while\nthey too sometimes came to teach me. I thus made considerable progress\nin my learning.\n\nThere is a strange custom which a new college student has to observe\nas a sign of his admittance. I had to go to Lhasa and to travel, as\na sign of my admittance, for two days to beg for fuel. But one day a\nyoung priest next door quarrelled with another young priest and hit him\nwith a stone, which dislocated the bone of his upper arm. The wounded\nlad was a special favorite of his instructor, who feared very much that\nhe might be deformed. Bone-setting is quite unknown to the Tibetans,\nand their doctors, who have no knowledge of how to set a dislocated\nbone, apply heated iron, or give some medicine to drink or use. I was\non my walk and happened to hear the pitiful cries of the wounded boy,\nand was told, when I asked why they did not send for a doctor, that it\nwas far better not to do so, as it would only be a heavy expense for\nnothing. They were not going to have one. When I asked if no doctor in\nTibet could set a dislocated bone, they seemed to be much surprised\nat my improbable question. It was with some difficulty that I made\nthem believe that a dislocated bone can be easily set. So going to the\nwounded boy, I easily set his bone, while a Tibetan held his head and\nleft hand. Then I acupunctured that part where the muscle was a little\nswollen, and the boy was soon cured.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIX.\n\nMeeting with the Incarnate Bodhisattva.\n\n\nThis healing made me an object of much talk, and I soon found myself\nsurrounded by many patients. I now began to fear that I should thus\nbe prevented from studying, and so fail to accomplish my chief end.\nSo I tried every means to keep the patients from me, but the more\nI declined, the more patients I found brought to me, and I was at\nlast obliged to get some medicines from Thien-ho-thang (a Chinese\ndruggist) in Lhasa. I gave the medicines to these patients, most of\nwhom recovered either through their faith in me or through the efficacy\nof the drugs; for I had studied the rudiments of medical science (of\nthe old school, it is true) and this enabled me to use the medicines.\nThere is one disease which is most feared as fatal by the Tibetans.\nIt is dropsy, little, if at all different from _beri-beri_. No one\nin the neighborhood of Lhasa seemed to know how to cure the disease.\nI prepared for it a medicine of which I had been told by a Tibetan\nhermit, and gave it to some patients suffering from dropsy. I am glad\nto say that this medicine cured six or seven patients out of every ten,\nthough I could not heal cases that were far gone.\n\nThis made me quite famous and my name, known only in my own monastery\nat first, began to be known in the whole city of Lhasa and in the\ncountry as far as Shigatze. Often two horses were sent on for me from\nplaces of three days\u2019 journey distant to take me to patients. I took no\nreward from the poor, but gave them medicine gratis. This may have had\na great deal to do with my popularity, and I came to be regarded as a\nGod of medicine.\n\nThere are many cases of consumption in Tibet. I gave my medicine to\nthose patients who were in the first stages of the disease, but chronic\ncases I left without any medicine, to meditation or religious services\nthat they might gain salvation, and die at ease. This, I was told,\nmade some patients fear to come to me, for it was said that those to\nwhom medicine was given recovered, while the others, whom I taught\nabout death and the future, without giving them any medicine, were\nsure to die. Some did not like to be told that death was near them,\nand women especially were frightened to come before me. The Tibetans\nhave a strange habit. When they fall ill, before any doctor is sent\nfor, a sorcerer is asked to see which doctor is best and what kind of\nmedicine is good. Some doctors, therefore, are so wicked as to bribe\nthe sorcerer to recommend them to the patients. The sorcerer, too,\nbeing pleased enough to see the patients cured by the doctor whom he\nsuggested, began to recommend me to his patients when he saw my name\nwas making so great a stir in Tibet. He would tell his patients to be\nsure to come to me. I never asked him to mention me, nor even saw him\nin person; nor is it probable that he ever saw me. His recommendation\nmust have come out of his love of fame. When, therefore, a high officer\nor priest fell ill and was told by his sorcerer to see me, I was sure\nto be sent for. A horse was sent to bring me, generally with a letter\nof introduction. Often I received a letter politely requesting me to\ncome, and wherever I went, therefore, I was very kindly received, for\nthe life of the patient was supposed to depend entirely on me.\n\nFame travels surprisingly fast, and at last mine reached the Royal\nCourt, so that I was one day called there. The Dalai Lama was not in\nreality ill, but desired to see what I looked like. In Tibet it is no\neasy matter to see His Holiness. He may be seen while passing, but no\nordinary priests or even high priests can have the privilege of talking\nto him. This was, therefore a great honor to me, and I took the liberty\nof riding the horse sent to take me to the Royal palace. The Grand Lama\nwas not then at Potala, but at his country palace called Nolpu Lingka,\nin a forest along the Kichu, south-west of Potala. This palace is much\nnewer than the other, and the Pope enjoys the coolness there in summer.\n\nI rode along a wide road in the forest for about three hundred and\nfifty yards, till I came to a high stone wall over twenty feet high\nand three hundred and fifty yards square. I went west through the\nlarge gate in the wall, and found on both sides of the road inside the\ngate many white boxes in the shape of post pillars about six yards\napart. In them incense is burned when the Dalai Lama goes along the\nroad. Lofty trees are grown in the courtyard on both sides of the\nroad, though there is a very wide lawn within the court. After about\na hundred yards, I came to a square piece of ground enclosed by stone\nfences about one hundred and fifty yards square, along which were seen\nmany beautiful stone houses for the priest officials to live in. These\nhouses have each a flower garden which is beautifully decorated with as\nmany trees and plants as can be found in Tibet. What is stranger still,\nat the four corners as well as some other parts of the stone fences are\nfound little kennels, in which two or three score strong Tibetan dogs\nare chained. They bark terribly from their high pens. The Dalai Lama\nis said to be so fond of dogs that whoever brings him a strong hound\nis treated very kindly and receives great rewards. Hence many dogs are\nbrought from great distances. None of his predecessors, however, have\nhad such a liking for dogs. The gates to the Papal palace are at the\neast and west corners of the walls and face south. About thirty yards\nfrom the gate was a large house into which my horse was led. Then I was\ntaken to the house of the Court Physician.\n\nThis residence of the Court Physician has four large rooms, parlor,\nstudy, servants\u2019 room and kitchen. The house is approached through a\ngarden full of beautiful flowers, and one then comes to a curtain of\nwhite linen. Going under the curtain, one enters another garden, at one\nside of which is the entrance to the parlor.\n\nThe parlor has Chinese sliding doors in white, with panes of glass. In\nthe room were two images, one of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and the other of Tsong-kha-pa,\nthe founder of the New Sect, set on a gilt stand, with pictures of\ndragons, peacocks, and flowers. Such images are found in most shrines\nof the New Sect. Before the images were Tibetan candlesticks of silver,\nwith three butter-candles that were left burning both day and night.\nThe Physician was sitting on a Tibetan carpet with painted flowers, and\nthere were two beautiful high desks before him, in front of which there\nwas a fur cushion for the guest to sit upon. I was told to sit on this\nfur cushion, and very soon a servant priest brought in the very best\ntea, which he poured into the physician\u2019s cup and then into mine on the\ndesk. The physician was said to be very kind and gentle, and his face\nresembled mine so much that we might be taken for brothers.\n\nThe physician told me that the Dalai Lama was not seriously ill and\nthat it was because I had healed so many patients that he wished to see\nme. But, he added, as he was very busy, I must not talk long with him.\nHe said that the Dalai Lama might have something that the physician\nmust consult me about.\n\nAfter this talk with the physician, I was led by him to the Palace,\nand we went north towards the gate mentioned above. There was a\nguard-priest at the gate, who was dressed in a tight-sleeved priestly\ncloak, which no common priests are allowed to put on. He keeps guard\nwith a club. Inside the gate there was a stone pavement some twenty\nyards square, surrounded by covered ways, where there were some things\nin the shape of stools. There was another gate about nine yards wide in\nfront of this. The inner gate was guarded by four priests, each with\na short club instead of a long one. Walking about ten yards from the\ninner gate into the inner court, I found on both walls a picture of\na fierce looking Mongolian leading a tiger by a rein; and the walls,\nwhich were roofed over, had a court between them. Instead of going\nstraight through the court, I went left along the covered way till I\ncame to the end of the western wall, when the Dalai Lama appeared from\nhis inner chamber.\n\nHe was preceded by _Dunnyel Chenmo_ the Lord Chamberlain, and _Choe Bon\nKenbo_ the Papal Chaplain. After His Holiness came _Yongjin Rinpoche_\nthe Papal Tutor. The Dalai Lama took his seat on the right hand chair\nin front, and the two former attendants stood on each side, while the\nTutor sat on the chair a little below them. Seven or eight high priests\nsat before His Holiness. The Court Physician leading me a little to\none side, in front of the Dalai Lama, saluted him. I saluted him three\ntimes, and taking my robe off one of my shoulders I stepped before him,\nwhen His Holiness stretched out his right hand to put it on my head.\nThen I withdrew about four yards and stood beside the physician.\n\n[Illustration: AN AUDIENCE WITH THE DALAI LAMA.]\n\nThe Dalai Lama then began by praising me for having healed many poor\npriests at Sera. He told me to stay long at Sera and to do as I had\ndone, and I answered that I would do with pleasure as he wished me.\nI had been told that the Pope was well versed in Chinese, and I\nfeared that he might speak in Chinese, for then my imposture would be\ndiscovered. I had made up my mind, therefore, that I would in that\ncase frankly tell him to what nationality I belonged, that I might be\nworthy of a Japanese, for I deemed it to be a great honor to be granted\nan interview with him.\n\nLuckily, however, he did not talk Chinese, but instead inquired in\nTibetan about Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists in China, which I answered to\nhis satisfaction. He was pleased to tell me that he was thinking of\nappointing me to some high office. After the talk I was honored by a\ncup of tea in the presence of the Dalai Lama and drank it with much\nceremony, though he retired to his chamber before I had finished\ndrinking.\n\nThe Dalai Lama was dressed in a cloak different from that of a common\npriest. He had on a silk hood and a great robe called sa\u1e45gh\u0101\u1e6di and\nunder it a fine _putuk_ of Tibetan wool about his waist. His under\ndress was what is called _tema_ woven of the best Chinese sheep wool.\nHe wore a fine Papal crown on his head though he is said to be often\nbare-headed, with no crown at all. He held a rosary in his left hand.\nHe was then aged twenty six. He is about five feet eight inches high,\na moderate height in Tibet.\n\nThe Dalai Lama looks very brave. His eye-brows are very high, and he is\nvery keen-eyed. Once a Chinese phrenologist remarked that the Tibetan\nPope would bring about war one day, to the great disturbance of the\ncountry, for though brave-looking, he had an unlucky face. Whether the\nprophesy comes true or not, he really looks the very man of whose face\na phrenologist would be sure to say something. He has a very sharp\nand commanding voice, so that one could not but pay reverence in his\npresence. From my long acquaintance with the Dalai Lama, during which I\nheard and saw much of him and had frequent interviews with him, I judge\nthat he is richer in thoughts political than religious. He was bred in\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and in it he has great faith, and he is very anxious to clear\naway all corruption from the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists in Tibet.\n\nBut political thoughts are working most busily in his mind. He seems\nto fear the British most, and is always thinking how to keep them from\nTibet. He seems to give full scope to all designs calculated to check\nthe encroaching force of the British. I could plainly see this while\nremaining near him. Had he not been on his guard, however, which he\nalways is, he must have been poisoned by his retainers. He has often\nbeen on the point of being poisoned, and each time his caution has\ndetected the conspiracy and the intriguers were put to death.\n\nNone of the five Dalai Lamas from the fourth to the ninth in Tibet\nreached their twenty fifth year; all were poisoned when eighteen or\ntwenty-two years old. This is almost an open secret in Tibet, and the\nreason is that, if a wise Dalai Lama is on the throne, his courtiers\ncannot gratify their selfish desires. Some of these seem to have been\nwise Dalai Lamas, for they received special education until they were\ntwenty-two or three years old. History proves that they have written\nbooks to instruct the people.\n\nI could not help shedding tears when the ex-Papal Minister of Finance,\nat whose house I was staying at one time, told me about the fate of\nthe predecessors of the present Dalai Lama. The Papal Court is a den\nof disloyal thieves who go by the name of courtiers, and they do all\nthey can to neutralise the force of the few loyal courtiers, who are\ntoo weak to do anything against them. The ex-Minister for Finance was\namong the ill-fated party driven out of the court by these toadies,\nwho pretended to pay great reverence to the sacred Monarch before the\npeople, simply because they could not otherwise stay in their offices.\nWhen anything happened against their interests, they conspired to\ncommunicate with one another and to accuse falsely the loyal courtiers.\nThey would often go so far as to slander them shamelessly, and say that\nsuch and such a person had been guilty of a disrespectful act against\nthe Dalai Lama.\n\nIn this subtle way some wicked courtiers turned honest scholars or\npriests out of the court, and the Dalai Lama is surrounded by these\npretended loyalist devils. Hence he is so dangerously situated, that\nhe is obliged to pay the greatest attention to what is offered him to\neat, lest some poison should have been put in it. I could not but shed\ntears for him, when I thought that there could be no court on earth so\nfull of wicked courtiers. But the present Dalai Lama is so prudent and\nparticular that these evil doers can get no chance of doing anything\nagainst him. Still, he is really in great danger. He is wise for his\nage, for, young as he is, he seems to have great sympathy with the\nafflicted, and is much respected, and indeed almost worshipped, by his\npeople, though much disliked by the evil local governors, whom he has\nbeen known to punish, to deprive of their estates, and to imprison for\ntheir evil deeds.\n\n[Illustration: INNER ROOM OF THE DALAI LAMA\u2019S COUNTRY HOUSE.]\n\nI often had occasion to see the inner chamber of the palace and found\nthat it was magnificent. It is built in the Indian, Chinese and Tibetan\nstyles. The garden has an artificial hill in it after the Chinese\nfashion, while, as is seen in a Indian garden, it has a lawn outside\nwith some charming flowers. The place seems very good for walks. The\ninside of the palace is built after the Tibetan style, while a part of\nthe roof is Chinese and the rest purely Indian. The royal garden has\nvarious rocks and has here and there such trees as willows, peaches,\nelms and many other strange trees found only in Tibet. In Tibet only\nfew flowers bloom in summer, though there are many in winter. A variety\nof flowers, such as chrysanthemums, poppies, magnolias, tulips, and\nothers are planted in front of the palace veranda. The pavement is\ndecorated here and there with glittering jewels, and the walls are\npainted by the best painters in Tibet. The papal throne stands on two\nTibetan mats at the farther side of the room, and beside the throne is\nspread a thick Tibetan carpet, over which is a Chinese carpet of wool.\nA table of costly wood is set on the carpets. There is a tea-bureau,\nover which hangs a picture of Je Rinpoche, painted on a gold-dusted\ncanvas. There are many such rooms, besides, which I was not allowed to\nenter, but which looked very beautiful from the outside. I was often\ninvited to the chief physician\u2019s to talk about medicine with him. He\ntaught me several things about medicine that I did not know, though the\nmedical knowledge which I had gained from my own books enabled me to\nkeep up with him in the talk. This must have done a great deal to make\nthe chief physician welcome me so much. He even said he would be most\nglad to recommend me as a Court Physician.\n\nHe said that he would do his best to that end, telling me at the same\ntime to see the premier and some other Ministers of State. My answer\nwas however that I could not very well stay long in Lhasa, for I was\nmost earnest to study Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. I told him also that I intended to go\nto India to study Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d, and at this he felt very sorry, for when I\nleft there would be no good doctor in the city. When I said that my\nobject was not medicine, but to study Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, the physician very\nplausibly argued that as it was the ultimate object of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism to save\nmen, I might as well stay in the city as a doctor to practise medicine.\nThe doctor, I said, only relieved men of earthly pains, but could\nhardly do anything toward the salvation of souls. What doctor, however\nskilful, could save a dying patient? Besides, I feared I might do them\nmore harm than good, for I had only a smattering of medicine after all.\nI might heal them of their diseases, but I could not give peace to\ntheir souls, while a priest could free them from the most painful and\ndurable of all diseases. It was more urgent to study how to heal this.\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was the greatest doctor, who had given eighty-four thousand\nreligious medicines to eighty-four thousand mental diseases, and we,\nas His disciples, I said, must study His ways of healing. On these\ngrounds I declined his offer. Finding me so firm in my resolution, the\nphysician went on to say that, if I ever tried to leave the city for\nIndia, or some other far-off country, the Dalai Lama would give orders\nto keep me in the country, and that my only happiness lay in staying to\nwork among the priests. When I heard this I began to repent that I had\nbeen telling him my secrets rather too plainly. I feared it would put\nme to some inconvenience to insist on going to India, and soon changed\nthe subject of our talk. So far about my medical practice; but now,\nsomething took place of which I had never dreamed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER L.\n\nLife in the Sera Monastery.\n\n\nWhat happened was this. It became a matter of hot discussion among the\npriests of our dormitory Pituk Khamtsan whether they should leave me to\nstay there or not, because I was being received by the Grand Lama, the\nnoblemen and the Ministers, as a great doctor. After a long discussion,\nthe priests came to an agreement that they should make a special rule\non my account, and put me in one of the best rooms. I was, of course,\npleased to be removed from my strangely smelling, dark and dirty room\nto a free, clean apartment. I saw the Dalai Lama on July 21st, and was\nremoved into the good room toward the end of the same month. It is\none of the regulations of the college that no new-comer shall have a\nseparate room for himself, but that he shall live with some one else\nin a room, though occasionally a rich student may enjoy the possession\nof a dirty room for himself on admission. Though not among the poor,\nI was not eligible to have a room, even a dirty one, all to myself.\nA priest must reside there some ten years before he is allowed to\nlive in a room of the fourth class; after three years more he may be\nremoved to a study room of the third class. But it must be remembered\nthat everything depends on money. When he receives the degree of a\ndoctor, he is given a second-class room. The rooms of the first class\nare used only by incarnate Lamas, who come to study. As things were I\nwas given a second-class study. It was a cosy structure of two storeys\nwith a kitchen and a closet. Some studies have third floors, but my new\nquarters were only two-storied. The room upstairs was the best. To live\nin such a house, however, one must have articles of furniture as well\nas some servant-priests. I was now like a poor boy, who had grown up\nall of a sudden and had been given a house to keep. I was obliged to\nprocure many articles needed for my new condition, all of which I had\nfortunately money enough to buy.\n\nThe priests, though diverse in studies, may be classified into three\nlarge divisions, higher, middle, and lower. By the middle class of\npriests, I mean those who spend about seven yen a month for their\nkeep. They do not pay for their dwellings, which are provided by their\ntemple, though some Khamtsans, which are in debt, take rents from\ntheir priests for their studying-rooms. When a Khamtsan is too full of\npriests, some of them go to seek rooms for themselves in some other, in\nwhich case they pay from one to three yen a month, or twenty-five sen\nfor a dirty room.\n\nA suit of clothing as used by student-priests consists of a hood of\ncommon wool cloth, a shirt, and a priest\u2019s robe, besides a pair of\nshoes. It costs twenty yen to provide all these articles. At breakfast\nthey take butter-tea and baked flour. Rich priests make tea for\nthemselves every morning, though three large bowlfuls are given in the\nhall of the monastery. In the afternoon they drink tea again, this time\nwith some meat, chiefly dried, though at times raw. In the evening\nthey take some gruel of baked flour, cooked with cheese, radishes and\nfat. Butter-tea is always found in a bowl on the table. The Tibetan\nin general drinks much tea, because very few vegetables are eaten as\ncompared with the amount of meat. A tea-cup is covered with a silver\nlid. When it gets cool, it is drunk and new tea is poured in again and\nleft some twenty minutes to cool, though in winter no more than five or\nsix minutes are needed, during which time those at table will talk to\none another, or read from the Scriptures or do some private business.\nSuch are the meals of a middle-class priest. Most priests have some\nlanded property, and some of them breed yaks, horses, sheep and goats\nin the provinces, though it would be rare for one of the middle-class\nto have more than some fifty yaks and ten horses. These animals are\nalso employed in ploughing the fields, but no more than ten lots of\nland may be ploughed by two yaks in a day. The priests can hardly lead\na well-to-do life without such property or some private business, for\nwhat they are given from their temples and by the believers is not\nsufficient for them.\n\nFew priests are without some private business or other--indeed, most\nof them are engaged in trade. Agriculture comes next to trade, and\nthen cattle-breeding. Manufacturers of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist articles, painters\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist pictures, tailors, carpenters, masons, shoemakers and\nstone-layers are found among the priests; there is hardly any kind of\nbusiness in Tibet, but some of the priests are engaged in it. There\nare, besides, many kinds of business in which none but priests engage.\nThe lower class of priests as well as the middle-class engage in\ntrade, but some rich priests have as many as from five hundred to four\nthousand yaks and from one to six hundred horses. They have from one\nto six hundred lots of land, each lot being as large as will take two\nyaks to cultivate in a day. But there are not more than three or four\nof the priests who have started in trade with a capital of five hundred\nthousand yen. They live very luxuriously, wear priestly cloaks of the\nbest woollen texture produced in Tibet, and use very thick butter-tea\nevery morning, which is considered a great delicacy.\n\nTo make the best butter-tea, the tea is first boiled for half a day,\ntill it gets dark brown. After being skimmed, it is shaken several\ntimes in the cylinder with some fresh yak butter and salt. This makes\nthe best tea, and a tea-pot full of such tea costs thirty-eight sen\nto make. Tea-pots, or jars, are made of clay in the shape of ordinary\nJapanese tea pots. I could not at first drink the tea, when I saw that\nit looked like thick oil. Still, it is one of the best drinks among\nthe best circles in Tibet, who drink it every morning. It is usually\ntaken mixed with what is called _tsu_ and baked flour. The tsu is a\nhardened mixture of cheese, butter and white sugar. The Tibetan puts\nthis substance into his tea. He eats meat dried, raw or cooked, even\nat breakfast. At dinner the priests eat rice imported from Nep\u0101l, the\nprice of which is about fifty sen per _sho_. They do not however eat\nboiled rice by itself, but a bowlful of it mixed with grapes and sugar\nand butter. After the rice, baked flour or egg macaroni is sometimes\neaten. In the evening wheat dumplings with gruel are served at table;\nwhat they call gruel has in it some meat, radishes, cheese and butter.\nThe above is the usual course of dishes at the tables of the highest\ncircles. They cannot live a day without meat, and if on some occasion\nthey are kept from it, they are sure to say they are getting thinner.\n\nThe priests of the higher class live very comfortably, for they\nbuild their own villas, or have their own temples; besides, they\nhave always the best dwellings of the temples to which they belong.\nThey are supported by their estates, as I said, and they keep, each\none of them, from five or six to seventy or eighty servants in their\nhouses. From among these servants are often selected treasurers and\nstewards. The lower class of priests, on the contrary, live pitifully.\nNo words can half describe their poor condition. The warrior-priests,\nthough among the poorest, are still able to keep the wolf from their\ndoors, for they are employed as farmers or as guards, or in some other\nprivate business, so that they earn money with which they live from\nhand to mouth. There is another and far poorer class of priests--the\nscholar-priests who have to support themselves in their studies, but\nwho must earn their living as well as their expenses as students.\nThey are too busy with their study to go out to make any money. What\nthey receive as offerings from the believers and as salary from their\ntemples, does not together amount to a little more than two or three\nyen a month, and it is insufficient to support them. They can drink\ntea gratis every morning at the temple, but they cannot get any baked\nflour, which makes the chief part of a meal. Baked flour costs at least\none and a half yen a month. During the catechisms they go to Ta-tsang\nwhere they are given three cups of tea for dinner. But it takes them a\nmonth to review what they study in a month in catechisms. During the\nperiod of review they must get some one to help them, and they have to\npay some fifty sen a month in return. Then they must have some fire\nto keep them warm in the evening besides something to refresh them.\nFor refreshments they get tea-leaves with which the richer priests\nhave made their tea. Then they must get fuel to make tea out of these\nleaves. The fuel is generally yak-dung, which costs thirty-five sen a\nbag of two and a half bushels. A priest will burn three or four bagfuls\na month if he is not particular and careful, while a poor priest may\nhave to manage with a bagful a year.\n\nThe poorest priest has in his room a sheep\u2019s fur, a wooden bowl, a\nrosary and a dirty cushion, which makes a bed at night. In a corner are\nfound a stove, an earthen pan, and a pot or jar, which all belong to\nthe room. A bag hanging in one corner contains the baked flour which\nsupports his life; but it is very rarely full. The most precious items\nof their property are the text books of the catechism. There are no\npriests, however poor, but have five or six copies of the catechism.\nThese books, however, are not their permanent property, for they will\nsell them as soon as their examinations are over. At night their bed\nconsists of their hood, an underdress and a bed covering, besides an\nold blanket, which, however, is in the possession of only a limited\nnumber. He who has a room of his own is among the best of this poor\nclass of priests. In most rooms of nine feet square, three or four\npriests often have a pan in common. I felt so sorry sometimes when I\nwas called to see a patient among them that I not only gave medicine\nfor nothing, but sometimes gave him some money. Such is the condition\nof the poorest priests, and I was told that they often passed a couple\nof days without eating, when they were given little in the way of help.\nWhen they receive a little money they will hurry to Lhasa, over three\nmiles off, to buy some baked flour. Some of them do not come home\ndirectly from the city, for hunger often takes them to some little\nrestaurant, where they eat some macaroni. The consequence is that they\nspend their money and are plunged again into such poverty that they\nmust live another couple of days without anything to eat. I hardly ever\npassed them without giving them something, so that they at last came to\npay so much respect to me that they would stop when they saw me, and\nwait in reverence while I passed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LI.\n\nMy Tibetan Friends and Benefactors.\n\n\nTo go back a little in my story, my prosperity as a doctor obliged\nme to buy much medicine, and I often went to Thien-ho-thang, a drug\nstore which was kept by Li Tsu-shu, a Chinese from Yunnang. In China\nthey make decoctions of their medicines, but the Tibetans take every\nmedicine in powdered form. Every medical herb and root is pulverised,\nas well as some kinds of horns and stones. To get some of these\nmedicines I was often obliged to stop a couple of days in his house;\nand as I bought great quantities of medicine, I came to be treated\nvery civilly as a good customer. He lent me a book on medicine, the\nreading of which added not a little to my small knowledge, and I boldly\nundertook every kind of patient. I know I made a very dangerous doctor,\nbut I was obliged to go on as a pedant domineering over a society of\nignoramuses. Still, I admit I possessed more knowledge of physiology\nthan most of the doctors in Lhasa, and I was in consequence more\ntrusted than they.\n\nI frequently went to this druggist, who owned the largest of the three\nChinese drug stores in Lhasa. Li Tsu-shu was about thirty years old and\nhad a very fine house. He lived with his wife, a son and a daughter, a\nmother-in-law and three maids. They treated me as if I were a member\nof the family, probably because I was kind to them and gave them all\nsorts of things that I received from my friends and clients. When,\nfor instance, somebody gave me too much cake, sugar, milk or grapes,\nfor my own use, I used to take them to the druggist to give them to\nthe children, who were consequently quite impatient to see me. If I\nhappened not to visit the house for a couple of days, they became\nanxious about me. I was soon so much beloved by the children that we\nseemed to have been friends for over ten years, and I was sometimes\nasked if I had known them in China. This acquaintance with the children\nhelped me very much afterwards, when I was leaving Tibet.\n\nThis _Gyami Menkhang_ or Chinese druggist had his house in the street\nof Wan-dzu Shing-khang, in Lhasa. Among those who used to come to his\nstore was Ma Tseng, Secretary to the Chinese Amban. He was a great\nscholar and a man of worldly knowledge. He had a Tibetan mother and\nwas born in Tibet. He spoke Tibetan without a shade of Chinese accent,\nwhile he spoke and read Chinese quite as well. He had read much in\nChinese, and had been twice in Peking. Three times he had gone to\nIndia, visited Calcutta and Bombay as a peddler, and come back with\na great store of knowledge about foreign affairs. His office hours\nbeing very short, he had much time to spare, and as he was a great\nfriend of the druggist\u2019s, he came to him very often. This led me to\nget acquainted with him, and I found him very amusing. He told me many\nTibetan secrets and many of their habits and customs both good and\nbad. I soon found that what was told by him was always true. Being the\nSecretary of the Chinese Amban, he was also acquainted with the secret\nrelations of the Tibetan and Chinese Governments. He was so talkative,\nthat he would tell me anything before I asked. His acquaintance pleased\nme so much that when I was tired of reading I would take a walk to the\ndruggist\u2019s, with no other object than to talk with this Secretary.\n\nOnce while standing at the door of the druggist\u2019s, I saw a man\napparently of quality come towards me with his servant. The store\nstands at the corner where the streets leading to Panang-sho and\nKache-hakhang meet, and this man came along Ani-sakan street toward\nPanang-sho. He passed a few steps by me, when he turned and looked at\nme. Then I heard his servant say that I must be the man. Walking to me\nthe nobleman said \u201cIs it you?\u201d I looked at him and found him, though\nmuch thinner than before, to be the son of Para the Premier, whom I had\nmet at Darjeeling. He did not look like a man out of his senses, as I\nhad been told. He said that he was much pleased that I had come to his\ncountry. He was on some important business, but went with me into the\nhouse of the druggist. The wife of the druggist, who knew him, gave him\na chair, and the young noble seemed to be desirous to talk with me.\nI hinted that it was not good for us to let it be known that we had\nseen each other at Darjeeling, and began our talk by saying that it\nwas about half a year since we had met each other at Gyangtze. He also\nwas aware that his staying at Darjeeling should be kept a secret, and\ncarefully avoided talking about our having met in that town.\n\nFrom what he said and did there, I could not find anything in him that\nshowed him to be an idiot; on the contrary, he was evidently a man of\nmuch sense. Among other things he told me that three months before,\none of his servants committed theft and, when reproved severely, had\npierced him through the side with a sword with the result that a part\nof his intestines could be seen. This, he added, made him so haggard.\nWhen, after a long talk, he went on his way, the wife of the druggist\ntold me that the young man had hoodwinked me about the wounds, which\nreally were given him for wrong-doing on his side. She told me that\neverything concerning his family was known to her, for she had before\nbeen wife to his brother, who, not being allowed to live long with her,\nsimply because she was of birth too humble for his family, divorced\nher and was now adopted at Namsailing. The young man, she told me, was\nvery prodigal, and deeply in debt, on account of which he was wounded.\nTo my question whether he was then beside himself, she answered that\nhe was mad or otherwise as it suited him, and not a man to be easily\ntrusted, for he was very good at taking money from others.\n\nIn Tibet, when people go out to enjoy the flowers (for the\nflower-season is very short there) they pitch tents in the wheat-fields\nor in a forest, and have every sort of merriment. This is called a\npicnic of _lingka_, or forest party, and forms one of the merriest\namusements in Tibet. I was invited once to one of these villas in the\nwheat-fields. I found there an old nun of about sixty years of age,\nwith seven or eight nun-attendants beside her. Hers was not a tent, but\na splendid house of wood, the walls of which were covered over inside\nwith painted cloth and outside with white cloth. Though temporary,\nthe building was well furnished. This old lady had been ill for over\nfifteen years, and was aware that she was sinking. She said she knew\nthat her disease was incurable, but nevertheless desired to have such\na famous doctor as myself to feel her pulse, and would be satisfied\nif I could only relieve her a little of her pain. I examined her and\nfound that her trouble was rheumatism, so I gave her a little tincture\nof camphor, besides some medicine for her stomach, which was a little\nout of order. Faith works wonders. My medicine told well and, her pain\nof fifteen years gradually abating, she was soon able to enjoy sound\nsleep, which had long been desired by her. Finally she became so well\nthat she could walk a little. Her raptures can be imagined, and she at\nonce reported the condition of her health to her family. It seems that\nshe was married, though not legally, to the Ex-Minister of Finance,\nwho was also a priest of the New Sect. Shame on Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism therefore\nthat he was living with the nun. Priest nobles are generally supposed\nto have wives, though not legally married to them; most of them keep\nsuch women somewhere, and the nuns are the best class of women to be\ntheir wives--at least so had thought the Ex-Minister of Finance. This\nparticular nun was old now and bent with age, though she was stoutly\nbuilt.\n\nWhen one of the man servants in the residence of the Minister of\nFinance fell ill, I was sure to be summoned, for they put great faith\nin me and I could not but believe that the Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was working\nthrough me to cause me to succeed so wondrously among them. In this\nwise I became acquainted with the Ex-Minister of Finance, who was a\ndeeply learned scholar, as well as an experienced diplomatist. Aged\nsixty-two, he was about seven feet six inches in height--taller than\nany other Tibetan I saw.\n\nHis dress took twice as much cloth as that of an ordinary person.\nHe knew men well, and was shrewd in business, exceedingly kind and\nfaithful and never deceitful. His only fault was his living with the\nnun. While talking with me, they often repented with tears of the\nfolly they had committed with each other when young. He was not bad at\nheart, but his passionate behavior soiled what should have been his\nstainless purity, and also he was much influenced by worldly thoughts.\nHe had great sympathy with my condition, and often said that he was\nvery sorry for me to have to see a patient, who had been sent to me\nfrom Lhasa, when the patients in Sera were keeping me so busy. Besides\nbeing sorry for my lack of time for study, he warned me to be on my\nguard. Upon my asking him what he meant, he disclosed his fear that I\nmight be poisoned like many other envied persons, for I had already\nrobbed many doctors of their business. When I expressed my concern,\nhe asked me if I should be contented with a moderate living. Being\nassured that I should be quite satisfied if I could only obtain a mere\nliving, he said that he would support me, and offered me a dwelling in\nhis residence. It was not pretty, he said, but quiet and comfortable.\nIt was situated out of the way, so that few patients, except those who\nwere very dangerously ill, would be likely to trouble me, and I could\nthen study more devotedly. Not only, he said, could I give more time to\nstudy, but I should also be on better terms with the city physicians,\nif at the cost of some inconvenience on the part of general patients. I\nwas very glad to accept this kind offer, for I had been much regretting\nthe little time and opportunity I had to study Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, which was the\nsole object of my coming to Lhasa through so many hardships.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LII.\n\nJapan in Lhasa.\n\n\nEverything went well with me, for I had earned much money, and\nbesides everything needed for my livelihood was to be given to me\nby the Ex-Minister. So at last, leaving a young lad in charge of my\nquarters at Sera, I removed to the residence of the Ex-Minister with\nmy furniture. I told the lad never to let it out of his mouth that I\nwas with the Ex-Minister, and to try to send most patients to some\nother doctor in the city. I provided for him some way of living and\nstudy. Still, I went to Sera occasionally to have my catechism. My\nnew dwelling was six yards by four. It was divided in the middle into\ntwo rooms, and being the dwelling of a noble, the walls were brightly\ncolored green with various pictures. The thick carpet had flowers of\ngold woven in it in the Tibetan style. There was a desk of ebony, as\nwell as a little Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist shrine. The accommodation was very complete,\nand everything was clean. Beside this residence there was another,\nthat of the present Minister of Finance. It was three storied, the\nEx-Minister Cham-ba Choe-sang\u2019s being a two-storied house. It was quiet\nthere and my priest friends no more troubled me in my study by their\ncalls, but it was a little too far for me to go to my teacher\u2019s.\n\n[Illustration: ROOM IN THE FINANCE SECRETARY\u2019S HOUSE.]\n\nNow it happened that I found a very good tutor. The Ex-Minister had\na natural half-brother, Ti Rinpoche (the present ruler of Tibet) by\ntitle, whose father was a Chinaman. He was of Sera extraction, and had\nbeen made a priest when seven years old, and was then sixty-seven years\nof age. The previous year he was created the highest priest in all\nTibet. The title of his priestly rank is Ti Rinpoche of Ganden. There\nis, in the temple of Ganden, a priestly seat on which Je Tsong-kha-pa,\nthe Founder of the New Sect, had sat, and on which none may sit but the\nDalai Lama and this highest priest. The former, however, cannot always\nseat himself on it, while the latter, living at Ganden, can sit on it\nany time. The Grand Lama had the right to sit on it by birth, while Ti\nRinpoche had had to have a secret training of thirty long years after\nhe had received the degree of doctor in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, before he was given\nthe privilege. When this training of long years had made him a priest\nperfectly learned and virtuous, he was elected the highest priest in\nTibet and given the privilege to sit on the seat. Any person or priest\nwho has attained moral and intellectual perfection after a study and\ntraining of some fifty or sixty years may use this seat, except sons of\nbutchers, blacksmiths, hunters, and men of the lowest caste.\n\nHence in reality, the highest priest must be more learned and virtuous\nthan the Grand Lama. I was very fortunate to have as my tutor such a\nhigh personage. This is a privilege denied to most people in Tibet,\nwhere the distinction of castes is given so much importance, that it\nis among the most difficult things for any one to have an interview\nwith such a great man. In this way, I succeeded in learning much about\nthe secrets of Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. The highest priest at the first\nglance at me seemed to know what kind of a man I am, and treated me\nas what I suppose he thought me to be. He hinted, if indirectly, that\nhe felt some fear for me, and I, too, began to fear him. Still, he\nmust have found faithfulness in me, for he taught me Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism in its\ntrue form, and I felt correspondingly grateful to him, for none of the\nmany doctors, learned scholars, religionists, and hermits with whom I\nstudied Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism influenced me half so much as this highest priest.\nIt must have been this virtuous Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist, I believe, who influenced\nthe Ex-Minister, his brother, when fallen into so great a folly, to\nrepent of his sin and to live a peaceful life. And the nun-wife of the\nEx-Minister, let me add, was of hardly less active temper, though she\nhad not so many ideas as her husband.\n\nThis nun-wife had made a pilgrimage of repentance about twenty years\nbefore to K\u0101tm\u0101ndu in Nep\u0101l. I was much delighted to hear the story\nof this pilgrimage and its hardships, the more so as I had been in\nNep\u0101l myself. I could not but be moved by the charitable deeds of both\nthe Ex-Minister and the nun, and instead of blaming them for their\nbad behavior, which brought shame on Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, I rather sympathised\nwith them for it, as they had so many things in common. They taught\nme how great was the power of charming love, and warned me against\nit. The more acquainted I became with this family, the more fully I\nbegan to know about it. I came to understand the state of the family,\nthe conditions of the servants, and every particular of the house.\nOn the other hand, I had little opportunity to talk with the present\nMinister of Finance, who lived next to my house, for he was too busy\nto receive guests. His name was Ten-Jin Choe Gyal; he was quiet and\nvery strong-willed, but when he talked to me he smiled and made me\nfeel quite at home with him. He put off all the dignity of a Minister,\nmainly because, I believe, I was being treated by the Ex-Minister\nand his nun-wife as if I were their son. Being in the Ministerial\nchair, he was often able to disclose to me some important secrets of\nthe Government, and we talked quite confidentially with each other.\nIf any grave subject presented itself at the court, he usually gave\nno opinion of his own there, but would consult with the Ex-Minister,\nwhom he regarded as his superior, and the Ex-Minister then gave him\nhis opinions about the subject, discussing it from various points\nof view. The Ex-Minister would have been by that time promoted to\nthe position of the highest priest had it not been for his ill-famed\ndeeds of love, which were a cause of impeachment against him. Had this\nstrong man been appointed Premier under the present able Grand Lama,\nwe might have expected much wiser government in Tibet. I was often\npresent at the meetings of the two Ministers, and was requested to give\nmy humble opinions about the subjects discussed. This gave me a good\nopportunity of studying Tibetan politics. While in the monastery, where\nwas discussed only the philosophy of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, I could hear little or\nnothing about the Government of the Grand Lama, which was generally\nsupposed to be good. The priests know only how reverently to bend their\nheads before the Dalai Lama, but are entirely ignorant of the secrets\nof their Government, or I should say the secrets are kept from the\npriests; but now I succeeded in hearing many of the diplomatic secrets\nabout the relations of the Government with China, Britain, Russia and\nNep\u0101l.\n\nI have already told how I met the Prince of Para at the druggist\u2019s; now\nI met no less unexpectedly a merchant of Darjeeling, Tsa Rong-ba by\nname, who also proved afterwards a great help to me at the time of my\ndeparture from Tibet. I think before I go on further I shall do well to\nnarrate how I happened to meet him. Once I was walking along Parkor,\nthe \u2018Middle path for the circumambulation of the holy temple of the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019 and the busiest street in Lhasa. At the sides of the street are\nmany shops, not very different from those in most other countries. Many\nportable shops or stalls may also be seen in the street, in which daily\nnecessaries are sold, and articles of food, clothing and furniture.\nMost of these things are of course made in Tibet, though some are\nimports from Calcutta and Bombay as also from China. But the thing that\nattracted my eye most was a box of Japanese matches. Japanese matches,\nmanufactured by Doi of Osaka, are imported into the capital of Tibet,\nbesides some other kinds without the names of the manufacturers on\nthem. There were to be seen, among others, those which have the trade\nmark of two elephants and of one, as well as the wax candles with the\ntrade mark of an elephant coming out of a house. The paper was red\nwith a white picture on it. Some matches of Swedish make were also\nimported, but they are now ousted by the Japanese. Some Japanese bamboo\nblinds with pictures of women may also be seen in Tibet. Some _kutani_\nporcelain is seen in the high circles, but rarely in stores or shops.\nJapanese scroll pictures too are often found hanging in the houses of\nrich families. These inanimate Japanese articles are more daring than\nthe people who made them!\n\nWishing that these articles, an outcome of Japanese civilisation,\nmight be conducive to light in dark Tibet, I walked along the street,\ntill I came to a shop where I saw a cake of soap. It looked as good\nas any that could be found in the Tibetan capital. I walked into the\nshop and asked how much it cost, and I noticed the master staring at\nme. He looked very much like a merchant with whom I became acquainted\nin Darjeeling but I could not believe that he could be settled there,\nand wondered if he were a kinsman of that merchant. No, it was, as I\nfound afterwards, the man himself, whose name was Tsa Rong-ba. But I\nhad then so different an appearance myself that he too could not easily\nrecognise me. For while in Darjeeling I had usually dressed myself in\nJapanese dress and scarcely went out in a Tibetan costume, though I\noften put it on indoors. After my arrival in Tibet, I clothed myself\nentirely as a Tibetan. Moreover I now had my beard growing long, which\nI had not at Darjeeling. The man told me that the soap was too dear,\nand showed me another cheap and good kind, but I liked the dearer one\nbetter and bought two cakes of it. When I came home and showed them to\nthe Minister of Finance, he was so pleased with them for their good\nsmell that he asked me to let him have one cake, so I gave him both.\n\n[Illustration: UNEXPECTED MEETING OF FRIENDS.]\n\nA couple of days afterwards I again went to Tsa Rong-ba\u2019s to buy a few\ncakes of the same soap, as I feared it might soon be out of stock.\nInstead of selling me the soap, the master stared me in the face. When\nI tried to pay the price, he began asking me if I knew him. The sound\nof his voice plainly told me his identity and I laughed as I replied\nthat I knew him. He looked much surprised and told me to come into his\nhouse. Telling his servants to close the doors of the shop, for it was\nnow getting dark, he led me into his house, which was small in size\nbut neat and clean. I was led into his parlor upstairs, and found his\nwife who came with him from Darjeeling. I recognised her at once, but\nshe seemed to have quite forgotten me. Even when her husband said she\nmust know me, as she had received much kind treatment from me, she\ncould not recollect me, until he told her how she had received medicine\nfrom me when ill at Darjeeling. She then expressed her joy at seeing me\nin such a strange place and so unexpectedly.\n\nThen the husband and wife expressed their great wonder that I, a\nstranger, had succeeded in entering Tibet, when it was exceedingly\ndifficult for even a Tibetan to come or go to the capital. They did not\nbelieve me when I told them that I had come by the way of Jangthang;\nfor they said there were soldiers placed on guard all along the road. I\nsaid I had come through pathless wilds, but they refused to believe me.\nBut now I thought myself to be within a hair\u2019s breadth of the danger\nof detection, which would bring everything in my plan to naught. Were\nI known to be a Japanese, some evil or other would certainly befall\nme, and all the kindness of the Ministers and the priests at Sera to\nme would end in air-bubbles. I feared this merchant might betray me to\nthe Government for his own benefit. I must get the better of him, I\nthought, and I tried to do so.\n\nAssuming a serious attitude, speaking in a determined tone of voice,\nand looking the man and the woman straight in their eyes, I said:\n\u201cHere is a fine job for you; you can give me up to the authorities;\ntell them that I am a \u2018Japan Lama\u2019 in disguise, who smuggled himself\ninto the country against its laws. By so doing you may serve a double\npurpose, for I have been thinking that sooner or later I shall have to\ndo the same thing myself, only I was afraid that they might not believe\nme. But if you do it for me you will save me the trouble, while the\nauthorities will believe; besides, you may come into a nice bit of\nfortune; for they will reward you for your information with a large sum\nof money. I have long made up my mind.\u201d\n\nI noticed a change come over the looks of the woman first: she turned\npale and even began to tremble; but the man spoke first, and, in a\ntone of both appeal and reproach, earnestly protested that he had no\nsuch intention as that of which I seemed to suspect him. Indeed he\nwent the length--quite voluntarily--of swearing by \u201cCho-o Rinpoche\u201d\nthat he would never betray me, lest he should die. Still I urged them\nboth. He once more gave his pledge, in which the woman joined in the\nmost fear-stricken manner, both raising their hands, with which they\npointed in the direction of the \u2018Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha temple\u2019 of Lhasa. I knew what\nthe latter act with the words of the oath meant. I became convinced\nof their sincerity, and saw that I was safe in their hands. For Cho-o\nRinpoche means \u201cHoliness of the Savior\u201d and forms in Tibet the most\nsolemn words of swearing which, when uttered in the manner described,\nfurnish the strongest possible proof of sincerity. It is true that\nTibetans are much given to swearing, and possess a great variety of\nexpressions for the purpose, there being forty-five of them to my own\nknowledge. Those most commonly in use are \u201c_Konjogsum_\u201d (Holy three\ntreasures) and \u201c_Ama tang te!_\u201d (separate me from my mother). The\nnatives are in the habit of using these oaths as words of interjection.\nBut when, in all seriousness, they subject themselves to the form\nobserved by my host and his wife, they may safely be depended upon\nfor their absolute sincerity. As it was, I pressed them no further,\nand they seemed to be well pleased at the final dispelling of all my\nsuspicion against them.\n\nBefore I took leave of them they asked me about my lodging, and finding\nout I was the \u201c_Serai amchi_,\u201d the doctor of Sera, they were most\nastonished and pleased--pleased to know that they had as acquaintance\na man of so great renown as I was then in Lhasa. From that time onward\nI was a frequent visitor and trusted friend at Tsa Rong-ba\u2019s, with\nalways something to give the good couple, as was the case with me at\nGyami menkhang\u2019s, the Chinese druggist.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIII.\n\nScholastic Aspirants.\n\n\nFirst, to speak of the nationalities of the aspirants; the students\nin the three great colleges are not solely natives of Tibet; they\ncomprise Mongols proper, and also Khams, who belong to a somewhat\ndifferent race. In fact it is customary to place Mongols first in point\nof numbers, then Tibetans, and last of all Khams. These three groups\nof students are as distinct in their characteristics as they are in\ntheir nationalities. Tibetans, generally speaking, are a very quiet,\ncourteous, and intelligent set of students, but are not at all inclined\nto be diligent--indeed they are as a rule as lazy as they can be.\nThe fact that they are very dirty in their habits seems to come from\nthis their national weakness of being extremely and eternally idle.\nDuring winter days, for instance, a Tibetan bonze who possesses the\nordinary means of living will simply do no work, beyond attending to\nthe routine of chanting the sacred text in the service-hall, and making\ntrips to the monastery kitchen for his ration of tea. When the weather\nis fine he spends all his leisure hours basking in the warm sun and\nsquatting naked in front of his cell. Nothing can be more significant\nof his instinctive indolence than the sight of him as he sits dozing\nthere the whole day long, putting on his head to dry a waste scrap of\nsome woollen stuff, with which he occasionally blows his nose. Such\nbehavior, excusable only in an old or decrepit person, is nothing\nunusual in many of the young Tibetan priests. How lazy and sluggish the\naverage Tibetans are, it is almost beyond the power of Westerners to\nimagine.\n\nNot so with the Mongols: one never sees them enjoying themselves in\nsuch an indolent fashion. They study very hard and always take a very\nactive part in the catechetical exercises, principally because they\nare alive to the purpose for which they have come so far from their\nhome and country. Four hundred out of the five hundred Mongols are\ngenerally fine students; while the ratio has to be inverted in the case\nof Tibetans, four hundred and fifty out of five hundred of whom are\nbut trash. In consequence of this, the bulk of the \u201cstudents militant\u201d\nor warrior-priests of whom I have already spoken are Tibetans, Khams\nand Mongols being seldom found among them. Mongols are studious and\nprogressive, but one common fault with them is that they are very\nquick-tempered, so that the slightest thing causes them to flare up\nin tremendous rage. Being always conscious of the fact that they are\nthe most assiduous of the students, and that the largest number of the\nwinners of the doctor\u2019s degree always come from amongst them, they are\nvery proud and uppish. This Mongolian pride makes most Mongols, even\nthose that try to be calm and well-balanced, to be pitied for their\nnarrow-mindedness and petulance, in spite of all their other numerous\ngood qualities. A Mongol has it in him to become a great leader\nlike Genghis Khan; but the career of that great conqueror was but a\nmeteoric burst of short-lived splendor, and, like him, the Mongols as a\nnation seem to be incapable of consolidating their national greatness\non anything like a permanent basis, or of carrying out any schemes\ncalculated to secure the permanent progress and improvement of their\ncountry.\n\nThe Khams, on the other hand, are infinitely superior in this respect\nboth to the Mongols and the Tibetans, and this in spite of the fact\nthat their country is generally supposed to be no better than a den\nof thieves and robbers. A Kham is excitable, but he does not lose\nhis temper like a Mongol: indeed, he can be admirably patient and\npersevering when he wills. In point of physique, too, he is far ahead\nas a rule of both the others. The Khams are chivalrous men, blunt\nand outspoken, and averse to flattery. My observations among the\nstudents of Sera lead me to infer that more open-hearted, unaffected\nstudents are to be found among the Khams than among any other of the\nnationalities represented there. Mongols will occasionally demean\nthemselves by fawning upon others in order to gain some object dear\nto their hearts, but the worst sinners in this respect are the\nTibetans--so much so that the Khams, unless they are thoroughly\nTibetanised Khams, are unwilling to enter into friendship with them. It\nis said to the honor of the Khams that even their robbers are honorable\nand will often give a helping hand to the poor and weak, and rescue\nthose who stand in imminent peril. The Kham women and children, as a\nrule, share in the apathetic appearance of the men. They are often very\nunbecomingly dressed and have none of the attractiveness of the Tibetan\nwomen, who, like their husbands, fathers, and brothers, are generally\nwell-spoken and affable in outward demeanor, however full of thorns and\nbrambles their innermost hearts may be.\n\nI have been able to give here only a brief and cursory notice of some\nof the characteristic features of the principal tribes that inhabit\nthese unfrequented regions of Central Asia, with a few of the most\nessential of the points of difference between them. I might carry\nmy subdivision much further, and speak of the Khams as Mankhams,\nBas, Tsarongs, etc., but that would involve a very long and not very\nprofitable discourse, and I therefore pass on to topics of greater\ninterest.\n\nTo interpret correctly the aspirations of Tibetan Lamas, their ideals,\nor the final goal which they strive to attain, it may safely be said\nthat their main purpose in entering the priesthood is only to procure\nthe largest possible amount of fortune, as well as the highest possible\nfame in that entirely secluded world of theirs. To seek religious\ntruth and to practise religious austerities with a view to acquiring\nknowledge and character sufficient to carry out the noble work of\ndelivering men and leading them to salvation, is not at all what they\nwish to do. If they study, they do so as a means of gaining reputation,\nof extending their influence, and mainly of accumulating wealth. They\nsimply desire to escape from the painful struggle of life in the world\nof competition, and to enjoy lazy and comfortable days on earth as well\nas in heaven. Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand seem to\nhave no conception of the problems of the future life, and there is\nnothing deep in their religious life. \u201cIt is more blessed to receive\nthan to give\u201d is their motto, and hence the monastic life, study and\nservice, in its fullest sense, goes in their eyes for nothing. The\nreason why these priests and scholars, who ought to be the noblest and\nmost unselfish of all men, have been brought to this state of apostasy,\nseems to be this.\n\nIn Tibet, the social estimation of priest and scholars is made, not\naccording to their learning or virtue, nor yet according to the amount\nof good they have done for their fellow-men, but entirely according to\nthe amount of property which they possess. Thus, a priest who owns an\nestate of a thousand dollars, however mean and ignorant he may be, is\nmuch more influential and far more highly esteemed in society than a\nlearned and virtuous priest who lives on a small income. They believe\nin the almighty dollar, and twist S. Paul\u2019s saying: \u201cThough I have the\ngift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and\nthough I have all faith, so that I can remove mountains, and have not\u201d\nmoney, \u201cI am nothing.\u201d They are earnest therefore in making money, in\nwhatever way they find profitable. Some of them, as I have said, are\nengaged in trade or industrial enterprises, and others in agriculture\nor stock-farming. Besides, it is their custom to appropriate to\nthemselves the remuneration which they receive when they visit laymen\u2019s\nhouses for the purpose of chanting the Sacred Text for them, in\naccordance with their priestly duty.\n\nIt is pitiful to contemplate the condition of the students who, without\nscholarship or support, are preparing in the colleges for their\ndegrees. They live hard struggling lives of study in the midst of want,\nand yet the only stimulus that encourages them is the expectation that\nthey will be able to enjoy the comfortable life of high priests, when\nthey have got through the prescribed course of study and have achieved\nthe Doctorate. They do really suffer, but their sufferings are not, so\nfar as I know, those of the man of self-denial who strives hard and\nstruggles against difficulties for the noble ambition of winning souls\nto salvation, or for some humanitarian purpose; they are exceedingly\npatient in suffering, simply with the hope of reaping ease and comfort\nin the latter part of their lives. After a hard monastic life of some\ntwenty years when they have completed the whole course of study, these\npoor students will have the honor of getting the Doctor\u2019s degree, a\ntitle implying the highest learning, but in undue proportion costly;\nfor besides spending nearly half their lives in toils and struggles to\nget it, they have to give a grand feast to all their schoolmasters to\ncelebrate their graduation. It is true, the feast consists only of meat\ngruel, a sort of porridge of meat mixed with rice, but the quantity\ngiven is enormous, as there are many capacious stomachs to be filled.\n\nTo give a feast of this sort requires some five hundred yen at the\nvery least, each bowlful costing over twenty-five sen. Of course, the\npoverty-stricken priests cannot possibly provide the money themselves,\nbut fortunately the diploma has its use this time; their credit has so\nmuch improved that the wealthy priests who turned up their noses at\nneedy students are very willing now to supply them with the necessary\nmoney, simply because they have the degree and chance to pay interest.\nBy the means of this convenient credit transaction they can procure the\nmeans of giving the necessary banquet and the wealthy priests get not\nonly credit for their generosity, but also interest for their money.\nBut nothing is more disappointing than the future life of those poor\npriests, who will probably never succeed in paying off the burden of\ndebt, or, if exceptionally fortunate, they may succeed in doing so only\nafter long and hard struggles. It is a sad thing to contemplate, but\nsuch is the hard lot of most Tibetan priests.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIV.\n\nTibetan Weddings and Wedded Life.\n\n\nAs I was lodging at the house of the Minister of Finance, I had the\ngood fortune to become acquainted with and occasionally to call on the\nother Ministers of State, among whom was one of the Prime-Ministers,\nof the name of Sho Khangwa. (In Tibet, there are four Prime-Ministers\nand three Ministers of Finance; the senior Minister, in either case,\ntaking the actual business and standing responsible for the conduct\nof affairs, while the others hold only nominal portfolios, assisting\nin the work of the Department as vice-Ministers. Sho Khangwa was the\nsecond Prime-Minister). During my stay in Lhasa, his daughter married\nthe son of a noble called the Prince of Yutok. I was invited to the\nwedding, a ceremony most solemnly performed, which I attended with\ncuriosity and interest. Before proceeding to relate what I saw on\nthat occasion, I may make a few observations on Tibetan marriages\nin general. No general statement can be made however with regard to\nmarriage-customs, as they vary vastly according to the different\nlocalities. There are several books containing descriptions of Tibetan\nmarriages, but these are from the pens of European travellers, who\nmay perhaps have been in Chinese Tibet, or on the northern frontier\nof Tibet proper, but were surely not permitted to visit Lhasa. So\nalthough their descriptions may be correct, so far as they go, yet no\ndetailed account of a marriage in Lhasa is, so far as I know, to be\nfound in any of these books. It is next to impossible for a passing\nvisitor, especially in such a country as Tibet, where marriage-customs\nand manners differ so much with the widely separated tribes, to give\nany really trustworthy descriptions; still, as circumstances have\ngiven me special opportunities of observing minutely the people\u2019s life,\nsocial and domestic, in Lhasa, and even of attending several wedding\nceremonies of the natives, it is not only proper, but may also possibly\nbe of some value, to relate my observations and experiences during my\nstay in the city.\n\nIt is generally known that a peculiar system of marriage prevails in\nTibet--a plurality not of wives but of husbands. The cases of polyandry\nare; first, when several brothers take the same woman as their wife at\nthe same time; second, when two or more men not brothers, marry the\nsame woman by mutual agreement; and thirdly, when a woman, already\nmarried to one man, gains influence over her husband, and, with his\nconsent, marries another in addition. In case the mother of a family\ndies, either the father or the son takes a new spouse, who becomes at\nthe same time the wife of the other male members of the family without\ninfringing the law of the country. They are quite insensible to the\nshame of this dissolute condition of matrimonial relations, which can\nscarcely be even imagined by people with a civilised moral sense;\nand yet there do exist some restrictions: marriage of brothers with\nsisters, or between cousins, is not only censured by the public as\nimmoral, but also prohibited by the law as criminal.\n\nThe wife\u2019s authority over her husbands is something surprising. All\nthe money which the husbands have earned has to be handed over to\ntheir wife, and if one of the husbands is found less clever or less\nsuccessful in making money than the others, she will give him a severe\nscolding. When a husband needs money, he has to beg his wife to give\nhim so much for such and such a purpose, just as a child does to its\nmother. If she happens to find any of her husbands keeping back his\nearnings, she will break out in anger, and give him slaps instead of\ncaresses. In short, a wife generally exercises a commanding authority\nover her husbands.\n\nShe will order them to go out shopping and to do this or that, and\nhusbands are quite obedient to the wife, too, and quite ready to do\neverything that is required, or that they find suitable to soothe her.\nWhen two or more men have anything to agree upon among them, they do\nnot decide for themselves, but run home and ask their wife\u2019s opinion\nbefore coming to a final decision, and, if she has no objection,\nthey will meet again and settle the matter. Though polyandry is the\nprevailing system of marriage in Tibet, there are a few exceptional\ncases of monogamistic couples, generally in cases where the husband is\nin a comparatively influential position.\n\nAnother peculiarity in connexion with marriage is that an agreement, to\nthe effect that either husband or wife may divorce the other whenever\nhe or she has become averse to continuing as the other\u2019s partner, is\nacknowledged as a legitimate condition of a matrimonial contract.\n\nI come now to a description of the marriage ceremony as observed in\nLhasa. The Tibetans, whether men or women, marry generally between the\ntwentieth and twenty-fifth years of age.\n\nAlthough there are some exceptions (especially in the case of couples\nmarried late in life, where the husband\u2019s age much exceeds that of his\nwife) usually both bride and groom are of about equal age. If a woman\nwho has five brothers as her husbands gives birth to a child, the\neldest of the brothers is called the father of the child and the rest\nthe uncles. One European writer says that in Tibet the eldest of the\nbrothers, who have the same woman as their wife, is called the great\nfather of her children, and the younger brothers their small fathers;\nbut this I have not been able to verify.\n\nThere is almost no such thing, so far as my experience of the Tibetans\nhas gone, as a woman choosing her own husbands. The choice of husbands\nand all decision connected therewith are made by the parents only, and\nthe daughter herself who is going to be married is never permitted\nto make any choice of her partner, nor even to take any part in the\nconsultation regarding her own marriage. She is compelled to marry\nwhomsoever her parents decide upon for her husband. Not only so, but\nparents never tell their daughter at all that a proposal has been made,\nor that they are going to give her in marriage, until the very day of\nthe wedding. These compulsory marriages, therefore, frequently end in\ndivorce. However, in the remote country or even in the city, sometimes\na girl selects her partner and obtains permission from her parents to\nmarry the man of her choice. Such cases, however are very exceptional.\n\nIt is the universal usage throughout the country for the parents of a\nyoung man of marriageable age to make enquiries for a suitable bride\namong families equal in lineage, fortune and rank with their own. When\nsuch a girl is found, they at once communicate through a middleman with\nthe girl\u2019s parents, asking whether she may be given as wife to their\nsons. If the answer is a simple negative, the middleman understands\nthat the case is an entirely hopeless one; but if they say: \u201cWe will\nsee about it\u201d or something to that effect, he will call on them several\ntimes and talk of all the good qualities of the young man, his parents\nand everything about him. Then the girl\u2019s parents, after giving a\nconditional consent to the proposal, go to a fortune-teller or a high\npriest to ask his judgment and advice in this important matter, or they\nwill go to a sorcerer who is believed to be able to give information\nabout the future, and then only will they give a definite answer to the\nmiddleman.\n\nThe parents on each side keep the whole thing a secret from their son\nor daughter, even after the betrothal has been decided upon. Thus both\nbride and groom go to the very day of their wedding, without knowing\nanything of their own marriage--neither the preliminary consultations\nnor the name of the bride or groom; they are brought face to face for\nthe first time on the wedding day. There is no custom of exchanging\npresents between bride and bridegroom, or of the bride\u2019s bringing a\ndowry to her husband as in Japan, and no consultation or arrangement is\nmade, or anything like a marriage-contract regarding the property of\nthe parties concerned; only the bride\u2019s parents, to keep up the honor\nof the family, have to furnish their daughter with all things needed\nfor her marriage, suitable to their social standing; else they would\nbe disgraced in the public eye. On the groom\u2019s side also his parents\nsend a present of some money to the bride\u2019s mother as \u2018breast money\u2019 or\nnurse expense, remuneration for her marriage and care in bringing up\nthe girl. Then, again, the parents on both sides go and enquire of a\nfortune-teller or sorcerer, before fixing upon the day of the wedding\nor of beginning to make the necessary preparations.\n\nOn the morning of the wedding, the girl\u2019s parents, who have already\nbeen informed of the time when the middleman is to come from the\ngroom\u2019s house, casually tell the girl that the weather being very fine\nthey intend going to the Temple, and that she had better go with them,\nand that as they are going to have a \u201clingka feast\u201d she had better\nhave her hair done, or words to that effect. The girl is generally\nmuch delighted at hearing this, and starts at once to dress herself\nquite unconscious of the stratagem. But sometimes a clever girl sees\nthrough the artifice and breaks into tears of sorrow at her unexpected\ndeparture from her old home.\n\n[Illustration: GIRL WEEPING AT BEING SUDDENLY COMMANDED TO MARRY.]\n\nA girl who is unaware of this artifice will wash and scrub her face and\nbody as her parents bid her, and make herself as smart as they please.\nIt is to be noted that, as a general custom in Tibet, ordinary people\nnever wash their faces or bodies at all, though the nobles do so every\nmorning just after leaving their beds. The manner in which they wash\ntheir faces is almost more like a joke. When a nobleman gets up in the\nmorning, a maid or attendant will bring him a ladleful of warm water\nwhich he first takes in the palms of his hands and then puts into his\nmouth. After holding it in there for a while he spits it back into\nhis palms little by little and then washes his face with it. When the\nwater in the mouth is all gone, he will spit several times on to his\npalms and again rub his face. It is true that basins are used by some\nTibetans: the above is however the normal way.\n\nTo return, the girl, knowing nothing about the trick in store for her\nand expecting to go out for amusement, is cheerful and gay, busily\nengaged in her toilet, and adorning her hair with her old comb and\npins, when her parents come to her with a new comb, pins and other\ntoilet articles (all of which have been secretly presented by the\ngroom\u2019s parents through the middleman) and say to her: \u201cYour pins and\ncomb are too old, my dear, we have some new ones for you; here they\nare; and a good bottle of hair-oil too. You must dress yourself up\nas nicely as possible,\u201d and so on. Then when at last the toilet is\ncomplete, the parents tell her for the first time that an engagement\nhas already been made with so and so, whom she has to marry that day.\nThis is the general custom not only in Lhasa, but also in Shigatze and\nother towns.\n\nBut, as I have already said, a sagacious girl who can see through her\nparents\u2019 artifices is not generally willing to dress herself up for\nthe occasion, but will be found weeping at her unforeseen calamities\nand sets herself to complaining in this strain \u201cOh! dear me! I don\u2019t\nwant to leave my home. It is not fair of father and mother to marry\nme off to a person whom I shall probably not like. How can I get out\nof it?\u201d And then she becomes very depressed, and devotes absolutely\nno attention to her hair-dressing. In this case, however, the girl\u2019s\nfriends, who are there to help in the preparations for her wedding, try\nto cheer her up and encourage her to obey her parents, and even help\nher to adorn and dress herself.\n\nAfter all these preparations are over, the bride\u2019s parents have to\ngive a series of farewell banquets for their daughter, which will last\ntwo weeks, or even more sometimes, if their family is rich or high in\nsocial rank, but two or three days only in the case of the poor. During\nthese festivities, the relatives and acquaintances of her parents visit\nthe family with presents of money, food, or clothes, to congratulate\nthem on their daughter\u2019s happy wedding, the value of the presents\ndiffering according to the visitor\u2019s wealth as well as their intimacy\nwith the family. These visitors are cordially entertained with Tibetan\ntea and cold spirits, which they drink to excess, visitors and host\nalike enjoying the good things provided, and having a regular good time\nor what they call a chachang pemma, the happiest state in the world.\n\nWhile drinking, they eat nothing at all; but at the afternoon meal they\ntake some meat and wheat-cakes. The meat they eat is generally the\nflesh of the yak, or that of goats or sheep; pork is sometimes used in\nLhasa, but beef is very rare throughout the country, and is especially\nrare in the case of wedding feasts. Their cooking and bill of fare\nare very simple: three dishes of meat, raw, dried and boiled (roast\nmeat is never seen at a wedding). The boiled meat is cooked in oil and\nsalt, or sometimes in salt and water and is brought in first, together\nwith _tsu_, a concoction of cheese, butter and sugar. When these are\nall gone, a big dish of boiled rice mixed with butter, sugar, raisins\nand Chinese persimmons is served. In the evening, again, the guests\nare entertained to a dinner in which a sort of vermicelli, made of\nwheat-flour and eggs, or pure Chinese cookery is set before the guests.\nIn this manner they have three or four meals a day; and besides these,\ntea and intoxicants are constantly served during the intervals between\nthe meals. While eating and drinking the guests are regaled with\npleasant talk, and when the feasts begin to flag they revive the fun by\nsinging and dancing. It is very interesting to see men and women like\nthe moving beads of a rosary, dancing and jumping promiscuously round\nand round the circles. They dance in a regular and systematic manner,\neach keeping step with the music as carefully as if he were a soldier\nat drill, and yet the regularity and solemnity of the dance does not\nin least interfere with the keenness and zest of their enjoyment. The\ninstrument used in their dance music is called _damnyan_, and is often\nused in accompanying singing as well as dancing.\n\nTowards the close of the festive time (I may observe that it is only\nthe poorest folk that dispense with the prenuptial feasts), usually\non the eve of the wedding, the parents of the bridegroom send their\nrepresentative and the middleman, with a number of attendants, to the\nbride\u2019s home to receive the bride. They bring with them a present\nof some money as _nurin_ or \u2018breast money\u2019 for the bride\u2019s parents,\nwho are obliged to seem a little backward about taking it, etiquette\ndemanding that they should require a good deal of coaxing before\naccepting such a present. The nurin may vary in amount from a couple of\ndollars to two hundred or even five hundred dollars. Some parents (not\nmany) refuse it absolutely, saying that the girl being their beloved\ndaughter, it is not their expectation or their desire to receive any\nnurin, but that they \u201conly hope heartily that their daughter will be\nloved by and enjoy a happy life among the family to which she is given\nin marriage.\u201d\n\nThen the middleman gives the bride the dress, belt, Chinese shoes and\nall other articles necessary for a bride during the wedding ceremony,\nthese too being presented by the groom\u2019s parents, and these the bride\ncannot refuse; she must wear them even though they do not suit her.\nIn addition to these gifts the bride generally receives a precious\ngem, such as is usually worn by a woman of Lhasa on the middle of her\nforehead. This gem is said to be a sign of a woman\u2019s being married,\nthough in Lhasa there seems to exist no strict discrimination in the\nmatter, for unmarried women in that city often wear it as a mere\nornament. In Shigatze and the neighboring provinces, however, the use\nof the gem is strictly restricted, as a matter of fact, exclusively to\nmarried women, who wear it high up at the back of the head, so that\nthey can be easily distinguished from single females. In the case of a\ndivorce, a husband has simply to pluck off the gem from his wife\u2019s head\nwithout the trouble of going to court, or asking the authorities to\nalter the census. This single act on the part of the husband properly\nand perfectly certifies and legalises the divorce.\n\nBesides the things necessary for a bride to wear during the ceremony\nwhich the bridegroom\u2019s parents have to provide, many valuable\nornaments, a fringe, neck-rings, ear-rings, finger-rings, ornamented\narmlets and breast-jewels, are given by the bride\u2019s own parents, for\nwhat the groom\u2019s parents send the bride-elect is confined to the dress,\nbelt, under-wear and shoes, to be worn on the occasion of the wedding\nceremony.\n\nThen, those who come to receive the bride stay at the bride\u2019s house\nthat night, and enjoy a few pleasant hours drinking with the family.\n\nAn interesting feature of this drinking feast is that the middleman\nand the representatives of the bridegroom\u2019s family have to be very\ncareful not to drink too much that night, because it is the custom\nfor the friends and relatives of the bride\u2019s family to try to steal\nsomething from them if the drink should happen to make them drowsy. If\nthey succeed, they show what they have stolen before all the guests\nassembled the next morning, and boast of the success of their trick,\nand their victims have to pay them some twenty tanka of Tibetan silver,\nor two dollars and a half in American gold, as a penalty for their\ncarelessness. So the middleman and the others do all they can not to\nbe tempted to drink, while the bride\u2019s friends and relatives ply their\nguests with liquor and will take no refusal. The reader can imagine the\nnoise and uproar that sometimes ensue. But in urging their guests to\ndrink, the friends of the bride must strictly observe the old ancestral\ncustoms, or else the middleman and the representatives of the groom\u2019s\nfamily will ridicule them for their ignorance, and thus everlasting\nshame will come upon the bride\u2019s family. The others, in their turn,\nhave to arm themselves with suitable reasons for abstinence. They have\nto say that chang is the worst of all sorts of poison, that it is a\nmaker of quarrels or a robber of wisdom. The refusal to drink must\nalways be clothed in some proverbial expression of this kind, according\nto the old time-honored customs, and the ordinary Tibetan would be very\nmuch disappointed and almost feel that he had not been to a proper\nwedding, if it was not accompanied with their friendly wranglings over\nthe cups.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LV.\n\nWedding Ceremonies.\n\n\nEarly in the morning of the nuptial day the father and mother give\na farewell banquet in the house of the bride. At the same time the\npriests of the Old School, generally known as the \u2018Scarlet-Hoods\u2019 or\nRed-Caps, are asked by the family to hold a festal service in honor of\nthe village and family Gods. The object of the festival is to inform\nthe Gods of the daughter\u2019s being engaged and to take leave of them,\nand further to pray the Gods not to do any injury to their family\nbecause of their daughter\u2019s leaving them for ever, as in return they\npromise to make offerings to them and recite the Sacred Text for their\npleasure. Such ceremonies in general are held at the temple to which\nthe \u2018Scarlet-Hoods\u2019 belong. Simultaneously with the above another\nfestival is held in the house of the bride by the priest of the Bon\nreligion (pronounced Pon, but written Bon), the old religion of Tibet,\nto propitiate the God Lu-i Gyalpo, or King-Dragon, who according\nto the Tibetan mythology is the protector of the fortunes of each\nindividual family. It is a constant fear with Tibetans that if it\nshould ever happen that a man should provoke this God\u2019s anger by any\nmeans whatever, the consequence will be the entire destruction of his\nfortune. Therefore lest the God should leave the family and follow\nthe daughter to whom he is affectionately attached, and thus abandon\nthe family to utter poverty, no efforts whatsoever are spared by the\nfamily to keep him away from the daughter. The passages from the Bon\nscripture which are read on the occasion of the ceremony are very\ninteresting. In most of the cases the sentences are the same, and, in\nthe main, are to the effect that the family to which the daughter has\nbeen engaged is not enjoying such happiness as the maiden\u2019s own family\nenjoys; and again that it is not dignified for the King-Dragon to go\nto another house in pursuit of a girl: it is advisable for the God to\nstay with the present family and look after its interests, as before;\nfor boundless will be the happiness that he shall enjoy in case he\nstays with the present family as hitherto. After all, this is not a\nmatter of mere traditional formality, for among the people of Tibet the\nsuperstition is common that if the King-Dragon should leave a family\nfor ever to follow a daughter on her marriage, the family will be\nreduced to utter poverty; hence these customs are universally observed\nby the people.\n\nThe banquet over, there enters the preacher who is to exhort the\nbride. He stands in front of the bride, and instructs her by means of\na collection of maxims which he has well committed to memory previous\nto the ceremony. The preacher is a kind personage, selected from\npeople who are accomplished in such things. In almost all cases the\nwords of exhortation are about the same, and they are composed of very\neasy expressions, so that anybody can understand them. The sentences\nsay that when the bride goes to the house of her husband, she must\nbehave with uniform kindness; that, as it is the duty of a woman to\nbe obedient to her superiors, once she goes to her husband\u2019s she must\nnot only be obedient to her parents-in-law, but must also wait upon\nher husband and his brothers and sisters with equal kindness, and more\nespecially must she love her husband\u2019s younger brothers and sisters\nwith the same kindness that she has for her true brothers or sisters;\nshe must treat her servants as if they were her own children, and the\nlike. Here and there in the intervals of the exhortations is inserted\na story, which is told by the preacher with such skill that the bride\nis generally deeply impressed. When the exhortation is over, the\nfather and mother of the bride sit before her, and with tears repeat\nexhortations similar to those previously recited by the regular\npreacher. Then also come the relatives and friends of the bride, who,\nbursting into tears, and taking the bride by the hand, make their\nexhortations most tenderly and in a most caressing manner. After these\nceremonies, the bride has at last to leave her old home. There is no\nfixed standard as to the property which a bride takes with her to her\nhusband\u2019s on the occasion of her marriage. Some are rich enough to take\na piece of land as a dowry, but some can afford only to take a few\nclothes.\n\nWhen she leaves her house, the bride weeps bitterly, and all efforts to\nget her on horseback are in vain, she prostrates herself on the ground\nand lies there obstinately helpless. Her features become those of one\nwhose heart is too heavy to part with her parents and her home. In such\na case, the bride is lifted up and placed by friends on horseback. She\ndoes not ride in the same manner as westerns do, but astride, after the\nJapanese fashion. Women in Tibet are very good riders; they do not ride\nwith long stirrups, but with legs bent back, as if they were astride on\na very low bench, and use an extremely short stirrup leather. There is\nno difference between men and women in the manner of riding. While in\nTibet I used to ride in the same manner, and during the first part of\nmy experiences I had a hard time of it, more especially in the case of\na long ride, after which I often felt much pain about my legs.\n\nNow the bride, thus placed on horseback, makes her way to the house of\nthe bridegroom. She is dressed in the wedding garment which has been\npresented to her by the bridegroom, and also wears the ornaments for\nhead and arms which have been presented to her by her own parents, and\nher head and face are covered with _rin-chen na-nga_, the precious\ncloths woven from sheep\u2019s wool, in stripes of yellow, green, red,\nwhite and black. On account of the cloth, no glimpse of her face can\nbe caught. The back of her neck is also covered with a small banner,\ncalled the \u2018banner of good omen\u2019. This \u2018banner of good omen\u2019 is made of\na fine silk stuff dyed in five different colors, and is some fourteen\ninches or so in length; it is inscribed with good wishes for her future.\n\nThe people who have come to see the bride off and those who have\ncome to receive her all go on horseback, and on their way to the\nbridegroom\u2019s house six banquets altogether are given by the relatives\nof the bride and of the bridegroom. Those who have come to see the\nbride off give three banquets at three different points on the road,\nand those who have come to welcome her give three similar banquets.\nSometimes the banquets are given at places two miles apart, and\nsometimes three, as the case may be, and after the sixth banquet\nhas duly taken place, the gate of the bridegroom\u2019s house is at last\nreached by the wedding procession. In these banquets, however nobody\ndrinks anything to excess, because every one is impressed with the\nfact that he has been entrusted with the very important duty of taking\nthe bride in safety to the house of the bridegroom, and so the others,\nrecognising the situation, never press any one to drink to excess.\nAs a rule, it is customary in Tibet to press one\u2019s guests to eat the\ndainties which have been set before them, while for the guests it is\nconsidered very impolite to taste such dainties immediately; to do so\nwithout a great deal of pressure is to be as vulgar as a Chinaman. The\nbanquets are given by the friends of the bride and bridegroom at the\nhouses of their friends or at their own, but on the whole it is more\nusual to have tents erected at convenient places in fields on the way\nto the bridegroom\u2019s house, and to entertain the wedding procession\nthere.\n\n[Illustration: AT THE BRIDEGROOM\u2019S GATE.]\n\n[Illustration: THROWING AN IMITATION SWORD AT THE BRIDE.]\n\nThus the gate of the bridegroom\u2019s house is reached. It would not occur\nto anybody that there should be any question as to whether the bride\ncould at once be admitted to the house of the bridegroom or not, as\nthose who had come to receive the bride on the way were the relatives\nof the bridegroom. However, the fact is quite the reverse. This is\nwhere the Tibetan custom appear so strange in the eyes of a foreigner.\nWhen the bride reaches the gate, she finds it locked, bolted, and\nbarred against her ingress. In the crowd gathered in front of the gate\nof the bridegroom\u2019s house, there is a man whose duty it is to drive\naway the evil spirits, or epidemic diseases, which, it is believed by\nthe people, may have followed the bride on her way to the bridegroom\u2019s.\nHidden under his right hand, the man has a sword which is called the\n_Torma_, or the sword of the secret charm, with which he tears such\nevil spirits or epidemic diseases to pieces. The sword is made of a\nmixture of baked flour, butter and water, fried hard and colored with\nthe red juice of a plant. Its shape is long and triangular, like a\nbayonet; it looks like a sword, and is said to have some secret charm,\npronounced by a priest, concealed in it. The spectators do not know\nwhich one in the crowd has the sword, but some one must have it, and as\nsoon as the bride arrives the man, taking advantage of any opportunity\nthat may offer, throws it in the face of the bride, and runs inside\nthe gate, the door of which opens to receive him as he discharges\nthis duty. No sooner has the man fled inside the gate, than the door\nis again closed, and the bride is left standing outside, all covered\nwith the red fragments of the stuff that has been thrown at her. One\nmay wonder what can be the origin of such a custom, and one is told\nthat the bride, on taking leave of her family, has lost the protection\nof the Gods of the village and of the house in which she has been\na resident, and the people are afraid that, for want of the divine\nprotection, the bride must have met with a crowd of evil spirits, or\nepidemic diseases, on her way to the bridegroom\u2019s house, and that these\nmight cause some injury to the new couple; hence the use of the Torma\nto conquer such evil spirits, or epidemic diseases.\n\nThen one wants to know why the man fled inside the gate, and caused\nthe door to be closed after him, immediately after throwing the sword\nin the face of the bride. There is a peculiar sort of custom prevalent\nat weddings, by which every one caught by the bride\u2019s friends is bound\nto pay them a penalty of twenty tanka, and therefore the man flies\ninside the gate lest he should be caught by the people who have come to\nsee the bride off. By this time the people inside the gate, who have\nbeen waiting for the arrival of the wedding procession, demand that\nthe bride\u2019s party give _sheppa_ (explanation) at the gate, or else the\nbride cannot be admitted. The sheppa consists of many beautiful words\nand fine phrases, indicating wishes for good luck and happiness. In\nresponse to their demands, the man in the wedding procession whose duty\nit is to say the \u2018explanation\u2019 has to say: \u201cWe want to say sheppa, but\nfor lack of the kata we cannot do so.\u201d On hearing this the man inside\nthe gate shows a tiny piece of kata through a chink in the gate and\nsays: \u201cHere is the kata,\u201d but no sooner has he done so than he promptly\npulls it back again. One may wonder why the people should pull the\ncloth in so quickly, and one is told that it is in consideration of a\npeculiar custom, that the man must pay twenty tanka as penalty to any\nof the bride\u2019s friends that can catch hold of the cloth; naturally\ntherefore, it is quickly pulled away. On seeing the kata, the man in\nthe wedding procession whose duty it is to say sheppa solemnly says as\nfollows: \u201cThis is the gate which leads to the store-house where many\nprecious and valuable things are kept; the pillars are built of gold\nand the door of silver and inside the gate there is a hall of worship\nwhich is made of natural cloisonn\u00e9; there is also a palace, the inmates\nof which are as virtuous and beautiful as angels and Gods.\u201d\n\nWords similar to these are said, and at the termination of the sheppa\nthe gate is open.\n\nI must here not omit to say that on her way to the bridegroom\u2019s, as she\nis riding past a certain village, the bride is sometimes caught hold\nof and carried off by the people of the village, on the pretext that\nher coming will cause some injury to them, as it is believed by them\nalso that the bride has lost the protection of the Gods of her native\nplace, and that during her journey many evil spirits and epidemic\ndiseases must have taken hold of her, and that these, on arriving at\nthe village, will do great damage to its farms and cause much injury\nto the inhabitants. So the people of the village carry off the bride\nas a compensation for such prospective damage, and in order to get a\nsafe passage through the village the attendants of the bride must pay\nransom. I may say that this is a very rare occurrence in a town, but in\nlonely parts of the country it will sometimes take place. It must be\nunderstood that it is generally in the case of a family which is not\npopular with its neighbors that the bride receives such treatment.\n\nUpon the gate being opened, the mother of the bridegroom comes out with\nsome sour milk and _chema_ in her hands. Chema is a mixture of baked\nflour, butter, sugar and taro-root. Taro-root is a kind of potato,\nproduced in Tibet, as large as a man\u2019s little finger, and very nice to\neat. Chema and sour milk are used only when there is a celebration of\nsome extraordinary occasion. A little of this is distributed to each\nperson in the procession, who receives it on his palm and eats it. This\nceremony over, the mother leads the party into her house and gives a\nbanquet in honor of the bride, when the priest of the \u201cOld School\u201d is\ncalled upon to inform the Gods of the village and of the house that an\naddition has been made to the members of the family by the arrival of\nthe bride, and that, therefore, the Gods are prayed to extend their\narms to the bride, and to be her protectors henceforward.\n\nThese prayers over, the father and mother of the bridegroom give a\npiece of kata to the couple, and to all the other people who have come\nto see the bride off or to receive her. Such is the ceremony that makes\nthe happy couple husband and wife. Before the feasting has begun to\nflag the newly married couple are removed to an adjacent room. The\npeople who have come either to see the bride off or to receive her,\nstay in the house of the bridegroom, and attend the banquets which are\ngiven daily, and during this time the friends and relatives come to\njoin the banquet, every one bringing with him a reasonable amount of\npresents. The feasting lasts for two or three days at least, and for\na month at most. Tibetans are very fond of meat, and most of their\nfood is more fatty even than Chinese cookery. They give long banquets\nrichly furnished with such food, and the reader can well imagine how\nfoolishly idle are the people of Tibet in their habits. The feasting\nover, the people who have come to see the bride off, or to receive her,\nsay good-bye to the house, but still, for several days following, the\nfriends and servants of the bride remain in the house with the bride,\nthis being the custom. If the bride is from a well-to-do family, she\ntakes with her a servant from her father\u2019s house, and make her stay\nwith her in the new family to serve her as long as she lives. In this\nway the wedding ceremonies come to an end. In one month or one year\nafter the marriage the bride, together with the bridegroom, comes to\nher old home, and they stay there as long as she likes, sometimes for\none month and sometimes for three. When making the first visit to her\nfather\u2019s house, the bride takes with her not more than two or three\npersons. Her husband stays with her for several days, and then returns\nto his house, but when the day comes on which the bride has promised\nher husband to return to his house, the husband comes for her and takes\nher home again.\n\nIn case the bridegroom has a brother, the bride must marry him also in\nsix or twelve months after marrying the eldest brother. The wedding\nceremony in such a case is carried on privately at the house of the\nbridegroom, the mother of the bridegroom acting as the middleman. In\nthis case the eldest brother, to whom the bride was first married,\ntakes himself off from the house on business, or for pleasure, so as\nto let the bride and his younger brother marry during his absence.\nIt makes no difference if the bridegroom has three or more brothers;\nthe bride has to marry each one of them separately, and in the same\nmanner. Sometimes the bride and her brothers-in-law live together at\ntheir pleasure, without having any formal ceremonies to celebrate their\nweddings.\n\nSuch is the polyandry practised by the people of Tibet, and called the\n_sa-sum_. In a family where the bride has more than one bridegroom, it\nis very seldom that we find the brothers living together. If one of the\nbrothers is at home the other absents himself, either on business, if\nhe is a merchant, or on official duties. In this way all possible means\nare taken to keep only one of the brothers at home, each in his turn.\n\nPolyandry flourishes in Tibet even at the present time, and it is\nconsidered by the general public to be the right thing to follow and,\nin consequence, if ever a merchant (having been out of the country and\nseen much of the outside world and observed how shameful his habits\nat home have been) should protest against this sort of wedlock, he is\nshunned by his fellow-men as a crank, and his protest brushed away with\n\u201cLuk-su-mindu,\u201d which means \u201cthere is no such a custom (in Tibet).\u201d\nThis peculiar and ridiculous wedlock, as well as this unreasonable\nrelationship between a husband and wife, has its origin in the Bon\nreligion, and in spite of the introduction of true Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism into Tibet\nthe habit has come down to the present time and remains flourishing.\nThe fact is that among the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist believers there has scarcely\nbeen any one who has ever given any thought to social problems, and\nmoreover, as the priests of ancient times were generally recluses,\nwho paid no attention whatever to the application of their religion\nto the needs of the practical world, or to making the principles of\ntrue Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism as distinct as possible, the natural outcome has been\nthat this shameful custom, altogether contradictory to the principles\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, has remained in this part of the world. The blame lies\nentirely with the priests; it must not be laid at the door of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVI.\n\nTibetan Punishments.\n\n\nOne day early in October I left my residence in Lhasa and strolled\ntoward the Parkor. Parkor is the name of one of the principal\nstreets in that city, as I have already mentioned, and is the place\nwhere criminals are exposed to public disgrace. Pillory in Tibet\ntakes various forms, the criminal being exposed sometimes with\nonly handcuffs, or fetters alone, and at others with both. On that\nparticular occasion I saw as many as twenty criminals undergoing\npunishment, some of them tied to posts, while others were left fettered\nat one of the street crossings. They were all well-dressed, and had\ntheir necks fixed in a frame of thick wooden boards about 1-1/5 inches\nthick, and three feet square. The frame had in the centre a hole\njust large enough for the neck and was composed of two wooden boards\nfastened together by means of ridges, and a lock. From this frame was\nsuspended a piece of paper informing the public of the nature of the\ncrime committed by the exposed person, and of the judgment passed upon\nhim, sentencing him to the pillory for a certain number of days and to\nexile or flogging afterwards. The flogging generally ranges from three\nhundred to seven hundred lashes. As so many criminals were pilloried\non that particular occasion, I could not read all the sentences, even\nthough my curiosity was stronger than the sense of pity that naturally\nrose in my bosom when I beheld the miserable spectacle. I confess\nthat I read one or two of them, and found that the criminals were men\nconnected with the Tangye-ling monastery, the Lama superior of which is\nqualified to succeed to the supreme power of the pontificate in case,\nfor one reason or another, the post of the Dalai Lama should happen\nto fall vacant. The monastery is therefore one of the most influential\ninstitutions in the Tibetan Hierarchy and generally contains a large\nnumber of inmates, both priests and laymen.\n\nShortly before my arrival in Lhasa this high post was occupied by a\ndistinguished priest named Temo Rinpoche. His steward went under the\nname of Norpu Che-ring, and this man was charged with the heinous crime\nof having secretly made an attempt on the life of the Dalai Lama by\ninvoking the aid of evil deities. Norpu Che-ring\u2019s conjuration was\nconducted not according to the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist formula, but according to\nthat of the Bon religion. A piece of paper containing the dangerous\nincantation was secreted in the soles of the beautiful foot-gear\nworn by the Dalai Lama, which was then presented to his Holiness.\nThe incantation must have possessed an extraordinary potency, for it\nwas said that the Grand Lama invariably fell ill one way or another\nwhenever he put on these accursed objects. The cause of his illness was\nat last traced to the foot-gear with its invocation paper by the wise\nmen in attendance on the Grand Lama.\n\nThis amazing revelation led to the wholesale arrest of all the persons\nsuspected of being privy to the crime, the venerable Temo Rinpoche\namong the rest. Some people even regarded the latter as the ring-leader\nin this plot and denounced him as having conspired against the life of\nthe Grand Lama in order to create for himself a chance of wielding the\nsupreme authority. At any rate Temo Rinpoche occupied the pontifical\nseat as Regent before the present Grand Lama was installed on his\nthrone. Norpu Che-ring was the Prime-Minister to the Regent, and\nconducted the affairs of state in a high-handed manner. Things were\neven worse than this, for it is a fact, admitting of no dispute, that\nNorpu was oppressive, and mercilessly put to death a large number of\ninnocent persons. He was therefore a _persona ingrata_ with at least a\nsection of the public, and some of his enemies lost no time in giving\na detailed denunciation of the despotic rule of the Regent and his\nPrime-Minister as soon as the present Grand Lama was safely enthroned.\nNaturally therefore the former Regent and his Lieutenant were not\nregarded with favor by the Grand Lama, and such being the case, the\nterrible revelation about the shoes was at once followed by their\narrest, and they were thrown into prison.\n\nAll this had occurred before my arrival. When I came to Lhasa Temo\nRinpoche had been dead for some time, but Norpu Che-ring was still\nlingering in a stone dungeon which was guarded with special severity,\nbecause of the grave nature of his crime. The dungeon had only one\nnarrow hole in the top, through which food was doled out to the\nprisoner, or he himself was dragged out whenever he had to undergo\nhis examinations, which were always accompanied with torture. Hope\nof escape was out of the question, and the only opportunity offered\nhim of seeing the sunshine was by no means a source of relief, for\nit was invariably associated with the infliction of tortures of a\nterribly excruciating character. The mere description of it chilled\nmy blood. The torture, as inflicted on Norpu Che-ring, was devised\nwith diabolical ingenuity, for it consisted in driving a sharpened\nbamboo stick into the sensitive part of the finger directly underneath\nthe nail. After the nail had been sufficiently abused as a means of\ntorture, it was torn off, and the stick was next drilled in between the\nflesh and the skin. As even criminals possess no more than ten fingers\non both hands the inquisitor had to make chary use of this stock of\ntorture, and took only one finger at a time, till the whole number was\ndisposed of. Such was the treatment the ex-Prime-Minister received at\nhis hands.\n\nNorpu Che-ring bore this torture with admirable fortitude; he\npersisted that the whole plot originated in him alone and was put in\nexecution by his own hands only. His master had nothing to do with\nit. The inquisitors\u2019 object in subjecting their former superior and\ncolleague to this infernal torture was to extort from him a confession\nimplicating Temo Rinpoche, but they were denied this satisfaction by\nthe unflinching courage of their victim. It is said that this suffering\nof Norpu Che-ring had so far awakened the sympathy of Temo Rinpoche\nhimself that the latter tried, like the priest of noble heart that\nhe was, to take the whole responsibility of the plot upon his own\nshoulders, declaring that Norpu was merely a tool who carried out his\norders, and that therefore the latter was entirely innocent of the\ncrime. Temo even advised his steward, whenever the two happened to be\ntogether at the inquisition, to confess, as he, that is Temo, had done.\n\nThe steward, on his part, would reply that his master must have made\nthat baseless confession from the benevolent motive of saving his, the\nsteward\u2019s life, but that he was not so mean and depraved as to seek an\nunmerited deliverance at the cost of his venerable master\u2019s life. And\nso he preferred to suffer pain rather than to be released, and baffled\nall the attempts of the torturers. By the time I reached Lhasa Norpu\nhad already endured this painful existence for two years, and during\nthat long period not one word even in the faintest way implicating his\nmaster had passed his lips. From this it may be concluded that Temo had\nreally no hand in the plot. At the same time it must be remembered that\nTemo was an elder brother of Norpu, and the fraternal affection which\nthe latter entertained towards the other might therefore have been too\nstrong to allow of his implicating Temo, even supposing that the late\nRegent was really privy to the plot. Be the real circumstances what\nthey might, when I heard all these painful particulars, my sympathy\nwas powerfully aroused for Norpu, whatever hard words others might\nutter against him; for the mere fact that he submitted so long to such\nrevolting punishments with such persevering fortitude and with such\nfaithful constancy to his master and brother, appealed strongly to my\nheart.\n\nThe pilloried criminals whom I saw on that occasion were all\nsubordinates of Norpu Che-ring. Besides these, sixteen Bon priests had\nbeen executed as accomplices, while the number of laymen and priests\nwho had been exiled on the same charge must have been large, though\nthe exact number was unknown to outsiders. The pilloried criminals\nwere apparently minor offenders, for half of them were sentenced to\nexile and the remaining half to floggings of from three hundred to\nfive hundred lashes. The pillory was to last in each case for three to\nseven days. Looking at these pitiable creatures I felt as if I were\nwitnessing a sight such as might exist in the Nether World. My heart\ntruly bled for the poor, helpless fellows.\n\nHeavy with this sad reflexion I proceeded further on, and soon arrived\nat a place to the south of a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist edifice; and there, near the\nwestern corner of the building, flooded by sunshine, I beheld another\nheart-rending sight. It was a beautiful lady in the pillory. Her neck\nwas secured in the regulation frame, just as was that of a rougher\ncriminal, and the ponderous piece of wood was weighing heavily upon her\nfrail shoulders. A piece of red cloth made of Bh\u016bt\u0101n silk was upon her\nhead, which hung very low, for the frame around her neck did not allow\nher to move it freely. Her eyes were closed. Three men, apparently\npolice constables, were near by as guards. A vessel containing baked\nflour was lying there, and also some small delicacies that must have\nbeen sent by relatives or friends. All this food she had to take from\nthe hands of one or other of the three rough attendants, for her\nown hands were manacled. She was none other than the wife of Norpu\nChe-ring, whose miserable story I have already told, and was a daughter\nof the house of Do-ring, one of the oldest and most respected families\nin the whole of the Tibetan aristocracy.\n\n[Illustration: THE WIFE OF AN EX-MINISTER. PUNISHED IN PUBLIC.]\n\nWhen her husband was arrested, he was at first confined in a cell less\nterrible than the stone dungeon to which he was afterwards transferred.\nBut this early and apparently more considerate treatment only plunged\nhis family into greater misery. His wife was told that the jailer of\nthe prison in which her husband was incarcerated was not overstrict and\nthat he was open to corruption, and what faithful wife, even though\nTibetan, would resist the temptation placed before her under such\ncircumstances, of trying to seek some means of gaining admission to the\nlonely cell where her dear lord was confined? And so it came to pass\nthat Madame Norpu bribed the jailer, and with his connivance was often\nat her husband\u2019s side; but somehow her transgression reached the ears\nof the government, and she also was thrown into prison.\n\nOn the very morning of the day on which I came upon this piteous sight\nof the pillory, she was led out of the prison, as I heard afterwards,\nnot however for liberation, but first to suffer at the gate of the\nprison a flogging of three hundred lashes, and then to be conducted to\na busy thoroughfare to be pilloried for public disgrace.\n\nPoor woman! she seemed to be almost insensible when I saw her, and\nthe mere sight of her emaciated form and death-pale face aroused\nmy strongest sympathy. The sentiment of pity was intensified when\nI saw a group of idle spectators, among whom I even noticed some\naristocratic-looking persons, gazing at the pillory with callous\nindifference. They were heartless enough to approach her place of\ntorture and read the judgment paper. The sentence, as I heard it read\naloud by these fellows, condemned her to so many whippings, then to\nseven days pillory, and lastly to exile at such-and-such a place, there\nto remain imprisoned, fettered and manacled. The spectators not only\nread out the sentence with an air of perfect indifference, but some of\nthem even betrayed their depravity by reviling and jeering at the lady:\n\u201cServe her right,\u201d I heard them say; \u201ctheir hard treatment of others\nhas brought them to this. Serve them right.\u201d These aristocrats were\ngiving sardonic smiles, as if gloating over the misery of the house of\nNorpu Che-ring.\n\nReally the heartless depravity of these people was beyond description,\nand I could not help feeling angry with them. These same people, I\nthought, who seemed to take so much delight in the calamity of the\nfamily of Norpu Che-ring, must have vied with each other in courting\nhis favor while he was in power and prosperity. Even if it were beyond\nthe comprehension of these brutes to appreciate the meaning of that\nmerciful principle which bids us \u201chate the offence but pity the\noffender,\u201d one would have expected them to be humane enough to show\nsome sympathy towards this woman who was paying so dearly for her\nexcusable indiscretion. But they seemed to be utterly impervious to\nsuch sentiments, and so behaved themselves in that shameful manner. I,\nwho knew that political rivalry in Tibet was allowed to run to such an\nextreme as to involve even innocent women in painful punishment, felt\nsincerely sorry for the Lady Norpu, and returned to my residence with\na heavy heart. My sentiment on that particular occasion is partially\nembodied in this _uta_ that occurred to me as I retraced my heavy steps:\n\n You, everchanging foolish herds of men,\n As fickle as the dew upon the trees,\n To blooming flowers your smiling welcome give;\n Why should your tears of pity cease to flow\n When blooms or withering flowers pass away?\n\nOn my return, when I saw my host, the former Minister of Finance, I\nrelated to him what I had seen in the street, and asked him to tell\nme all he knew about the affair. He fully shared my sympathy for the\nunfortunate woman.\n\nWhile Norpu Che-ring was in power, my host told me, he was held in\nhigh respect. Nobody dared to whisper one word of blame about him and\nhis wife. Now they were fallen, and he felt really sorry for them.\nIt was true, he continued, that some people used to find fault with\nthe private conduct of Norpu Che-ring, and the former Minister could\nnot deny that there was some reason for that. But Temo Rinpoche was\na venerable man, pure in life, pious and benevolent, and had met\nwith such a sad end solely in consequence of the wicked intrigues of\nhis followers. My host was perfectly certain that Temo Rinpoche had\nabsolutely no hand in the plot. He said that he could not talk thus to\nothers; he could be confidential to me alone.\n\nTortures are carried to the extreme of diabolical ingenuity. They are\nsuch as one might expect in hell. One method consists in drilling a\nsharpened bamboo stick into the tender part of the tip of the fingers,\nas already described. Another consists in placing \u2018stone-bonnets\u2019 on\nthe head of the victim. Each \u2018bonnet\u2019 weighs about eight pounds, and\none after another is heaped on as the torture proceeds. The weight at\nfirst forces tears out of the eyes of the victim, but afterward, as the\nweight is increased, the very eye-balls are forced from their sockets.\nThen flogging, though far milder in itself, is a painful punishment,\nas it is done with a heavy rod, cut fresh from a willow tree, the\ncriminal receiving it on the bared small of his back. The part is soon\ntorn open by the lashing, and the blood that oozes out is scattered\nright and left as the beater continues his brutal task, until the\nprescribed number, three hundred or five hundred blows as the case may\nbe, are given. Very often, and perhaps with the object of prolonging\nthe torture, the flogging is suspended, and the poor victim receives a\ncup of water, after which the painful process is resumed. In nine cases\nout of ten the victims of this corporeal punishment fall ill, and while\nat Lhasa I more than once prescribed for persons who, as the result of\nflogging, were bleeding internally. The wounds caused by the flogging\nare shocking to see, as I know from my personal observations.\n\nA prison-house is in any case an awful place, but more especially so\nin Tibet, for even the best of them has nothing but mud walls and a\nplanked floor, and is very dark in the interior, even in broad day.\nThis absence of sunlight is itself a serious punishment in such a cold\ncountry.\n\nAs for food, prisoners are fed only once a day with a couple of\nhandfuls of baked flour. This is hardly sufficient to keep body and\nsoul together, so that a prisoner is generally obliged to ask his\nfriends to send him some food. Nothing, however, sent in from outside\nreaches the prisoners entire, for the gaolers subtract for their own\nmouths more than half of it, and only a small portion of the whole\nquantity gets into the prisoners\u2019 hands.\n\nThe most lenient form of punishment is a fine; then comes flogging, to\nbe followed, at a great distance, by the extraction of the eye-balls;\nthen the amputation of the hands. The amputation is not done all at\nonce, but only after the hands have been firmly tied for about twelve\nhours, till they become completely paralysed. The criminals who are\nabout to suffer amputation are generally suspended by the wrists from\nsome elevated object with stout cord, and naughty street urchins are\nallowed to pull the cord up and down at their pleasure. After this\ntreatment the hands are chopped off at the wrists in public. This\npunishment is generally inflicted on thieves and robbers after their\nfifth or sixth offence. Lhasa abounds in handless beggars and in\nbeggars minus their eye-balls; and perhaps the proportion of eyeless\nbeggars is larger than that of the handless ones.\n\nThen there are other forms of mutilation also inflicted as punishment,\nand of these ear-cutting and nose-slitting are the most painful.\nBoth parties in a case of adultery are visited with this physical\ndeformation. These forms of punishment are inflicted by the authorities\nupon the accusation of the aggrieved party, the right of lodging the\ncomplaint being limited, however, to the husband; in fact he himself\nmay with impunity cut off the ears or slit the noses of the criminal\nparties, when taken _in flagrante delicto_. He has simply to report the\nmatter afterwards to the authorities.\n\nWith regard to exile there are two different kinds, one leaving a\ncriminal to live at large in the exiled place, and the other, which is\nheavier, confining him in a local prison.\n\nCapital punishment is carried out solely by immersion in water. There\nare two modes of this execution: one by putting a criminal into a\nbag made of hides and throwing the bag with its live contents into\nthe water; and the other by tying the criminal\u2019s hands and feet and\nthrowing him into a river with a heavy stone tied to his body. The\nexecutioners lift him out after about ten minutes, and if he is judged\nto be still alive, down they plunge him again, and this lifting up\nand down is repeated till the criminal expires. The lifeless body is\nthen cut to pieces, the head alone being kept, and all the rest of the\nsevered members are thrown into the river. The head is deposited in a\nhead vase, either at once, or after it has been exposed in public for\nthree or seven days, and the vase is carried to a building established\nfor this sole purpose, which bears a horrible name signifying\n\u201cPerpetual Damnation.\u201d This practice comes from a superstition of the\npeople that those whose heads are kept in that edifice will forever be\nprecluded from being reborn in this world.\n\nAll these punishments struck me as entirely out of place for a country\nin which Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist doctrines are held in such high respect. Especially\ndid I think the idea of eternal damnation irreconcilable with the\nprinciples of mercy and justice, for I should say that execution ought\nto absolve criminals of their offences. Several other barbarous forms\nof punishment are in vogue, but these I may omit here, for what I have\nstated in the preceding paragraphs is enough to convey some idea of\ncriminal procedure as it exists in the Forbidden Land.\n\nI stayed in Lhasa till about the middle of October 1901, when I decided\nto return to Sera. My host kindly placed at my disposal one of his\nhorses and on this I jogged towards my destination. The snow had been\nfalling since the previous evening, and already the road was covered\nwith a thick layer of its crystal carpet. It was the first snow of the\nseason. On the road from Lhasa to Sera, by Shom-khe-Lamkha (priest\u2019s\nroad), there is a river about half a mile on this side of Sera. This\nriver dries up in winter, and on the day I am speaking of its bed\nwas covered with snow. There I noticed a party of five or six young\npriestlings of Sera, absorbed in the innocent sport of snowballing.\nThis highly amused me, calling forth in my mind\u2019s eye the sights I had\nfrequently come across at home, and reminding me that human nature is,\nafter all, very much alike the world over. And so these little fellows\nwere pelting each other with soft missiles, running and pursuing,\nshouting and laughing, forgetting for once the stern reprimanding\nvoices of their exacting masters, and I amused myself with composing an\n_uta_, as follows.\n\n On yonder fields of snow the children play,\n And fight with snow-balls in great glee.\n They throw and scatter these amongst themselves,\n And in these heated contests melts the snow.\n\nWhile I was watching the snow-fight, a burly fellow coming from\nthe direction of Lhasa overtook me and began to stare at me. I at\nonce recognised in him one of my old acquaintances, the youngest of\nthe three brothers whom I accompanied on the pilgrimage round Lake\nM\u0101nasarovara, who gave my face a sharp parting smack, as already\ntold. He seemed to be quite astonished, even frightened, when he saw\nme, his whilom companion of humble attire, now transformed into an\naristocratic-looking personage, such as I must have appeared to him.\nAt any rate he avoided my eyes, and was about to walk off with hurried\nsteps, when I bade him stop, and asked him if he had forgotten my\nface. The man could not but confess that he had not, and told me that\nhe was going to Sera. I made him come along with me, and treated him\nquite hospitably at my quarters in the monastery, besides giving him a\nfarewell present on parting. When I thanked him for all the trouble he\nhad taken for me during our pilgrimage, the man bowed his head as if\nin repentance, and even shed tears, no doubt of remorse. Before taking\nhis departure he told me that his brothers were living together at\ntheir native place, and that they were all doing well.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVII.\n\nA grim Funeral and grimmer Medicine.\n\n\nIt was just previous to the grand monthly catechising contest that I\nreturned to the Sera monastery. While I was busy with preparation, and\nin eager expectation of taking part in this important function, one of\nmy acquaintances died and I had to attend his funeral. Incidentally\ntherefore I took part in a ceremony which is perhaps unique in the\nworld. I may observe here that in Tibetan funerals neither a coffin\nnor urn is used in which to deposit the corpse. It is simply laid on\na frame made of two wooden poles, with a proper space between and two\ncross pieces tied to them. The rectangular space thus described is\nfilled in with a rough sort of network of ropes, and over the netting\nis spread a sheet of cloth for the reception of the corpse. Another\npiece of cloth, pure white in color, is thrown over the corpse, and\nthat completes the arrangement. The whole burden is then carried on the\nshoulders of two men, who insert their heads between the projecting\nends of the two longer poles.\n\nGenerally a funeral is performed on the third or fourth day after\ndeath, the interval being spent in observances peculiar to Tibet. First\nof all a properly qualified Lama is consulted as to the auspicious day\nfor performing the ceremony; then as to the special mode of funeral\nand the final disposal of the corpse. The Lama consulted gives his\ninstructions on all these points after referring to his books, and bids\nthe relatives of the deceased read such and such passages in the Sacred\nTexts, conduct the funeral ceremony on such and such day, and take the\nbier from the house at such and such an hour of the day. The priest\nalso advises on the mode of burial, of which there are four in vogue;\nthe four modes being distinguishable from each other by the agencies to\nbe brought into service, namely: water, flame, earth, and birds of the\nair. This last corresponds to the \u201cair-burial\u201d of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\nOf the four kinds of burial, or more properly modes of disposing of\ncorpses, the one generally regarded as the best is to leave the corpse\nto the vultures, known under the name of Cha-goppo in Tibet; then\ncomes cremation; then water-burial, and last land-burial. This last\nmethod of interment is never adopted except when a person dies from\nsmall-pox. In this particular case alone the Tibetans observe some\nsanitary principles, though probably by mere accident and not from any\nconviction, for they think that this dreadful epidemic is likely to\nspread if the corpse of a person stricken down by small-pox is left\nfor birds or consigned to a river. Though cremation is considered\nas a superior way of disposing of dead bodies, the process is by no\nmeans easy in a country where faggots are scarce, for the dried dung\nof the yak is hardly thought proper for the purpose. Hence cremation\nis confined to the wealthier class only. Water-burial generally takes\nplace near a large stream; but, in consigning a dead body to the water,\nit is first thoroughly dismembered, and thrown into the water piece by\npiece. This troublesome course is adopted from the idea that a dead\nbody thrown in whole will not speedily disappear from sight.\n\nThese four processes of disposing of corpses originate from Hin\u1e0d\u016b\nphilosophy, according to which human bodies are believed to consist\nof four elements, earth, water, fire and air, and it is thought that\non death they should return to these original elements. Land-burial\ncorresponds to the returning to earth, cremation to fire, water-burial\nto water, and the bird-devouring to the air, of which birds are the\ndenizens. The bodies of Lamas are mostly disposed of by this last\nprocess, while those of a few privileged persons only, such as the\nDalai Lama, sub-Dalai Lama and other venerable Lamas, believed to be\nincarnations of Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas, are given a special mode of burial.\n\n\u2018Air-burial\u2019 was chosen for the friend whose funeral I attended, and\nI shall briefly describe how this \u2018burial\u2019 was performed. Leaving the\ncollege at Sera, the _cort\u00e8ge_ proceeded eastward till it reached\nthe bank of a river near which, in a small valley formed between two\ncontiguous hills, stood a big boulder about twelve yards high. The top\nof this stone was level and measured about fifteen feet square. This\nwas the \u2018burial-ground\u2019 for this particular kind of interment. On the\nsummits of the surrounding hills, and even on the inaccessible parts\nof the rock itself, were perched a large number of vultures, with\ntheir eyes glistening with greed. They are always waiting there for\n\u2018burials\u2019. When the bier was placed upon this rock, the white sheet was\ntaken off, and the priest who had come, with the rest of the mourners\nand sympathisers, began to chant their texts to the accompaniment of\ndrums and cymbals. At the same time one man approached the corpse with\na broadsword, with which to \u2018dress\u2019 it. In \u2018dressing\u2019 the abdomen was\nfirst cut open and the entrails removed. Next all the various members\nof the body were severed, after which some other men, including a\nfew priests, undertook the finishing work of final \u2018dressing\u2019, which\nconsisted in separating the flesh and bones, just as butchers do with\nslaughtered cattle. By this time the vultures had gathered in a flock\nround the place, and big pieces, such as the flesh of the thighs, were\nthrown to them and most voraciously did they devour them. Then the\nbones had to be disposed of, and this was done by first throwing them\ninto one of the ten cavities on the rock, and pounding the heap with\nbig stones. When the bones had been fairly well pulverised a quantity\nof baked flour was added to the mass, and this dainty mixture was also\ngiven to the birds. The only thing that remained of the dead body was\nthe hair.\n\n[Illustration: FUNERAL CEREMONIES: CUTTING UP THE DEAD BODY.]\n\nThe Tibetans may practically be considered as a kind of cannibals.\nI was struck with this notion while witnessing the burial ceremony.\nAll the cloths used in the burial go as a matter of course to the\ngrave-diggers, though they hardly deserve this name, as their duty\nconsists not in digging the grave but in chopping the flesh of the\ncorpse and pounding the bones. Even priests give them help, for the\npounding business is necessarily tedious and tiresome. Meanwhile the\npounders have to take refreshment, and tea is drunk almost incessantly,\nfor Tibetans are great tea-drinkers. The grave-diggers, or priests,\nprepare tea, or help themselves to baked flour, with their hands\nsplashed over with a mash of human flesh and bones, for they never wash\ntheir hands before they prepare tea or take food, the most they do\nbeing to clap their hands, so as to get rid of the coarser fragments.\nAnd thus they take a good deal of minced human flesh, bones or brain,\nmixed with their tea or flour. They do so with perfect nonchalance; in\nfact, they have no idea whatever how really abominable and horrible\ntheir practice is, for they are accustomed to it. When I suggested that\nthey might wash their hands before taking refreshment, they looked at\nme with an air of surprise. They scoffed at my suggestion, and even\nobserved that eating with unwashed hands really added relish to food;\nbesides, the spirit of the dead man would be satisfied when he saw them\ntake fragments of his mortal remains with their food without aversion.\nIt has been stated that the Tibetans are descendants of the R\u0101kshasa\ntribe--a tribe of fiendish cannibals who used to feed on human flesh;\nand what I witnessed at the burial convinced me that, even at the\npresent day, they retained the horrible habit of their ancestors.\n\nWhile the burial ceremony is going on, a religious service is also\nconducted at the house of the deceased, and when the ceremony is\nover, those who have attended it call at the house of the bereaved\nfamily, where they are feasted by its members. I noticed that at\nthis entertainment intoxicants are served only to the laity. This\ndiscrimination is not observed, however, in the country districts.\n\nI shall next describe the mode of burying a Dalai Lama or a high-priest.\n\nWhen a person of high distinction dies, his body is put in a big box\nand marsh salt is copiously sprinkled over it till it is thoroughly\nimbedded in this alkaline padding. All this while, religious chanting\ngoes on, accompanied by the music of flutes, pipes and other\ninstruments. The box is then kept in a temple for about three months,\nduring which time offerings are made regularly, as when the deceased\nwas yet alive, and his disciples keep vigil over it by turns. Before\nthe coffin lights are kept burning in several golden burners containing\nmelted butter, while holy water is offered in seven silver vessels.\nFlowers of the season are also offered with other things. Every one\nallowed to worship near the remains is expected to make some offering\nin kind, accompanied by a small sum of money. By the time the three\nmonths have elapsed, all the watery portion of the corpse has been\nabsorbed by the salt, and it has become hard and dry. It seems to me\n(though I am not quite sure) that the Tibetan salt contains a large\npercentage of soda or other alkalies; at any rate it is somewhat\ndifferent from the salt found in Japan. Perhaps some special\ningredients are mixed in the salt, when it is used for packing a corpse.\n\nBe that as it may, when it is taken out of the coffin the corpse is\nthoroughly hardened, and has all its parts shrunk up, owing to the loss\nof all fluid elements, and the eyes are sunk in their sockets. Then\nfollows the process of \u2018dressing\u2019 the hardened corpse. The \u2018dressing\u2019\nin this case is made with a compound of a certain kind of clay and\npulverised particles of white sandalwood, and also probably certain\ndrugs of foreign production. This compound is carefully spread over\nall parts of the body. It is finally gilded, and a \u2018natural\u2019 image\nis the result. This image is put in a tabernacle enclosed in a small\nouter structure, which is highly decorated, and the whole thing, image\nand all, is kept in a shrine. Such shrines are found in many parts\nof Tibet; in the premises of the Tashi Lhunpo monastery at Shigatze\nfive such edifices are found, their roofs resplendent with gold. In\nconstruction these roofs very much resemble the double roof of a palace\nor similar building in China, and of course the decoration and size of\nthe edifice and tabernacle are different according to the rank of the\ncanonised Lamas, some of these structures being inlaid with gold and\nothers with silver.\n\nAt any rate, these images are objects of veneration to the Tibetans;\nboth priests and ordinary people visit and worship them. This peculiar\nmode of embalming high Lamas has been wittily commented upon by a\ncertain Chinaman, who remarks that the practice is inconsistent with\nthe strong prejudice which Tibetans possess against earth-burial, as\nthis mode of burial, according to their superstition, sends the dead\nperson to hell. For the treatment accorded to the dead body of a Grand\nLama, or other distinguished priest, is in fact a sort of earth-burial,\nin that the corpse is not given to birds or consigned to rivers or\nflames, but is preserved in clay after it has been salted and hardened.\n\nNow I come to the most wonderful medicines in the world. The first\nis the salt used in packing corpses. This salt is considered as an\narticle of great virtue, and accessible only to a limited number of the\nprivileged class. It is distributed only among aristocratic people, and\namong priests of distinction.\n\nOnly the wealthy merchants and great patrons of temples may hope,\nthrough some powerful influence, to obtain a small quantity of this\nprecious dirt. The salt is a panacea for the Tibetan, who swallows a\nsmall dose either by itself or dissolved in water for all kinds of ills\nthat flesh is heir to--from a slight attack of cold to a serious case\nof fatal disease. Whatever medical quality this loathsome compound\npossesses, one thing is certain--that it exercises a powerful influence\nupon the untutored minds of the ignorant Tibetans, and so excellently\nserves the purpose of \u201cmental cure\u201d. The salt medicine reminds me of\nthe existence in Tibet (and happily nowhere else) of another sort of\npanacea equally abominable. The mere mention of the real nature of this\nsecond series of so-called medicines, would, instead of curing the\npeople of other countries, infallibly make them sick, as the essential\ningredients are nothing less than the excreta, both liquid and solid,\nof the Grand Lama or other high priests. These are mixed with other\nsubstances and are made into pills, which are gilded over and sometimes\ncolored red. These pills, known under the name of _Tsa Chen-norpu_\n(precious balls) are not on sale, they being accessible to ordinary\npeople only through some powerful influence, and even then only by\npaying for them a large sum of money. The Tibetan is glad, however,\nto procure these pills at any cost, for he is under a fond delusion\nthat they possess a most effective curative power. They are kept as\nsomething like a family treasure, and are used as the last resort,\nwhen all other means of treatment have failed. When, by some accident,\na patient despaired of by doctors recovers after he has been dosed with\na few of the \u2018precious pills,\u2019 the people of course extol their merit\nto the skies; while if he dies, his case is regarded as having been\nbeyond cure, and the pills remain therefore the object of undiminished\nfaith. To do justice to this superstition, I ought to add that the\ncommon Tibetans are kept entirely in the dark as to the ingredients\nof the pills; they are taken as medicines prepared by the Grand Lama\nhimself according to a certain secret formula, and the shocking secret\nis known only to a select few, who are entitled to attend the Dalai\nLama\u2019s court.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVIII.\n\nForeign Explorers and the Policy of Seclusion.\n\n\nDuring the first decade of November, 1901, I returned to Lhasa to enjoy\nas before the hospitality of the ex-Minister. At that time the Finance\nMinister of the day was somewhat less occupied, and being, as I stated\nbefore, a nephew of the nun who was mistress of the house where I was a\nguest, and a gentleman of refined and affable manners, he used often to\ncall on and be invited to sit with the ex-Minister, the nun and myself,\nand to take part in our chats. Sometimes I called upon the Minister\nof the day in his apartments to talk with him. On one occasion our\nconversation touched on the subject of a British female missionary, who\nattempted to visit Lhasa.\n\n\u201cI wonder why British people are so desirous to come to our country,\u201d\nobserved the Minister in the course of our talk. \u201cI cannot at all\nunderstand their motive. For instance, a British woman arrived some\neight or nine years ago at a place called Nakchukha on the boundary\nbetween Tibet and China. She came there with two servants determined to\nenter Tibet.\u201d\n\nIt at once occurred to me that the Minister was referring to the case\nof one Miss Annie R. Taylor, a missionary, who attempted to travel\nfrom northern China to Darjeeling via Lhasa. My host did not know, or\ncould not remember, her name, but I knew it very well, having been\ntold of her bold venture while I was staying at Darjeeling, where I\naccidentally met with one of the guides who had accompanied her. But I\nprudently kept what I knew to myself, and listened to the Minister as\none eager to hear a strange and interesting story. The Minister went\non to tell me how the lady was stopped by the natives of the place\nfrom proceeding further. It was very fortunate that the chieftain of\nthe local tribe was a man of a merciful turn of mind, as otherwise\nshe would have been murdered there and then. A report on the matter\nwas soon forwarded to Lhasa by the magistrate of the district, and my\nhost was then ordered by his Government to hasten to the spot, and\ndeal with the foreign adventuress in a suitable manner. In other words\nhis commission was to cause the lady at once to quit Tibetan soil.\nThe Minister took with him two of his servants, besides a number of\ncoolies, the party altogether numbering about thirty.\n\nArrived at Nakchukha, he at once caused the lady to be brought to him;\nbut when he saw her, he at first could not understand what she was\nsaying, for although she spoke Tibetan, it was in a dialect differing\nfrom that in vogue at Lhasa. At last he succeeded in gathering the\ndrift of what she had to say, which was to this effect. She had come to\nTibet in order to acquaint herself with the sacred teachings of Tibetan\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. With that object she wanted to make a pilgrimage to Lhasa and\nto return home by way of Darjeeling. She then showed to the Minister a\npassport she had obtained from the Emperor of China. The Minister told\nher that personally he highly appreciated the lady\u2019s purpose, but he\nwas under strict orders from the Grand Lama\u2019s Government to forbid the\nentrance of the lady and of any other foreigner within his dominions.\nShould she, in disregard of this intimation, dare to push her way into\nthe interior, she would be sure to meet with some terrible mishap,\nperhaps death, for the Grand Lama\u2019s Government could not extend its\nprotection to a foreigner who, in defiance of its well-meant warning,\nshould attempt a journey through the wild districts of Tibet. His\nGovernment did not like the idea of being entangled needlessly in\ntrouble with another country, and therefore absolutely demanded the\nwithdrawal of the lady from Tibet. As a messenger of the Grand Lama\u2019s\nGovernment, especially despatched for this purpose, he must ask the\nlady to retrace her steps. The Minister dwelt on this point courteously\nbut firmly.\n\nThe lady on her part equally remained unyielding in her original\ndeclaration, and persisted on repeating her request, not for one or\ntwo days only, but even for four or five days in succession. When the\nMinister pointed out how foolhardy she was in her desire, and why she\nshould rather return the way she had come under the protection of the\nGrand Lama\u2019s Government, which would, in that case, escort her back as\nfar as some safe place, the lady demanded an explanation as to why a\nperson, possessing a passport obtained from the Emperor of China, could\nnot travel through Tibet, which was a protectorate under that Emperor.\nThe Minister admitted the suzerainty of the Chinese Emperor, but said\nthat, at the same time, they were not obliged to obey the Emperor\u2019s\nwill in everything, and that especially in the matter of seclusion they\nwere determined to oppose even the Emperor, should he try by force to\nset aside this traditional policy. He further added, as he told me,\nthat if the lady should still persist in her intention, he would be\nconstrained to put her two Tibetan guides under arrest, and punish them\naccording to the laws of the land. This punishment would be waived,\nhowever, if the lady desisted from her purpose and withdrew from Tibet.\n\nAfter all these protracted negotiations, the lady was at last induced\nto give up her point, and in about half a day\u2019s time after their last\nmeeting she came to acquaint him with the change in her resolution. As\nit was ascertained that the lady and her guides were subject to much\ndiscomfort, having suffered robbery on the way, the Minister kindly\ngave her some necessaries before she left Tibet for China.\n\nAfter having narrated all these things the Minister once more gave\nvent to his feeling of wonder at the inexplicable eagerness which\nforeigners were wont to show in their desire to visit his country. I\nfor my part replied discreetly that neither did I know why they should\nwish to enter it, but that I had heard that such attempts on the part\nof foreigners were not a novelty. The Minister himself knew that cases\nof strangers making attempts similar to that of the British lady were\nnot rare, and our conversation next turned to this part of Tibetan\nhistory.\n\nThe first authentic story of the arrival of a foreigner in Tibet is\nrecorded in the year 1328, when a priest of Pordenone, named Friar\nOdoric, entered Tibet as a propagandist of the Roman Catholic Church.\nHis attempt failed, chiefly because the Tibetans of the time had\nnothing in particular to learn from Odoric, for Tibet possessed many\npriests of its own, who were able to perform many things differing\nlittle from those recorded of Jesus Christ in their miraculous\ncharacter. Indeed Odoric himself seems to have profited by what he\nsaw in Tibet, instead of imparting anything new to the natives. He\ntook notes of many wonderful things performed by Tibetan priests, and\ntook them home, but he burnt most of those notes, for fear that their\npublication might compromise the interests of his own religion. So only\na fragment of the account of his travels was preserved.\n\nSome persons attribute this destruction of his own notes by Odoric\nto the inaccuracies which he had subsequently discovered, and claim\nthat he destroyed them in order not to mislead future generations.\nThis explanation has generally been accepted in preference to the\nother--that the Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism of the fourteenth century possessed a\nlarger number of miracles than those of Christianity. That the latter\nwas the more correct explanation of the two may be inferred, however,\nfrom the fact that the Roman Catholic Church, while devoting great\nenergy to propagating its doctrines in China, kept itself aloof from\nTibet, having come to the conclusion that that country was beyond its\nevangelising power.\n\nIn 1661 two brothers named Grueber and D\u2019Orville, probably Frenchmen,\nentered Tibet. It is doubtful whether they proceeded as far as Lhasa,\nthough it is stated that they went from Pekin to Lhasa and thence\nthrough Nep\u0101l to India. When Warren Hastings was the Viceroy of India,\nhe conceived the idea of establishing a regular trade connexion between\nIndia and Tibet, and dispatched a commissioner, named George Bogle,\nto the latter country in the year 1774. Bogle was accompanied by his\nwife. He failed to reach Lhasa, but remained at Shigatze, and his\naccount of the journey is still extant in print. In 1781 Hastings again\ndispatched a commissioner, this time under Captain Turner, who stayed\nin Tibet for two years. Only one English explorer reached Lhasa from\nIndia. That man was Thomas Manning, and it was in 1811.\n\nAbout that time trade between India and Tibet had grown active, but\nwith the termination of Hasting\u2019s viceroyalty and his return to England\nthe trade began to flag for lack of encouragement, till it ceased\naltogether. All channels of communications have since that time become\nalmost closed between the two countries. Meanwhile other Christian\nmissionaries had begun pushing on their work with great activity, even\nup to Lhasa, which they entered freely, and also to other places,\nsome of them not far from that city, and this movement on the part of\nforeign propagandists put the Grand Lama\u2019s Government on its guard.\nComing down as late as 1871, a Russian Colonel named Prejevalsky\nentered Tibet across its eastern border through Kham, and reached\na place about five hundred miles from Lhasa. But he was compelled\nto return thence homeward, at the bidding of Tibet\u2019s hierarchical\nGovernment. Apparently he at first passed through the Chinese region\nof Tibet, but was stopped as soon as he had set his feet in the Dalai\nLama\u2019s dominions. This Russian Officer, undaunted by his first failure,\nnext tried to enter Tibet from the north, and this time he reached a\nplace about one hundred and seventy miles from Lhasa on the boundary\nline between the Chinese and the Tibetan territories, but was again\nobliged to withdraw.\n\nIn 1879 an Englishman named Captain Hill entered Tibet from the\ndirection of Ta-chien-lu, but he also had to withdraw from Ba-lithang\non the boundary between the Chinese and Tibetan dominions. It was at\nthis place also that the Japanese priests, Messrs. N\u014dmi and Teramoto,\nwere driven back. My host the Minister once incidentally referred to\nMr. N\u014dmi\u2019s attempt, and said that two priests from a country named\nJapan reached Ba-lithang some years ago, but they were ordered to\nwithdraw, as it was not sufficiently clear whether they were really\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priests or persons of other callings.\n\nThe last exploration I would mention here is that undertaken in 1881\nand 1882 by Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, my own teacher, of whom mention has been\nmade several times already. This Hin\u1e0d\u016b had obtained in a very ingenious\nway a pass from the Tibetan Government, and, armed with it, he first\nproceeded as far as Shigatze, where he remained for two months; after\nawhile he returned to India. That was in 1881. The result of his\nexploration was reported to the British Government, and he was for a\nsecond time asked to undertake another trip into Tibet in the following\nyear, having secured as before a Tibetan passport. On his second visit\nhe first reached Shigatze and afterward entered Lhasa. As I heard\nfrom a Tibetan, he conducted his mission with extreme caution, seldom\nventuring abroad in the daytime, and when obliged to do so he took\nevery care to avoid attracting the attention of the natives. He spent\nmost of his time in a room of a temple, and there secretly carried out\nhis investigations. In this way he stayed in Lhasa for twenty days;\nthen he went back to his sphere of work in other parts of Tibet and at\nlast returned to Darjeeling after an absence of less than a year.\n\nI have mentioned, in a preceding chapter that when the real nature\nof the mission of Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s had become known to the Tibetan\nGovernment, it caused extraordinary disturbance, involving all the\nofficials who had been on duty at the barrier-gates through which the\nHin\u1e0d\u016b had passed, as well as all the persons who had extended any sort\nof hospitality to him during his stay in the country. All these persons\nwere thrown into prison and their property was confiscated. A number\nof those whose complicity, unwitting though it was, was judged more\nserious than that of the others were condemned to death and executed.\nAfter this memorable occurrence, Tibet resolved more than ever to\nenforce strictly the policy of exclusion against all foreigners.\n\nIn 1886 a Secretary of the American Legation at Peking, Mr. Rockhill,\ntried to enter Tibet, only to repeat the failure of others, and all\nother Christian missionaries who made similar attempts about that time\nwere also unsuccessful. The number of abortive Tibetan explorers must\nbe quite large; I myself heard of some twenty-five or twenty-six. I\nshould not wonder if the number would reach forty or even fifty, when\nall the would-be explorers are taken into account. I have frequently\nseen in our Japanese magazines and newspapers articles about Tibet,\nwhich are highly misleading and often fictitious. The fact must be\nthat those articles are written on the incorrect information found in\nmost works on Tibet, and that the inaccuracy is further aggravated\nby the inventive brains of the writers of the articles. One of the\nmost conspicuous instances of this kind is furnished in the case of\nA. Csoma de K\u00f6r\u00f6s, a Hungarian, who first compiled a Tibetan-English\ndictionary, having learned the language from a Lama in Ladak, a\ndistrict on the south-western boundary of Tibet, next to British India,\nwhere the compiler resided for more than three years. The author\nwanted to study the Tibetan language on its native soil and for that\nreason attempted to enter Tibet. He found it impossible to carry out\nhis plan from Ladak, as the Tibetan frontier guards there forbade the\nentry into their country of a stranger. Then it occurred to him that\nhe might succeed in his project if he started from Darjeeling, and\nthither he went. Unfortunately, he caught jungle-fever while travelling\nin the neighborhood of Darjeeling and died there, never having put\nhis foot on Tibetan soil. His tomb even now stands at a place near\nDarjeeling, probably at the place where he fell ill. Writers on Tibet,\nboth Japanese and Western, mostly represent this Csoma as having spent\nmany years in Lhasa, and that is where the fiction comes in. Another\nlexicographer, Jaeschke, compiled a Tibetan dictionary based on, but\nmuch better than Csoma\u2019s. Jaeschke never entered Tibet, and yet he is\ngenerally credited with having successfully crossed the border and\nreached Lhasa, and lived there for a considerable period. All such\nerrors being made by Western writers as well as by the Japanese, I do\nnot of course mean to blame the latter alone.\n\nBesides the attempts at Tibetan exploration already referred to,\nthere have from time to time been a number of missionaries or spies\ndespatched by either Russia or England, who have frequently appeared at\nTibetan frontier stations only to arouse the suspicions of the Grand\nLama\u2019s Government, until the latter has become irrevocably committed\nto the policy of absolute seclusion. To do justice to the Tibetans,\nthey were originally a people highly hospitable to strangers. This\nsentiment was superseded by one of fear and even of antipathy, as the\nresult of an insidious piece of advice which, probably prompted by some\npolicy of its own, the Government of China gave to Tibet; it was to\nthe effect that if the latter allowed the free entrance of foreigners\ninto her territories, they would destroy her Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and replace it\nwith Christianity. The simple-minded Tibetan became dreadfully alarmed\nat this warning; but even then he did not all at once put the policy\nof exclusion into full force. The absolute exclusion dates from the\ndiscovery of Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s\u2019 mission. Since then, the enforcement of\nthe exclusion policy has become so strict that it now seems as though\nTibet has been converted into a nation of detectives and constables.\n\nEspecially for European people, with such visible marks of racial\ndistinction on the surface and also because they are accustomed to make\ntheir attempts on a large scale, it has become morally impossible to\nenter Tibet. Dr. Sven Hedin, for example, tried to enter repeatedly\nfrom the north, while I was staying at Lhasa, but each time the\nrenowned explorer was baffled in his attempt, and he finally gave it\nup altogether[3]. In view of such repeated attempts on the part of\nforeigners, both the Lamas and ordinary people could not but suspect\nthe motive of these adventurers, and they have therefore naturally\ncome to the conclusion that all those foreigners must be entertaining\nsome sinister designs on Tibet. The popular idea about the supposed\ndesigns of England is interesting, for the natives attribute it to\nthe desire on the part of English people to take possession of gold\nmines which are plentifully found in their country. This is of course\na very superficial view, so far as the interest England seems to feel\ntoward Tibet is concerned; for the Tibetan policy of that country, in\nmy own humble opinion, comes from the desire to prevent Russia from\nbringing Tibet under her sway and from using that highland as a base of\noperations in carrying out her ambitious projects on India, for it is\nevident that, with Russia securely established up there, England would\nhardly be able to feel secure about the safety of India.\n\n[3] Dr. Sven Hedin succeeded in entering Tibet from Kashmir in 1906.\n\nThe Tibetan Minister of the Treasury once said to me that it would\nindeed be a great humiliation to Tibet if ever she were reduced to\nbeing a tributary of another country, but that there might be another\ncalamity far more disastrous and unbearable in its effect, and that\nwas the danger of her national religion being superseded by a strange\nfaith. Therefore, the Minister continued, Tibet must oppose, at all\ncosts, any plans made by foreigners against her, and consequently the\nlatter should be prevented from hearing of the existence of factious\nrivalries in the Hierarchy, for should they get an inkling of this\nstate of affairs, it would not take them long to turn this internal\ndissension to serve their own mischievous ends. Hence it was absolutely\nnecessary for Tibet that she should forbid the entry of all foreigners\nand keep them in the dark as to the real condition of the country. It\nwill thus be seen that the seclusion policy, which primarily originated\nin religious motives, has since acquired a greater force from political\nconsiderations, and it is not strange that no foreigners have been\nallowed to enter Tibet since the revelation of the secret mission of\nSara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s. That incident, the then Minister of Finance told\nme in referring to it, impressed the Tibetans more strongly than ever\nwith the necessity of locking their door against the intrusion of all\nforeigners.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIX.\n\nA Metropolis of Filth.\n\n\nShortly after I had the conversation recorded in the last chapter\nwith the Finance Minister, I went out with the ex-Minister and his\nattendants for a walk round the _lingkor_ (circuit) of Lhasa, this\nbeing the outermost circuit surrounding the city, and measuring about\nsix miles. The journey round this circuit is considered as a highly\npious act by Tibetans, who believe that it amounts to visiting every\ntemple and sacred stone house contained within the circuit. There are\nseveral modes of performing this journey--walking steadily along,\nmaking a bow at each step, or making one at every three steps. Our\njourney on that occasion had no such religious meaning; it was merely a\nwalk. The walk, however, was rather trying to me, for my host was very\ntall and had very long legs, so that I had to hurry to keep pace even\nwith his leisurely steps.\n\nBy the side of this circuit and to the east of Lhasa stood a queerly\nshaped high fence, made of countless yak\u2019s horns. The fence measures\nfrom one hundred and twenty to two hundred and forty yards in length\nand as it is entirely composed of the horns, it is hardly possible\nto form an idea even in imagination of how many horns went to the\nconstruction of the fence. The enclosure is used as a slaughtering\nplace for yak. It was not the first time that I had seen that fence,\nbut on that particular day I was able to observe it with greater care\nthan ever before. When I remarked to the ex-Minister how immense must\nbe the number of the beasts that had been slaughtered in the enclosure,\nmy host replied that he felt pity for the beasts. We soon arrived at an\nopening in the fence and, peeping in, I saw some thirty yaks brought\nthere for slaughter. The work was done in a manner quite improper for\nsuch a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist country as Tibet, for no pious ceremony was performed,\nsuch as the touching of the head of a beast about to be slaughtered\nwith a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Text. It was butchered quite unceremoniously, in a\nthoroughly business-like manner. I subsequently learned that the\nslaughter of animals is undertaken in Lhasa exclusively by Chinese\nMuhamme\u1e0dans, who are of course not expected to care much about such\nceremonies. As it was, I saw a slaughterman chop off the head of a yak\nin a very impious manner, and in the presence of the other poor beasts,\nwhich were staring with tearful eyes at the butchery of their comrades.\nI really felt pity for the beasts.\n\nThe ex-Minister was apparently impressed with a similar sentiment, for\nhe told me that he felt as though he could hardly swallow a morsel of\nmeat after he had witnessed such a horrible scene; yet such is human\ndepravity, he continued, that people soon forget this tender feeling\nof compassion when they return home, and are displeased if no meat is\nserved to them at table. He could not but conclude therefore that the\nTibetans must be the descendants of R\u0101kshasas or devils, and that the\nblood of those impious savages must be still running in their veins.\n\nThe circuit is kept in excellent repair (comparatively speaking,\nthat is to say) for the Hierarchy maintains a regular staff of\nroad-commissioners who are charged with the duty of keeping the circuit\nin good condition for the benefit of the pilgrims, who not unfrequently\nhave to kneel on the ground for their devotions.\n\nThe contrast which the condition of the circuit makes with that of\nordinary thoroughfares is beyond description. It is not merely that\nthe other roads are full of holes, but also that they have in their\nmidst open cesspools, specially constructed and openly frequented by\nboth men and women. The filth, the stench, the utter abomination of\nthe streets are extremely loathsome, especially after rains in summer,\nfor though there are plenty of dogs feeding about in the streets they\nare not enough for the supply. Then remember that the Lhasa people\ndrink water from the shallow wells standing amidst such abominable\nsurroundings. The meaning of the word Lhasa itself is indeed absolutely\ninappropriate; it signifies the \u2018ground of deities,\u2019 and therefore\nsupposedly a place of purity. As Panden A\u1e6d\u012bsha remarked, a place in\nTibet is really a city of devils, who subsist on vile substances. I\nhave often heard of the filthy condition of the streets in Chinese\ncities, but I hardly believe they can be as filthy as the streets in\nLhasa, where the people live in utter defiance of all rules of hygiene\nand even decency. The wonder is how they can escape being exterminated\nby pestilence, which would be sure to visit most other places that\nneglected, even in a far lesser degree, the laws of sanitation; and\nyet, from what I observed during my residence in Lhasa, the people\ndid not seem to suffer to any perceptible extent from such unhygienic\nsurroundings. My own theory is that this immunity from epidemic must\nbe due to the extremely healthy climate of Lhasa. The winter there is\nsufficiently cold, but is less uncomfortable than in our Hokkaido, for\nthough at night the mercury falls below freezing point, it rises to\nforty or fifty degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime. In summer, too, the\nthermometer rarely rises much above eighty. Indeed of all the places I\nhave travelled in or heard of, Lhasa seems to come first in point of\na healthy climate. It is owing to this precious gift of nature that\nthe people of Lhasa can live with impunity amidst filth and general\ncontaminations.\n\nAll these thoughts occurred to me while I walked round the circuit with\nthe ex-Minister, and also whenever I took a walk in the city.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LX.\n\nLamaism.\n\n\nI must here give a brief description of the Tibetan religion, for\nwithout it any intelligent explanation of the political system is\nimpossible, while some notice, however cursory, of the administrative\norganisation must precede an account of Tibetan diplomacy, upon which\nI also wish to touch briefly.\n\nIn describing the Tibetan national religion, I must confine myself\nonly to a popular exposition of the subject, and must leave out of\nconsideration as much as possible other matters that are ulterior and\ntechnical.\n\nWith that premise I must first of all state that Lamaism is divided\ninto two main branches, one older and the other more modern, the\nformer being popularly known as the \u2018Red Cap Sect\u2019 and the latter as\nthe \u2018Yellow Cap.\u2019 The older Sect is subdivided into a large number of\nsub-sects, such as Sakya, Karmapa, Dukpa, Zokchenpa, and others, but\nthey all agree upon cardinal points and in the formula for attaining\nperfection.\n\nThe founder of the Old Sect was a \u1e6c\u0101n\u1e6dric priest named Lobon Padma\nChungne in Tibetan. That name was derived from a popular tradition\nthat he was born into this world out of a lotus flower in the Pond of\n\u1e0canakosha, in a Royal garden of the Kingdom of Urken, now in Cabul.\nHis career is full of myths far more fantastic than any of those in\nthe Japanese mythology, and there is very little that is tangible\nand rational about it. One thing seems to be certain--that, although\na priest, he strictly enjoined on his disciples the practices of\nflesh-eating, marriage and drinking. He ingeniously grafted carnal\npractices on to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist doctrines, and declared that the only secret\nof perfection for priests consisted in leading a jovial life, and that\nby this means alone a man born into this world of \u2018five impurities\u2019 can\nhope to attain quickly to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhahood and salvation.\n\n[Illustration: LOBON PADMA CHUNGNE.]\n\nThe doctrine that it is necessary to satisfy carnal desires is based\non the theory that great desires partake of the nature of Mah\u0101bo\u1e0dhi;\nthat as the greatest of human desires is sensuality, therefore man\ncan attain Mah\u0101bo\u1e0dhi by indulging this passion, for by it he can best\nrealise the first essential of the reality of \u0100\u1e6dman, that is oblivion\nof self. The eating of animal flesh, another craving of men, conforms\nto the principle of mercy, because the soul of the animal can be\nbrought under the beneficial influence of the Bo\u1e0dhi in the eater, and\nis thus enabled indirectly to attain this supreme state. Liquors give\npleasure to men, so that to enjoy ourselves by drinking them and to\nlive a pleasant life is an ideal state obtained by an intelligent act.\nIn short, according to the doctrines of the Old Sect, men can attain\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhahood by holy contemplation accompanied by drinking liquors,\neating flesh, and indulgence in carnal desires. Such are, in the main,\nthe fundamental tenets of this particular Sect, the details of which I\ncould not give here even if I had ample space at my disposal, for they\nare too full of obscenity. I may say, however, that this Sect tries to\njustify the indulgence of human desires under the sanction of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\nIn Japan also there once existed the Tatekawa school of the Shingon\nSect, which did much to corrupt social order and morals by preaching\nsimilar pernicious theories, though it is not possible to speak\nauthoritatively on this subject, as very few fragments of the texts and\ncanonical writings of that suppressed school are now extant. However,\nthe scope and plan of that quasi-religion must have been extremely\nlimited.\n\nThe Old Sect of Tibet is, on the other hand, on a large scale and its\ndoctrine has obtained a wide credence throughout the country.\n\nThe texts of this sect are still extant in Tibet and the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d texts\nprepared in India with Tibetan translations are fairly numerous.\nThe Old Sect has undergone considerable modifications since its\nintroduction into Tibet, for the Lama priests have freely modified the\noriginal according to their own views and opinions. In fact the Tibetan\ntexts of this particular Sect are far from preserving the original\nforms of teaching and expression.\n\nI have brought home, among other Lamaistic writings, quite a large\nnumber of volumes treating on the esoteric side of the doctrines of the\nOld Sect, which are credited as being most authentic, but I have to\nkeep them in a closed box, for they are too full of obscene passages to\nallow of their being read by the many.\n\nThese degenerate doctrines were widely spread throughout Tibet until,\nabout five hundred years ago, they proved to be too pernicious even for\nsuch a corrupt country as Tibet. A reaction arose against the Old Sect,\nwhich took the shape of the so-called New Sect.\n\nThis was founded by Paldan A\u1e6d\u012bsha, a priest from India, in the eleventh\ncentury A. D., and was after three centuries further perfected by Je\nTsong-kha-pa, who was born in a house \u201camidst onion plots\u201d in Amdo,\na Chinese part of Tibet, situated to the north of Tibet proper. This\npriest, perceiving the fearful state of corruption into which the\nTibetan religion had fallen, assigned to himself the Herculean task of\npurging that Augean stable.\n\nHe took his ground on the fundamental proposition that priesthood\nmust stand on asceticism, that priesthood devoid of asceticism was\nalso void, and that of all the conditions of asceticism abstinence\nfrom carnal desires was the most important, for a priest indulging in\nthese had nothing to distinguish him from a layman. Je Tsong-kha-pa\nset an example of following his own precepts, but first he declared\nfor the necessity of enforcing rules of moral discipline for priests.\nBut there were not a sufficient number of priests qualified to\nreceive ordination. At last a number of his first convents and of the\nsupporters of his precepts were collected to form the nucleus of the\nnew movement, and they raised the standard of a spiritual campaign at\nGanden, a place about forty miles from Lhasa.\n\n[Illustration: JE TSONG-KHA-PA.]\n\nBut the New Sect, in superseding the degenerated national religion, had\nto conform itself to the national partiality for esoterism, which\nis more or less present in every form of religion or cult prevailing\nin Tibet, and it therefore included in its system certain esoteric\nforms as distinct from the esoterism of the Old Sect. The New Sect did\nnot denounce the images worshipped by the followers of the Old Sect,\nalthough they all consisted of dual figures of men and women, often\nrepresented in offensive postures; it had, however, to give to them a\nnew interpretation of an abstract nature. Thus men were explained as\nrepresenting \u2018proper means\u2019 and women as representing \u2018transcendental\nknowledge,\u2019 and it was said that the proper combination of the two\nelements gave birth to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas. Therefore the birth of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas,\naccording to this interpretation, did not come from carnal indulgence.\nAnimal flesh, again, was interpreted as representing mercy, and\ntherefore not intended for eating, while liquors were considered as\nembodying human intelligence, and as giving an object-lesson to teach\nmen how to exercise their inborn intelligence.\n\nIn that symbolic way the New Sect explained the precepts inculcated by\nits older rival. The images that had been used by the latter were also\nadopted, only with a new interpretation, so that externally the two\nsects do not differ much from each other. Strange as it may appear, it\nis highly probable that worldly circumstances obliged the New Sect to\nassume this anomalous position. I have to stop here in my description\nof the doctrinal side of the Tibetan religion, for to go further would\nlead me into technical and abstruse points.\n\nI shall describe next that peculiar practice or belief of the Tibetan\nreligion which is called incarnation.\n\nThe idea embodied in the doctrine of incarnation is that the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhas,\nor saints whose bodies are invisible to man, are reincarnated in the\nshape of priests of pious virtue for the salvation of the people.\nThe scope of this incarnation is rather comprehensive in Tibet, for\nalmost every lama with any pretensions above the common level believes\nthat he is destined to be reborn into the world to work for salvation.\nThis idea seems to have undergone considerable modifications since it\nwas first conceived, so that such incarnations as are accepted to-day\nappear quite different from those of older days, as I shall describe\nfurther on.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXI.\n\nThe Tibetan Hierarchy.\n\n\nMore than four centuries ago there lived a priest named Gendun Tub\nwho was a disciple of the founder of the New Sect. It was this\npriest who first originated the practice of invocation of oracles\nwhich was subsequently elaborated into a peculiar habit of selecting\nincarnations. It happened in this way. When Gendun Tub was about to\nexpire, he left word that he would be reborn at such and such a place.\nEnquiry was made, and the birth of a boy was ascertained to have taken\nplace at the specified place. This would not be particularly marvellous\nwere it not for the fact, as recorded in tradition, that, as soon as he\ncould articulate, the boy declared his wish to return to his temple,\nthe name of which he declared to be Tashi Lhunpo, the very temple where\nthe venerable Gendun Tub had died. There was no longer any doubt in the\nminds of his faithful disciples and followers that their master had\nbeen reborn in that boy. The boy was conveyed to the temple, was there\nbrought up, and was finally installed as the second Grand Lama, called\nGendun Gyamtso.\n\nNothing particular occurred in this matter of incarnations during the\nperiods of his third and fourth successors, but they grew quite popular\nafterwards, especially in the days of the fifth and the sixth Grand\nLamas, till at last the whole system of the consultation of divine\noracles assumed the shape in which it is found to-day. The fifth Grand\nLama was a great promoter of the oracle system. His name was Ngakwang\nGyamtso, and though the head of the New Sect, he investigated the\ntexts and all matters of the Old Sect and introduced into his own sect\nmany things pertaining to the Old. Oracle-invocation was extensively\npractised in his time, and the privilege of undertaking this solemn\nwork was entrusted to four temples, or rather the deities presiding\nover them, namely Nechung, Samye, Lamo and Gatong. From the fifth Grand\nLama also dates another innovation of far greater importance, that is\nto say, the establishment of Hierarchical Government.\n\nBefore his time, the Grand Lamas held only spiritual power, and had\nnothing to do with temporal or administrative affairs, for the Grand\nLamas had no territories to administer except a small glebe.\n\nAbout that time a powerful Mongolian chieftain named Shr\u012b Gaumi\nTenjin Choe Gyal invaded Tibet and subdued all the petty tribes that\nhad hitherto existed there. These numbered thirteen, each counting\naccording to tradition ten thousand families. Tibet may thus be\nconsidered to have contained one hundred and thirty thousand families,\nand, strange to say, this is also believed to be the present number of\nthe population, according to popular accounts.\n\nThe Mongolian conqueror disposed of the districts he had subdued in\na very interesting manner, for instead of bringing them under his\ndirect control he presented the whole region to the Grand Lama of the\nday. Thus originated the system of the Hierarchy, which therefore\ndates only about three centuries back. But to return to the subject of\noracle-consultation.\n\nBy this time the process of consultation had to undergo considerable\nmodifications, owing to the fact that the high Lamas who were to be\nreborn not unfrequently omitted the trouble of enlightening others\nabout the places of their re-appearance on the earth. These places had\nto be discovered therefore, for the Tibetans firmly held, as they do\neven to-day, that high Lamas who die are sure to re-incarnate somewhere\nafter the lapse of forty-nine days from the day of death. Hence arose\nthe necessity to determine the place of such re-incarnation, and this\ntask devolved on the oracle-invokers of one of the four particular\ntemples mentioned before.\n\nThe process as it is in vogue at present is essentially identical with\nthat prevailing in former times, and is exceedingly strange, to say the\nleast of it. The mediums or invokers who perform this holy business\nbehave themselves in such an extravagant way that the uninitiated would\nconsider them to be stark mad.\n\nThe consultation of the oracle is performed by a number of priests, one\nof whom is a medium, the rest being assistants. These beat drums and\nstrike cymbals, whilst others chant the Texts. The medium is attired\nin a gorgeous fashion. He wears a big head-cloth with silk pendants of\nfive hues hanging from behind. Sometimes strips of glittering brocade\nare used instead. The garment is not unlike that worn by Japanese\npriests, and is of yellow or red satin, decorated with figures of\nflowers. From the knot of the sash hang long strips of cloth. Thus\nattired, the medium waits for response from the deities, remaining\nwith closed eyes in a half sitting posture, while all the time the\ndiscordant sounds made by the orchestra are kept up. After a while he\nbegins to tremble and shake, this movement gathering force, till all of\nsudden he either falls on his back or jumps up, according to the nature\nof the deity who responds to the invocation, and has now descended\ninto the body of the medium. He will then say, still continuing to\nshudder, that the particular Lama has re-appeared at such and such a\nplace, and in such and such a house which faces in a certain direction;\nthat the family consists of a certain number of members; that a baby\nborn on a certain day is a re-incarnation of the dead Lama, and so on.\nAn enquiry is then made according to the direction and of course the\npronouncement of the oracle is confirmed, and a baby corresponding to\nthe description given is found in the house. The boy is left under the\ncare of his mother till he can be weaned, and then he is brought to the\nspecified temple where he is educated. In education special care is\ntaken to inspire in him the strong self-confidence that he is a holy\nre-incarnation.\n\nAt any rate the practice of invoking divine oracles extensively came\ninto vogue from the time of the fifth Grand Lama, and is used for all\nmatters great or small, from vexed international problems to trifling\nquestions that easily admit of solution.\n\nThe oracle-giving deities, as I mentioned before, are four, and they\nare regarded as the guardian angels of the Lama Hierarchy. Of the four\nNechung is the most powerful.\n\nSuppose a Grand Lama dies, and a necessity arises to determine the\nplace of his re-incarnation. The four temples dedicated to the four\ndeities are ordered by the authorities to undertake the mysterious\nbusiness of identification, this order being generally issued about\na year after the death of the august Lama. All the priests of the\nfour temples are summoned on that occasion, and they separately\nconsult their own respective oracles. Their deities are, however,\nnot infallible, and often prove just as divided in their judgment as\nordinary mortals are, for very rarely do the four oracles coincide, and\nusually those oracles produce three different candidates. The choice\nhas therefore to be made from among the three.\n\nThe three or four boy-candidates (as the case may be) are brought to\nLhasa, when they have reached the age of five years. The ceremony of\nselection is next performed. This is of course conducted with great\npomp and solemnity. The dignitaries who are privileged to take part in\nit are the Chinese Commissioner residing in Lhasa and the Regent Lama;\nalso the Prime Ministers and all the Ministers, Vice-Ministers and a\nnumber of high Lamas are allowed to be present. First the names of\nthe boy-candidates (three or four in number, as the case may be) are\nwritten on so many pieces of paper, and put in a golden urn which is\nthen sealed. For the period of a week a kind of high mass is performed\nin the ceremony-hall, in order to entreat the divine intercession for\nthe selection of the real re-incarnation. When this period expires all\nthe dignitaries before-mentioned are once more assembled around the\nsealed urn. This is carefully inspected and the seal is then taken\noff. The Chinese Commissioner then takes a pair of tiny ivory sticks\nsomething like ordinary chop-sticks in shape and size and, with his\neyes shut, puts them into the urn and solemnly picks out one of the\npapers. The name written on that paper is read, and the bearer of that\nname is acknowledged as Grand Lama-elect.\n\nFrom what I have described, there is apparently little room, if any,\nfor trickery, but I have heard from the Secretary of the Chinese\nCommissioner that dishonest practices are in reality not infrequent.\nIndeed the temptations are too strong for greedy and dishonest\nminds to resist, owing to the keen rivalry among the parents of the\nboy-candidates to have their own boys selected. Strong interest urges\nthem on in this rivalry, for the parents of the Lama-elect are not only\nentitled to receive the title of Duke from the Chinese Government,\nbut also enjoy many other advantages, above all the acquisition of a\nlarge fortune. Under these circumstances the parents and relatives of\neligible boys are said to offer large bribes to the Chinese Amban, and\nto others who are connected with the ceremony of selection. I do not\naffirm the fact of bribes, but at least I have heard that cases of such\nunder-hand influence have occurred not unfrequently.\n\nThe selection of the Grand Lama is thus made by an elaborate process,\nin which the influence of the oracle-invokers plays an important part.\nThe priests who have charge of this business are in most cases men\nwho make it their business to blackmail every applicant. Most of the\noracle-priests are therefore extremely wealthy.\n\nThe Nechung who are under the direct patronage of the Hierarchy, are\ngenerally millionaires, as millionaires go in Tibet. This, taken in\nconjunction with another fact, that the re-incarnations of higher Lamas\nare generally sons of wealthy aristocrats, or merchants, and that it\nis only very rarely that they are discovered among the lowly, must be\nconsidered as suggesting the working of some such practices. I have\neven heard that some unscrupulous people corrupt the oracle-priests for\nthe benefit of their unborn children, so as to have their boys accepted\nas Lamas incarnate when born. From a worldly point of view the expense\nincurred on this account not unfrequently proves a good \u2018investment,\u2019\nif I may use the profane expression, for the boys who are the objects\nof the oracles have a good chance of being installed in the temples\nwhere their spiritual antecedents presided, which are sure to possess\nlarge property. This property goes, it need hardly be added, to the\nboys, after they have been duly installed. Whatever may have been the\npractical effect of incarnation in former times, it is, as matters\nstand at present, an incarnation of all vices and corruptions, instead\nof the souls of departed Lamas.\n\nI once remarked to certain Tibetans that the present mode of\nincarnation was a glaring humbug, and that it was nothing less than an\nembodiment of bribery.\n\nTo do justice to the incarnations themselves, they grow up, in eight\ncases out of ten, to be Lamas of more than average ability, perhaps\nbecause they are brought up with special care. Their teachers and\nguardians treat their wards with kindness and never use rough language\nto them even when they behave as they ought not to behave. In such case\nthe teachers and guardians appeal to their sense of honor and great\nresponsibility.\n\nThis reminds me of the necessity of treating children with\nconsideration, and that to abuse them as blockheads or fools, when they\nerr in their conduct or over their lessons, deprives them of the sense\nof self-confidence, and hence prevents its natural development. They\nmust be educated in such a way as to allow full play to their sense of\nself-respect.\n\nThe Tibetans have not adopted this particular mode of education for\ntheir boy-incarnations from any deep conviction as to educational\npolicy; they are doing so out of their respect towards their\nboy-masters.\n\nI should add, also, that the general mass of the people are left in\ncomplete ignorance of all the tricks and intrigues that are concocted\nand extensively carried on in the higher circles. With guileless\ninnocence the ordinary people swallow all the fabulous tales that are\ncirculated about the alleged evidences fabricated for establishing\nthe re-incarnation of Lamas. Those only who are acquainted with what\nis going on behind the scenes at Lhasa and Shigatze treat those\n\u2018evidences\u2019 with scorn, and denounce the re-incarnation affair as\ndownright imposture and a mischievous farce. To them the re-incarnation\nis an embodiment of bribery, nothing more nor less. At best it is a\nfraud committed by oracle-priests at the instance of aristocrats who\nare very often their patrons and protectors.\n\nOracles are not confined in their operation to matters of incarnation;\nthey are consulted for many other purposes. A Cabinet Minister who\nhas committed some error will hasten to those priests, especially to\nthe Nechung, to prevent his being punished, or to have the punishment\nmodified. In such a case a Minister has to pay to the priests a sum\nvarying from the minimum of one thousand yen to ten or twenty times\nthat amount, according to the gravity of the offence. When in time\nthat offence comes to the ears of the Government, and the question of\npunishing the offender is brought on the _tapis_, the latter can sit\nsilent without much perturbation, secure in the thought that he has\nforestalled the Government and has secretly \u2018purchased\u2019 a favorable\nunderstanding with the consulters of the oracles. For to these\nconsulters the matter is sure to be brought, sooner or later, for their\ndecision, or more properly for the decision of their deity. The priests\nwill then consult the oracles, but with a foregone conclusion as to the\nnature of the response, being bound by the accused party with fetters\nof gold. The oracles will say: \u201cDon\u2019t punish the man, for to do so will\nbe to invite calamity on the country. Only reprimand is enough, for the\nman is at heart well-meaning. His fault came from inadvertence.\u201d And so\nthe Minister is absolved from the charge, or is sentenced merely to a\nnominal punishment.\n\nOn the other hand, a Minister or any other high personage who is a\n_persona ingrata_ to the Nechung priests is in danger of bringing down\non his head an oracle of terrible nature at any moment, and in the\npresence of the Grand Lama himself. The unscrupulous priests will even\nturn the virtues of their unfortunate victim into a means of denouncing\nhim. The power which those oracle-priests wield in the official circles\nof the Grand Lama\u2019s Government is therefore a formidable one, and the\nofficials hold them in even greater awe than they do their supreme\nchief. The Nechung priests may be even regarded as wielding the real\npower in the Hierarchical administration. It is true that the present\nGrand Lama, being a man of great force of mind, does not blindly adopt\nin all cases the insidious advice of the priests; still in the great\nmajority of cases he has to follow it, for to reject the Nechung\u2019s\nwords is contrary to the traditions of the country.\n\nThe Nechung, who exercise such power even in small affairs, very often\nprove to be broken reeds when they are confronted with grave national\nquestions. Suppose, for instance, they are asked to consult the\noracles about a diplomatic trouble, in the presence of the Dalai Lama\nand other great dignitaries. The priests proceed to do so with pomp\nand solemnity, attired in gorgeous dress befitting the occasion. In\ntime the deity responds to the invocation, and is consulted about the\npolicy which the Government has to adopt, say, about the trouble which\nis supposed to have appeared between it and England. The medium will\nremain silent, and simply continue to tremble for some time. He will\nnext make one high jump, and then drop down apparently unconscious.\nThe attendants of the medium are then thrown into consternation,\nall whispering to each other with significant nods and head-shakes\nthat the deity must have been offended at the impious question put\nto him, and must have therefore gone off in holy wrath. And so for a\ngrave question, for which the aid of the oracle is most needed, the\nHierarchical Government is left in the lurch and is compelled to give\ndecision according to its own mother-wit. Such is the farce of the\noracle-system.\n\n[Illustration: A SOOTHSAYER UNDER MEDIUMISTIC INFLUENCE FALLING\nSENSELESS.]\n\nMen of learning and priests of sincere piety and honest conviction are\ntherefore bitterly (though not openly) opposed to the doings of those\noracle-priests, whom they denounce as Ministers of devils, and as\nthe worst enemies of religion. Fortunately, however, the two Lamaist\nchiefs are not installed only by the agency of the Nechungs, as above\nmentioned.\n\nI may, for instance, refer in passing to the supposed parentage of\nthe present Tashi Lama, the second Grand Lama, of Tashi Lhunpo. He is\nsaid to have been born of a dumb woman by some unknown father. Some\nsay that his father was a hermit, while others are of opinion that he\nwas a priest, but the most probable account is the one which I heard\nfrom a certain authority, who informed me that a learned doctor, one\nMeto-ke-sang (chrysanthemum-flower) of the monastery of Sera, was the\nreal father of the present head of the Tashi Lhunpo. This doctor became\na monomaniac after having studied the literature of the Old Sect,\nroamed about the country, and at last cohabited with a dumb woman. The\nresult was the birth of the boy on whom fell the great honor. The Lama\nis therefore, said to bear a great personal resemblance to that mad\ndoctor. Though this opinion was held by a reliable authority of the\nSera monastery with whom I was acquainted, of course I cannot vouch for\nthe authenticity of his explanation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXII.\n\nThe Government.\n\n\nI shall next describe the system of the Hierarchical Government, and\nother matters relative to it based on the information I incidentally\nobtained on those subjects during my stay in Lhasa. The information\nis far from being complete, for besides the fact that the subjects\nwere entirely foreign to the primary objects of my Tibetan expedition,\nand therefore I was not impelled to make any systematic inquiries, I\ncould not without inviting strong suspicion put any questions to my\nfriends in Lhasa about matters of Tibetan politics. Whatever knowledge\nI could gather on the subject was derived incidentally in the course\nof conversations with my distinguished host and some others, and as\nthe result of enquiries made in a highly guarded and roundabout way.\nHence there still remain many points in the Government system of which\nI myself am ignorant.\n\nWith this reserve, I may state first of all that the Hierarchy is\ncomposed of both clerical and lay departments, each consisting of an\nequal number of men. The priests of higher rank who attend to the\naffairs of State bear the title of \u201cTse Dung\u201d and they number one\nhundred and sixty-five, and there are lay officials of corresponding\nrank and number known under the title of \u201cDung Khor\u201d. The priestly\nfunctionaries of higher rank are subject to the control of four Grand\nSecretaries, bearing the title of \u201cTung yk chen mo\u201d but the real power\nis vested in the senior priest. Similarly four \u201cShabpe\u201d (Premiers) are\nappointed over the head of the higher lay officials. Of these four\n\u201cShabpe\u201d the one enjoying precedence in appointment holds the real\npower, the other three being his councillors and advisers.\n\nThe Cabinet is composed of four Prime-Ministers, three Ministers of\nFinance, two Ministers of War, a Minister of the Household, a Minister\nof Religion, a Minister of Justice, and four Grand Secretaries\nbelonging to the Order.\n\nAll these higher posts, both of priests and laymen, are in most cases\nfilled only by men belonging to the privileged classes; very rarely do\nthey fall to the Ngak-pa, Bon-bo and Shal-ngo castes.\n\nThe Tibetan administration is of an anomalous description--a hybrid\npartaking of feudalism on the one hand and of the modern system of\nLocal Government on the other.\n\nThe relation between Peers and commoners apparently resembles\nfeudalism. The first recipient of the title was granted a certain\ntract of land in recognition of his service, and there at once sprung\nup between this lord of the manor, as it were, and the inhabitants of\nthat particular place a relationship akin to that between sovereign and\nsubject. This lord is an absolute master of his people, both in regard\nto their rights and even their lives.\n\nThe lord levies a poll-tax on the inhabitants, and even the poorest\nare not exempted from this obligation. The levy varies considerably\naccording to the means of the payer, from say one tanka paid by a\npoor inhabitant to even a hundred paid by a wealthier member of the\ncommunity. Besides, every freeholder must pay land tax, the land held\nby him being understood theoretically to belong to the lord. However\nheavy the burden of the poll-tax may be, each person is obliged to\npay it, for if he neglects to do so he is liable to be punished with\nflogging and the confiscation of his property to boot. The only means\nof escape from this obligation consists in becoming a monk, and there\nmust be in the Tibetan priesthood a large number of men who have turned\npriests solely with this object of avoiding the payment of taxes.\nThe witty remark once made to me by my teacher, Ti Rinpoche, on this\nsubject may illustrate the state of affairs in the Tibetan priesthood.\nHe said: \u201cI do not know whether to rejoice at or to regret the presence\nof so many priests in Tibet. Some seem to take this as a sign of the\nflourishing condition of the national religion and on that ground seem\nto be satisfied with it. I cannot quite agree with this argument; on\nthe contrary I rather hold that it is better to have even two or three\nprecious diamonds than a heap of stones and broken tiles.\u201d The motives\nthat lead people to become priests lying in that region, it is not\nstrange that the Tibetan priesthood should contain plenty of rubbish\nwith very few diamonds among them.\n\nHowever, when it is remembered how heavy are the burdens imposed on\nthe shoulders of the people, it is not strange that they should try to\nevade them by entering the Order. The condition of even the poorest\npriest presents a great contrast to that of other poor people, for the\npriest is at least sure to obtain every month a regular allowance,\nsmall as it is, from the Hierarchical Government, while he can expect\nmore or less of extra allowances in the shape of occasional presents\nfrom charitable people. But a poor layman cannot expect any help from\nthose quarters, and he has to support his family with his own labor and\nto pay the poll-tax besides. Very often therefore he is hardly able\nto drive the wolf of hunger from his door, and in such case his only\nhope of succor lies in a loan from his landlord, or the lord of the\nmanor wherein he resides. But hope of repayment there is none, and so\nthe poor farmer gets that loan under a strange contract, that is to\nsay, by binding himself to offer his son or daughter as a servant to\nthe creditor when he or she attains a certain age. And so his child\nwhen he has reached the age of (say) ten years is surrendered to the\ncreditor, who is entitled to employ him as a servant for fifteen or\ntwenty years, and for a loan which does not generally exceed ten yen.\nThe lives of the children of poor people may therefore be considered as\nbeing foreclosed by their parents. Those pitiable children grow up to\nbe practically slaves of the Peers.\n\nThe relationship existing between the Peers and the people residing\non their estates, therefore, partakes of the nature of feudalism in\nsome essential respects, but it cannot be said that feudalism reigns\nalone in Tibet to the exclusion of other systems of Government. On the\ncontrary a centralised form of Government prevails more or less at the\nsame time. The Peers, it must be remembered, do not generally reside\non their own estates; they reside in Lhasa and leave their estates in\ncharge of their stewards. And they are not unfrequently appointed by\nthe Central Government as Governors of certain districts.\n\nConsequently the Tibetans may be said to be divided into two classes\nof people, one being subject to the control of the lords of the manors\nand other to that of the Central Government. Not unfrequently the two\noverlap, and the same people are obliged to pay poll-tax to their lords\nand other taxes to the Central Government.\n\nThe work of revenue collection is entrusted to two or three\nCommissioners appointed from among the clerical or lay officials of\nhigher rank, and these, invested with judicial and executive powers,\nare despatched every year to the provinces to collect revenue,\nconsisting of taxes, imposts and import duties, these being paid either\nin money or kind.\n\nThe demands on revenue are many and various, and among the items\nof ordinary expenditure may be mentioned first of all the sums\nrequired for supporting, either wholly or partially, a large number\nof priests residing both in Lhasa and in the provinces, the former\nalone numbering about twenty-five thousand. The outlay on account of\nbuilding temples and religious ceremonies is not small, but that on\naccount of salaries paid to the officials of the Central Government\nappears to be less. A Premier draws the yearly salary of about six\nhundred _koku_ or four thousand bushels of wheat, the stipend being\ngenerally paid in this grain. The first Lord of the Treasury draws\nthree hundred and sixty koku. What is very interesting about these\nsalaries is that the State functionaries very often relinquish the\nright of receiving their salaries, and leave them unclaimed. My\nhost, who continued to hold for ten years the post of the Minister\nof Finance, had persistently refrained during that long period from\nclaiming what was his due. When I marvelled at this strange act\nof disinterestedness on his part, he replied that his own estate\nsupplied what he wanted and so he did not wish to give trouble to the\nGrand Lama\u2019s Exchequer. And he further informed me that most of his\ncolleagues who were men of means generally omitted to claim their\nsalaries wholly or in part, though there were some who punctually\nreceived the money to which they were entitled by right. Not that even\nthose who showed themselves so disinterested in the matter of official\nstipends are above corruption, for I heard that some of the Ministers\nwho declined their salaries did not scruple to receive or even to exact\nbribes. In justice to them I may add that bribery is a universal vice\nin Tibet, and is not regarded in so serious a light there as in more\nenlightened countries. My host was a gentleman of strict integrity and\nmorals, but he used to accept presents offered out of respect to him.\n\nThe clerical and lay high functionaries, each numbering one hundred and\nsixty-five, attend to the various affairs of State. They are sometimes\nappointed as Governors of provinces, while at other times they are sent\non judicial business. In such cases appointments are never given to\nclerical or lay officials only, but both are invariably appointed as\nassociates, and in equal number, one each or two, or sometimes four.\nThe Judicial Commissioners were formerly often guilty of injustice\nand open to the charge of judging cases, not according to their real\ndeserts, but according to the amount of bribes offered. They are no\nlonger so now, thanks to the vigilance and energy of the present Dalai\nLama who, whenever such a case of wrong-doing comes to his ears, does\nnot hesitate to confiscate the property of the offending parties and\nto deprive them of their rank. Sometimes when a case of grave moment\noccurs it is submitted to the personal judgment of the Grand Lama\nhimself.\n\nThe Grand Lama is therefore placed in a highly anomalous position,\nfor while he is the dispenser of benevolence and the supreme head\nof a religion preaching mercy and forbearance, he is obliged to\npass judgment and to sentence persons to exile or even to capital\npunishment. As head of a religion he is positively forbidden by its\nteachings to pass a decree of that nature, whether that decree is\njustifiable in the worldly sense or not. But the Grand Lama does\nissue decrees of this irreligious description. He is not, however, a\npolitical chief, inasmuch as he faithfully adheres to the rules of\nmortification enforced by his religion; he has no wife, for instance,\nnor does he drink intoxicating liquor. His position is really highly\nanomalous.\n\nAnd yet all the priests in Tibet take from the Grand Lama the holy\nvow of discipline; I myself was advised by my Tibetan friends to pass\nthat ceremony, but my religious scruples stood in the way, so I did\nnot follow the advice. However I was initiated by the Grand Lama in\nthe \u2018Hidden Teaching,\u2019 for this ceremony had nothing to do with my\nreligious convictions.\n\nThe Grand Lama himself being placed in this false position, all the\npriests under him are naturally open to a similar charge. They are\npartly priests and partly men of the world, and sometimes it is hardly\npossible to distinguish them from ordinary laymen. For instance, the\nTibetan priests, as I have mentioned elsewhere, undertake farming or\nbusiness, while the young rowdies among them attend to the work of\nordinary soldiers. The only things that distinctly distinguish the\npriests from laymen are that the former shave their hair and wear\npriestly robes, and the latter do not; that is all. I am compelled\nto say that Lamaism has fallen, and that it has assumed a form quite\ncontrary to that to which its great reformer Je Tsong-kha-pa elevated\nit, and I am sincerely sorry for this degeneration. I shall next\ndescribe the education and the caste system in Tibet.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIII.\n\nEducation and Castes.\n\n\nEducation is not widely diffused in Tibet. In the neighborhood of\nShigatze children are taught comparatively well the three subjects\nof writing, arithmetic and reading, but in other places no provision\nexists for teaching children, except at monasteries, so that the boys\nand girls of ordinary people are generally left uneducated, especially\nthe latter.\n\nAs might naturally be expected, educational establishments are few and\nfar between. The only institutions worthy of the name are found on the\npremises of the Palace at Lhasa, and of the Tashi Lhunpo monasteries in\nShigatze; all the rest are only \u2018family schools\u2019.\n\nFrom the important position which priests command in Tibet, the system\nof training them is pretty well developed, and it is only at religious\nschools that one can obtain even a comparatively advanced education.\nSons of ordinary people can enjoy the benefit of that education only\nby joining the order, for otherwise they are refused admission to\nGovernment schools.\n\nThe doors of those schools are, of course, shut against boys of\nhumble origin. In Tibet there exists one class which is the lowest in\nthe scale of social gradation. This lowest grade is subdivided into\nfishermen, ferry-men, smiths, and butchers. Smiths are relegated to\nthis grade in Tibet just as in India, and for the same reason--that\nthey pursue an objectionable occupation in making edged tools used for\nslaughtering living things, the most sinful occupation of all. People\nof this lowest grade are even prohibited from becoming priests, and if\never they enter the privileged order it is by some surreptitious means\nand by concealing their real rank. In this way some men of the lowest\norigin have become priests at places remote from their native villages.\nCompared with these despised classes, the ordinary people may be said\nto enjoy a great advantage.\n\nThe classes who are entitled to enter the Government institutions are\nonly four:\n\n1. _Ger-pa_, Peers; 2. _Ngak-pa_, the man\u1e6dra clan, 3. _Bon-bo_, the Old\nSect clan; 4. _Shal-ngo_, families of former chieftains.\n\nThe Peers consist of the descendants of former ministers and generals,\nand contain the supreme class called _Yabshi_ which is composed of\nfamilies of the thirteen Grand Lamas, past and present, and also of\nthe descendants of the first King of Tibet, called Tichen Lha-kyari.\nThey all hold the rank of Duke. The descendants in the direct line of\nthat King still exist to this day, and their head is entitled to occupy\nthe same rank as the Grand Lama, only he does not possess any power in\npublic affairs. The highest posts in the Tibetan Hierarchy are within\nthe easy reach of the Yabshi men, who can become Prime Ministers or\nother great dignitaries of state provided they are judged to possess\nqualifications for undertaking those high functions. Even when they do\nnot occupy such elevated positions, they at least hold posts that are\nof next in importance. All the remarks about the Yabshi apply to the\nfamilies of the Dalai Lamas, installed at Lhasa, for though the other\nPatriarchs at Tashi Lhunpo also possess Yabshi of their own, they do\nnot enjoy the same privileges as the others. The descendants of the\nDalai Lama\u2019s relatives, and those of the former King, may therefore be\nconsidered as forming in practice the royal families of Tibet. These\nshould, for convenience, be set apart as a distinct class, though there\nare other families that do not differ much from them in origin and\nprivilege. Of these, one called _De-pon Cheka_ (families of generals)\nrepresents the descendants of the generals and captains who rendered\ndistinguished services when Tibet engaged in war. The merits of those\nwarriors, long since dead, obtain for their descendants great respect\nfrom the public and they enjoy great privileges.\n\nThe next grade of the Peerage, but considerably below these, consists\nof the descendants of families of great historic renown, or of\nministers of distinguished service. Though occupying the lowest grade\nin the herald-book of the Peerage, even the portfolio of the Premier is\naccessible to these Peers, provided that they are men of ability.\n\nIn general, honor and ability seldom go together in Tibet, for official\nposts are freely sold and purchased, though buyers are limited. High\nofficials of real ability are even regarded as a nuisance by their\ncolleagues, and are liable to be dismissed through their intrigues.\nSuch being the case, by far the greater majority of high official posts\nare held by men who have obtained them in exchange for money.\n\nThe class that ranks next to Peers is that of the Ngak-pas or miracle\nworkers, who are the descendants of Lamas who worked miracles, not\nthe least of them being their marriage in violation of the rules\nof Lama priesthood. Those Lamas transmitted their \u2018hidden arts\u2019\nexclusively to this social grade, which thus possesses hereditary\nsecrets. The Ngak-pas play an important part in the social organism\nof Tibet. For instance they are entitled, as already mentioned, to\nlevy the \u2018hail-tax\u2019 in summer, and therefore to assume the function\nof administrators. They are also held in great awe by provincials and\ntownsmen, as being magicians of power. The simple-minded folk believe\nthat if once they incur the displeasure of a Ngak-pa they may be cursed\nby him, and therefore may bring upon themselves some calamity. As I\nmentioned before, the Ngak-pa people occupy the advantageous position\nof being able to procure money in the shape of proceeds of the\n\u2018hail-tax,\u2019 and of presents coming from all classes of people. Strange\nas it may appear, the Ngak-pa men, while commanding such advantages,\nare notoriously poor; they even stand as synonyms for poverty. Their\nsole consolation is that they are conscious of the great power they\nhold over all classes of people; and even Peers are often seen to\ndismount from horseback and give a courteous salute when they happen to\nmeet a beggarly Ngak-pa in the street.\n\nThe third caste is the Bon-bo the name of an old religion which\nprevailed in Tibet long before the introduction of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. The\npriests of this practically extinct religion were allowed to marry,\nand have left behind them the class of people who represent this old\nsocial institution in Tibet. The Bon-bo people have to play a certain\ndistinct r\u00f4le in public affairs. This is more of a ceremonial than\nof a religious nature. It consists in worshipping local deities, and\nundertaking ceremonies intended to secure their favor. When people\nmarry, they ask a Bon-bo man to pray for them to their local deity.\nSometimes he undertakes other kinds of prayer or even performs symbolic\nrites with a benevolent or malevolent aim, according to circumstances.\nFamilies of this particular class are found almost everywhere\nthroughout the country, though in limited numbers. In some remote\nvillages, as Tsar-ka in the Him\u0101layas, all the villagers are said to\nbelong to this class, but in most cases only one or two families are\nfound in one village or in one district. In such cases the Bon-bo are\nobjects of great respect, and they sometimes act as local magistrates\nor administrators. Even when they pursue any other kind of business,\nthey still command great respect from their neighbors as descendants of\nancient families.\n\nThough the Bon-bo are descendants of an old religious order, their\npresent representatives are no longer priests, for they do not preach\ntheir tenets to others, nor try to persuade them to become converts.\nThey are simply content to hand down their ancestral teachings and\ntraditions to their children and so maintain their distinct position in\nsociety. Not unfrequently the young Bon-bo enter the priesthood, and\nthese take precedence over all the other Bon-bo. Strictly speaking the\nrespect which the people belonging to this particular class enjoy over\nothers at present is due to their honorable lineage.\n\nThe fourth class is \u201cShal-ngo\u201d and is composed of the descendants of\nancient families who acquired power in the locality on account of their\nwealth in either money or land. The Tibetans are in general a highly\nconservative race, and therefore they succeed in most cases in keeping\nintact their hereditary property. Their polyandrous custom too must\nbe conducive to that result, preventing as it does the splitting up\nof family property among brothers. By far the great majority of the\nShal-ngo people possess therefore more or less property; and even a\npoor Shal-ngo commands the same respect from the public as his richer\nconfr\u00e8re.\n\nCommon people are divided into two grades, one called _tong-ba_ and the\nother _tong-du_. The former is superior, and includes all those common\npeople who possess some means and have not fallen into an ignoble state\nof slavery. Tong-du means etymologically \u201cpetty people,\u201d and their rank\nbeing one grade lower than that of others, the people of this class are\nengaged in menial service. Still they are not strictly speaking slaves;\nthey should more properly be considered as poor tenant-farmers, for\nformerly these people used to stand in the relation of tenant-farmers\nto land-owners, though such relation no longer exists.\n\nSome tong-ba are reduced to more straitened circumstances than the\ntong-du, but, generally considered, the tong-ba are distinguished from\nthe others by the possession of property, greater or less as the case\nmay be, while poverty is a special feature of the tong-du.\n\nHowever low the tong-ba may fall in the worldly sense of the word,\nand, on the other hand, however thriving the tong-du may become, a\nstrict line of demarcation still continues to separate the two classes.\nSociety continues to treat them as before, and as if nothing had\nhappened in their relative fortunes. No ordinary people deign to eat\nwith one belonging to the tong-du class, nor do they ever intermarry\nwith them.\n\nThis strict rule of social etiquette is in force even among the four\ndivisions of the lowest class, that is to say, ferry-men, fishermen,\nsmiths and butchers. Of the four, the first two rank higher than the\nother two. Thus, though smiths and butchers are not permitted to eat in\nthe same room with common people, the other two classes are allowed to\ndo so, only they may not sit at table with a privileged plebeian, but\nmust eat or drink from their own vessels.\n\nIt is hardly necessary to add that a strong barrier is set up between\nthese four kinds of social outcasts and the ordinary common people, to\nprevent their intermarriage; a man or woman belonging to the latter\nclass, who is so indiscreet as to obey the bidding of his or her heart\nand to marry one of the despised race, is socially tabooed from his or\nher own kith and kin. This punishment is permanent, and even when the\nbond of this _m\u00e9salliance_ has been dissolved by divorce, or any other\ncause, the fallen man or woman can never hope to regain the caste which\nhe or she has forfeited. The mark of social infamy will follow him or\nher to the grave.\n\nIt is curious, however, that the issues of these _m\u00e9salliances_ form a\nsocial class of their own. They are called _tak ta ril_, which means a\n\u2018mixed race produced by black and white twisted together\u2019. They occupy\na position even lower than that of the four despised classes mentioned\nabove, and are in fact the lowest caste in Tibet.\n\nThere is one interesting feature in regard to this rigid canon of\nsocial caste, and that is the presence of gentlemen-smiths, who, being\nmen of a mechanical turn of mind, have become smiths from preference.\nThese gentlemen-smiths do not forfeit their birth and rank on this\naccount.\n\nBoth by law and custom the higher classes enjoy special privileges,\nand these go a long way. The children of aristocrats, for instance,\nare entitled to exact from their humbler playmates great respect and\ncourtesy. When the latter so forget themselves in their disputes and\nquarrels with their noble associates as to use rough language, they\nare at once punished, even when they are in the right. It is evident\ntherefore from what has been stated that a plebeian, no matter how\nwealthy, is obliged to behave respectfully under all circumstances to a\nman belonging to the Ngak-pa or Bon-bo, even though the latter may be\nas poor as a church mouse. As each social class forms practically one\ndistinct community with its own particular etiquette, customs and so\nforth, ranks are more plainly visible on the surface in Tibet than in\nmost other countries. The Tibetan proverb corresponding to the western\nsaying that \u201cblood will out\u201d gains a special significance when applied\nto the state of affairs prevailing in that semi-civilised country.\n\nThe aristocrats of Tibet are distinguished by noble mien and refined\nmanners. Conscious of their elevated position, they possess on the\nwhole a high sense of honor. The other privileged castes occupying\na lower plane, such as the men of the Ngak-pa and Bon-bo races and\nthe descendants of ancient grandees, still bear the marks of their\nrespectable birth and can easily be distinguished even by strangers\nfrom the common people.\n\nThe common people are plebeian in their general bearing and appearance,\nbut one thing to their credit is that they are known for strict\nhonesty, and even extreme poverty seldom tempts them into committing\narts of larceny. On the other hand, the lower classes or social\noutcasts are notorious for their criminal propensities to robbery and\nmurder. In practice they are characterised by crime and wretchedness;\nthey are criminals and beggars. Beggars in fact form a community\nof their own, the profession being hereditary. These classes are\ndeservedly held in contempt by the public, and their faces even seem to\njustify such treatment, for they are remarkable for ferocity, depravity\nand vileness.\n\nAs I have mentioned before, lads belonging to the higher ranks are\nentitled to enter Government schools, but the subjects taught there\nare at best imperfect. The lessons consist only of learning by memory,\npenmanship and counting. The first subject is the most important, next\ncomes penmanship, the latter receiving even a larger allotment of\nhours than the other. Counting is a primitive affair, being taught by\nmeans of pebbles, pieces of wood, or shells. The subject matters of\nlearning by memory are Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Texts, the elements of grammar, and\nlastly rhetoric. This last is a subject of great ambition for Tibetan\nscholars, who are just like Chinese in their fondness for grandiloquent\nexpressions. Documents to be presented to the Dalai Lama and other high\npersonages bristle with high-flown phraseology and with characters\nrarely used in ordinary writing, and not found even in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Texts.\nThe fact is that Tibetan scholars at present hold strange ideas about\nwriting, being of opinion that they should aim at composing in a style\nunintelligible to ordinary persons. The more characters they can use\nwhich cannot easily be understood by others, the better proof, they\nthink, have they given of the profundity of their scholarship. The\nmost scholarly compositions are practically hierographic so far as\ntheir incomprehensibility is concerned.\n\n[Illustration: FLOGGING AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION]\n\nThe birch-rod is considered to be the most useful implement in\nteaching; not exactly a birch-rod, however, but a flat piece of bamboo.\nThe cramming of difficult passages of rhetoric being the principal mode\nof learning imposed on pupils, their masters are invariably of opinion\nthat they must make free use of the rod in order to quicken their\npupils\u2019 progress. The relation between masters and pupils does not\ndiffer much from that between gaolers and convicts. The latter, poor\nfellows, hold their masters in such dread that they find it exceedingly\ntrying, at the sight of them and their formidable pedagogic weapons, to\ncompose their minds and to go on unfalteringly with their lessons. They\ncower with fear, and are filled with the perturbing thought that the\nrod is sure to descend upon them for the slightest stumble they make\nin the path of learning. The ordinary way of using the rod is to give\nthirty blows with it on the left palm of the pupil. Prudence counsels\nthe pupil to stretch out his hand with alacrity at the bidding of his\nhard master, for in case he hesitates to do so the penalty is generally\ndoubled, and sixty blows instead of thirty are given. It is a cruel\nsight to see a little pupil holding out his open hand and submitting to\nthe punishment with tearful eyes. Surely this is not education but mere\ncruelty.\n\nI once made an earnest remonstrance on this subject with the Minister\nof Finance who, in common with the rest, used to teach his boys with\na liberal application of the rod. To do justice to the Minister, his\nmethod of teaching was much more considerate than that of most of his\ncountrymen, and he very seldom resorted to rough handling, such as\nbinding pupils with cords over-night or compelling them to go without\ndinner or supper. When however I remonstrated with him on the ground\nthat the infliction of corporal punishment was entirely opposed to all\nsound principles of education, he at first defended the Tibetan system\nwith great earnestness. We had a somewhat animated though courteous\ndispute on the subject; but at length, being a man of great candor of\nmind, he seemed to perceive the merit of my position. At any rate he\nceased to use the rod as he did before, and generally confined himself\nto giving a reprimand when any of his boys went astray with his\nlearning. The Minister afterward informed me that his boys seemed to\nmake better progress when they were spared the rod.\n\nAbuse is also considered as an efficient means of educating boys.\n\u201cBeast,\u201d \u201cbeggar,\u201d \u201cdevil,\u201d \u201cass,\u201d \u201ceater of parents\u2019 flesh,\u201d are\nepithets applied to backward boys by their teachers, and this custom of\nusing foul language is naturally handed on from teachers to pupils, who\nwhen they grow up are sure to pass on those slanderous appellations to\nthe next generation.\n\nWhile the education of the sons of laymen is conducted with such\nseverity, that of boy disciples by Lama priests is extremely lenient,\nand is quite in contrast to that of the others. The disciples are not\neven reprimanded, much less chastised, when they neglect their work.\nThe priests generally leave them to do as they like, much as uxorious\nhusbands do towards their wilful wives, so that it is no wonder that\nthe disciples of Lamas very seldom make any good progress in learning.\nThey are spoiled by the excessive indulgence of their masters. Some of\nthese masters own the evil of their way of education, and are careful\nnot to spoil the youthful pupils placed under their care, and it is\nprecisely from among these latter disciples that priests of learning\nand ability may be expected.\n\nThe memorising part of the Tibetan system of education, as mentioned\nabove, is a heavy burden on the pupils. To give some idea of what an\nimportant part this work occupies in their system, I may note that\na young acolyte, who has grown to fifteen or sixteen years old, has\nto commit to memory, from the oral instruction of his teachers, from\nthree hundred to five hundred pages of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist texts in the course of\na year. He has then to undergo an examination on what he has learned.\nEven for a lad of weak memory, the number of pages is not less than one\nhundred in a year. For those who have grown older, that is for those\nwhose age ranges between eighteen and thirty, the task imposed is still\nmore formidable, being five to eight hundred and even one thousand\npages. I was amazed at this mental feat of the Tibetan priests, for I\ncould barely learn fifty sheets in six months, that being the minimum\nlimit allotted for aspirants of poor memory.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIV.\n\nTibetan Trade and Industry.\n\n\nI shall now describe the trade of Tibet, though my account must\nnecessarily be imperfect for obvious reasons.\n\nI shall begin with an interesting incident that occurred to me in\nNovember, 1901, when I was enabled to send home letters for the first\ntime after my arrival in the country. That was on the 18th of the\nmonth, and through the agency of Tsa Rong-ba, a Tibetan trader with\nwhom I had become acquainted at Darjeeling. This man started for\nCalcutta on Government business to buy iron, and as I knew him to be\ntrustworthy I entrusted him with a letter addressed to Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra\n\u1e0c\u0101s, in which were enclosed several others addressed to my friends and\nrelatives in Japan.\n\nThe iron which he was commissioned to procure was for the purpose\nof manufacturing small arms at an arsenal situated at Dib near\nChe-Cho-ling, on the bank of the river Kichu, which flows to the south\nof Lhasa.\n\nThis industry was an innovation in Tibet, and in fact had begun only\nabout eight years before that time. It was introduced by a Tibetan\nnamed Lha Tse-ring who had lived for a long time at Darjeeling and,\nat the request of his Government, brought back with him about ten\ngunsmiths, mostly Hin\u1e0d\u016b and Cashmere Mohamedans. Only two of these\nsmiths remained in Tibet at the time I reached Lhasa, the rest\nhaving returned home or died; but as several of the Tibetan smiths\nhad acquired the art from them, no inconvenience was experienced in\ncontinuing the industry. This was a great improvement on the old\nstate of affairs, for Tibet had formerly possessed only flint-lock\nmuskets, and even these could not easily be introduced from India.\nThe manufacture of improved firearms was therefore a great boon to\nthe country, and the Government did not spare expense and trouble to\nencourage the development of the art. Hence it came about that my\nacquaintance was authorised by the Government to proceed to Calcutta\nand procure a supply of iron.\n\nIt ought to be mentioned that about this time the departure of Tibetan\nmerchants to foreign countries for the transaction of business had\nbecome quite frequent. They proceeded first of all to British India,\nnext to China, and lastly to the Russian territories. The trade with\nthe last was, however, quite insignificant as yet, and whatever\nrelations Tibet may have with Russia are in most cases political and\nvery rarely commercial.\n\nI shall first describe the Tibetan trade with British India and Nep\u0101l.\n\nOf Tibetan products exported to India wool is the most important, and\nnext musk and the tails of yaks, furs and leathers. Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist images and\nbooks, being liable to confiscation when discovered, seldom go abroad,\nthough they are more or less in demand in India. Other goods exported\nto India are insignificant. Formerly more or less Chinese tea for\nconsumption by the Tibetans residing at Darjeeling used to go to India,\nbut this is no longer the case.\n\nThe quantity of wool sent abroad is quite large. From five thousand\nto six thousand mule-packs go to Darjeeling, about one thousand five\nhundred to Bh\u016bt\u0101n, about two thousand five hundred to Nep\u0101l and about\nthree thousand to Ladak. These figures are of course far from precise,\nfor (reliable official returns being wanting) I based my estimates on\ninformation obtained from the traders. Besides the figures given above,\nthere are quantities, greater or less, sent to China and also westward\nto M\u0101nasarovara, but as I did not visit either district, and moreover\nhad no means of making an estimate about them, I have nothing to say\non the subject.\n\nMusk is obtained in Tibet, but from a certain species of deer and\nnot from civet-cats. The musk-deer is found almost everywhere in\nthat country. It is of about two and a half times or three times the\nsize of an ordinary cat, and though resembling the Japanese deer in\nshape, it is not so tall as the other. The musk-deer subsists on\nherbage, and is covered with light and soft fur of a deep grey color.\nIt has an exceedingly amiable face indicative of its mild nature.\nOne characteristic feature is that it has two small but pretty tusks\nsomewhat curved projecting from the upper jaws. The musk is found only\nin the male, and is contained in a little pouch attached to the hinder\npart. A strange fact is that the pouch is said to grow gradually in\nsize from the beginning to the middle of each lunar month and then\ngradually to be reduced again until the end of the month, this periodic\nchange appearing with great regularity. The musk-deer is therefore shot\nabout the middle of the month, generally between the 13th and 15th.\n\nThe musk-deer is shot with a gun, but in preserved forests such as are\nfound round about Lhasa and other Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist headquarters, where shooting\nand hunting are strictly forbidden on pain of severe penalties,\nhunters catch the animal, clandestinely of course, by means of traps.\nThough the deer is found almost everywhere in Tibet, its principal\nhabitation is in such remote districts as Kong-bo, Tsari and Lo. Musk\nis very cheap in all those districts, costing about one-tenth of the\nprice given in Japan. The musk produced there is also purer than that\nproduced in more prosperous places, for the people being simple-minded\ndo not tamper with it nor adulterate it with other substances. The\nmusk coming from Lo, for instance, is especially reputed for purity\nand cheapness. The district is inhabited by half-naked aborigines,\nwho resemble in outward appearance both Tibetans and Hin\u1e0d\u016bs, though\nethnologically they are more akin to the former than to the latter.\n\nThe musk produced by these savages is bartered against articles either\nof ornament or domestic utility, such as mirrors, glass beads, iron\npans, sickles, knives, flour, confectionery and foreign trinkets.\n\nThough the musk is obtainable at a very reasonable price in these\ndistricts, the risks and dangers from highwaymen which traders\nencounter on the road are so great that only those who are uncommonly\nadventurous proceed thither to get a supply from the natives.\n\nThe Tibetan musk is sent in larger quantities to China than to India,\nnotwithstanding the fact that transport to the latter is easier. Almost\nall goods from Tibet to China travel through Ta-chien-lu. However, even\nat present, more or less is sent to Yunnan, whence Japan has been used\nto obtain its supply. The so-called \u2018Yunnan-musk\u2019 so much prized in\nJapan therefore comes originally from Tibet.\n\nThe \u2018Blood-horn\u2019 of the \u2018Precious deer\u2019 is the most valuable item among\nthe commodities on the export list to China. This horn makes a medicine\nhighly valued by Chinese physicians, being considered to possess the\npower of invigorating the body, prolonging life and giving lustre to\nthe face. It is in fact used as an elixir by the Chinese. The horn\ntherefore commands a high price, and even in Tibet a Chinese merchant\nwill give as much as five hundred _yen_ in Japanese currency for a pair\nof good horns. The inferior horns, however, can be bought at even two\nor three _yen_ a piece, these being used not for medicine but only for\nornament. Sharp, experienced eyes are required to distinguish a good\nand valuable horn from an inferior one, and even in Tibet there are not\nmany such experts.\n\nThis special kind of deer is found in the wild districts of the\nsouth-eastern and north-western parts of Tibet, especially in the\nformer. It is a large animal, larger than an average horse, but in\nshape it resembles an ordinary deer, only that it is plumper. As a rule\nit is covered with greyish hair, though some are covered with fur of\nother hues.\n\nThe horns are renewed every year, the growth beginning from about\nJanuary of the lunar calendar. The new horns are covered with a hairy\nepidermis and consist of nothing but thickened blood. They continue to\ngrow, and about March or April produce one ramification. At the same\ntime the base becomes hard and bony, whilst the upper parts remain of\nthe same consistency as before. They are further ramified and elongated\nwith the lapse of time, and the growth reaches its climax by about\nSeptember, after which the counter process of decay commences and the\nhorns, now grown quite long, drop off about the middle of December.\nThe largest specimens I saw measured thirteen inches in length with\nthe main stem of about 1-4/5 inches in girth, and even such horns are\ncompletely covered with hairy integument.\n\nThe best season for the horns, that is when they are medically most\nefficacious, is believed to be April or May, and it is then that\nthe natives go out to hunt the animal. The shooting should be done\nwith accurate aim so as to drop the animal at once, and the hunters\ntherefore generally aim at the forehead. This is owing to the fact\nthat when the animal is only wounded, instead of being brought down by\na single shot, he invariably knocks his head against rocks or trees\nand breaks the precious horns to pieces. About the month of April or\nMay, the animal, probably from the necessity of protecting his horns,\nsojourns in less remote and rocky places, and this habit makes him fall\nan easy prey to the hunter.\n\nI may mention that I brought home a fine specimen of these horns\nwhich I bought at Lhasa. They are genuine, for I had them judged by a\ncompetent expert.\n\nThe exports to Nep\u0101l comprise wool, yak-tails, salt, saltpetre,\nwoollen goods and a few other articles. To the districts lying to the\nnorth-east of Tibet, that is to the north-western parts of China and\nMongolia, go various kinds of woollen goods; Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist books also go\nlargely to Mongolia, as do also Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist images, pictures and various\nparaphernalia. These, considered as objects of art, are worthless,\nthough formerly Tibet produced images and pictures of high artistic\nstandard. The contrast between old and new images and pictures, both\nof which are to be seen in most temples in Tibet, is sufficiently\nglaring, for the latter are as a rule clumsy performances, offensive to\nthe taste and also to the sense of decency, being invariably bi-sexual\nrepresentations of men and women with one common body. I was once\nstruck with the notion that the Tibetans are characterised by four\nserious defects, these being: filthiness, superstition, unnatural\ncustoms (such as polyandry), and unnatural art. I should be sorely\nperplexed if I were asked to name their redeeming points; but if I\nhad to do so, I should mention first of all the fine climate in the\nvicinity of Lhasa and Shigatze, their sonorous and refreshing voices\nin reading the Text, the animated style of their catechisms, and\ntheir ancient art. But to cut short my digression, and to resume the\ndescription of Tibetan trade, I must next give an account of the import\nbusiness.\n\nOf the imported goods, those coming from India are mostly in evidence.\nAmong them may be mentioned woollen cloth for decorating the rooms of\ntemples and for other uses, silk handkerchiefs, Burma _cr\u00eapes_, Benares\nbrocades, silk tissues, and cotton fabrics. White cotton piece-goods\nare mostly in demand, next piece-goods of light blue and of russet\ncolor. Figured chintzes of various patterns are also imported more or\nless.\n\nImports from China comprise first of all silk fabrics of sundry kinds,\nas brocades, tussore silk, _cr\u00eapes_ and satins of various kinds. Silver\nbullion and drugs are also imported, but in respect of value tea\nstands first on the list of Chinese imports. From what I have roughly\nestimated, the quantity of tea arriving at Lhasa alone will cost not\nless than six hundred and fifty thousand _yen_ a year approximately,\nwhile the import to Eastern Tibet, which is more thickly inhabited than\nthe other half of the country, must of course reach a larger figure,\nfor the Tibetans are great tea-drinkers and both high and low imbibe\na large quantity of the beverage all through the year. The poorest\npeople, who cannot afford to buy, are satisfied with a thin decoction\nobtained from the refuse of the tea-pots of wealthier people. Tea is\nrather costly, for one brick of inferior quality measuring about one\nfoot long, 6-1/2 inches wide and three inches thick costs two _yen_\nseventy-five _sen_ at Lhasa; a brick consisting of only leaves without\nany mixture of twigs cannot be obtained at less than five _yen_. The\nprices rise as we go westward, owing to the cost of transportation, and\nfor a brick costing two _yen_ seventy-five _sen_ at Lhasa as much as\nthree _yen_ twenty-five _sen_ has to be paid in Western Tibet.\n\nThe imports from Bh\u016bt\u0101n or Sikkim comprise tussore-silk goods, woollen\nfabrics, and cotton goods.\n\nThen from India, Kashm\u012br, or Nep\u0101l are imported copper utensils,\ngrains, dried grapes, dried peaches, dates, medical drugs, and precious\nstones of various kinds, as diamonds, rubies, agates, turquoises and\ncorals. Of these turquoises and corals are the most important, being\nwidely used by the Tibetans as a hair decoration. For this purpose the\nbest quality of turquoises are even more prized than diamonds, and a\ngood turquoise of the size of the tip of the small finger fetches as\nmuch as one thousand two hundred _yen_. Coral without spots is rather\nrare, and most of those seen on the heads of the Tibetan women are\nspotted more or less. The Tibetans are fond of the reddish or deep\nreddish variety, which are not popular among the Japanese. Superior\nkinds come from China, and one good coral ball from China commands\nfrom one hundred and twenty to two hundred and thirty _yen_. Indian\nspecimens are usually inferior in quality. Coral-beads are also\nimported from that country. Glass beads do duty for corals for poorer\nfolk, and imitation corals made in Japan are sold also. These were\nformerly passed off as genuine by dishonest merchants, and were sold\nat comparatively speaking fabulous prices. They are now taken at their\nproper value. Cheap foreign fancy goods and Japanese matches also find\ntheir way to Tibet through India.\n\nSeveral queer customs prevail in Tibet concerning business\ntransactions. The mode of selling woollen and cotton piece-goods is\nparticularly singular. The standard of measurement is the length of the\ntwo outstretched hands, while another measurement based on the length\nfrom the elbow to the tip of the fingers is also used. This measurement\nis determined by the buyers, so that a large person enjoys the\nadvantage of getting a longer measure, while the merchant is subjected\nto so much disadvantage. However, this primitive mode of measurement\nis generally applied to the native products only, as for foreign cloth\nthe unit of measurement is a square, each side of which is equal to\nthe breadth of the cloth to be sold. This is called a _kha_, and a kha\nvaries with the breadth of each piece of cloth.\n\nVery seldom are native merchants honest in their dealing; even the\nmost trustworthy ask a price ten to twenty per cent higher than is\nreasonable, and the price asked by the more dishonest is really\nmonstrous, being double or even as much as five or six times the real\nrate.\n\nAnother interesting feature in Tibetan transactions is the blessing\nwhich the merchants bestow on anything which people buy from them. The\nmost common formula of blessing is to this effect: \u201cMay the goods you\nhave bought from me avert from you disease or any other suffering; may\nyour purchase bring good luck and prosperity, so that you may grow\nricher, build storehouses, and buy more and more goods from us!\u201d\n\nThe blessing accompanying the parting with sacred books is more\nceremonious. The merchant reverentially lifts the book over his head in\nboth hands, and then hands it over to the purchaser (a priest in most\ncases) with this blessing:\n\n\u201cMay your reverence not only seek the true light from this sacred work,\nbut may you conduct yourself according to that light, so that you may\nattain better intelligence, wisdom and morals, and fit yourself for the\nholy work of salvation, for the good of all beings!\u201d\n\nThe purchaser has also a ceremony to perform in this transaction, and I\nmust confess that his performance is more obviously selfish, outwardly\nat least; for in handing the price he just touches the dirty coin with\nhis tongue, then wipes it on the neck of his garment, and finally hands\nit to the merchant after having cast upon it one lingering glance\nindicative of his reluctance to part with it. This act of licking and\nwiping signifies that the purchaser has licked off and wiped away for\nhis own benefit all the good luck that was contained in that piece.\nThe coin that goes to the merchant is therefore considered as a mere\nempty thing, so far as the virtue that was originally contained in it\nis concerned.\n\nThough these tedious processes are omitted by big merchants, such as\nthose engaged in dealing in tea, all the others faithfully observe\nthem, especially those in the country.\n\nIt may be supposed that with so little to export and so much to import,\nthe country would be impoverished. This, however, is not the case, as\nI shall explain. Tibet has been used to obtain a large amount of gold\nfrom Mongolia--more as donations to Tibetan Lamas than as the price\npaid for Tibetan goods. This influx of gold from Mongolia has done much\nthus far in enabling the country to keep the balance of her trade. She\ntherefore cannot adopt an exclusion policy economically, even though\nshe may without much inconvenience do so politically. In fact the\nenforcement of economic exclusion would be followed by serious internal\ntrouble, simply because it would put a stop to the inflow of gold from\nMongolia.\n\nHowever, so far as this Mongolian gold is concerned, it seems as if\ncircumstances were about to bring Tibet to a result tantamount to the\nenforcement of economic exclusion, for since the war between Japan and\nChina and especially since the Boxer trouble the inflow of Mongolian\ngold to Tibet has virtually ceased, so much so that the Mongolian\npriests who are staying in Tibet for the prosecution of their studies\nare sorely embarrassed owing to the non-arrival of their remittances\nfrom home. Some of them have even been obliged to suspend regular\nattendance at lectures, and to seek some means of earning their\nlivelihood, just as the poorer native Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist students are accustomed\nto do.\n\nAnother thing that adds to the economic difficulties of the Tibetans\nis their tendency to grow more and more luxurious in their style of\nliving, a tendency that began to be particularly noticeable from\nabout twenty years ago. This has been inevitably brought about by the\nforeign trade of Tibet and the arrival of goods of foreign origin. All\nthese circumstances have impressed the Tibetans with the necessity\nof extending their sphere of trade with foreign countries instead of\nconfining their commercial operations within the narrow bounds of\ntheir own country. The consequence is that a larger number of the\ninhabitants have begun to proceed every year to China, India and Nep\u0101l\non commercial enterprises.\n\nNow suppose that Tibet should prohibit her people embarking in this\nforeign trade, what would be the consequence? In the first place she\nwould be unable to get any supply of goods from India, China and other\ncountries, goods which are now articles of daily necessity for her\npeople. This, though sufficiently hard, might be endured; but what\nwould be unendurable would be the closing of Indian markets to the\nwool of Tibet, India being the most important consumer of this staple\nproduce of the country. More wool being produced than can be reasonably\nconsumed at home, the close of foreign markets is certain to bring\ndown prices, and therefore to rob the sheep-farmers, or more properly\nthe nomadic people of that country, of the greater part of the income\nthey are at present enabled to get from their wool. The supply for food\nis, on the other hand, less than the demand, and as the prices of this\nessential of life cannot be expected to go down in proportion to those\nof wool, the sheep-farmers who constitute the greater part of the whole\npopulation would be threatened with starvation.\n\nThe incoming of gold from Mongolia being suspended, Tibet cannot, even\nif she would, cut off her commercial relations with the outside world.\n\nUrged by necessity, trade is advancing with great strides, judging at\nleast from the larger number of people engaged in it, for as matters\nstand at present the Forbidden Land may without exaggeration be\nconsidered as a \u201cnation of shop-keepers\u201d.\n\nIn fact all the people, with the exception of those who are\ndisqualified through physical defects and age, are engaged in business\nof one kind or another. Even farmers are partly traders. In winter\nwhen farm-work is slack they proceed to northern Tibet to lay in their\nstock of salt, obtained from the salt lakes that are found there. Then\nthese men start for Bh\u016bt\u0101n, Nep\u0101l or Sikkim, to sell their goods in\nthose places.\n\nPriests are not too proud to deal with secular dollars and cents, and\nmonasteries often trade on a large scale.\n\n[Illustration: PRIEST TRADERS LOADING THEIR YAKS.]\n\nThe Government itself is a trader, not directly, but through its\nregular agents, who in virtue of the important trust reposed in them\nenjoy various privileges, such as the liberty to requisition horses for\ncarrying their goods or to take lodgment _gratis_.\n\nPeers are also traders, mostly by proxy, though some of them refrain\nfrom making investments and are content to subsist on the income\nderived from their land. None the less the business spirit permeates\nthe whole Peerage, and even these non-trading Peers are ready to make\nsmall bargains now and then. Suppose a visitor to a Peer\u2019s house takes\na fancy to some of the furniture or hall decoration in it. In such a\ncase it is not considered impolite for the visitor to ask the host\nthe price of that particular article, and to ask him, if the price is\nconsidered reasonable, to sell it to him. Nor is it thought derogatory\nfor the host to sell his belongings, and so the bargain is struck when\nboth parties can come to terms. The whole proceeding is conducted with\nthe shrewdness and vigilant attention to details which characterise\nregular businessmen.\n\nIt is interesting to note that even boy-disciples in monasteries are\ntraders in their own way, and do not hesitate to invest their money\nwhenever they happen to notice in the shops or other places articles\nthat appeal to their fancy. These they bring home and either sell,\n(generally at a large profit) to other boys, or exchange for other\nobjects.\n\nOne great evil attends this propensity, and that is the danger of\nstimulating cunning practices, each party trying to impose upon the\nother in all those dealings.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXV.\n\nCurrency and Printing blocks.\n\n\nCommodities are either bartered or bought with regular coins. I should\nmore strictly say _the coin_, there being only one kind of coin, and\nthat is a twenty-four _sen_ silver piece. That is the only legal tender\ncurrent. Transactions have to be conducted therefore in a rather\ncomplicated manner, inasmuch as that coin admits of being divided in\ntwo ways only. In the first place it may be cut into two, thereby\nproducing two twelve-_sen_ pieces; or it may be divided into a 2/3\npiece and a 1/3 piece, the former passing at sixteen _sen_ and the\nlatter at eight. The cutting is far from being exact, and cut pieces\nare in most cases perforated in the centre or worn down at the edges.\nThese however are passed and received without complaint.\n\nIn Lhasa and other prosperous places the unit of transactions is four\n_sen_, but there being no four-_sen_ piece one must take with him in\nmaking a purchase of four _sen_ one 2/3 piece valued at sixteen _sen_,\nand receive in return for it one 1/2 piece valued at twelve _sen_. When\nthe seller happens not to possess this one-half piece, the buyer then\nproduces one 1/2 piece and one 2/3 piece, and receives in return for\nthe two one whole piece called a tanka which is valued at twenty-four\n_sen_. For a purchase of eight _sen_ a buyer produces one tanka and\nreceives a 2/3 piece in change.\n\nThe unit of transaction being four _sen_ there are six gradations of\nvalue between this minimum and a tanka, each possessing a distinct\ndenomination. Thus four _sen_ is called a _khakang_, eight _sen_ a\n_karma_, twelve _sen_ a _chyekka_, sixteen _sen_ a _shokang_, twenty\n_sen_ a _kabchi_ and twenty-four _sen_ a _tanka_.\n\nIn less prosperous places, and indeed everywhere except in Lhasa and\nShigatze, it is impossible to make a purchase of less than one tanka,\nowing to be the absence of divided pieces of smaller value.\n\nIn some places are found silver pieces which are locally circulated,\nas in the north-western steppes which form the boundary line between\nTibet and India. These pieces are semi-circular in shape, but are not\naccepted in the Grand Lama\u2019s dominions.\n\nHere I should like to recount what occurred to me in my monetary\ndealings. It was not an ordinary transaction, but a sort of blackmail\ncarried out at my expense.\n\nI have spoken before of the prodigal son of the house of Para. One day\nthis man sent his servant to me with a letter and asked for a loan\nof money, rather a large sum for Tibet. Of course he had no idea of\nrepaying me, and his loan was really blackmail. I sent back the servant\nwith half of what he had asked, together with a letter. I was told\nthat he was highly enraged at what I had done, exclaiming that I had\ninsulted him, and that he had not asked for the sum for charity, and so\non. At any rate he sent back the money to me, probably expecting that I\nwould then send him the whole sum asked for. But I did not oblige him\nas he had expected, and took no notice of his threat. A few days after\nanother letter reached me from that young man, again asking for the sum\nas at first. I decided to save myself from further annoyance and so I\nsent the sum. Like master, like servant; the latter, having heard most\nprobably from his spendthrift master that I was a Japanese, came to me\nfor a loan or blackmail of fifty _yen_. I gave that sum too, for I knew\nthat they could not annoy me repeatedly with impunity.\n\nAbout that time I chiefly devoted my leisure to collecting Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nbooks, for I had a fairly large amount of money. I must remark here\nthat Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist works not in ordinary use are not sold by booksellers in\nTibet; they are kept in the form of blocks at one monastery or another,\nand any person who wishes to get a copy of any of such works must\nobtain from the owner of the copyright permission to get an impression\nof it. In return for this permission an applicant has to forward\nsome fee and some donation to the monastery which owns and keeps the\nparticular set of blocks from which he wishes to get an impression\nor impressions, this donation generally consisting of a quantity of\ntussore silk. The fee, more or less differing in rate according to\nmonasteries and kind of blocks, ranges from about twenty-five _sen_\nto about one _yen_ twenty _sen_ per hundred sheets. The permission\nobtained, the applicant next engages either three or six printers,\ntwo printers and one assorter forming a special printing party, so to\nsay. Wages for the men are generally fifty _sen_ a day without board,\nand as they work in a very dilatory manner, the cost of printing is\nrather heavy. The paper used in printing is of native origin, made of a\ncertain plant, the leaves and roots of which are poisonous. The roots\nare white and produce excellent tough fibres. The Tibetan paper is\ntherefore sufficiently strong and durable, but is not white, owing to\nbad bleaching.\n\nBooksellers in Tibet, at least so far as I observed at Lhasa, do\nnot sell their books at their own houses, but at open stalls in the\ncourtyard in front of the western door of the great temple-shrine of\nthe Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Sh\u0101kyamuni, called Cho Khang. I saw ten such bookstalls\nin Lhasa and two or three at the bazaar in Shigatze, and those\nstallkeepers arranged their stock in trade in heaps instead of leaving\ntheir books open to invite inspection, as booksellers of other\ncountries do.\n\nThe books which I collected either through purchase, or by getting\nspecial impressions from the original blocks, were at first kept in\nmy room at the Sera monastery, and my collection was a subject of\nwonder and curiosity to the priests who were quartered in the rooms\nnot far from my own. The collection, they were heard saying to each\nother, contained three times as many books as even a learned doctor\npossessed in Tibet, and they could not but wonder how I, a student from\na remote country, could carry home so many books. I therefore kept all\nmy subsequent purchases in my room at the house of my host, in order to\navoid suspicion.\n\nMeanwhile the end of the month of December drew near and at last the\nNew Year\u2019s eve arrived. I made an arrangement to keep the day according\nto the Japanese custom. Accordingly I sent my boy to the Sakya Temple\nin the city with clarified butter to make an offering of light to the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha enshrined in the edifice. This is done by putting clarified\nbutter into the gold lamps placed before the tabernacle. Any one who\nwishes to make this offering has simply to pay in the usual charge\nof two tanka to the keepers of the edifice, and on that particular\noccasion I therefore sent my boy with two tanka pieces.\n\nI arranged my own room in a manner suitable to the occasion. I hung\na roll on which was painted an image of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, set in front of it a\ntiny sacred tabernacle, then three stands of silver lamps, and lastly\nvarious offerings. After the preliminary service had been concluded,\nI began, after the hour of midnight, a regular service and kept it\nup till four in the morning of the New Year\u2019s Day. Then I performed\na ceremony in order to pray for the prosperity of their Imperial\nMajesties the Emperor and Empress, H. I. H. the Crown Prince, and\nalso for the greater prosperity and glory of the Empire of Japan. I\nthought that during the three thousand years that had elapsed since the\nfounding of the Empire this must be the first time that one of its own\nsubjects had offered such a prayer in that city of the Forbidden Land;\nthen a strange sensation came over me, and somehow I felt grateful\ntears rising in my eyes.\n\n[Illustration: NEW YEAR\u2019S READING OF THE TEXTS FOR THE JAPANESE\nEMPEROR\u2019S WELFARE.]\n\nAs I turned my eyes outward, while continuing the service, I noticed\nthe New Year\u2019s sun beginning to ascend in the eastern sky, reflecting\nits golden rays on the snow that covered the surrounding hills and\nplains. Nearer before my eyes and in the spacious court of the\nmonastery, several snow-white cranes were stalking at leisure, now and\nthen uttering their peculiar cry. The whole scene was exquisite and\nquite captivating; how I should have liked to invite my own countrymen\nto come and share this pleasure with me! The service, the thought about\nmy dear home, the snow-scene, the cranes, and the New Year\u2019s Day--these\nroused in me a chain of peculiar sentiments at once delightful and sad,\nand this strange association of thoughts I embodied on that occasion in\na couple of awkward _utas_ freely rendered into prose thus:--\n\n\u201cHere on this Roof of the World and amidst the ascending dawn heralded\nby the cry of the cranes, I glorify the long and prosperous reign of\nour sovereign liege who reigns over his realm in the Far East.\n\n\u201cI hear in the garden of the holy seat the voice of the pure-white\ncranes, glorifying the triumph of the Holy Religion.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVI.\n\nThe Festival of Lights.\n\n\nOn January 4th, 1902, that is to say, on November 25th of the\nlunar calendar, the festival of Sang-joe commenced, this being the\nanniversary day of the death of Je Tsong-kha-pa the great Lamaist\nreformer. This may be called the \u201cFestival of Lights,\u201d every roof in\nLhasa and in all the adjoining villages blazing with lights set burning\nin honor of the occasion. Hundreds, even thousands of such butter-fed\nlights were burning on the roofs of monasteries, and presented a unique\nsight, such as is rarely seen in other parts of the world.\n\nThe Sang-joe is one of the most popular festivals, and lasts for two\nweeks. It is the season when the Tibetans, priests and laymen, give\nthemselves up to great rejoicing, when dancing, singing and feasting\nare the order of the day, and when people put on their gala dresses.\n\nThe arrival of the season is announced by an interesting custom, a sort\nof religious blackmail, enforced at the expense of people of position\nfrom about the second decade of the month of November according to\nthe lunar calendar. According to this custom every person enjoys the\nprivilege, for the sake of the coming festival, of begging a present of\nmoney from any superior in rank or position who may visit his house.\nEven people of good position and means do not think it beneath them to\nexercise this privilege of begging. I myself felt the effect of this\ncustom and was obliged to present here a _tanka_ and there two tanka.\nIn this way I spent about five _yen_ in Japanese money during this\nseason of public begging. I did not doubt it when I was told by some\nacquaintance that my Sang-joe item next year would be threefold what\nit was in the present year, owing to the enlargement of the circle of\nmy acquaintances.\n\nThe religious side of Sang-joe is a sort of vigil, performed every\nnight from about midnight to early dawn, the service consisting of the\nreading in company of holy Texts. This midnight ceremony is a solemn\naffair which every person in the monastery is obliged to attend.\n\nAs I attended this ceremony in the Sera monastery I was highly\nimpressed with the solemnity of the function, and felt that the\npeculiarly subdued tones of the chanting exerted upon my mind a\npowerful effect. It seemed to me as if angels were conducting the\nservice.\n\nThe whole surroundings were in keeping with the solemnity of the\noccasion. The lofty hall was hung with tapestries of glittering brocade\nand satin; the pillars were wound with red woollen cloth with floral\ndesigns in blue and white; while on the walls and from the upper parts\nof the pillars were hung religious pictures regarded as masterpieces in\nTibet. All these were lighted up by several thousand lamps containing\nmelted butter, the lamps shining bright and clear with pure-white rays,\nnot unlike those of gas-burners.\n\nSitting in the hall amidst such sacred surroundings, and listening\nto the chanting of the holy Texts, thoughts of profound piety took\npossession of my mind, and I felt as if I were transported to the\nregion of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha.\n\nThe Sang-joe is also a great occasion of alms and charity, and the\npriests, especially the acolytes and disciples, go round at dawn to\ncollect alms in the temple when the service is concluded. The people\nbeing more generously disposed at this season than at other times\ngive quite liberally. I am sorry to say that this pious inclination\non the part of the people is often abused by mischievous priests,\nwho do not scruple to go, in violation of the rules, on a second or\neven third or fourth round of begging at one time. I was astonished\nto hear that the priests who are on duty to prevent such irregular\npractices are in many cases the very instigators, abetting the younger\ndisciples in committing them. The ill-gotten proceeds go into the\npockets of those unscrupulous \u2018inspectors\u2019 who, urged on by greed,\neven go to the extreme of thrashing the young disciples when they\nrefuse to go on fraudulent errands of this particular description.\nNow and then the erratic doings of these lads come to the ears of the\nhigher authorities, who summon them and inflict upon them a severe\nreprimand, together with the more smarting punishment of a flogging.\nThe incorrigible disciples are not disconcerted in the least, being\nconscious that they have their protectors in the official inspectors,\nand of course they are immune from expulsion from the monastery.\n\nThese mischievous young people are in most cases warrior-priests.\nThese warrior-priests, of whom an account has already been given, are\neasily distinguished from the rest by their peculiar appearance and\nespecially by their way of dressing the hair. Sometimes their heads are\nshaved bald, but more often they leave ringlets at each temple, and\nconsider that these locks of four or five inches long give them a smart\nappearance. This manner of hair-dressing is not approved by the Lama\nauthorities, and when they take notice of the locks they ruthlessly\npull them off, leaving the temples swollen and bloody. Painful as\nthis treatment is, the warriors rather glory in it, and swagger about\nthe streets to display the marks of their courage. They are, however,\ncautious to conceal their \u2018smart\u2019 hair-dressing from the notice of the\nauthorities, so that when they present themselves in the monastery\nthey either tuck their ringlets behind the ears or besmear their faces\nwith lamp-black compounded with butter. When at first I saw such\nblackened faces I wondered what the blackening meant, but afterwards\nI was informed of the reason of the strange phenomenon and my wonder\ndisappeared as I became accustomed to the sight.\n\nI am sorry to say that the warrior-priests are not merely offensive\nin appearance; they are generally also guilty of far more grave\noffences, and the nights of the holy service are abused as occasions\nfor indulging in fearful malpractices. They really seem to be the\ndescendants of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah mentioned in the bible.\n\nThey are often quite particular in small affairs. They are afraid of\nkilling tiny insects, are strict in not stepping over broken tiles of a\nmonastery when they find them on the road, but walk round them to the\nright, and never to the left. And yet they, and even their superiors,\ncommit grave sin without much remorse. Really they are straining at\ngnats and swallowing camels.\n\nThere lived once in Tibet a humorous priest named Duk Nyon, a Tibetan\nRabelais, who was celebrated for his amusing though none the less\nsensible way of teaching. This priest met on the road a priest of the\nNew Sect, and it may be imagined that sharp repartees must have been\nexchanged between the two. On the road Duk Nyon noticed a small stone,\nwhich he carefully avoided and instead of walking over it walked round\nit. Next they came to a big rock, which hardly admitted of walking\nover. The humorist stooped low to give momentum to his body and the\nnext instant he jumped over it. His companion marvelled at this\nstrange behavior of Duk Nyon; he could not understand why he should\nhave avoided a small stone and then should jump over a large one. So\nthe New Sect priest bantered Duk Nyon on what he considered a silly\nproceeding, but Duk Nyon replied that he had been merely giving an\nobject-lesson to the New Sect folk, who were meticulously exact about\nsmall things, but were wont to leap over grave sins without remorse.\nThe story goes that his companion was much abashed at this home-thrust\nof the humorist. This witty remark of the old priest may be said to\nhold true even at the present time, for though the Sang-joe presents a\nsolemn and impressive front outwardly, it is full of abominable sights\nbehind the scenes. It is merely a season of criminal indulgence for the\nwarrior-priests and other undesirable classes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVII.\n\nTibetan Women.\n\n\nAs the position of women bears a vital relation to the prosperity and\ngreatness of a country, I shall devote a chapter to this subject. Of\nthe women of Tibet those residing in Lhasa are regarded as models of\nTibetan womanhood, and they therefore demand most attention.\n\nFirst let me describe the Lhasa ladies, beginning with their mode of\ndress.\n\nIt is interesting to note that the women\u2019s garments do not differ much\nin appearance from those of men; both are cut in the same way, and the\nonly perceptible difference in appearance, if difference it be, is\nthat women are attired with more taste and elegance than men. Another\ndistinguishing mark in Tibetan attire is a sash, a narrow band about\nan inch and a half wide and eight feet long, terminating at one end in\na fringe. The sash is not tied, as in Japan, but is merely wound round\nthe body with the end tucked in. Some persons wear a belt made of a\npiece of silk cloth, passing it three times round the body.\n\nThe ladies of Lhasa dress their hair somewhat like their sisters of\nMongolia, though this fashion is not followed by those in Shigatze and\nother parts of Tibet. They use a large quantity of false hair, imported\nfrom China, their natural supply being rather scanty. The hair is\ndivided into two equal parts down the middle, and each half is plaited\ninto a braid and left flowing behind. The ends of the braids are tied\nwith red or green cords with fringed knots, and these two cords are\nconnected by other beaded cords, the cords consisting usually of seven\nor eight threads on which pearls are strung as beads with a larger\npearl or turquoise in the middle.\n\nThey also wear a head-ornament made of turquoises or corals, with\none large piece surmounting the rest; and they put on the middle of\nthe head a cap made of small pearls. Then there are usually golden\near-rings and a breast ornament (which may cost as much as three or\nfour thousand _yen_), besides a necklace of precious stones. The\npendant is generally a miniature golden tabernacle which may cost\nfrom two hundred to three hundred _yen_. The arms are decorated with\nbracelets, the right one made of pretty shells and the left one of\nengraved silver. I must not omit to mention that all the Lhasan women,\nboth rich and poor, use an apron, which in the case of the ladies is\nmade of the best Tibetan wool woven in variegated hues. Finger-rings\nare comparatively plain, being generally of silver, excepting those\nworn by ladies of the highest class. Shoes are also pretty, and are\nmade of red and green woollen fabrics.\n\nWith all their splendid attire, the Lhasan ladies follow a strange\ncustom in their toilet, for they often paint their faces, not with\nwhite powder as their sisters of other countries do, but with a\nreddish-black substance. The Tibetans think that the natural color of\nthe flesh peeping from underneath the soot adds very much to the charm\nof the appearance.\n\nThe complexion of the Lhasan women is not quite fair, but very much\nresembles that of their Japanese sisters. In general appearance too the\ntwo cannot be easily distinguished, but the women of Lhasa, and indeed\nof all Tibet, are taller in stature and stronger in constitution than\nthe women of Japan. Indeed one hardly ever finds in Tibet women who\nare so short and frail as are the average Japanese ladies. The Tibetan\nladies being moreover attired in loose and capacious garments look very\nimposing.\n\nThe ladies of the higher classes have fair complexions and are as\npretty as their sisters of Japan.\n\nThe women of Kham and the surrounding districts are especially\nfair-complexioned, but they generally lack attractiveness, and look\ncold and repellent. Their way of speaking also strikes one as inelegant\nand uninviting. In contrast to them, their sisters of Lhasa are\ncharming to look at, and full of attraction. Their only defect is that\nthey lack weight and dignity, such as commands respect from others,\nand their daily conduct is not quite edifying. For instance, they do\nnot mind eating while walking in the streets. They are also excitable,\nor pretend to be excited by trifling circumstances, are prone to flirt\nand to be flippant, and seldom possess such nobleness as befits women\nof rank. If one criticises them severely, one would say that they are\nmore like ballet-girls than ladies of high station. They are therefore\nobjects more to be loved and pitied, than to be respected and adored.\nAltogether they lack _character_. Probably this singular defect may\nhave been brought about by the polyandrous custom of the country.\n\nThere are many things which I might cite to the discredit of the fair\nsex of Tibet, but of these I will single out only two, their love\nof liquor and their uncleanly habits. Uncleanliness is, it is true,\nuniversal in Tibet, but it naturally stands out more conspicuously in\ncontrast to the general habits of women in other countries, especially\nin Japan. Most of the Tibetan women are content with simply washing\ntheir faces and hands, but this washing is seldom extended to other\nparts of the body; the ladies of the higher classes however, are less\nopen to this charge; having no particular business, they have plenty of\ntime to devote to their toilet.\n\nThat which is particularly noteworthy about the women of Tibet, and\nprobably constitutes their chief merit, is their great activity, both\nin the matter of business and also in other respects. The women of\nthe middle and lower classes, for instance, regard trade as their\nown proper sphere of activity, and they are therefore very shrewd in\nbusiness of every description. They even choose their husbands from a\nbusiness point of view.\n\nAs ladies are not required to engage in such kind of work, their\nactivity is more shown in the form of counsels to their husbands,\nwhether invited or not. It seems that the Tibetan ladies enjoy great\ninfluence over their husbands, for not only are they allowed to have\na voice in the affairs of men, but are often taken into confidence by\nthem about matters of importance.\n\nThe ladies, perhaps, command even more leisure than their sisters in\nother countries. They have practically no special and public duties,\nwhile their domestic cares are also very light, as they do not\nundertake sewing. Sewing is considered in Tibet as men\u2019s work, and even\nfor a little stitching they rely on the tailor. Nor do the ladies of\nTibet care much about weaving and spinning, though some women of the\nlower classes pursue either one or both as their regular profession.\nSpinning is done with primitive distaffs, and is a tedious and awkward\nprocess, incapable of producing yarn of an even and fine size. Yarns\nsuch as are produced by spinning jennies are never obtained from native\ndistaffs.\n\nThe condition of Tibetan women with regard to men, especially in\nthe provinces, may be considered as surpassing the ideal of western\nwomen, so far as the theory of equality of rights between the sexes\nis concerned. For their stout sisters of Tibet enjoy from the public\nalmost equal treatment with men. They receive, for instance, equal\nwages with men, and indeed there is nothing wonderful in this when it\nis remembered that the women of Tibet, being strongly built and sturdy,\ncan work just as well as the rougher sex, and therefore are perfectly\nentitled to receive the same remuneration. These women, though looking\nmodest and lovely, are nevertheless very courageous at heart, so that\nwhen they fall into a passion their husbands are hardly able to keep\nthem under control. They rage like beings possessed, and no soothing\nwords or apologies can pacify them. Cases in which husbands were\napologising on bent knees to wives furious with passion often came to\nmy notice while I was staying in Tibet. They are demure as cats when\nthey are at peace, but when their passion is roused they are dreadful\nas tigers. They are very selfish and really rule the roost. What is\nworse, they are not always faithful to their husbands, but regard acts\nof inconstancy as something of quite ordinary nature; and they are\noften audacious enough to lay the blame on the shoulders of their poor\nhen-pecked husbands, alleging their inability to support their own\nwives!\n\nThe whole attention of the Tibetan women is concentrated on their own\nselfish interests, and they do not care a straw for the good of their\nhusbands so long as they are satisfied. The shrewdness they exercise\nin promoting their own selfish aims is something remarkable. From the\nhighest to the lowest, they are allowed to have their own savings, more\nor less, according to their position and circumstances, and fortified\nwith that source of strength they receive a decree of divorce from\ntheir husbands without any sense of regret. They will, in that case,\npack up their belongings and leave their husbands\u2019 doors with alacrity.\n\nOn the other hand, Tibetan women are extremely affectionate and\nconsiderate to the men of their own liking, as if to make amends for\ntheir lack of virtue towards the husbands they do not love. They lavish\ntheir love upon them, devote their whole attention to pleasing them,\nand spare neither pains nor money to anticipate their wishes and so to\ngive them satisfaction. In short, the women of Tibet seem to possess\ntwo antagonistic qualities, and are disposed to run to extremes.\n\nPerhaps this apparent anomaly comes from their immoral habits, and\nalso from the fact that the sense of chastity in women must have been\nseriously affected by the polyandrous custom of the country. Though\nsufficiently shrewd to protect their own interests, they are never\nself-dependent; they invariably lean on the help of one man or another,\neven when they have sufficient means at their disposal to support\nthemselves and their children. If a husband dies and leaves his widow\nand children enough to live on, very rarely does the bereaved woman\nremain faithful to the memory of her departed husband. Only very ugly\nor old women remain widows; all the rest marry again with indecent\nhaste. Indeed the idea of fidelity to the husband of her first love\nnever seems to enter the mind of even a well-educated woman, for\nsuch stories of faithfulness as are common in other countries are\nconspicuous by their absence in Tibet.\n\nI shall touch only briefly on the occupations of Tibetan women of the\nmiddle and lower classes. The women in the provinces attend to farming\nand rear cattle, sheep or yaks. But the commonest business for them\nis the making of butter and other substances obtained from milk, the\nprocess being in this wise: first the milk is subjected to heat, and\nthen left to cool till a coating of cream appears on the surface. This\ncream is skimmed off, and to the remainder a quantity of sour milk\nis added and the mixture left for about a day in a covered vessel.\nThe mixture becomes curdled, and this curdled milk is transferred to\na narrow deep vessel and a small quantity of lukewarm water is added\nto it. A piece of wood of the same shape as, and in size slightly\nsmaller than, the vessel is put into it, and is moved up and down by\na handle. When the curdled mass is sufficiently churned in this way,\nthe fat begins to separate from the watery portion. According to the\ncondition of that separation, more or less lukewarm water is added and\nthe stirring is resumed, till the butter-fat and water are completely\nseparated. The butter is then strained, and the remainder is boiled\ntill coagulated clots appear, easily separable from the sour watery\nportion. These clots are known as _chura_, and they are very nice\nto eat. The water or whey, though sour, is not unpalatable, and is\nespecially good for quenching thirst. The chura is used either fresh or\nin a dried form, the latter corresponding to the cheese used by western\npeople.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVIII.\n\nTibetan Boys and Girls.\n\n\nBoys enjoy better treatment in Tibet than their sisters, this\ndiscrimination beginning soon after their birth. Thus the naming\nceremony is almost always performed for boys and very seldom for girls.\nThough differing more or less according to localities, this naming\nceremony is generally performed after the lapse of three days from the\ntime of birth. One strange custom about the birth is that a baby is\nnever washed, nor is there a regular midwife. The only thing done to\nthe new-born baby is the anointing of its body (especially the head)\nwith butter, this being carried out twice a day. As this anointing is\nrather copiously applied, the Tibetan baby may perhaps be described as\nbeing subjected to butter-washing.\n\nOn the naming-day, a priest is asked to perform the ceremony. The\nprocess commences with the sprinkling of holy water on the baby\u2019s head.\nThe water is first blessed by the priest, and a quantity of yellow\npowder made of the saffron flower is then added to it.\n\n[Illustration: NAMING CEREMONY OF A BABY.]\n\nThe name is generally determined according to the day of the birth, and\nespecially according to the nomenclature of the days of the week. For\ninstance a boy or a girl who is born on Sunday is named Nyima, this\nmeaning Sun in Tibetan. The babies born on Monday bear the common name\nof Dawa; those on Saturday Penba; those on Friday Pasang; and so on.\nThis general use of the same names giving rise to confusion, a specific\nindividual surname has to be given to each baby. The individual\nappellation either precedes or follows the common designation. One baby\nbears the name of Nyima-Chering meaning \u201cSun longevity,\u201d another\nDawa-pun-tsuok, meaning \u201cMoon-all-perfection.\u201d\n\nThe choice of such individual names is usually made by the Lama who\nattends the ceremony, or is determined by an oracle-consulter, and only\nrarely by the father of the baby.\n\nSometimes the week nomenclature is disregarded and names of abstract\nmeaning are given to the babies; sometimes also names of animals are\nused. On the whole the surnames are of an abstract nature as in the\ncase of Japanese names. I may add that the boys take a religious name\nwhen they enter the priesthood.\n\nOn the naming-day of boys a great feast is held in honor of the\noccasion, and the relatives and friends of the family are invited to\nit. These of course bring with them suitable presents, such as casks\nof liquor, rolls of cloth, or money. The ceremony and the banquet that\naccompanies it are chiefly observed by people residing in or near a\ncity, for in the provinces only wealthy people can afford to follow\nthis custom.\n\nWhen the naming ceremony is concluded, the officiating priest reads\na service, in order to inform the patron deity of the place or of\nthe family of the birth of a baby, and of the fact that that baby\nhas received such and such a name, and praying that the baby shall\nbe taken under the protection of that patron deity. This service may\nbe undertaken by a priest of either the New or Old Sect or by an\noracle-consulter. The last named functionary performs with his own hand\nall the ceremony of name-giving, when a baby is born to him, and does\nnot entrust this business to another priest.\n\nThe beginning of school-attendance is another great occasion for boys,\nand it arrives when the boy attains the age of eight or nine. This day\nalso is celebrated with a feast, to which the relatives and friends of\nthe house are invited, and these present to the boy a kata, which the\nboy hangs around his neck with the two ends suspended over his breast.\nIf the boy is sent to a teacher residing at some distance from his\nhome, he leaves his paternal roof and lives under that of his master;\nbut when his master lives in the neighborhood he daily attends his\nlessons from home.\n\nThe other great occasions for boys are at the end of school life, and\nthe admission to official service, the latter requiring a ceremony of\nfar greater importance and a more splendid banquet than the other.\n\nThe ceremonies performed for the benefit of female children are fewer\nin number than those for their brothers. Generally only one ceremony\nis performed, this being a festival for celebrating the advent of\ngirlhood, and consists of dressing her hair for the first time since\nher birth. The dressing is done in a simple style. The hair is tied and\nmade to hang down behind in four braids, surmounted with a pretty hair\nornament made of red coral and turquoises. On this occasion a large\nnumber of people are invited to a feast, and these bring to the house\nvarious kinds of presents.\n\nBoys\u2019 amusements are much like those in Japan. In winter, for instance,\nthey play at snow-balling, and in summer their favorite sport is\nwrestling. Throwing stones to a distance, pitching at a target with a\nstone, skipping, either singly or in company, hitting from a distance\na small piece of hardened clay with another piece, or the striking\nout from a circle marked on the ground a silver piece placed in its\ncentre by means of a stone or any other hard object--these are some\nof the popular games of boys. Sometimes both boys and girls join\nin theatricals. Ball-games are now and then seen, but not often.\nHorse-riding too is a great amusement for boys, but only the sons\nof rich families can indulge in this. Poorer boys have to content\nthemselves with mounting on improvised horses, such as rocks or logs of\nwood.\n\nThe Tibetan girls do not differ much from those of other countries\nin preferring quiet and refined games to the rough sports of their\nbrothers. Dolls are a favorite amusement, and then singing, which is\neither theatrical (Aje-lhamo) or religious (Lama-mani). The latter\nis associated with an interesting custom, and is an imitation of\n\u201cLama-mani,\u201d who go about the country singing or reciting in quaint\nplaintive tones the famous deeds of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, or high priests, or\neven great warriors. These Lama-manis do not use instruments, but\npossess pictures illustrating the popular historical accounts of those\nmighty persons. The Tibetan girls sing those pieces, in imitation of\nthe recitation of the minstrels, one girl acting as conductor and the\nrest of the juvenile company reciting in chorus, with now and then a\nreligious chant interposed.\n\nI may mention here that Lama-manis are quite numerous in Tibet. In\nwinter and when the field work is suspended, they go on tour in the\nprovinces, but about the month of May, when the field-work is resumed\nand the provincials are busy with it, the minstrels return to Lhasa\nand ply their trade there. Their arrival at the capital generally\ncoincides with the appearance of the red dragon-flies, so these flies\nare popularly known by the rather respectable name of \u2018Lama-mani.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIX.\n\nThe Care of the Sick.\n\n\nThe tending of sick persons is a task assigned to women in Tibet,\nand the peculiar notions prevailing about the treatment of patients\nmakes this task doubly onerous. Tibetan doctors strictly forbid their\npatients to sleep in the day-time, and so those who tend them have to\nfollow this injunction of the doctors and keep the unfortunate patients\nawake. The patients are not allowed to lie in bed but are made to\nremain leaning upon some supports specially prepared for them. One or\nmore nurses sit by their sides to give them any help they need, and\nabove all to prevent them from going to sleep. These nurses cannot long\nstand the strain of constant watching, and therefore they are relieved\nin turn, to resume the task after they have taken more or less rest.\nThe nurses faithfully attend to their duty, are very quiet so as not to\nannoy the patients, wakeful as they are, and above all to satisfy any\nof their wants, to comfort and humor them, and also to keep the rooms\nclean. This cleaning must be judged strictly by a Tibetan standard, for\nviewed from the Japanese standpoint it hardly deserves the name. The\npatients are also kept comparatively clean, considering the general\nfilthy habits of the Tibetans. The effect of this insanitary condition\nat once makes itself felt to the olfactory sense of a foreigner who\nis accustomed to more perfect arrangements at home, for as soon as he\nenters the room a peculiar offensive smell greets his nose.\n\nBut the most important and tiresome part of the nursing duty is to keep\nthe patient awake, and sometimes nurses are specially appointed to\nattend to this work. These nurses keep beside them a bowl containing\ncold water and one or two wooden sprinklers. When the patient is about\nto fall asleep, a nurse sprinkles water on his face, and this has the\neffect of preventing sleep. When this water-sprinkling fails, the nurse\nembraces the patient from behind and slightly presses him forward.\nSometimes they call the patient by name and cause him to recover\nconsciousness. The patient is thankful for the trouble taken by the\nnurses, being well aware that they do it in obedience to the doctor\u2019s\norders, and from their wish to ensure his recovery.\n\nThe idea that a patient must not be allowed to sleep in the day-time\nis strongly impressed on the minds of Tibetans, both professional and\nnon-professional. The doctors enjoin both on him and on the nurses to\nobserve this point strictly as the first essential for his recovery,\nand any person who comes to visit him first of all gives a similar\nwarning. \u201cDon\u2019t allow him to fall asleep,\u201d repeats the visitor to the\nnurses, and reminds them that they are principally responsible for\ncarrying out faithfully this cardinal necessity in the treatment of the\npatient.\n\nWhen a patient dies, the neighbors suspect that his nurses may not have\nbeen strict enough, and must have suffered him to fall asleep!\n\nI tried to find out the reasons that have brought about this strange\nmedical custom, and it was easy for me to make enquiries, having\nbeen obliged to play the part of a quack doctor through the earnest\nimportunities of the simple-minded Tibetans. So far as I could\nascertain from those enquiries, the idea seems to be that patients\nsuffering from some diseases are liable to develop more fever when\nthey sleep in the day-time, while patients suffering from a local\ndisease, resembling dropsy, not unfrequently die while asleep or\nwhile in a state of coma. It seems to have been derived from some\ncases that occurred some time in the past, the unscientific doctors\nof Tibet having jumped to a general conclusion from certain specific\noccurrences. I need hardly add that this non-sleep prescription is\nefficacious (if ever it is efficacious at all) for the Tibetans only.\nWhen at times I suffered from disease while in Lhasa I slept as freely\nas I wished, and of course I found myself feeling all the better for it.\n\nThe fact is that, in Tibet, superstition plays a far more important\npart than medicine in the treatment of diseases.\n\nPeople believe that a disease is the work of an evil spirit which\nenters the body of a person, and therefore they conclude that that\nspirit must first be exorcised before a patient may be entrusted to the\ncare of a doctor. There being various kinds of evil spirits, some high\nLama must be consulted in order to determine which particular one has\npossessed a given patient. A priest before whom the matter is brought\nconsults books on demonology, then pronounces that the disease is the\nwork of such and such an evil spirit, and that for exorcising him such\nand such a service must be performed.\n\nThe consulting priest may specify the name of a Lama when the service\nto be read is one of importance, but when it is an ordinary one it may\nbe performed by any Lama. At the same time the consulting priest issues\ndirections about medical treatment--that a doctor should be called in\nafter the service has been performed for so many days, or that such\nand such a doctor should be invited simultaneously with the religious\nperformance, or that medical aid may be dispensed with altogether.\n\nThese directions are given orally when the Lama who issues them is\none of secondary position, but when he is one of exalted rank the\ndirections are written by one of his attendants and the sheet is\nauthenticated by the mark of his own seal.\n\nThe Tibetans put implicit faith in the directions issued by such high\nLamas, and follow them literally. For instance, when the Lama directs\nthem not to seek the aid of medicine, say for the first five days, and\norders the patient only to perform the rites of exorcism during that\nperiod, they are sure to do so. A patient, who might have recovered\nhad the aid of medicine been at once invoked, may then die, but his\nfamily will never blame the Lama for it. They will rather hold him in\ngreater respect than before, attributing to him an extraordinary power\nof foresight. They will say that he had foreseen the hopelessness of\nthe patient\u2019s case, and therefore told them not to take the unnecessary\ntrouble of calling in the aid of a doctor until after the lapse of five\ndays. The reverend priest knew, they think, that the patient would die\nby that time. Anybody who should dare to hold the Lama responsible for\nthe death of the patient would run a serious risk of being denounced by\nthe faithful believers as a heretic and as a person of depraved mind.\nEven those who at heart condemn the mischievous and fatal meddling of\nthe priests in the case of diseases prudently keep silence, for fear of\ncalling down upon themselves the wrath of the fanatical populace.\n\nTo speak the truth, the Tibetan doctors hardly deserve to be trusted.\nThe word \u2018doctor\u2019 as applied to them is a gross outrage on the noble\nscience, for they possess merely the knowledge (and this too of a very\nshallow kind) of the primitive medicine of ancient India. As even that\nknowledge is the result of oral instruction transmitted from father to\nson for many generations, and not acquired from studying medical works\nor from investigation, the Tibetan \u2018doctors\u2019 are utterly incompetent\nfor the important function assigned to them.\n\nThe doctors practically possess only one stock medicine, which is the\nroot of a certain poisonous herb called _tsa-tuk_ in Tibet. Being a\nstrong stimulant it is fatal in a large dose, and even a limited\nquantity causes a temporary paralysis of the different parts of the\nbody and sometimes violent diarrh\u0153a. A change of any kind is likely\nto be taken as a hopeful sign by patients, and so the Tibetan doctors\nalways use more or less of this drug for all kinds of illness, just as\nthe Japanese doctors were accustomed to use liquorice-root in olden\ndays.\n\nKnowing as I do how untrustworthy and even dangerous the prescriptions\nof Tibetan doctors are, I sometimes thought that if the choice between\nthe two evils had to be made I should rather recommend to sick people\nan exclusive reliance on prayers and faith-cure instead of on the risky\nmedicines prepared by these quacks.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXX.\n\nOutdoor Amusements.\n\n\nThere are various methods of feasting in Tibet, but the one which\nappeals most strongly to the fancy of the people and is, I think, the\nmost refined, is the _Lingka_. This is a sort of garden party held in\nwoody places situated in the outskirts of the city of Lhasa.\n\nThe Tibetans seldom behave respectably and with courtesy when they\nmeet in a social reunion; too frequently on such occasions disputes\nor even quarrels are liable to occur. But in a Lingka party all those\nwho participate in it behave with decorum, and even people who are\ngenerally regarded as quarrelsome characters appear genteel and affable\nin deference to the best tradition of the country. A Lingka carried out\nby a party of warrior-priests is sufficiently animated, but very seldom\ndo they mar the occasion with unseemly quarrels.\n\nThe places where this refined amusement is held are, as before\nmentioned, situated very close to the city, and are found in all\ndirections except the south, where flows a river. In the remainder of\nthe circuit woods and groves are scattered here and there, and also\npatches of velvety lawns. Some of the groves are enclosed and are\nattached to the private villas of wealthy people, but there are plenty\nof groves and lawns which are left open to the public.\n\nThese lawns and groves present a charming appearance in spring, and\nthe people of Lhasa, after having been chained to the town through the\ndesolate and dreary scenes of winter, feel themselves inspired with a\nnew life when they meet again on turf which is resuming its vigor and\nputting on a new coat of velvet. There are peach-trees with their buds\nabout to burst open, while by the streams may be seen willow-trees\nwith their elegant pendant twigs covered with fresh green leaves.\n\nThe whole city of Lhasa finds its heart beating with a new life, as it\nwere, in agreeable harmony with the fascinating surroundings of nature.\nThe season of pure and innocent amusements has arrived, and the people,\nurged on by the natural cravings of their hearts, sally forth to the\nfields in small parties or large, and enjoy themselves with picnics.\n\nThe picnic outfit comprises baked flour, fried vegetables or meats,\ncheese, raisins, dried peaches, dried animal flesh, sacks of liquor\nand tea-sets. There are two kinds of native liquors, one being made of\nbarley or wheat and the other of rice. Of the two the former is used\nto a greater extent than the latter. The barley liquor is brewed in a\nvery simple way. A certain quantity of barley, generally at the rate of\none _sho_ of the grain to five _sho_ of the liquor, is roasted, then\nleft to cool, and while it is being cooled a quantity of malt is added,\nand the mixture is put in a jug and kept in a warm place. In three\ndays the mixture is converted into yeast, and to it water is added and\nthoroughly stirred. The liquor is then ready, and it is ladled out as\noccasion requires, or the whole watery portion is strained and put in\nanother vessel. In brewing a superior kind of the liquor, only about\ntwo _sho_ of water is added to one _sho_ of the grain and the strained\nliquid is left to ripen for some weeks. This superior liquor is used\nonly by wealthy people.\n\nThe ordinary barley liquor is very weak and does not intoxicate unless\na large quantity is drunk. The climate too being comparatively cool and\nthe atmosphere very dry, the fumes of the liquor soon disappear even\nwhen a man has imbibed a large quantity.\n\nSo, prepared with all those provisions, the parties spread their mats\non the turf, and enjoy themselves to their hearts\u2019 contents from nine\nin the morning to six in the afternoon.\n\n[Illustration: A PICNIC PARTY IN SUMMER.]\n\nLet us suppose that a carpet is laid on the velvety lawn in a wood,\nand that there are liquors and delicacies to which the party will\nhelp themselves. There will also be singing and dancing. Dancing is\ngenerally accompanied by vocal music, and it occupies in the eyes of\nTibetan people a very important place on the programme of a public\nfunction of this kind. Everybody appears to think that there is nothing\nmore enjoyable in life than the art of cadenced steps and graceful\npostures. Even the country people who from lack of opportunities cannot\nlearn the art, appreciate and enjoy it just as well as the inhabitants\nof cities. Strangers like myself do not see any great merit in the\nTibetan dancing, but to their eyes it is certainly amusing. In short,\nthe picnic is a source of most refined relaxation to the Tibetans, for\non such occasions they sing and dance, they drink the best of liquors\nand eat the best of delicacies, their enjoyment very much enhanced by\nthe exquisite environment. Here flows a limpid current drawn from\nthe river Kichu and on its banks are gambolling and running children\nand adults. There stand majestic snow-capped peaks with their slopes\ncovered with verdant forests. Lhasa indeed seems to justify at such\ntime its classic name of the \u2018Ground of Deities\u2019.\n\nThe above description applies to a picnic given by people of the higher\nclasses, but their inferiors also have picnics of their own.\n\nThe picnics got up by people of the lower classes are of course\nless refined, and the amusements include the drinking of liquors,\ngambolling, and maybe wrestling. Tibetan wrestling possesses a\npeculiarity of its own, quite distinct from that prevailing in Japan.\nThe wrestlers generally keep apart from their antagonists and do not\ntug and close in as do their _confr\u00e8res_ of Japan. Very seldom does\na Tibetan wrestler aim at throwing down his antagonist, the contest\nconsisting in the use of the arms. The picnickers also amuse themselves\nwith competitions of stone-flinging, which is a favorite game of the\nwarrior priests, and sometimes they try a foot-race. Dancing is a\nfavorite item of amusement in the picnics of the vulgar folks also,\nand it does not differ much in form from that of people of the higher\ncircles, though it somewhat lacks elegance and at times it even strikes\none as scandalous. Still, one beautiful point about the picnics even\nof the lower people is that very seldom does a quarrel or any such\nunseemly incident mar the sweet pleasure of the occasion, and it is\nevident that the _changsa_ of the lingka exerts upon them a high moral\ninfluence and indirectly leads them to good. Whether for people of the\nhigher circles or for their inferiors, among the changsas the lingka\nis the purest and most refined of their amusements and is the one most\nconducive to fraternal feeling and good fellowship.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXI.\n\nRussia\u2019s Tibetan Policy.\n\n\nBefore proceeding to give an account, necessarily imperfect, of\nTibetan diplomacy, I must explain what is the public opinion of the\ncountry as to patriotism. I am sorry to say that the attitude of the\npeople in this respect by no means does them credit. So far as my\nlimited observation goes, the Tibetans, who are sufficiently shrewd in\nattending to their own interest, are not so sensitive to matters of\nnational importance. It seems as if they were destitute of the sense\nof patriotism, as the term is understood by ordinary people. Not that\nthey are totally ignorant of the meaning of \u201cfatherland,\u201d but they\nare rather inclined to turn that meaning to their own advantage in\npreference to the interest of their country. Such seems, in short, the\ngeneral idea of the politicians of to-day.\n\nThe Tibetans are more jealous with regard to their religion. A few of\nthem, a very limited few it is true, seem to be prepared to defend and\npromote it at the expense of their private interest, though even in\nthis respect the majority are so far unscrupulous as to abuse their\nreligion for their own ends. In the eyes of the common people, religion\nis the most important product of the country, and they think therefore\nthat they must preserve it at any cost. Their ignorance necessarily\nmakes them fanatics and they believe that any one who works any injury\nto their religion deserves death. The Hierarchical Government makes a\ngreat deal of capital out of this fanatical tendency of the masses. The\nholy religion is its justification when it persecutes persons obnoxious\nto it, and when it has committed any wrong it seeks refuge under the\nsame holy name. The Government too often works mischief in the name of\nreligion, but the masses do not of course suspect any such thing--or\neven if they do now and then harbor a suspicion, they are deterred from\ngiving vent to their sentiments, for to speak ill of the religion is a\nheinous crime in Tibet.\n\nI have already stated how in general the Tibetan women are highly\nselfish and but poorly developed in the sense of public duty. One\nmight naturally suppose that the children born of such mothers must\nbe similarly deficient in this important point. I thought at first\nthat the Tibetan men were less open to this charge than their wives\nand sisters, but I soon found this to be a mistake. I found the men\nnot much better than the women, and equally absorbed in their selfish\ndesires while totally neglecting the interests of the State. A foreign\ncountry knowing this weak point, and wishing to push its interests\nin the Forbidden Land, has only to form its diplomatic procedure\naccordingly. In other words, it has merely to captivate the hearts of\nthe rulers of Tibet, for once the influential Cabinet Ministers of the\nHierarchical Government are won over, the next step will be an easy\nmatter. The greedy Ministers will be ready to listen to any insidious\nadvice coming from outside, provided that the advice carries with it\nliterally the proper weight of gold. They will not care a straw about\nthe welfare of the State or the interest of the general public, if only\nthey themselves are satisfied.\n\nHowever, foreign diplomatists desiring to succeed in their policy of\ngaining influence over Tibet must not think that they have an easy\ntask before them. Gold is most acceptable to all Tibetan statesmen,\nbut at times gold alone may not carry the point. The fact is that\nTibet has no diplomatic policy in any dignified sense of the word.\nIts foreign doings are determined by sentiment, which is necessarily\ndestitute of any solid foundation, but is susceptible to change from\na trivial cause. A foreign country which has given a large bribe to\nthe principal statesmen of Tibet may find afterwards that its enormous\ndisbursements on this account have been a mere waste of money, and\nthat the recipients who were believed to have been secured with golden\nchains have broken loose from them, for some mere triviality. It is\nimpossible to rely on the faith of the Tibetan statesmen, for they are\nentirely led by sentiment and never by rational conviction.\n\nThe Muscovites seem to conduct their Tibetan policy with consummate\ndexterity. Their man\u0153uvres date from a long time (at least thirty\nyears) back, when Russia\u2019s activity towards Tibet began to attract the\npublic attention of the Powers concerned. Russia has selected a highly\neffective instrument in promoting her interest over Tibet.\n\nThere was a Mongolian tribe called the Buriats, which peopled a\ndistrict far away to the north-east of Tibet towards Mongolia. The\ntribe was originally feudatory to China, but it passed some time ago\nunder the control of Russia. The astute Muscovites have taken great\npains to insinuate themselves into the grateful regard of this tribe.\nContrary to their vaunted policy at home, they have never attempted to\nconvert the Mongolians into believers of the Greek Church, but have\ntreated their religion with a strange toleration. The Muscovites even\nwent farther and actually rendered help in promoting the interests of\nthe Lamaist faith, by granting its monasteries more or less pecuniary\naid. It was evident that this policy of Russia originated from the\ndeep-laid plan of captivating the hearts of the priests, whose\ninfluence was, as it still is, immense over the people. From this tribe\nquite a large number of young priests are sent to Tibet to prosecute\ntheir studies at the principal seats of Lamaist learning. These young\nMongolians are found at the religious centres of Ganden, Rebon, Sera,\nTashi Lhunpo and at other places. There must be altogether two hundred\nsuch students at those seats of learning; several able priests have\nappeared from among them, one of whom, Dorje by name, became a high\ntutor to the present Dalai Lama while he was a minor.\n\nThis great priest obtained from the Hierarchical Government some\ntwenty years ago the honorable title of \u201cTsan-ni Kenbo,\u201d which means\nan \u201cinstructor in the Lamaist Catechism.\u201d There were besides him three\nother instructors; but he is said to have virtually monopolised the\nconfidence of the young Lama Chief. Nor was this confidence misplaced,\nso far as the relation of teaching and learning was concerned, for\nthe Mongolian priest surpassed his three colleagues both in ability\nand in learning, and as he omitted no pains to win the heart of his\nlittle pupil, the latter was naturally led to hold him in the greatest\nestimation and affection.\n\nThe Tsan-ni Kenbo returned home when, on his pupil\u2019s attaining\nmajority, his services as tutor were no longer required. It is quite\nlikely that he described minutely the results of his work in Tibet to\nthe Russian Government, for it is conceivable that he may have been\nentrusted by it with some important business during his stay at Lhasa.\nSoon the Tsan-ni Kenbo re-visited Lhasa, and this time as a priest of\ngreat wealth, instead of as a poor student, as he was at first. He\nbrought with him a large amount of gold, also boxes of curios made in\nRussia. The money and the curios must have come to him from the Russian\nGovernment. The Dalai Lama and his Ministers were the recipients of\nthe gold and curios, and among the Ministers a young man named Shata\nappears to have been honored with the largest share. The name of the\nTsan-ni Kenbo had been remembered with respect since his departure\nfrom Lhasa, and his re-appearance as a liberal distributor of gifts\ncompleted his triumph.\n\nThe Dalai Lama was now ready to lend a willing ear to anything his\nformer tutor represented to him, while the friendship between him and\nthe young Premier grew so fraternal that they are said to have vowed\nto stand by each other as brothers born. The astute Tsan-ni did not\nof course confine his crafty endeavors to the higher circles alone;\nthe priest classes received from him a large share of attention, due\nto the mighty influence which they wield over the masses. Liberal\ndonations were therefore more than once presented to all the important\nmonasteries of Tibet, with which of course the priests of these\nmonasteries were delighted. In their eyes the Tsan-ni was a Mongolian\npriest of immense wealth and pious heart, and the idea of suspecting\nhow he came to be possessed of such wealth never entered their\nunsophisticated minds. So they had nothing but unqualified praise\nfor him. When at rare intervals some inquisitive priests asked the\nGovernment officers about the origin of the Tsan-ni\u2019s fortune, the\nlatter would inform them with a knowing look that the Mongolian Lama\nwas regarded with something like regal respect by his countrymen, who\nvied with each other in presenting gold and other precious things to\nthat venerable priest. There was nothing strange about his acquisition\nof wealth. And so the Government and priesthood placed themselves at\nthe feet of the Tsan-ni and adored him as their benefactor.\n\nThe Zaune\u2019s programme of \u2018conquest\u2019 was really comprehensive and\nincluded a general plan intended for the masses. It was based on an old\ntradition of Tibet and involved no extra disbursements on his part. It\nmust be remembered that a work written in former times by some Lama of\nthe New Sect contained a prophetic pronouncement--a pronouncement which\nwas supported by some others--that some centuries hence a mighty prince\nwould make his appearance somewhere to the north of Kashm\u012br, and would\nbring the whole world under his sway, and under the domination of\nthe Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist faith. Now Kashm\u012br and the places near it are districts\nof great natural beauty and delightful situation, and Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism once\nattained a high prosperity in them, before they were subdued by the\nMuhammadan conquerors. This would-be \u201cprophet\u201d must have concluded _a\npriori_ that as the faith had once prevailed there, therefore it must\none day recover its original prosperity. Starting from this peculiar\nsurmise the prophet jumped to the conclusion that the place, from its\nadvantageous natural position, must in some remote future make its\npower felt through the world, and that this would be achieved by some\npowerful prince.\n\nThis announcement alone was not sufficiently attractive to awake the\ninterest of the Tibetans, and so the unborn prince was represented\nas a holy incarnation of the founder of the national religion of\nTibet, Tsong-kha-pa, and his Ministers were to be incarnations of his\nprincipal disciples, as Jam yan Choeje, Chamba Choeje and Gendun Tub.\nThe prophet went into further details and gave the name of the future\ngreat country as \u201cChang Shambhala;\u201d Chang denoting \u201cnorthward\u201d and\n\u201cShambhala\u201d the name of a certain city or place, if I remember rightly,\nto the north of Kashm\u012br. With a precision worthy of Swift\u2019s pen, the\nprophet located the new Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist empire of the future at a distance\nsome three thousand miles north-west of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101 in Hin\u1e0d\u016bs\u1e6d\u0101n, and\nhe even described at some length the route to be taken in reaching\nthe imaginary country. This utopian account has obtained belief from\na section of the Tibetan priest-class, and some of them are said to\nhave undertaken a quest for this future empire, so that they might at\nleast have the satisfaction of inspecting its cradle. Now the Tibetan\nprophet bequeathed us this important forecast with the idea that when\nthe Tibetan religion degenerated, it would be saved from extinction\nby the appearance of that mighty Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist prince, who would extend his\nbenevolent influence over the whole world. I should state that this\nannouncement is widely accepted as truth by the common people of Tibet.\n\nThe Tsan-ni Kenbo was perfectly familiar with the existence of this\nmarvellous tradition, and he was not slow to utilise it for promoting\nhis own ambitious schemes. He wrote a pamphlet with the special object\nof demonstrating that \u201cChang Shambhala\u201d means Russia, and that the Tsar\nis the incarnation of Je Tsong-kha-pa. The Tsar, this Russian emissary\nwrote, is a worthy reincarnation of that venerable founder, being\nbenevolent to his people, courteous in his relations to neighboring\ncountries, and above all endowed with a virtuous mind. This fact and\nthe existence of several points of coincidence between Russia and the\ncountry indicated in the sacred prophecy indisputably proved that\nRussia must be that country, that anybody who doubted it was an enemy\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and of the august will of the Founder of the New Sect, and\nthat in short all the faithful believers in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism must pay respect\nto the Tsar as a Chang-chub Semba Semba Chenbo, which in Tibetan\nindicates one next to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, or as a new embodiment of the Founder,\nand must obey him.\n\nSuch is said to be the tenor of that particular writing of the Tsan-ni\nKenbo. It seems to exist in three different versions, Tibetan,\nMongolian and Russian. I have not been able to see a copy, but it was\nfrom the lips of a trustworthy person that I gathered the drift of the\nexposition given in the pamphlet. Indeed the Tsan-ni\u2019s pamphlet was\npreserved with jealous care by all who had copies of it, such care\nas is bestowed by a pious bibliographer on a rare text of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nwriting. I knew several priests who undoubtedly possessed copies of\nthe pamphlet, but I could not ask permission to inspect them, for fear\nthat such a request might awake their suspicion. The one from whom\nI confidentially obtained the drift of the writing told me that he\nfound in it some unknown letters. I concluded that the letters must be\nRussian.\n\nTsan-ni Kenbo\u2019s artful scheme has been crowned with great success, for\nto-day almost every Tibetan blindly believes in the ingenious story\nconcocted by the Mongolian priest, and holds that the Tsar will sooner\nor later subdue the whole world and found a gigantic Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist empire.\nSo the Tibetans may be regarded as extreme Russophiles, thanks to the\nmachination of the Tsan-ni Kenbo.\n\nThere is another minor reason which has very much raised the credit of\nRussia in the eyes of the Tibetans; I mean the arrival of costly fancy\ngoods from that country. Now, the fancy goods coming from British India\nare all cheap things which are hardly fit for the uses for which they\nare intended. The reason is obvious; as the Tibetans cannot afford\nto buy goods of superior quality, the merchants who forward these to\nTibet must necessarily select only those articles that are readily\nmarketable. The goods coming from Russia, on the other hand, are\nnot intended for sale; they are exclusively for presents. Naturally\ntherefore the goods coming from Russia are of superior quality and can\nwell stand the wear and tear of use. The ignorant Tibetans do not of\ncourse exercise any great discernment, and seeing that the goods from\nEngland and Russia make such a striking contrast with each other they\nnaturally jump to the conclusion that the English goods are trash,\nand that the people who produce such things must be an inferior and\nunreliable race.\n\nI heard during my stay in Tibet a strange story the authenticity of\nwhich admitted of no doubt. It was kept as a great secret and occurred\nabout two years ago. At that time the Dalai Lama received as a\npresent a suit of Episcopal robes from the Tsar, a present forwarded\nthrough the hands of the Tsar\u2019s emissary. It was a splendid garment\nglittering with gold and was accepted, I was told, with gratitude by\nthe Grand Lama. The Tsar\u2019s act in giving such a present to him is open\nto a serious charge. If the Tsar presented the suit as a specimen\nof an embroidered fabric, then that act amounted to sacrilege, for\nthe Bishop\u2019s ceremonial robe is a sign of a high religious function,\nand when a person receives it from the superior Head of the holy\nchurch it means that that person has been installed in the seat of\na Bishop. On the other hand if the Tsar presented the suit from\nreligious considerations his act is equally inexplicable and deserves\ncondemnation, for he must have been perfectly aware that Lamaism is\nan entirely distinct religion from the State religion of Russia, and\nthat the chief of the Tibetan religion therefore has nothing to do with\nsuch an official garment. It was really a strange transaction. On the\npart of the recipient there were extenuating circumstances. The fact\nis, he must have been entirely ignorant as to the real nature of the\npresent. He must have accepted it merely as a costly garment with no\nspecial meaning attached to it. I am certain he would have rejected\nthe offer at once had he had even a faint inkling of its nature. He\nwas therefore a victim of ignorance and perhaps of imposition, for the\nTsan-ni Kenbo, who knew all about this present, must have made some\nplausible explanations to the Dalai Lama when the latter asked him\nabout it. Shata, the Premier and bosom friend of the Tsan-ni, probably\nplayed some part in the imposture.\n\n[Illustration: PRIME MINISTER.]\n\nWho is Shata? Shata, whose name I have before mentioned, is the eldest\nof the Premiers, and comes from one of the most illustrious families\nof Tibet. His house stood in hereditary feud with the great monastery\nTangye-ling whose head, Lama Temo Rinpoche, acted as Regent before\nthe present Dalai Lama had been installed. At that time the star of\nShata was in the decline. He could not even live in Tibet with safety,\nand had to leave the country as a voluntary exile. As a wanderer he\nlived sometimes at Darjeeling and at other times in Sikkim. It was\nduring this period of his wandering existence that he observed the\nadministration of India by England, and heard much about how India came\nto be subjugated by that Power. Shata therefore is the best authority\nin Tibet about England\u2019s Indian policy. His mind was filled with the\ndread of England. He was overawed by her power and must have trembled\nat the mere idea of the possibility of her crossing the Him\u0101layas and\nentering Tibet, which could hardly hope to resist the northward march\nof England, when once the latter made up her mind to invade the land.\nHe must have thought during his exile that Tibet would have to choose\nbetween Russia and China in seeking foreign help against the possible\naggression of England. Evidently therefore he carried home some such\nidea as to Tibetan policy when affairs allowed him to return home\nwith safety, that is to say, when his enemy had resigned the Regency\nand surrendered the supreme power to the Dalai Lama. Shata was soon\nnominated a Premier, and the power he then acquired was first of all\nemployed and abused in destroying his old enemy and his followers.\nThe maladministration and unjust practices of which those followers\nhad been guilty during the ascendancy of their master furnished a\nsufficient cause for bringing a serious charge against the latter. The\npoor Temo Rinpoche was arrested for a crime of which he was innocent,\nand died a victim to his enemy, as already told.\n\nShata is an unscrupulous man and is resourceful in intrigues. But he\nis nevertheless a man of vigorous mind and does not hesitate about the\nmeans, when once he makes up his mind to compass anything.\n\nHe is the best informed man in Tibet, comparatively speaking, in\ndiplomatic affairs, and so he must possess a certain definite view\nabout the foreign policy of Tibet, and his pro-Russian tendency must\nhave come from his strong conviction, though this conviction rested on\na slender base. This tendency was of course stimulated and encouraged\nby the Tsan-ni Kenbo, who did not neglect to work upon the other\u2019s\ninclination when he saw that it was highly favorable to him. Shata\non his part must have rendered help to his Mongolian friend when the\nlatter wished to offer the strange present to the Dalai Lama. I do\nnot say that the other Ministers approved of Shata\u2019s acts in this\nsignificant transaction, or even of his pro-Russian policy. On the\ncontrary some of them may have deprecated both as being opposed to the\ninterests of Tibet. But they could hardly speak out their minds, and\neven if they did they could not restrain Shata, for the simple reason\nthat the executive authority practically rests in the hands of the\nSenior Premier. He very seldom consulted his colleagues, still less was\nhe inclined to accept advice coming from them. Under the circumstances\nthey must have connived at the acceptance of the bishop\u2019s apparel, even\nif they knew about it.\n\nChina\u2019s loss of prestige in Tibet since the Japano-Chinese war owing\nto her inability to assert her power over the vassal state has much to\ndo with this pro-Russian leaning. China is no longer respected, much\nless feared by the Tibetans. Previous to that war and before China\u2019s\ninternal incompetence had been laid bare by Japan, relations like those\nbetween master and vassal bound Tibet to China. The latter interfered\nwith the internal affairs of Tibet and meted out punishments freely to\nthe Tibetan dignitaries and even to the Grand Lama. Now she is entirely\nhelpless. She could not even demand explanations from Tibet when that\ncountry was thrown into an unusual agitation about the Temo Rinpoche\u2019s\naffair. The Tibetans are now conducting themselves in utter disregard\nor even in defiance of the wishes of China, for they are aware of the\npowerlessness of China to take any active steps against them. They know\nthat their former suzerain is fallen and is therefore no longer to be\ndepended upon. They are prejudiced against England on account of her\nsubjugation of India, and so they have naturally concluded that they\nshould establish friendly relations with Russia, which they knew was\nEngland\u2019s bitter foe.\n\nIt is evident that the Dalai Lama himself favors this view, and it may\nsafely be presumed that unless he was favorably disposed towards Russia\nhe would never have accepted the bishop\u2019s garment from the Tsar. He is\ntoo intelligent a man to accept any present from a foreign sovereign as\na mere compliment.\n\nThe Dalai Lama\u2019s friendly inclination was clearly established when in\nDecember, 1900, he sent to Russia his grand Chamberlain as envoy with\nthree followers. Leaving Lhasa on that date the party first proceeded\ntowards the Tsan-ni Kenbo\u2019s native place, whence they were taken by\nthe Siberian railway, and in time reached S. Petersburg. The party\nwas received with warm welcome by that court, to which it offered\npresents brought from Tibet. It is said that on that occasion a secret\nunderstanding was reached between the two Governments.\n\nIt was about December of 1901 or January of the following year that\nthe party returned home. By that time I had already been residing in\nLhasa for some time. About two months after the return of the party\nI went out on a short trip on horseback to a place about fifty miles\nnorth-east of Lhasa. While I was there I saw two hundred camels fully\nloaded arrive from the north-east. The load consisted of small boxes,\ntwo packed on each camel. Every load was covered with skin, and so I\ncould not even guess what it contained. The smallness of the boxes\nhowever arrested my attention, and I came to the conclusion that some\nMongolians must have been bringing ingots of silver as a present to\nthe Dalai Lama. I asked some of the drivers about the contents of\nthe boxes, but they could not tell me anything. They were hired at\nsome intermediate station, and so knew nothing about the contents.\nHowever they believed that the boxes contained silver, but they knew\nfor certain that these boxes did not come from China. They had been\ninformed by somebody that they came from some unknown place.\n\nWhen I returned to the house of my host, the Minister of Finance came\nin and informed him that on that day a heavy load had arrived from\nRussia. On my host inquiring what were the contents of the load, the\nMinister replied that this was a secret. I took a hint from this\ntalk of the Minister and left the room. I had however by good chance\ndiscovered that the load came from Russia, and though I could not as\nyet form any idea about the contents, I tried to get some reliable\ninformation.\n\nNow I knew one Government officer who was one of the worst repositories\nimaginable for any secret; he was such a gossip that it was easy\nto worm out anything from him. One day I met him and gradually the\ntrend of our conversation was turned to the last caravan. I found him\nquite communicative as usual, and so I asked him about the contents\nof the load. The gentleman was so far obliging, that he told me\n(confidentially, he said) that another caravan of three hundred camels\nhad arrived some time before, and that the load brought by so many\ncamels consisted of small fire-arms, bullets, and other interesting\nobjects. He was quite elated with the weapons, saying that now for the\nfirst time Tibet was sufficiently armed to resist any attack which\nEngland might undertake against her, and could defiantly reject any\nimproper request which that aggressive power, as the Tibetans believe\nher to be, might make to her.\n\nI had the opportunity to inspect one of the guns sent by Russia. It\nwas apparently one of modern pattern, but it did not impress me as\npossessing any long range nor seem to be quite fit for active service.\nThe stock bore an inscription attesting that it was made in the United\nStates of America. The Tibetans being ignorant of Roman letters and\nEnglish firmly believed that all the weapons were made in Russia.\nIt seems that about one-half of the load of the five hundred camels\nconsisted of small arms and ammunition.\n\nThe Chinese Government appears mortified to see Tibet endeavoring to\nbreak off her traditional relation with China, and to attach herself\nto Russia. The Chinese Amban once tried to interfere with the Tsan-ni\nKenbo\u2019s dealings in Lhasa, and even intended to arrest him. But it was\nof no avail, as the Tibetan Government extended protection to the man\nand defeated the purposes of the Amban. On one occasion the Tsan-ni\nwas secretly sent to Darjeeling and on another occasion to Nep\u0101l, and\nthe Amban could never catch hold of him. It appears that the British\nGovernment watched the movements of the Tsan-ni, and this suspicion of\nEngland against him appears to have been shared by the Nep\u0101l Government.\n\nApparently therefore the Russian man\u0153uvres in Tibet have succeeded, and\nthe question that naturally arises is this: \u201cIs Russia\u2019s footing in\nTibet so firmly established as to enable her to make with any hope of\nsuccess an attempt on India with Tibet as her base?\u201d I cannot answer\nthis question affirmatively, for Russia\u2019s influence in Tibet has not\nyet taken a deep root. She can count only on the Dalai Lama and his\nSenior Premier as her most reliable friends, and the support of the\nrest who are simply blind followers of those two cannot be counted\nupon. Of course those blind followers would remain pro-Russian, if\nRussia should persist in actively pushing on her policy of fascination;\nbut as their attitude does not rest on a solid foundation they may\nabandon it any time when affairs take a turn unfavorable for Russia.\nFor it must be remembered that by no means the whole of the higher\nclasses of Tibet are even passive supporters of the policy marked out\nby the Dalai Lama and his trusted lieutenants. On the contrary, there\nare some few who are secretly suspicious of the motives of Russia. The\nTsar, they think, may be the sovereign who is the incarnate Founder,\nbut his very munificence towards Tibet may have some deep meaning\nat bottom. That munificence may not be for nothing; if it is, then\nRussia must be regarded as a country composed of people who are\nquite godly--a very rare thing in this world of give and take, where\nselfishness is a guiding motive. Is it not more reasonable and safer to\ninterpret these repeated acts of outward friendship as coming from her\nambitious design to place a snare before Tibet and finally to absorb\nthe country? Such ideas are, I say, confined to only a very limited\nsection, and are exchanged in whispers between confidential friends.\nThey do not seem to have reached the ears of the Dalai Lama and the\nSenior Premier. But those ideas already contain in them a germ of a\ndangerous nature, which at some favorable opportunity may develop into\na powerful anti-Russian movement. Russia therefore will experience\na keen disappointment if she considers her footing in Tibet firmly\nplanted beyond any fear of shaking, and neglects to keep watch over the\nstate of affairs in that country. If she neglects this, all the gold\nshe has disbursed in the shape of presents and bribes will prove so\nmuch mere waste.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXII.\n\nTibet and British India.\n\n\nThe Tibetans are on the whole a hospitable people, and the unfavorable\ndiscrimination made against England is mainly attributable to mutual\nmisunderstanding. On the part of England that misunderstanding\nled to the adoption of a rough and ready method instead of one of\ningratiation, and so England is singled out as an object of abhorrence\nby Tibet. England had opportunities to score a greater success in\nTibet than that achieved by Russia, and had she followed the Russian\nmethod her influence would now have extended far beyond the Him\u0101layas.\nInstead, she tried to coerce Tibet, and so she failed. It is like\ncrying over spilt milk to speak of this failure at present, but I\ncannot help regretting it for the sake of England. She would have saved\nmuch of the trouble and money she has subsequently been obliged to give\nin consequence of her too hasty policy, occasioned by her ignorance\nof the temper of the Tibetans and the general state of affairs in\ntheir country. As it was, since England sent her abortive expedition\nof force, the attitude of Tibet towards that Power has become one of\npronounced hostility. The revelation of the secret mission of Sara\u1e6d\nChan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s and the serious agitation that occurred in Tibet, including\nthe execution of several noted men, such as the virtuous Sengchen\nDorjechan and others, has completely estranged the Tibetan Government\nfrom England. That revelation has had a far-reaching effect that has\ninvolved the interests of other countries, for it confirmed the Tibetan\nGovernment in its prejudice in favor of a exclusory policy. Tibet has\nbeen closed up entirely since that time, not only against British\nIndia, but even against Russia and Persia. The Lama believers of India\neven are prohibited from entering the country. Such being the case,\nshould England ever wish to transact any business with Tibet she would\nbe obliged to do so by force.\n\nNot that England neglects to take measures calculated to win the\nfavorable opinion of the Tibetans. The Indian Viceroy is, for instance,\nendeavoring to convey friendly impressions to such of the Tibetans as\nmay happen to come to frontier places, such as Darjeeling or Sikkim.\nThus the children of those Tibetans are at liberty to enter any\nGovernment schools without paying fees, while boys of a hopeful nature\nare patronised by the Government and are sent at Government expense to\nhigher institutions. At present there are quite a number of Tibetan\nlads who, after graduation from their respective courses, are employed\nby the Indian Government as surveyors, Post Office clerks or teachers.\nThen the privilege of carrying on the business of palanquin-bearers,\nquite a lucrative occupation, is practically reserved for the Tibetans,\nat least at Darjeeling. Not even natives of India, still less people of\nother countries, are easily allowed to start this business. The Indian\nPolice officers too are quite indulgent towards the Tibetans, and never\ndeal with them so strictly as with the Indian natives.\n\nThe Tibetans residing at Darjeeling are therefore quite satisfied with\ntheir lot. Most of them feel sincerely grateful towards the British\nGovernment and are ready to repay it with friendly service. The\nlonger they remain under the British protection, the stronger grows\nthis sentiment. They are impressed with the treatment of the British\nGovernment, its straightforwardness, veracity and benevolence, in\ncontrast to the merciless dealings of the Government at home, which\ninflicts shocking punishments for even minor offences. They are well\naware that the Lama\u2019s Government cuts off a man\u2019s arms or extracts his\neye-balls for larceny, or similar minor crimes, while in India capital\npunishment is very seldom inflicted even on offenders of a grave\ncharacter; the humane treatment of criminals by the British Government\nis a thing that can hardly be dreamed of by the people of Tibet. The\nroads in India are an object of marvel to the Tibetans who arrive there\nfor the first time. The presence of free hospitals, of free asylums, of\neducational institutions, the railways, telegraphs and telephones--all\nthese are objects of wonder and marvel to those Tibetans, and it is not\nstrange that most of them become the more disinclined to return home\nthe longer they live in India. In the presence of these evidences of\nmaterial greatness, the Tibetans naturally come to the conclusion that\na Government which can afford to establish and maintain such splendid\nstructures must be immensely rich, and they therefore begin to nurture\nthe hope of having such a wealthy and great Government over them, and\nof sharing in its prosperity. This sentiment seems to be especially\nstrong among those of the higher classes, who have seen India, and it\nis shared by their inferiors who know that greatness only from hearsay.\n\nThe policy of indirectly winning the goodwill of the Tibetans, so far\npursued by the Indian Government, has failed, however, to produce any\nperceptible effect on the Government circles of Tibet. They are too far\nengrossed with personal interests to be open to any great extent to\nindirect suasion of a moral nature. They are far more inclined to gain\nadvantage for themselves directly from offers of bribes than to profit\nby an exemplary model of administration. The main reason why they\nare favorably disposed towards Russia is because they have received\ngold from that country; it was never by the effect of any display\nof good administrative method that Russia has succeeded so well. In\nshort, these greedy Tibetan officials offer their friendship to the\nhighest bidders, and they do not care at all whence the gold comes so\nlong as they grasp a large sum. The policy of the British Government\ntherefore rests on a pedestal set a little too high to be understood\nand appreciated by the majority of the official circles of Tibet.\n\nThe attitude of the priesthood towards England is a puzzled one. They\nare puzzled to determine whether they should denounce the English\nas devils incarnate, or respect them as the incarnations of saints.\nThe benevolent arrangements made by them, such as establishing\nphilanthropic institutions, laying of railroads and such like, lead\nthe sceptical Lamas to think that Englishmen must understand the ways\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and be a godly race. But when they think that these same\nEnglishmen did not scruple to annex other people\u2019s land to their own\ndominions, their favorable impression about Englishmen receives a\nsudden and complete check. These two conflicting notions seem to have\ntaken a deep hold on their minds, and they try to solve the puzzle\nwithout compromising their two convictions. They explain that there\nmust be two distinct kinds of Englishmen in India, one benevolent and\ngodly and the other infernal and quite wicked. Otherwise, they think,\nsuch a marvellous phenomenon as that witnessed in India could hardly\nhave been possible.\n\nThe same priests held a strange notion about the late Queen. They\nbelieved her to be an incarnation of the patron Goddess of the\nCho-khang temple in Lhasa, and therefore endowed with a supernatural\npower of subjugating and governing the whole world. Because of this\noccult affinity the Queen entertained, they believed, a fraternal\nfeeling towards Tibet, but some of the courtiers about her were\nwicked and obstructed her benevolent intentions, just as the great\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha himself had among His disciples some wicked and incorrigible\ncharacters. The Tibetans, they said, must get rid of those pernicious\npersons for the Queen.\n\nWhen the news of the death of the Queen reached Tibet, the people,\nwhile mourning for her, at the same time rejoiced, for they thought\nthat their Panden Lhamo, the Goddess in question, was once more\nrestored to them.\n\nI may add that I was frequently asked by the literates and other men of\nlearning of my own impression about British India, for they knew that\nI had visited Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101 and other places in India. On such occasions\nI merely confined myself as much as possible to general remarks, for I\nfeared that any accurate explanation might awake their suspicions about\nmy supposed personality.\n\nThe existence of the Siberian railway can hardly be expected to give\nany great help to Russia, if ever the latter should be obliged from\none reason or another to send a warlike expedition to Lhasa. The\ndistance from the nearest station to Lhasa is prohibitive of any such\nundertaking, for the march, even if nothing happens on the road,\nmust require five or six months and is through districts abounding\nin deserts and hills. The presence of wild natives in Amdo and Kham\nis also a discouraging factor, for they are people who are perfectly\nuncontrollable, given up to plunder and murder, and of course\nthoroughly at home in their own haunts. Even discipline and superior\nweapons would not balance the natural advantages which these dreadful\npeople enjoy over intruders, however well informed the latter may be\nabout the topography of the districts. Russia can hardly expect to\nsubdue Tibet by force of arms. It was in consideration of this fact\nthat the Tsan-ni Kenbo has been endeavoring to impose upon the Tibetans\nthat audacious fiction about the identity of the Tsar\u2019s person with\nthat of the long dead Founder of the New Sect, so that his master might\naccomplish by peaceful means what he could hardly effect by force.\n\nHowever, even the Tsan-ni\u2019s painstaking efforts appear to have fallen\nshort of his expectations, and there is a danger of a reaction setting\nin against him.\n\nIt must be remembered that the sentiment of the common people towards\nChina still retains its old force, even though they know that the power\nof their old patron has considerably declined lately. They are well\naware that Tibet has been placed from time immemorial in a state of\nvassalage to China, that Prince Srong-tsan Gambo who first introduced\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism into Tibet had as his wife a daughter of the then Emperor of\nChina, while the Tibetans believe that the present Emperor of China\nis an incarnation of a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist deity (the Chang-chub Semba Tambe\nyang in Tibetan) worshipped on Mount Utai, China. And so both from\ntradition and prejudice and from present superstition, the mass of the\npeople, who are conservative, cannot but regard China with a lingering\nsentiment of respect and attachment, and the position which China still\noccupies in the niches of their hearts can hardly be supplanted by\nRussia, even when the Tsan-ni Kenbo ingeniously represents her as the\ncountry indicated in the Tibetan _Book of Prophecy_.\n\nAs I have mentioned before, some few of the influential Government\nofficials do not seem to approve of the Tsan-ni\u2019s movement. They even\nsuspect that Russia might have some sinister object in view when she\npresented gold and other valuable things to the Dalai Lama and others.\nTibet has no newspapers, but even without that organ of public opinion\nthe public become acquainted sooner or later with most important\noccurrences, and so it stands to reason that the unfavorable view which\nis secretly entertained by a limited number of thoughtful men must\nhave leaked out one way or other to at least a section of the public.\nThe result is that not a small number of priests have begun to side,\nthough not as an organised movement, with these prudent thinkers, and\ntherefore to rebel against Shata and his faction. The priests of the\ncolleges and the warrior-priests seem to be particularly conspicuous\nin this reactionary movement. Indeed the fact is that Shata has never\nbeen a _persona grata_ with those young men since the tragedy of Temo\nRinpoche, and so they were inclined to view anything done by the crafty\nauthor of that tragedy with suspicious eyes. Then again the thoughtful\nportion of the college-priests never tolerated the Nechung oracles.\nThey despised the oracle-priests as not much better than men of unsound\nmind, as drunkards, and corrupters of national interests. The very fact\nthat Shata patronised this vile set further estranged him from the\ncollege-priests.\n\nUnder the circumstances, something like a reaction seems already to\nhave set in against the pro-Russian agitation ingeniously planned by\nthe Tsan-ni Kenbo. It remains to be seen what steps Russia will take\ntowards Tibet to prevent the Lama\u2019s country from slipping away from her\ngrasp.\n\nIn reviewing the relations that formerly existed between British\nIndia and Tibet, it must be stated first of all that British India\nwas closely connected with Tibet many years ago. At least Tibet\u2019s\nattitude toward the Indian Government was not embittered by any hostile\nsentiment. In the eighteenth century, during the Governor-Generalship\nof Warren Hastings, he sent George Bogle to make commercial\narrangements between the two countries. This gentleman resided a few\nyears at Shigatze. Then Captain Turner also lived at the same place\nas a commercial agent for some time. After that time India did not\nsend any more such commissioners, but till about twenty-four years\nago the Indian natives were permitted to enter Tibet unmolested. They\nwere generally pilgrims or priests bent on visiting the sacred places.\nQuite a large number of such Indians must have entered Tibet. Prior\nto the exploration of Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s it was not an uncommon sight,\nI have been told, to see a party of naked priests, each carrying a\nwater-vessel made of gourd, and iron tongs, and with faces smeared with\nashes, proceeding towards Tibet. Though official relations had ceased\nbetween Tibet and India, their people therefore were bound together by\nsome friendly connexions till quite recently. It is not unlikely that\nif the Indian Government had made at that time some advances acceptable\nto Tibet, it would have succeeded in establishing cordial relations\nwith the latter.\n\nThe exploration of Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s disguised as an ordinary Sikkimese\npriest, and the frontier trouble that followed it, completely changed\nthe attitude of Tibet towards India and the outer world and made it\nadopt a strict policy of exclusion. The publication of the results of\nthat exploration directed the attention of the Indian Government to the\nquestion of delimiting the boundary between Sikkim, its protectorate,\nand Tibet. It was at that time that the Tibetan Government adopted\nmost indiscreet measures at the instance of a fanatical Nechung, and\nproceeded to build a fort at a frontier place which distinctly belonged\nto Sikkim. The Tibetan Government is said to have at first hesitated\nto follow that insidious advice, but the Nechung was clamorous and\ndeclared that his presence in the fort would disarm any troops which\nthe Indian Government might send against it. Tibet therefore, continued\nthe fanatic, need not be afraid of the Indian Government and must\nproceed to construct a fort with all promptitude. He argued that the\npresence of a fort would go far towards promoting Tibet\u2019s cause in\nsettling the boundary dispute and the fort would become the permanent\nboundary mark.\n\nAccordingly the fort was built at a place that was beyond the\nlegitimate boundary line of Tibet. Soon the Indian troops arrived\nand, \u2018infidels\u2019 as they were, they made short work of it, in utter\ndefiance of the terrible anathema hurled by the indomitable Nechung\nagainst them. The stronghold was carried by assault by the invaders.\nThe crumbled stone walls standing on a hill at a place about twenty\nmiles on this side of Nyatong, which marks the boundary between Sikkim\nand Tibet, indicate the site of this short-lived stronghold built by\nthe Tibetan Government. Now in building a fort in a place which the\nTibetans themselves knew to belong to Sikkim, they may have reasoned\nwith self-complacency that as Sikkim formerly belonged to Tibet,\ntherefore they might not improperly revive their original claim on,\nat least, a portion of that district now under the jurisdiction of\nEngland. Of course England could never concur in such an arrangement,\nand the trouble between her and Tibet at last culminated in war. This\nwas about sixteen years ago. The issue of that war was from the first\na foregone conclusion, and the troops sent by the Indian Government\neasily put to rout the fighting men of Tibet. The latter held better\npositions, but they lacked discipline, training and good weapons,\nwhile they had the further disadvantage of being commanded by would-be\ngenerals and captains who did not care to lead their men in person, but\ncontented themselves with issuing orders and leaving them to be carried\nout anyhow. Needless to add that the orders could never be carried out,\nbut were invariably frustrated by the invaders. The Tibetan generals\nand captains escaped unhurt, for the simple reason that they had\nnever exposed themselves to danger. After issuing orders, they always\nremained in the camp and spent their time in gambling, leaving their\nsoldiers to be killed or wounded on the field. Thus the war ended\nwith some heavy casualty returns on the Tibetan side, and far shorter\nreturns on the part of the invaders.\n\nAs the result of this war the frontier line was drawn through Nyatong,\nand though the Indian Government would have been justified in extending\nit further down to Chumbi Samba, it did not push its claim so far.\n\nApparently the action of the Indian Viceroy of that time was crowned\nwith success, but when this complication is viewed with an eye to\na longer and more permanent end, I cannot approve of the measures\nadopted by him. He should I think, have adopted a course of leniency\ninstead of one of stern punishment, and should have endeavored by\nsome clever man\u0153uvres, not excluding a rather liberal disbursement\nof secret service funds, to win the good-will of the ruling circles\nof Tibet. I think the result would have been far more advantageous\nfor the future success of England than recovering at the point of the\nbayonet a barren tract covering only thirty miles in area. Who knows\nbut that the influence of England might have been firmly established in\nTibet by this time if that patronising policy had been adopted then,\nand that Englishmen might not be free to come and reside in and about\nLhasa to enjoy the pure atmosphere and cool and healthy climate of that\ndistrict?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIII.\n\nChina, Nepal and Tibet.\n\n\nIt requires the erudition and investigations of experts to write with\nany adequacy about the earlier relations between China and Tibet. I\nmust therefore confine myself here only to the existing state of those\nrelations.\n\nTibet is nominally a protectorate of China, and as such she is bound\nto pay a tribute to the Suzerain State. In days gone by, Tibet used\nto forward this tribute to China, but subsequently the payment was\ncommuted against expenses which China had to allow Tibet, on account\nof the Grand Prayer which is performed every year at Lhasa for the\nprosperity of the Chinese Emperor. As a result of this arrangement,\nTibet ceased to send the tribute and China to send the prayer fund.\n\nThe loss of Chinese prestige in Tibet has been truly extraordinary\nsince the Japano-Chinese War. Previous to that disastrous event, China\nused to treat Tibet in a high-handed way, while the latter, overawed\nby the display of force of the Suzerain, tamely submitted. All is\nnow changed, and instead of that subservient attitude Tibet regards\nChina with scorn. The Tibetans have come to the conclusion that their\nmasters are no longer able to protect and help them, and therefore\ndo not deserve to be feared and respected any more. It can easily be\nunderstood how the Chinese are mortified at this sudden downfall of\ntheir prestige in Tibet. They have tried to recover their old position,\nbut all their endeavors have as yet been of no avail. The Tibetans\nlisten to Chinese advice when it is acceptable, but any order that is\ndistasteful to them is utterly disregarded.\n\nWhile I was staying in Lhasa a yellow paper, containing the Chinese\nEmperor\u2019s decree issued at the termination of the Boxer trouble,\nwas hung up in the square of that city. The decree was addressed to\nall the eighteen provinces of China and all her protectorates. It\nwarned the people under pain of severe penalty against molesting and\npersecuting foreigners, as they, the people, were too frequently liable\nto do from their ignorance of the state of affairs abroad and their\nmisunderstanding of the motives of the foreigners who came to their\nrespective districts. These foreigners, the decree continued, have\nreally come to engage in industrial pursuits or in diffusing religion,\nand for other purposes beneficial alike to the people and themselves.\nIn order to promote these aims of mutual benefit, the middle kingdom\nhas been opened so as to allow foreigners freedom of travelling to\nany place they wish, and so, concluded the decree, this policy of\nwelcome and hospitality should be adopted in all the provinces and\nprotectorates.\n\nTwo other decrees of like import arrived afterwards and were similarly\nposted up, and I thought at that time that the allies must have entered\nPeking, and that this decree must have been issued as a result of the\nconclusion of peace between the Powers and China.\n\nThe decree, however, failed to produce any particular impression on\nthe Tibetans. I asked a high Government official what Tibet was going\nto do with the order set forth in the decree, and whether the Tibetan\nGovernment, in the face of that injunction, could refuse, for instance,\nto allow Englishmen to enter the country. The official scornfully\nreplied that his Government was not obliged to obey an order which the\nChinese Emperor issued at his own pleasure. And besides it was highly\ndoubtful whether the Emperor, who was an incarnation of a high saint,\ncould have issued a decree of that nature, which he must have known to\nbe utterly opposed to the interests and traditional policy of Tibet.\nIt was more probably clandestinely issued by some wicked men near the\nEmperor\u2019s person, as a result of bribes received from foreigners. It\ndid not deserve to be trusted, much less to be obeyed, declared my\nTibetan friend.\n\nWhatever be the motive, therefore, the Tibetans are utterly indifferent\nto most of the decrees coming from China, and treat them like so many\ngamblers\u2019 oaths, neither more nor less.\n\nWhether it be from polygamous customs or from other causes, the fact\nremains, though it is not possible to prove it by accurate statistical\nreturns, that the population of Nep\u0101l is rapidly increasing. It must\nbe remembered that the Government takes great pains to increase its\npopulation, in order to expand its interests both at home and abroad,\nand, probably under the impression that polygamy is conducive to that\nend, it is encouraging this questionable practice. In Nep\u0101l therefore\neven a man who can hardly support his family has two or three wives,\nand one who is better off has many more. Apparently this policy is\nattended with success, so far as the main object aimed at is concerned,\nfor I have never seen so many children anywhere as I saw in Nep\u0101l,\nwhere every family consisted of a large number of boys and girls.\n\nBe the cause what it may, the beneficial effect of this steady advance\nof population is plainly visible in that country, where almost every\nnook and corner of available land is brought under tillage, where woods\nare tended with extreme care, and even the remote forests inhabited by\nwild beasts are made to contribute their share to the stock of lumber,\nof which a large portion is annually exported to lower India. Already\nthe population of Nep\u0101l appears to be too large for the limited area\nof the country, and so a considerable emigration is taking place. Thus\nwe find the Nep\u0101lese serving in the army of the Indian Government, or\npursuing trade or opening up wild lands in Sikkim or at Darjeeling.\nAbove all the Nep\u0101lese seem to cast their longing glances towards\nTibet as the best field for their superfluous population; for Tibet,\nwhile possessing an area about twelve-fold that of Nep\u0101l, is far more\nthinly populated. They even seem to be prepared to go through the\nordeal of war, if necessary, to secure that best outlet for their needy\npopulation, which cannot find sufficient elbowroom at home. Perhaps\nthe Nep\u0101l Government has that contingency in view in maintaining,\nas it does, a standing army which is evidently far above its home\nrequirements in numerical strength.\n\nIn Nep\u0101l the military department receives appropriations which are\nquite out of proportion to those set apart for peaceful matters, as\neducation, justice and philanthropy. Indeed the Nep\u0101l troops, the\nfamous Gurkhas, may even rival regular British troops in discipline and\neffectiveness; they may perhaps even surpass the others in mountain\nwarfare, such as would take place in their own country. Certainly in\ntheir capacity of enduring hardships and in running up and down hills,\nbearing heavy knapsacks, they are superior to the British soldiers.\nThey very much resemble the Japanese soldiers in stature and general\nappearance, and also in temperament. The one might easily be mistaken\nfor the other, so close is the resemblance between the two. In short,\nas fighters in mountainous places the Gurkhas form ideal soldiers; and\nit seems as though circumstances will sooner or later compel Nep\u0101l to\nemploy for her self-defence this highly effective force. Russia is at\nthe bottom of the impending trouble, while Tibet supplies the immediate\ncause.\n\nThe Russianising tendency of Tibet has recently put Nep\u0101l on her guard,\nand when intelligence reached Nep\u0101l that Tibet had concluded a secret\ntreaty with Russia, that the Dalai Lama had received a bishop\u2019s robe\nfrom the Tsar, and that a large quantity of arms and ammunition had\nreached Lhasa from S. Petersburg, Nep\u0101l became considerably alarmed,\nand with good reason. For with Russia established in Tibet, Nep\u0101l\nmust necessarily feel uneasy, as it would be exposed to the danger of\nabsorption. The very presence of a powerful neighbor must subject Nep\u0101l\nto a great strain which can hardly be borne for long.\n\nIt is not surprising to hear that Nep\u0101l is said to have communicated\nin an informal manner with Tibet and to have demanded an explanation\nof the rumors concerning the conclusion of a secret treaty between her\nand Russia, adding that if that were really the case then Nep\u0101l, from\nconsiderations of self-defence, must oppose that arrangement even if\nthe opposition entailed an appeal to arms. What reply Tibet has made\nto this communication is not accurately known, but that Nep\u0101l sent an\ninformal message to this effect admits of no doubt.\n\nNep\u0101l may be driven to declare war on Tibet should the latter persist\nin pursuing her pro-Russian policy, and allow Russia to establish\nherself in that country; and it is quite likely that England may be\npleased to see Nep\u0101l adopt that resolute attitude. She may even extend\na helping hand, for instance by supplying part of the war expense, and\nthus enabling Nep\u0101l to prosecute that movement. The reason is obvious,\nfor England has nothing to lose but everything to gain from trouble\nbetween Nep\u0101l and Tibet, in which the former may certainly be expected\nto win. But even if Nep\u0101l is victorious her victory will bring her\nonly a small benefit, and the lion\u2019s share will go to England; Nep\u0101l\ntherefore would be placed in the rather foolish position of having\ntaken the chestnuts from the fire for the British lion to eat. The\npresent Ruler of Nep\u0101l is too intelligent a statesman not to perceive\nthat--judging at least from my personal observations, when I was\nallowed to see the Ruler, the Cabinet Minister. He knows that it would\nbe far better for his countrymen to content himself with the reality\nof benefit rather than with the glory of a successful but necessarily\ncostly war. He should confine himself to making some arrangements\nwith Tibet by which the Nep\u0101lese may be enabled to enter, or settle\nin Tibet, and to carry on profitable undertakings there. If once his\ncountrymen establish their influence in Tibet by virtue of economic\nundertakings, then they may regard with comparative complacency any\nadvance of Russian influence in Tibet, for Nep\u0101l would be in a position\nto counteract that influence by peaceful means or even by war if\nnecessary.\n\nThus, it is hardly likely that Nep\u0101l will go to extreme measures\ntowards Tibet, even if England should cleverly encourage her.\n\nIt must be remembered that the relations between the two countries are\nnot yet strained. The Tibetans do not seem to harbor any ill-feeling\ntowards their neighbors beyond the mountains, nor do they regard them\nas a whole with fear, though they do fear the Gurkhas on account of\ntheir valor and discipline. The Tibetan Government also seems to be\ndesirous of maintaining a friendly relation with Nep\u0101l. For instance,\nwhen on one occasion the Ruler of Nep\u0101l sent his messenger to Tibet\nto procure a set of Tibetan s\u016b\u1e6dras, the Dalai Lama, who heard of that\nerrand, caused a set to be sent to Nep\u0101l as a present from himself,\nwhich is now kept in the Royal Library of Nep\u0101l.\n\nThe Nep\u0101l Government, on its part, appears to be doing its best to\ncreate a favorable impression on the Tibetans. The Ruler, it must be\nremembered, is not a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist but a Br\u0101hma\u1e47a; still, he pursues the\npolicy of toleration towards all faiths, and is especially kindly to\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists. The Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists from Tibet who are staying in Nep\u0101l enjoy\nprotection from the Government, and the Ruler not unfrequently makes\ngrants of money or timber when Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist temples are to be built in his\ndominion. The care bestowed by the Ruler on the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists is highly\nappreciated by their friends at home, and Nep\u0101l is therefore favorably\nsituated for winning the hearts of the Tibetan people. It is easily\nconceivable that with a judicious use of secret service funds Nep\u0101l\nmight easily establish her influence in Tibet. This, however, cannot be\nreadily expected from that country, as internal conditions now are, for\norder is far from being firmly established in that little kingdom, and\ndomestic troubles and administrative changes occur too frequently. Even\nthe Prime Minister, who wields the real power, has been assassinated\nmore than once, while changes have very frequently taken place in the\nincumbency of that post. Nep\u0101l is at present too deeply absorbed in her\ninternal affairs, and cannot spare either energy or money for pursuing\nany consistent policy towards Tibet. Thus, though the military service\nof Nep\u0101l is sufficiently creditable, her diplomacy leaves much to be\ndesired.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIV.\n\nThe Future of Tibetan Diplomacy.\n\n\nTibet may be said to be menaced by three countries--England, Russia\nand Nep\u0101l, for China is at present a negligible quantity as a factor\nin determining its future. The question is which of the three is most\nlikely to become master of that table-land. It is evident that the\nthree can never come to terms in regard to this question; at best\nEngland and Nep\u0101l may combine for attaining their common object, but\nthe combination of Russia with either of them is out of the question.\nRussia\u2019s ambition in bringing Tibet under her control is too obviously\nat variance with the interest of the other two to admit of their coming\nto terms with her, for Russia\u2019s occupation would be merely preparatory\nto the far greater end of making a descent on the fertile plains on the\nsouth side of the Him\u0101layas by using Tibet as a base of operation. As\ncircumstances stand, Nep\u0101l has to confine her ambition to pushing her\ninterests in Tibet by peaceful means. This is evidently the safest and\nmost prudent plan for that country, seeing that when once that object\nhas been attained her interest would remain unimpaired whether Tibet\nshould fall into the hands of England or into those of Russia. After\nall, therefore, the future of Tibet is a problem to be solved between\nthose two Powers. At present Russia has the ears of an important\nsection of the ruling circles of Tibet, while on the other hand England\nhas the mass of the Tibetan people on her side. The Russian policy,\ndepending as it does on clever man\u0153uvres and a free use of gold, is in\ndanger of being upset by any sudden turn of affairs in Tibet, while the\nprocedure of England being moderate and matter-of-fact is more lasting\nin its effect. Which policy is more likely to prevail cannot easily\nbe determined, for though moderation and practical method will win in\nthe long run, diplomacy is a ticklish affair and must take many other\nfactors into consideration. At any rate England is warned to be on the\nalert, for otherwise Russia may steal a march upon her and upon Lhasa.\n\nIf the Russian troops should ever succeed in reaching Lhasa, that would\nopen up a new era for Tibet, for the country would passively submit to\nthe Russian rule. The Tibetans, it must be remembered, are thoroughly\nimbued with the spirit of negative fatalism, and the arrival of Russian\ntroops in Lhasa would therefore be regarded as the inevitable effect\nof a predetermined causation, and therefore as an event that must be\nsubmitted to without resistance. The entry of those troops would never\nrouse the patriotic sentiment of the people. But the effect of this\nimaginary entry would constitute a serious menace to India. In fact,\nwith Russia established in the natural strongholds of Tibet, India, it\nmay be said, would be placed at the mercy of Russia, which could send\nher troops at any moment down to the fertile plains below. Thus would\nthe dream of Peter the Great be realised, and of course the British\nsupremacy on the sea would avail nothing against this overland descent\nacross the Him\u0101layas. Some may think that what I have stated is too\nextravagant, and is utterly beyond the sphere of possibility. I reply\nthat any such thought comes from ignorance of the natural position of\nTibet. Any person who has ever personally observed the immense strength\nwhich Tibet naturally commands must agree with me that its occupation\nby Russia would be followed sooner or later by that of India by the\nsame aggressive power.\n\nThe question naturally arises: \u201cWill Tibet then cease to be an\nindependent country?\u201d It is of course impossible to come to any\npositive conclusion about it, but from what I have observed and\nstudied I cannot give a reassuring answer. The spirit of dependence on\nthe strong is too deeply implanted in the hearts of the Tibetan people\nto be superseded now by the spirit of self-assertion and independence.\nDuring the long period of more than a thousand years, the Tibetan\npeople has always maintained the idea of relying upon one or another\ngreat power, placing itself under the protection of one suzerain State\nor another, first India and then China. How far the Tibetans lack the\nmanly spirit of independence may easily be judged from the following\nstory about the Dalai Lama, who is unquestionably a man of character,\ngifted with energy and power of decision, who would be well qualified\nto lead his country to progress and prosperity did he possess modern\nknowledge and were he well informed of the general trend of affairs\nabroad. He is thoroughly familiar with the condition of his own people,\nand has done much towards satisfying popular wishes, redressing\ngrievances and discouraging corrupt practices. If ever there were a man\nin Tibet whose heart was set on maintaining the independence of the\ncountry, it must be the Dalai Lama. So I had thought, but my fond hope\nwas rudely shaken, and I was left in despair about the future of Tibet.\n\nThis supreme chief of the Lama Hierarchy has recently undergone a\ncomplete change in his attitude towards England. Formerly whenever\nEngland opened some negotiation with Tibet, the Dalai Lama was overcome\nby great perturbation, while any display of force on the part of\nEngland invariably plunged him into the deepest anxiety. He was often\nseen on such occasions to shut himself up in a room and, refusing food\nor rest, to be absorbed in painful reflexions. Now all is changed, and\nthe same Dalai Lama regards all threats or even encroachments with\nindifference or even defiance. For instance, when England, chiefly to\nfeel the attitude of Tibet and not from any object of encroachment,\nincluded, when fixing the boundary, a small piece of land that had\nformerly belonged to Tibet, the Dalai Lama was not at all perturbed.\nInstead of that he is said to have talked big and breathed defiance,\nsaying that he would make England rue this sooner or later. His\nsubjects, it is reported, were highly impressed on this occasion and\nthey began to regard him as a great hero.\n\nFor my part this sudden change in the behavior of the supreme Lama only\ncaused me to heave a heavy sigh for the future of Tibet. It cruelly\ndisillusioned me of the great hopes I had reposed in his character for\nthe welfare of his country. The reason why the Grand Lama, who was\nat first as timid as a hare towards England, should become suddenly\nas bold as a lion, is not far to seek. The conclusion of a secret\ntreaty with Russia was at the bottom of the strange phenomenon. Strong\nin the idea that Russia, as she had promised the Dalai Lama, would\nextend help whenever his country was threatened by England, he who had\nformerly trembled at the mere thought of the possibility of England\u2019s\nencroachment began now to hurl defiance at her. He may even have\nthought that the arrival of a large number of arms from Russia would\nenable Tibet to resist England single-handed. In short, the Dalai Lama\nbelieved that Russia being the only country in the world strong enough\nto thwart England, therefore he need no longer be harassed by any fear\nof the latter country.\n\nWith the Dalai Lama--perhaps one of the greatest Lama pontiffs that has\never sat on the throne--given up shamelessly, and even with exultation,\nto that servile thought of subserviency, and with no great men prepared\nto uphold the independence of the country, Tibet must be looked upon\nas doomed. All things considered therefore, unless some miracle should\nhappen, she is sure to be absorbed by some strong Power sooner or\nlater, and there is no hope that she will continue to exist as an\nindependent country.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXV.\n\nThe \u201cMonlam\u201d Festival.\n\n\n_Monlam_ literally means supplication, but in practice it is the\nname of the great Tibetan festival performed for the benefit of the\nreigning Emperor of China, the offering of prayers to the deities for\nhis prosperity and long life. The festival commences either on the\n3rd or 4th of January, according to the lunar calendar, and closes on\nthe 25th of the month. The three days beginning on New Year\u2019s Day and\nending with the 3rd are given up to the New Year\u2019s Festival, and from\nthe following day the great Monlam season sets in.\n\nIn order to make arrangements for the coming festival, the priests are\ngiven holiday from the 20th of December. Holiday however is a gross\nmisnomer, for the days are spent in profane pleasures and in all sorts\nof sinful amusements. The temples are no longer sacred places; they are\nmore like gambling-houses--places where the priests make themselves\nmerry by holding revels far into the night. Now is the time when the\nTibetan priesthood bids good-bye for a while to all moral and social\nrestraints, when young and old indulge themselves freely to their\nheart\u2019s content, and when those who remain aloof from this universal\npractice are laughed at as old fogeys. I had been regularly employing\none little boy to run errands and to do all sorts of work. In order to\nallow him to enjoy the season, I engaged another boy on this occasion.\nI might have dispensed with this additional boy altogether, for as the\ntwo boys never remained at home, and even stayed away at night, it was\njust as if I had had no boy at all. And so for days and days religion\nand piety were suspended and in their places profanity and vice were\nallowed to reign supreme.\n\nThe wild season being over--it lasts about twelve days--the Monlam\nfestival commences. This is preceded by the arrival of priests at\nLhasa from all parts of Tibet. From the monasteries of Sera, Rebon,\nGanden and other large and small temples, situated at a greater or\nless distance, arrive the contingents of the priestly hosts. These\nmust number about twenty-five thousand, sometimes more and sometimes\nless, according to the year. They take up their quarters in ordinary\nhouses, for the citizens are under obligation to offer one or two\nrooms for the use of the priests during this season, just as people\nof other countries are obliged to do for soldiers when they carry out\nman\u0153uvres in their neighborhood. And as in the case when soldiers are\nbilleted, so the priests who come from the country are crowded in their\ntemporary abodes. Some of them are even obliged to sleep outside,\nowing to lack of accommodation, but they do not seem to mind the\ndiscomfort much, so long as snow does not fall. Besides the priests,\nthe city receives at the same time an equally numerous host of lay\nvisitors from the country, so that the population of Lhasa during this\nfestival season is swollen to twice its regular number, or even more.\nIn ordinary days Lhasa contains about fifty thousand inhabitants, but\nthere must be at least a hundred thousand on this special occasion. I\nought to state that formerly, and before the time of the present Dalai\nLama, the arrival of the Monlam festival was signalised not by the\ninflow of people from the country but by the contrary movement, the\ntemporary exodus of the citizens to the provinces. Since the accession\nof the present Grand Lama the direction of the temporary movement has\nbeen reversed, and the festival has begun to be celebrated amidst\na vast concourse of the people instead of amidst a desolate scene.\nThis apparent anomaly was due to the extortion which the Festival\nCommissioners practised on the citizens.\n\nThis function is undertaken by two of the higher priests of the Rebon\nMonastery, the largest of the three important establishments, who take\ncharge of the judicial affairs of the temple during the term of one\nyear, and are known by the title of Shal-ngo. The appointment to the\npost of Shal-ngo was and still is an expensive affair for its holder,\nfor he must present to the officials who determine the nomination\nbribes amounting to perhaps five thousand _yen_. As soon as the post\nhas been secured at such a cost the Shal-ngo loses no time in employing\nit as a means of recovering that sum, with heavy interest, during his\nshort tenure of office and especially during the two festival seasons\nof Monlam and Sang-joe, over which the two Commissioners exercise\nabsolute control. They set themselves to collect enough to enable\nthem to live in competence and luxury during the rest of their lives.\nDriven by this inordinate greed, the dealings of the Commissioners\nare excessively strict during those days. Fines are imposed for every\ntrivial offence; the citizens are frequently fined as much as two\nhundred _yen_, in Japanese currency, on the pretext of the imperfect\ncleansing of the doorways or of the streets in front of their houses.\nThe parties engaged in a quarrel are ordered to pay a similarly heavy\nfine, and without any discrimination as to the relative justice of\ntheir causes. Then too the festival seasons are a dreadful time for\nthose who have debts not yet redeemed, for then the creditors can\neasily recover the sum through the help of the Commissioners, provided\nthey are prepared to give to them one-half the sum thus recovered. On\nreceipt of a petition from a creditor, the greedy officials at once\norder the debtors and their friends to pay the money on pain of having\ntheir property confiscated. The whole proceedings of the Festival\nCommissioners, therefore, are not much better than the villainous\npractices of brigands and highwaymen. It is not to be wondered at that\nat the approach of the festivals the citizens began in a hurry to lock\naway their valuable property in the secret depths of their houses, and\nthen leaving one or two men to take charge during their absence, left\nthe city for the country, the houses being given over as lodgings for\nthe priests. During the Monlam season, therefore, there did not remain\nin the city even one-tenth of its ordinary population.\n\n[Illustration: A CORRUPT CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE MONKS.]\n\nThe shark-like practices of the Shal-ngos are not confined to the\nfestival seasons or to the citizens; on the contrary, they prey even\non their brother-priests for the purpose of satisfying their voracious\ngreed, and extort money from them. The Shal-ngos are like wolves in a\nfold of sheep, or like robbers living with impunity amidst ordinary\nlaw abiding people. That such gross abuses and injustice should have\nbeen allowed within the sacred precincts of a monastery is really\nmarvellous, but it is a fact. The Shal-ngos\u2019 extortions from the\ncitizens were checked when the present Dalai Lama ascended the throne,\nand the citizens were thus enabled to live in peace and to participate\nin the festival during the Monlam season, but the sinful practices of\nthe Legal Commissioners in other quarters are still left uncurtailed.\n\nAn interesting story is told which shows how the Shal-ngos are abhorred\nand detested by the Tibetans. A certain Lama, superstitiously believed\nto possess a supernatural power of visiting any place in this world or\nthe next and of visiting Paradise or Hell, was once asked by a merchant\nof Lhasa to tell him with what he, the Lama, had been most impressed\nduring his visits to Hell. The Lama replied that he was surprised to\nsee so many priests suffering tortures at the hands of the guardians\nof Hell. However he continued with an air of veracity, the tortures\nto which ordinary priests were being subjected were not very extreme,\nand they were therefore allowed to live in their new abode with less\nsuffering. But the tortures inflicted on the Shal-ngos of Rebon\nmonastery were horrible; they were such that the mere recollection of\nthem caused his hair to stand on end. Such is the story told at the\nexpense of these Lama sharks, and indeed from the way in which they\nact during their short tenure of the office, Hell, and the lowest\ncircle in it, seems to be the only place for which they are fit.\n\nLhasa puts on her cleanest and finest appearance with the advent of\nthis season. The filth and garbage that have been left accumulating\nduring the preceding months are carried away, the gutters are cleaned,\nand the public are no longer allowed to drop dirt about or in any way\nto pollute the streets.\n\nThe grand service is performed at the magnificent three-storied edifice\nwhich is so conspicuous in Lhasa, namely the Cho Khang, the celebrated\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s Hall. During the service this hall is packed to overflowing\nwith priests and pious believers, and there is not space left to move\none\u2019s elbows. Not infrequently, therefore, casualties are said to\nhappen.\n\nThe service is performed three times a day, first from five to seven\nin the morning, then from ten to a little before one and lastly from\nthree to about half past four in the afternoon. The second service\nis the most important one for the priests who attend the ceremony,\nas it is accompanied by monetary gifts. The gifts come either from\nphilanthropic folk or from the Government, and range on each occasion\nfrom twenty-four _sen_ (Japanese) to seventy-two _sen_. The gifts\ngenerally amount during the period of the Festival to about ten _yen_\nfor ordinary priests. This sum is considerably larger on a special\noccasion, as when a Dalai Lama is enthroned or dies, when it may\nincrease to about twenty _yen_.\n\nThe receipts of the higher Lamas during this season are far\ngreater--often one thousand, two thousand or even as much five thousand\n_yen_.\n\nOn the other hand all the priests who arrive in Lhasa to attend the\nceremony are required to pay their own lodging expenses, at the rate\nof twenty-five to fifty _sen_ a day. For a room or set of rooms better\nfurnished than usual the charge may be three to five _yen_, and of\ncourse only aristocratic priests can afford to hire such rooms. The\nlodging of the priests is somewhat exclusive, and they are forbidden to\nstay at houses selling liquors, or containing many females.\n\nDuring this season, besides the Festival Commissioners who are the\nLama sharks of the year, a special office for supervising priests,\ncalled _Khamtsan-gi Giken_, is created, commissioned with the duty of\ncontrolling the conduct of the priests. Quarrels are, however, very\nrare during the season, though from the ordinary behavior of priests\nthey might naturally be expected to occasion such troubles. At any\nrate the priests maintain decorum externally. They are expected to\nattend the three services performed each day, and they are not allowed\nto attend the ceremony at their own temples, even when those temples\nare situated near the city. They must live in the city, and remain\nthere, unless under exceptional circumstances, such as illness. The\nattendance at the three services is not compulsory, yet it is very\nrarely neglected, for a distribution of gifts is very often made at\neach service.\n\n[Illustration: THE FINAL CEREMONY OF THE MONLAM.]\n\nOn January 15th, according to the lunar calendar, the most magnificent\nceremony is carried out at night. The offerings are arranged around\nthe Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s Hall, and the most conspicuous object among them is a\ntriangular wooden frame with sharp apex, the structure measuring about\nforty feet high and thirty feet long at the base. Two dragons in an\nascending position are fixed to the two sides, while about the middle\nof the frame the \u201cEnchanted Garden\u201d is represented, peopled either with\nfigures of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha teaching human beings or of Princes and other\nimportant dignitaries. These figures are all made of butter. Besides\nhuman figures there are figures of several of the alleged birds of\nparadise, such as are mentioned in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist books. All these are of\nTibetan workmanship, and creditably executed, probably as a result\nof long experience. I should add that the butter figures are all\nfinely painted and even gilded, and as the butter takes color easily\nthe effect produced is very splendid, when those highly decorated and\npainted figures are seen by the light of butter-lamps or torches that\nare burning at a suitable distance from the figures. There must be as\nmany as a hundred and twenty such ornamental structures around the\nHall, while the lamps and torches that are burning are quite countless.\nIndeed, it seemed to me as if some gorgeous scene such as we imagine to\nexist only in Heaven had been transplanted to earth on that particular\noccasion. To the Tibetans the scene as exhibited on this particular\nnight marks the high-water level of all that is splendid in this world,\nand it is therefore quoted as an ideal standard in speaking of anything\nthat is uncommonly magnificent.\n\nThis offering ceremony concludes at about two o\u2019clock the following\nmorning, and two hours later the decorated figures are removed, for\nthey are in danger of being melted when exposed to the rays of the sun.\nThe ceremony, it must be remembered, is attended only by a limited\nnumber of priests, probably three hundred at the utmost out of the\ntwenty-five thousand who are present in the city to attend the Monlam\nfestival. The privilege of inspecting this yearly show is therefore\nregarded as a great honor by the Tibetan priests.\n\nThe reason why this magnificent display is denied to the inspection of\nthe majority of priests and to the whole of the populace is because\nformerly, when it was open to universal inspection, uncontrollable\ncommotion attended by casualties used to mar the function. And so\nthe authorities decided about thirty years ago to perform it in this\nsemi-private manner.\n\nThe ceremony begins at about eight in the evening and closes, as\nbefore mentioned, at about four the following morning. The function\nis sometimes inspected by the Dalai Lama, while at other times he does\nnot come, as was the case when I had the good fortune to witness it\nin the company of the ex-Finance Minister. The Amban however does not\nomit to attend the ceremony. He was attired in the gorgeous official\ngarments of China, and sat in a carriage lit up inside with twenty-four\ntussore silk lanterns in which were burning foreign-made candles. On\nhis head he wore the official cap befitting his rank. The procession\nwas preceded by a cavalcade of Chinese officers also in their gala\ndresses, and behind the carriage followed another train of mounted\nguards. It was really a fine scene, this procession of the Chinese\nAmban as it passed through the streets lit up with tens of thousands of\nbutter-lamps; only I thought that the sight was too showy and that it\nlacked the element of solemnity.\n\nAfter the procession of the Amban followed the trains of the high\npriests, then high lay officials and last of all the Premiers. On that\noccasion only two of the four Premiers attended, the other two being\nunable to be present.\n\nThe Premiers come to the function in order to inspect the offerings,\nwhich are contributed by the Peers and the wealthy as a sort of\nobligation. Butter decorations are expensive things, costing from three\nhundred to two thousand yen in Japanese currency, according to their\nmagnitude and the finish of the workmanship; and here were over one\nhundred and twenty such costly decorations arranged as offerings, and\nthat only for one evening. I believe no such costly butter decorations\nare to be seen anywhere else in the world.\n\n[Illustration: A SCENE FROM THE MONLAM FESTIVAL.]\n\nDuring the festival I remained as before under the hospitable roof of\nthe ex-Minister, and though through the favor of my host I inspected\nthe offering ceremony, I did not attend the prayer services. The\nformer I saw from mere curiosity and as an outsider. The scene on\nthe occasion was sufficiently enjoyable; I went first to the quarters\nassigned to the warrior-priests and observed that these young men were\nspending their time in their own customary way even during the time of\nthe service, singing songs, trying feats of arms, or engaged in hot\ndisputes or even open quarrels. All at once the clamor ceased and order\nwas restored as if by magic, and the young priests were seen demurely\nreciting the service; they had noticed some subordinates of the\nFestival Commissioners coming towards them in order to maintain order.\nThose subordinates were armed with willow sticks about four feet long\nand fairly thick--sticks which were green and supple and well suited\nfor inflicting stinging blows.\n\nThen I moved on to the quarters where the learned priests were intently\nengaged in carrying out the examination held for the aspirants to the\nhighest degrees obtainable in Tibet. The examination was oral and in\nthe form of interrogations put to the candidates by the examination\ncommittee, the latter being composed of the most celebrated theologians\nin the three colleges. The candidates too were not unworthy to be\nexamined by such divines, for those only are qualified to apply for\npermission to undergo the examination who have studied hard for twenty\nyears, and have acquired a thorough knowledge of all the abstruse\npoints in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist theology and have made themselves masters of the art\nof question and answer. The learned discourses delivered by examiners\nand examinees awoke in me high admiration. The forensic skill of the\ntwo parties was such as I had rarely seen anywhere else. The examiners\nput most tortuous questions to entice the candidates into the snare of\nsophistry, while the latter met them with replies similarly searching\nand intended to upset the whole stratagem of the querents. So forcible\nand exciting were the arguments offered by both parties that they\nmight be compared, I thought, to a fierce contest such as might take\nplace between a lion and a tiger.\n\nThe examination was indeed an exhibition of a truly intellectual\nnature, and was attended not only by the committee and candidates\nbut by almost all the learned theologians and their disciples. These\nstrangers were sitting round the examination tables and freely\ncriticised the questions put and replies made. They even raised shouts\nof applause or of laughter, whenever either convincingly refuted his\nantagonist or was worsted in the argument. I observed the laughter to\nbe especially contagious and the merry sound raised by two or three men\nin the strangers\u2019 quarters would spread to all the others in the hall,\ntill the walls resounded with the loud \u201cha, ha, ha\u201d coming from several\nthousand throats.\n\nEvery year during the Monlam season sixteen candidates selected from\nthe three colleges are given the degree of _Lha Ramba_, meaning\n\u2018Special Doctor,\u2019 and this degree is the most honorable one open to\nTibetan divines. Only those of exceptional acquirements can hope for it.\n\nOn the occasion of the _Choen joe_ festival also, sixteen candidates\nof the secondary grade are sent from the universities to pass the\nexamination for the _Tso Ramba_ degree. Then there are inferior\ndegrees, which are granted by the monasteries to the young priests\nstudying there. There are two such degrees, one called _Do Ramba_ and\nthe other _Rim-shi_. Sometimes divines of great erudition are found\namong the holders of the Do Ramba degree, men even more learned than\nthe \u2018Special Doctors.\u2019 The fact is that the examination for the highest\ndegree is expensive, when one wishes to procure that title at one jump\nand without previously obtaining the intermediary Do Ramba.\n\nIt is not rare, therefore to find among the Do Ramba men theologians\nwhose learning can even outshine that of the proud holders of\nthe highest degree, for there are often men who from pecuniary\nconsiderations only are withheld from attempting the examination.\nThe holders of the Do Ramba degree therefore differ considerably in\nlearning, but this cannot be said of those holding the other title\nof Rim-shi, the latter being in nine cases out of ten of mediocre\nlearning. This degree is easily procurable for a certain sum of money\nwhen one has studied five or six years at the monasteries of Rebon\nand Ganden, and so the young priests from the country generally avail\nthemselves of this convenient transaction and return home as proud\nholders of the Doctor\u2019s title, and as objects of respect and wonder for\ntheir learning among the local folk. In Tibet therefore, as in other\nparts of the world, cheap Doctors flaunt their learning, and pass for\nprodigies among the simple-minded people of the country.\n\nThe Doctors of the highest grade are unquestionably theologians of\ngreat erudition, for knowledge of the ordinary Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist text-books is\nnot enough for the aspirants to that title; they must study and make\nthemselves at home in the complete cycle of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist works. Perhaps\nthe Tibetan first class Doctors possess a better knowledge of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\ntheology and are more at home in all its ramifications than are the\nJapanese Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist divines; for though there are quite a large number\nof theologians in Japan who are thoroughly versed in the philosophy\nand doctrine of their own particular sects it cannot boast so many\ndivines whose knowledge completely covers the whole field of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nphilosophy.\n\nDuring the festival I frequently went to the Hall to see the\nfunction as a curious observer, but for the rest I devoted my time\nto prosecuting my studies under a Lhakhamba Doctor and the learned\nMae Kenbo of the Sera monastery. Thus while the other priests were\nattending to their worldly business of making money, I detached myself\nfrom society and was absorbed in study. I had the more reason to\ndevote myself to this self-imposed task, for the time I had fixed\nfor my departure from Tibet was drawing nearer. Not that I had\nhitherto neglected the main object which prompted me to undertake this\nself-assigned expedition to Lhasa; on the contrary, even when I was\nobliged, from unavoidable circumstances, to act the part of an amateur\ndoctor and prescribe treatment to Tibetan patients, I never suspended\nmy study; I either read Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist works or attended lectures.\n\nOn March 4th of the solar calendar (January 24th of the Tibetan\nalmanac) the sword festival was celebrated at Lhasa. I had the good\nfortune to witness this performance also, though the function is not\nopen to general inspection. I observed it from the window of a certain\nPeer, an acquaintance of mine, whose house fronted the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\u2019s Hall.\n\nI may call the Sword Festival a sort of Tibetan military review. At\nany rate the regulars in and about Lhasa participated in it, and also\nthe special soldiers temporarily organised for the occasion. They were\nall mounted, and numbered altogether perhaps two thousand five hundred\nmen. They were quaintly accoutred, and seemed to be divided according\nto the colors of the pieces of cloth attached to the back of their\nhelmets and hanging down behind. I saw a party of about five hundred\ntroopers distinguished by white cloths, then another with purple\ncloths, while there was a third which used cloths of variegated dyes.\nBut irrespective of the different colors, they were all clad in a sort\nof armor and carried small flags also of different colors. Some were\narmed with bows and arrows and others with guns, and the procession of\nthe gaily attired soldiery was not unlike the rows of decorated May\ndolls arranged for sale in Tokyo on the eve of the Boys\u2019 Festival in\nJapan.\n\nThe proceedings began with a signal gun. As the booming sound subsided\nthe procession of soldiery made its appearance and each division went\npast the Grand Lama\u2019s seat constructed on an elevated stand to the west\nof the Hall. With the termination of this march-past a party of about\nthree hundred priests, carrying a flat drum each with a long handle\nand with the figure of a dragon inscribed upon its face, came out of\nthe main edifice. Each of them carried in his right hand a crooked\ndrum-stick. This party took its stand in a circle in front of the Hall.\nNext marched out the second party of priests all gorgeously attired in\nglittering coats and brocade tunics, each carrying a metallic bowl used\nin religious services. I must mention that the function demands of the\nsoldiery and priests the washing of their bodies with warm water on the\npreceding evening, and so on that particular occasion those Tibetans,\ncareless and negligent of bodily cleanliness at other times, are for\nthe first time in the year almost decently clean.\n\nThe metallic-bowl party was arranged in a row around the drum party,\nand soon the signal for the service was given by one of the bowl-men\nwho was apparently a leader. It was a peculiar signal, and consisted in\nstriking on the bowl and starting a strange dancing movement. On this\nthe two parties beat their drums and bowls in some sort of tune. After\nthis had gone on for some time the whole party burst out into a chorus\nof ominous howls, not unlike the roar of the tiger. As the thousand\npriests composing the two parties all howled to the fullest extent of\ntheir throats, the noise made was sufficiently loud.\n\nAfter the howling parties had completed their part in this ceremony,\nout marched a party of Nechung priests, those oracle-mongers of\nTibet to whom reference has been made more than once already. The\noracle-mongers\u2019 party was heralded by a number of sacred-sword-bearers\nin two rows, about a dozen in each. The sword carried measured about\nfour feet in length and was set off with pieces of silk cloth of five\ndifferent colors. The sword-bearers were followed by the bearers of\ngolden censers and other sacred caskets or vessels. Then followed the\noracle-monger, dressed _cap-\u00e0-pie_ in all the glittering fashion which\nTibetan ingenuity alone could devise. He was clad in gold brocade and\nwore head-gear of the same cloth. He behaved like a man stricken with\npalsy, was supported right and left by an assistant, and his eyes were\nshut. Gasping like a fish out of water and walking with a tottering\ngait not unlike that of a man who has lost his power of locomotion\nthrough too much liquor, the Nechung slowly emerged from the Hall. By\nthe ignorant populace he was greeted as an object of veneration, but\nthere were seen not a small number of priests and laymen who looked\nupon this peculiar appearance of the Nechung with eyes of undisguised\ndisgust.\n\nThe part assigned to this Lama fanatic is one of semi-divine character,\nhe being required to act as a guardian angel, to prevent any mishaps\noccurring during the ceremony of the \u2018Sword Festival\u2019.\n\nLast of all slowly marched forth the procession of the Ganden Ti\nRinpoche. I saw him under a capacious and highly decorated awning\nwhich is the same sort of umbrella as that of the Grand Lama. He was\nattired in the ceremonial robe befitting his rank of Ti Rinpoche. His\nappearance was highly impressive and even those priests who had viewed\nthe oracle-mongers with well-deserved scorn were seen in attitudes\nof sincere respect. That was also my sentiment as my eyes met him;\nfor he truly impressed me as a living Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. To the Ti Rinpoche was\nentrusted the most important function in this ceremony, the hurling of\nthe sacred sword in order to avert any evil spirits that may obstruct\nthe prosperous reign of the Chinese Emperor. With this sword-hurling\nthe ceremony was brought to a close.\n\nThough in principle this ceremony concludes the Monlam, in practice\nit comes to an end only on the following morning and with a custom\nof practical utility--that of carrying stones to the banks of the\nriver Kichu which flows by Lhasa, and is often liable to overflow and\nflood the city. The stones required for this purpose are brought by\nthe country people, and are sold at ten or twenty _sen_ a piece, and\neach priest or citizen who attends the ceremony buys one or two such\nstones and conveys them to the banks either on his own back or by hired\ncarriers. The stones thus conveyed to the banks are supposed to possess\nthe effect of atoning for their sins. The banks must acquire great\nstrength in consequence of this stone-piling.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVI.\n\nThe Tibetan Soldiery.\n\n\nThe standing army of Tibet is said to consist of five thousand men, but\nfrom my own observation I think this number somewhat exaggerated. In\nany case, it is hardly sufficient to protect a country containing six\nmillions of inhabitants against foreign invasion and civil commotion.\nHowever, in Tibet social order is not kept by soldiers, nor by the\ndespotic power of the ruler. Religion is the force that keeps the\ncountry in good order. The mass of the people would never take arms\nagainst the Pope whom they believe to be a living Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. This idea\nis so thoroughly infused into them that there have been really very\nfew cases of rebellion in Tibet, hence there is no necessity for a\ngreat number of soldiers. The history of the country testifies that\ncivil commotions take place only when the chief Lama has died, and the\nnew master is too young to take up the Government for himself, and so\nleaves the entire business to the Agent and Ministers, who abuse their\npower, or when the regent tyrannises over and offends the people. But\nwhen the master is old enough to manage the affairs of the country he\nis revered as a living Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, against whom no one protests. Minor\ndifficulties may arise, but they are easily settled without recourse\nto arms. The real causes that have made Tibet feel the necessity of\nhaving a standing army have been her two quarrels with Nep\u0101l and one\nwith British India. Since then Tibet has ever had a regular army,\ndistributed as follows: at Lhasa one thousand men, at Shigatze two\nthousand, at Tingri, an important fort on the Nep\u0101l frontier, nominally\nfive hundred but possibly only three hundred (there are several hundred\nChinese soldiers here), five hundred at Gyantze, five hundred at Dam,\nand another five hundred at Mankham, making five thousand in all.\nThe Chinese soldiers stationed in the country number two thousand\naltogether, and are distributed equally at the four places--Lhasa,\nTingri, Shigatze, and Tomo. Every five hundred Tibetan soldiers are\nunder a chief called De Bon. The lower officers are one for every two\nhundred and fifty, one for every twenty-five and one for every five.\n\nThe Tibetan soldiers receive only one bushel of barley a month as\nsalary. They have no regular barracks to live in together, but live\nin ordinary residences which, however, are built at the cost of the\ncitizens. They are scattered throughout the city, and keep stores or\ncarry on any kind of trade, as do the common people. They are obliged\nto do some kind of work, for they cannot keep their wives and children\non the one bushel of barley a month. But they are free from house-rent,\nand I have often heard the citizens complain of the burden of building\nhouses for the soldiers. The Chinese soldiers also live in ordinary\nhouses like the Tibetans, and are exempt from rent.\n\nIn return for his paltry remuneration, the Tibetan soldier has to be\ndrilled four or five times a month, and to be present at the great\nman\u0153uvres once a year. The man\u0153uvres are held in the vicinity of\na little village called Dabchi, which lies about two miles north\nof Lhasa on the road leading to the Sera monastery. In the village\nthere is a shrine of Kwanti (a Chinese war-God) whom the Tibetans\ncall Gesergi Gyalpo (saffron king), and who is much revered as a God\nfor driving away evil spirits, though the Chinese settlers form the\ngreater proportion of his actual worshippers. Close by there is another\ntemple called by the name of the village, in which live priests who\ntake the services at the Kwanti shrine. Many objects of interest are\nkept in the shrine, but the most curious things are the images of\nblue demons, red demons, and other inhabitants of hell, all arranged\nas if they were retainers of Kwanti. North of this shrine there is a\nhigh mound about one furlong square, with an arsenal standing in the\ncentre. Thence spreads a vast plain five miles to the north, half a\nmile to the west and five miles to the east. This is the scene of the\ngreat parade. Soldiers are summoned from all parts of the country to\nattend the parade, which is usually held towards the end of September\nor the beginning of October, when the barley harvest is over, and the\ncrops safely out of harm\u2019s way. The first two days are reserved for\nthe Chinese soldiers and the following two for the Tibetan. The review\nis honored by the presence of the Amban and of the higher Tibetan\nofficers, who give prizes in money ranging from fifty cents to five\ndollars, or silver medals, to any soldiers who have displayed notable\nability. In Tibet archery is still considered an essential art of\nwarriors, yet artillery has recently been introduced, and is taught by\nChinese officers or by Tibetans who have been educated in India. The\nTibetan artillery does not amount to much.\n\nMy own observations lead me to suspect the valor of the Chinese and\nTibetan soldiers, and I doubt whether they can claim to have any\nmore strength than the ordinary citizens. Among the Chinese soldiers\npale countenances are very common, and though the Tibetan soldiers\nlook stouter, in courage I can see no difference. The cause of their\ninsignificance is to be traced to the difficulty they have in living\nupon their small pay. The warrior-priests are far more soldier-like\nthan the regular soldiers; they have no wives nor children to take\ncare of, and have therefore nothing to fear. They are indeed far more\nestimable than the professional soldiers, whose first business in\ntime of war is to plunder the natives instead of serving the country.\nThis is all because the soldiers have families, a fact which in my\nopinion is the greatest hindrance to warlike purposes. The Tibetans are\nemotional by nature, and out of such people, especially when they also\nhave to support families, it is no easy task to make a brave army.\n\nOne exception must be made--the people of Kham. Outwardly wild, they\nare natural soldiers. In this district all the inhabitants, not\nexcluding the women, may be called fighters. Their usual vocations are\ntrading, farming, and cattle-raising, but their favorite profession\nis robbery. This is the business most admired by all; they deem it a\ngreat honor to defeat other tribes and kill as many foes as they can.\nIn Kham they have robber-songs as we have war-songs: songs in which the\npeople take much delight, even the children singing the lively airs\nto which they are fitted; and as there are no war-songs in Tibet the\nrobber-songs of Kham are substituted for them. Here is one:\n\n 1.\n\n Upon those boundless plateaux, green with grass;\n Along those sloping tortuous pathless paths;\n Amidst those pointed hornlike rocky steeps\n My charger iron-hoofed I bestride\n With daring valor to attack my foes.\n\n 2.\n\n When hail-storms rage their fiercest round my head,\n With all their stones like bullets pelting me,\n And when tempestuous snow-drifts roll in rage,\n Like mighty greedy waves engulfing me,\n I fear not--nay these perils great I like\n To brave; for, clad in iron boots my feet,\n I headlong rush, stout-hearted as I am,\n Unwed, assured of final victory.\n\n 3.\n\n My wife, my children and my parents dear\n Are not my refuge here; I trust not them;\n My refuge only is my spirit brave\n Adventurous, that can resist and stand\n Against misfortunes and e\u2019en dangers dire.\n\nThese songs all begin with _A, la, la, la; la, la, la, mo_ and end with\n_la, la, mo, la; la, la, la, mo_. Once when I met a Tibetan soldier of\nmy acquaintance, I asked why they used robber-songs instead of having\nwar-songs of their own. He was a talkative kind of man and proceeded to\nexplain in an oratorical tone.\n\n\u201cAs you well know, the meaning of the songs is very good and noble; it\nis the courage praised in songs like these that strengthens a country.\nBut even good songs, when used for robbery, are indeed wicked weapons,\nand the singers thereof great sinners. They are the same songs, but how\ngreat is the difference in their results! In one case they promote, and\nin the other they destroy, humanity and righteousness.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVII.\n\nTibetan Finance.\n\n\nI shall next briefly describe the finance of the Tibetan Government. It\nmust be remembered, however, that this subject is extremely complicated\nand hardly admits of accurate explanation even by financial experts,\nfor nobody except the Revenue Officials can form an approximate idea\nof the revenue and expenditure of the Government. All that I could\nget from the Minister of Finance was that a considerable margin of\ndifference existed according to the year. This must partly come from\nthe fact that taxes are paid in kind, and as the market is necessarily\nsubject to fluctuation even in such an exclusive place as Tibet, the\nGovernment cannot always realise the same amount of money from the sale\nof grain and other commodities collected by the Revenue authorities.\nOf course anything like statistical returns are unknown in Tibet, and\nmy task being hampered by such serious drawbacks, I can only give here\na short account of how the taxes are collected, how they are paid and\nby what portion of the people, and how the revenue thus collected is\ndisbursed, and such matters, which lie on the surface so that I could\neasily observe and investigate them.\n\nThe Treasury Department of the Papal Government is called _Labrang\nChenbo_, which means the large Kitchen of the Lama. It is so-called,\nbecause various kinds of staples are carried in there as duty from the\nland under his direct jurisdiction, and from landlords holding under\na sort of feudal tenure. As there are no such conveniences as drafts\nor money orders, these staples have to be transported directly from\neach district to the central treasury, whatever the distance. But the\ntaxpayer has one solace: he can easily obtain, on his way to the\ntreasury, the service of post-horses, such service on such occasions\nbeing compulsory. The articles thus collected consist of barley,\nwheat, beans, buck-wheat, meal and butter. But from districts in which\ncustom-houses are established various other things, such as coral gems,\ncotton, woollen and silk goods, raisins and peaches are accepted. Other\ndistricts pay animal-skins, and thus the large Kitchen is an \u2018omnium\ngatherum.\u2019 Truly a strange method of collecting taxes!\n\nOne peculiarity in Tibet is the use of an abundant variety of weights\nand measures; there are twenty scales for weighing meal, and thirty-two\nboxes for measuring grain. Bo-chik is the name given to a box of the\naverage size, and it measures about half a bushel. But tax-collectors\nuse, when necessity arises, measures half as large or half as small as\nthese, so that the largest measure holds three quarters of a bushel,\nwhile the smallest holds a quarter. The small ones are generally used\nto measure the staples from provinces such as the native place of the\nDalai Lama, or such as have personal relations to some high officials\nof the Government. Thus, though a favored district is supposed to pay\nthe same number of bushels as the others, it pays in reality only\none-half of what the most unfortunate district has to pay. Nor is the\nmeasure used for one district a fixed one; it may change from year to\nyear. Suppose one of the most favored districts has produced a great\nrascal, or rebel, or has done anything that displeases the Government.\nThe whole people of that district are responsible for it; they are\nobliged to pay by the largest measure, that is, twice as much as they\ndid in the preceding year. Thus the various kinds of offences make\nit necessary to have thirty-two varieties of measures and twenty of\nweight. It is to be noted however that when the Government has to\ndispose of those stuffs, it never uses the larger measures, though if\ntoo small ones are used, it certainly causes complaints on the part of\nthe buyers; hence the middle-sized ones are mostly used. All expenses\nof Government, such as salaries for priests and officers and wages for\nmechanics and tradesmen in its service are paid with an average measure.\n\nThe chief expense of the Government is, as I have stated before,\nthat for the service of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Sh\u0101kyamuni. The money used for\nthe repairing of temples and towers, and for the purchase of stone\nlanterns and other furniture amounts to a large sum; but by far the\ngreater proportion is spent for butter, which is used instead of oil\nfor the myriads of lights which are kept burning day and night. The\nstands arranged in rows in the temple of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha in Lhasa alone\nnumber no less than two thousand five hundred and in some special\ncases ten thousand or even a hundred thousand lamps are lighted, all\nof them burning butter of a high price. In Tibet the substitution of\nvegetable oil for _mal_ is considered, not exactly sin, but at least\na pollution and desecration of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha; not a few Lamas leave a clause\nin their wills that rapeseed oil should not be offered for their souls\nafter death. In front of the image of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha in Lhasa are placed\ntwenty-four large light-stands of pure gold. These and some others have\nbig oil-holders, large enough to hold five gallons of mal. Almost all\nthe mal used for the service of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha is furnished by the Treasury\nof the Government, though a small part of it is offered by religious\npeople.\n\nCostly mal used, in former times, to be offered by Mongolians, to the\ngreat relief of the Papal Treasury, but the offering has recently been\nstopped entirely. The burdens of the Tibetan people themselves have\nbeen proportionately increased, but as the fixed rate of the tax cannot\nbe increased the bigger measures are used more frequently.\n\nIn each province there are two places where the collection of taxes is\nmade for the Government, one of which is the temple, and the other the\nLocal Government office; for the people are divided into two classes:\n(1) those who are governed by the temple and (2) those who are governed\nby the Local Government. They pay their taxes to the Central Government\nthrough their respective Governors. In each local district, there is\nwhat is called a Zong. This was originally a castle built for warlike\npurposes, but in time of peace it serves as a Government office, where\nall the functions of Government are carried on, so taxes are also\ncollected there. The Zong is almost always found standing on the top\nof a hillock of about three hundred feet and a Zongpon (chief of the\ncastle), generally a layman, lives in it. He is the chief Governor of\nthe district and collects taxes and sends the things or money he has\ngathered to the Central Government. The Zongpon is not paid by the\nCentral Government directly, but subtracts the equivalent of his pay\nfrom the taxes he has collected. The Central Government does not send\ngoods or money to the Local Government except on such few occasions\nas need special help from the national Treasury. The people under the\ndirect jurisdiction of the Central Government are sometimes made to pay\na poll-tax. The people who belong to the nobility and the higher class\nof priests are of course assessed by their landowners, but there is no\ndefinite regulation as to their payment to the Central Government; the\npeople of some districts pay, while others are exempt.\n\nPart of the work done by the Tibetan Minister of the Treasury is the\nmanagement of the subscriptions of the people. Everything offered to\nthe Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Temple and given to the priests at the time of the Great\nAssembly is at once paid into the Treasury, to be given out only by\nthe order of the Minister of that department. Another business taken\nby the Minister is the household expenses of the Pope. These expenses\nare not fixed, and the Pope can draw out as much as he pleases within\nthe limit of usage, and his own moderation. It is said that since the\naccession of the present Pope both the expenditure and the revenue have\nbeen greatly increased. The Minister of the Treasury has also to pay\nall the salaries of officials and priests in the service of the Papal\nGovernment. These expenses for salaries are very small, as compared\nwith those of other countries, but the officials and priests derive an\nadditional income from the land in their own possession.\n\nOfficers and priests in Tibet can each borrow fifteen hundred dollars\nfrom the Government at an interest of five per cent a year and they\ncan lend it again at fifteen per cent, which is the current rate of\ninterest in Tibet, though usurers sometimes charge over thirty per\ncent. Thus any officer can make at least ten per cent on fifteen\nhundred dollars without running much risk. If an officer or priest\nfails to repay the loan the amount is not subtracted from his next\nyear\u2019s loan. Compound interest is unknown in Tibet however long the\ndebtor may prolong his payment; it is forbidden by the law. Another\nsubsidy given by the Government is six dollars extra pay per annum to\neach priest of the Three Great Temples. In this connexion it must also\nbe stated that the Three Great Temples just mentioned receive a vast\namount of mal from the Government.\n\nThe supplementary resources of the Pope\u2019s revenue are subscriptions\nfrom the members and laymen, the leases from meadow-lands in his\npersonal possession, and profits acquired by his own trading, which\nis carried on by his own caravans. The Pope\u2019s caravans must be\ndistinguished from those of the Treasury Department.\n\nThe Treasury of the Grand Lama is called Che Labrang, which means the\nLama\u2019s kitchen on the hill, because the Lama\u2019s palace is located\non a hill. It is called Potala and the place is a castle, a temple,\nand a palace at once. As a castle it has no equal in Tibet, in view\nof the strength of its fortifications; as a temple, it can look down\nupon all other lamaseries of the country for elegance and gaudiness.\nAs a palace, of course there is no building that surpasses it. But in\nspite of all this, there is a deplorable defect in its water supply.\nWithin the high walls that defend the dwellers from the attacks of an\nenemy there is no well or spring whatever. The people have to go far\naway to get a bucket of water from a well which can only be reached by\ndescending a hundred and fifty feet of stone steps and crossing another\nhundred and fifty feet of level ground. To reach the top of the hill\none has to climb another three hundred feet, making the journey three\nquarters of a mile altogether. It is of course no easy work for the\nresidents to carry water so far, and there are therefore many workers\nwho make it their business to do this for them, charging about twelve\ncents per man a month. The aristocratic priests, who bear the title\nof _Namgyal Tatsang_, live in one part of the castle and number one\nhundred and sixty-five. They represent the highest type of the Tibetan\npriesthood and are all selected with great care, even physique and\nphysiognomy being taken into consideration. They live in good style at\nthe Pope\u2019s personal cost.\n\nThe property of the Grand Lama, after his death, is divided in the\nfollowing way: One-half of the property (in fact a little more than\nhalf) has to be divided among his relatives in his native place, and\nthe remaining half is distributed as gifts among the priests of the\nGreat Temples and those of the New Sect. In the case of an ordinary\npriest, if he leaves property worth five thousand dollars about four\nthousand is used in gifts to the priests and for the expense of\nlights, and almost all the remaining thousand is used for his funeral\nexpenses, leaving perhaps three hundred to his disciples. In cases when\na priest leaves very little money, his disciples are obliged to borrow\nmoney to supply the want of gifts and money for lights in his honor--a\ncustom entirely foreign to the laity.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVIII.\n\nFuture of the Tibetan Religions.\n\n\nThe Tibetans are essentially a religious people. Foreigners call them\nsuperstitious, and indeed my own observation also testifies that their\nfaith is veritably a mass of superstition. Yet it would be inaccurate\nto say that there is no truth in their religion. A small but precious\njewel is often found among useless rubbish; wise men will not throw\naway the jewel along with the rubbish, even though it may not be\nfound at the first glance. I can find at least two precious things\nin the creed of the Tibetans. One of them is that they recognise\nthe existence of a superhuman being who protects us. They are also\nsure of the possibility of communication with this being by dint of\nreligious faith. It is true that they have several unreasonable rites\nof worship, which may be compared to the rubbish round the jewel, but\nin the midst of them they know that Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha is all love, that He removes\ncalamities from us, and makes us happy at length. They also recognise\nthe existence of deities subject to the emotions of anger, and ready\nto punish those that offend them; but even ignorant Tibetans know the\ndifference between the Gods and the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, the former to be feared,\nand the latter simply an object of gratitude.\n\nThe other precious thing I can point out is their belief in the law\nof cause and effect. According to this law, each deed is rewarded\naccording to its deserts; whatever vices one commits will be followed\nby suffering; on the other hand, every man shall enjoy the result of\nthe good that he has done. They also believe that the law of cause\nand effect is everlasting, the seed making the fruit, and the fruit\nthe seed, and so on for ever. In the same way, they think, our mind\nis imperishable, and often reproduced in the world. Thus far their\nfaith is worthy enough, but the doctrine of transmigration, of which\nthey have a too firm conviction, is apt to lead to superstition. The\nTibetans often really think such and such Lamas have been born again\nin such and such places. But the precious Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist creed that one\u2019s\nmind and body are everlastingly in accordance with the law of cause and\neffect and self-compensation is so thoroughly taught to every Tibetan\nfrom his childhood by his mother, that the home lessons of the Tibetan\nchildren almost always take the form of sermons on their mythology and\nmiscellaneous stories connected with Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. In sooth, Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism is\nso deeply ingrained in the country that no other religion can exist in\nTibet, unless it be explained by the light of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. Thus, the Old\nBon religion has been greatly modified and has indeed entirely lost\nits original form and been replaced by the New Bonism, which resembles\nthe Ry\u014dbu Shinto of Japan, in which the Sun God is interpreted as\nthe incarnation of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha; but the Tibetan goes further than the\nRy\u014dbu Shintoist did. By Bon is meant Shinnyo or Truth, or rather the\nincarnation of Shinnyo, and it is considered to be one branch of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\nOne of the things which most struck me was that Muhammadanism is\nfound in Tibet, mostly among the Chinese and the descendants of the\nimmigrants from Kashm\u012br. They number about three hundred in Lhasa and\nShigatze, cling pertinaciously to their doctrines, and have two temples\nin the suburbs of Lhasa, with two cemeteries on the side of a distant\nmountain. One of the temples is for the Musulm\u0101ns from Kashm\u012br, and the\nother for the Chinese. It is rather strange to see the calm existence\nof Muhammadanism in a country where Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism is so predominant. One\nthing that the Musulm\u0101ns in Tibet say is very striking. They declare\nthat according to their religion there exist previous and future\nworlds, but that man is reborn as man, never as a lower animal, as\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism says, and that the final destiny of the human soul is the\nKingdom of Heaven or Hell. I once argued with some of the Muhammadans\nthat no such doctrine as transmigration is to be found in the _Koran_,\nin which mention is made of the future world, but none about the past.\nThen I suspected that it might have been adopted from the Christian\nreligion, for in the bible the subject is just touched on. But I\ndoubted whether any doctrine of that sort had ever been pronounced upon\nby the Muhammadan Kalifate. When they heard me speak thus they simply\nsaid: \u201cThere is, there really is, the doctrine of future and previous\nworlds in the Muhammadan religion,\u201d and they said it with a straight\nface. They really seemed to think so, but I think it a modification\nderived from Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\nOf late Christian missionaries have been trying to introduce their\nreligion into Tibet, and I can but admire their undaunted spirit. But\nthe country does not admit any foreigners, so their utmost efforts\nhave no effect on the interior. They attempt therefore to convert\nthe Tibetans who come to Darjeeling, or those who live about Sikkim.\nFor these purposes hundreds of thousands of dollars have already\nbeen spent, and the bible and many other religious books have been\ntranslated into the Tibetan language. There are also many books\nwritten in Tibetan against Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. As soon as Darjeeling was opened\nto foreigners, the first pioneers to the town were the Christian\nmissionaries, and ever since they have been preaching their religion\nwith utmost zeal.\n\nNotwithstanding all their endeavors, Christian missions have been so\nfar a failure. The so-called members are false members, and the more\nearnest are not genuine Tibetans, but Sikkimese who pretend to be\nTibetans. It can truly be said that there is not a single Tibetan from\nthe interior of the country who really believes in Christianity, though\nthere are a few who declare themselves Christian because they can thus\nget a living. Go to the house of a reputed Christian and you will\nalways find in some inner room of his house the image of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, before\nwhich butter-lamps are burned in secret day and night. When he goes\nout he pretends to be a Christian, and on Sunday he carries his bible\nand goes to church! Such a Christian of course quickly turns his back\nupon Christ when his pocket is full, or he is not likely to receive\nany more. The missionaries make a mistake if they think that they can\neasily convert a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist into a Christian; for the reverse is the\ncase. Let me state some fundamental differences between Christianity\nand Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. By the \u2018Enlightenment\u2019 of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism one obtains absolute\nfreedom; the greatest spiritual freedom is to be attained by one\u2019s\nself, while in Christianity there is an infinite power called God who\nprevents one from attaining absolute freedom. Again the nature of\ncause and effect is not clear in the Christian religion. I read in the\nbible \u201cA good tree will bear good fruits and a bad tree will bear bad\nfruits.\u201d Therefore I cannot say that the doctrine of cause and effect\nis not alluded to at all in this religion, but its scope is limited.\nIf they would extend the text and make it applicable to previous and\nfuture lives, then I think they might open the way for Christianity to\nreach the Tibetans. Furthermore the sentence \u201cThy faith has saved thee\u201d\nof Christ means exactly what Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha meant: \u201cOf one\u2019s own deeds, one\u2019s\nown reward.\u201d But it seems to me that the true meaning of the words\nof Christ is not fully developed and that its application is far too\nnarrow. I think this is one cause of the unpopularity of Christianity\namong the Tibetans, who have a very deep belief in the theory of\n\u201creceiving according to one\u2019s own deeds.\u201d These are the chief reasons,\nI believe, why Christianity obtains so few followers among the Tibetans\nafter so many years of hard work by scores of missionaries at the cost\nof millions of dollars.\n\nTo sum up what we have seen: The predominant religion at present is\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and the others are the Bon, the Muhammadan and the Christian.\nWe have seen how the old pre-Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Bon religion has been transformed\ninto the New Bon, which is now looked upon as a sect of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, and\nhow the Muhammadan religion existing within a very small sphere of\ninfluence has shown a gradual approach to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, though unnoticed\nby themselves. As to the Christianity of Tibet, it does not seem\nprobable that it can flourish in this land unless the present sectarian\nprejudices of the Churches are entirely removed and a new form and\nattitude be given it, so as to adapt it to the Tibetan people. The\npresent Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism is corrupt and on the road to decay; still\nit has some jewels in it, and is almost naturally inherent in every\nTibetan, and it is probable that it will continue to be predominant in\nthe country by its own _vis inertiae_ until a great man comes to the\nfront to undertake the work of religious reformation and to restate the\ntruths of the Great Freedom of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIX.\n\nThe Beginning of the Disclosure of the Secret.\n\n\nOn the 30th of April 1901, Tsa Rong-ba, who had left for India in the\npreceding year, came back. He was a Tibetan merchant, to whom I had\nentrusted the letters to my teacher Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s at Darjeeling and\nto a Lama called Shabdung of the same town. He had also been trusted\nwith the business of posting a letter to my native country. As soon as\nhe arrived he at once sent for me, but his messenger could not find\nme at Sera, for I was at the treasury-minister\u2019s on that day, and it\nwas rather late when I heard of his return. So early the next morning\nI started for his house, expecting to receive answers from my old\nacquaintances in Darjeeling. After exchanging a few happy words he said\nto me: \u201cAt the time when I reached Darjeeling, both your teacher and\nthe Lama were away. So I had to carry the letters with me all the way\nto Calcutta. On my way home, when I came back to Darjeeling I found\nboth of them at home, and handed them the letters. Sara\u1e6d told me to\ncall on him again two days after to receive his answer. But I could\nnot see him again, because I had bought a large quantity of iron by\nthe secret order of the Government, and if the fact had become known\nto the Indian Government I should have been arrested. Therefore I\ncould not stay long at Darjeeling and determined to start the next day\nwithout securing an answer from Sara\u1e6d. But here is the answer from Lama\nShabdung, who wrote it on the same day.\u201d Saying this he handed me a\nletter. In the letter, it was stated that the letter to my teacher had\nbeen handed to him and another to my home had been registered. He also\nthanked me for my present to him. (In Tibet it is customary to annex\nsome present to a letter, and if nothing suitable can be found, they\nenclose a piece of thin silk cloth, a \u2018Kata,\u2019 and as I had acted in\naccordance with this custom when I sent my letter to him, he thanked me\nfor that, and as a return present sent me some European sugar and a few\nother things). As we talked I heard of the Transvaal war and various\nother items of news from Darjeeling.\n\n[Illustration: PROCESSION OF THE PANCHEN OR TASHI LAMA IN LHASA.]\n\nThe 13th of May (the 4th of April by the Tibetan calendar) was a grand\nday for Lhasa, for on that day the Grand Lama Panchen Rinpoche, or\nthe second Pope of Tashi Lhunpo in the city of Shigatze in the Tsan\nProvince was to come up to Lhasa. He had completed his twentieth year\nand was qualified to receive what in Tibetan is called the Nyen-zok,\nwhich means investiture or \u2018the deliverance of the Commands\u2019. He was\nnow coming to the capital to receive the ceremony from the Pope Tubten\nGyam Tso in Lhasa. The ceremony is regarded as one of great importance,\nin nowise second to the \u201cNyen-zok\u201d day of the investiture or \u2018the\nDeliverance of the Commands of the Order\u2019 of the Pope himself. The\ncitizens, men and women, young and old, all went out to welcome the\nyoung prelate to Lhasa and I was also present in the crowd, accompanied\nby Li Tsu-shu, a Chinese apothecary, and his children. The procession\nof the day was magnificent and as splendid as was expected, but was\nnot much different from that which I saw at Shigatze. On our way back\nI met Tsa Rong-ba, who invited me to tea at his house. I accepted, and\nwas sitting comfortably in his house, when a Tibetan gentleman came in.\nThe man was introduced to me as the Chief of the Pope\u2019s caravan, by the\nname of Takbo Tunbai Choen Joe. He also worked (as I learned afterward)\nas an agent of the Government for buying iron and other articles as Tsa\nRong-ba did, and they were old acquaintances. As soon as he entered\nthe house he stared at me with his sharp eyes for a long time. As I\nlooked at him I judged him to be a black-hearted man, but at the same\ntime I recognised the presence of great smartness.\n\nPresently he came close to me. In the room were Tsa Rong-ba and his\nwife, and I saw that the greatest danger was brewing. But here I must\ndiverge to tell a long story. Tsa Rong-ba had looked upon me with great\nhope, as my influence increased, because he thought if I became a\nfamily doctor of the Pope he would derive therefrom great benefit and\nprofit, and when he returned from India he found my fame as a doctor\ngreatly increased. Some people had exaggerated my reputation; if I\ncured only three patients they would call it fifty, and went even so\nfar as to say that none could compete with me in the art of medicine.\nBesides, he knew that I lodged with the Minister of the treasury, and\nthat I had also several friends among the higher officials and priests.\nThese considerations made him think me quite reliable. While he was in\nCalcutta he heard much of the just and brave actions of the Japanese,\nalso that in the war between Japan and China, the Japanese were not\nselfish, but had in view the benefit of China; at least I heard him\noften say so. Thus his confidence in the Japanese in general and in\nmyself had been still more increased.\n\nNext, to speak of the intruder Takbo Tunbai Choen Joe, he was the clerk\nof a great merchant named Takbo Tunba, and had often been to Peking,\nsometimes in charge of the Pope\u2019s caravan. At the time of the Boxer\nTrouble he was in China and once unfortunately all his goods had been\ncaptured by some Japanese soldiers. He explained to them that the goods\ncaptured did not belong to the Chinese Government--on which suspicion\nthey had been seized--and begged to have them returned, but all in\nvain. They were going to carry everything away. Then he hastened to the\nJapanese general at headquarters, and complained that he was a Tibetan\nand the goods had neither been brought for, nor were being carried\nfor the Chinese Government, and besought the general that they should\nbe given back. The general, seeing that he was a Tibetan, immediately\nwrote a note in Chinese and in some peculiar characters (undoubtedly\nJapanese) signed his name and handed it to him telling him to take\nit to the soldiers. He did as he was told, and the goods which had\nbeen seized were returned with no loss whatever. This event and other\nexperiences made him think that the Japanese were in the habit of\nacting justly and righteously. At any rate he had spoken highly of the\nJapanese when he told the above story to Tsa Rong-ba. When Tsa Rong-ba\nheard the story and knew that the Choen Joe was an admirer of the\nJapanese as he himself was, he thought it might do no harm to discover\nto him the person of the Japanese Lama; he even thought it would be\nprofitable for himself to do so, but I never dreamed that such a fancy\nhad taken possession of his mind.\n\nThe Choen Joe, who was keenly gazing at me, suddenly cried out: \u201cYou\nare very strange,\u201d to which I did not reply a word. Then he continued:\n\u201cAt first I thought you were a Mongolian, but I found my judgment\nmistaken. Nor are you to be taken for a Chinaman. Of course, you are\nnot a European. Of what nationality in the world are you then?\u201d I was\nabout to reply to this impertinent question, when I was interrupted\nby Tsa Rong-ba who spoke in a knowing way: \u201cThis gentleman is a\nJapanese.\u201d Just a few words, and all was over. It was the first time my\nnationality had been mentioned in Lhasa. A very annoying truth had been\nuttered, but I could not deny the impeachment, so continued silently\nlooking into the chief\u2019s face, and wondering what would be the next\nword I should hear from him. Then with a look as if relieved from some\nuneasiness he turned to the host and said: \u201cI see, I see, I thought he\nmust be a Japanese, but then I thought it was impossible for a Japanese\nto penetrate into this country, and I hesitated to say so. Now that\nI hear you say so, I doubt it not, for I have seen many Japanese at\nPeking.\u201d\n\nThe sentence was given by these judges before the defendant could speak\na word, and thus the secret which had been kept for so long was brought\nto light in a moment. The Choen Joe now turned to me and said:\n\n\u201cThis is very good news for me. I once thought that if I went to Japan\nand brought strange goods to Lhasa I could make a great deal of money.\nBut I have heard that the Chinese language, which is the only foreign\nlanguage I can speak, is not used in Japan except among a few Chinamen\nat the seaport towns. Besides, I know that foreign travellers are\nliable to be deceived by bad people, who abound everywhere, and Japan,\nI suppose, is not an exception. So I have abandoned my intention. But I\nam glad to find here such a good Japanese as you. I have heard of the\nfame of the Serai Amchi (doctor of Sera) and am very satisfied to find\nthe noted doctor in this house. As you are so good a man will you not\ntake me with you to Japan?\u201d\n\nThe prospect was not so bad as I had expected. I told him that as\nI intended to go back to Japan once more, I would take him, and\nspoke many things about Japan. The caravan chief talked of his hard\nexperiences in China, of the recovery of his goods by the favor of the\ngeneral, and of the superiority of the Japanese soldiers in valor to\nthose of the West. He spoke very highly of Japan, but did not seem to\nmean to flatter me; it was most likely that the words came from his\nreal heart. Then I said:\n\n\u201cYou and Tsa Rong-ba are the only men that know that I am a Japanese,\nbut if you tell it to anyone else, I am afraid it may cause you both\nsome trouble. So you must be very careful about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI appreciate your advice,\u201d said the Choen Joe, \u201cI will not tell it to\nanyone. If I do, it will be only when it is positively to your benefit,\nbut not till then. When I disclose it you may be sure that you will\nhave a great name in Tibet.\u201d With such pleasant talkings we closed the\nday. I took my leave and lodged at the druggist\u2019s for that night.\n\nOn the following day, (May 4th) my friend the Secretary of the Chinese\nMinister stepped into my room as usual. While we were talking together\nthere was something in his manner that put me on the alert. He said:\n\u201cYou say you are from Foochee in China. Of course I don\u2019t doubt it. But\nI see a great difference in your character from that of the ordinary\npeople of China. It may sound strange, but did not your ancestors come\nfrom a foreign country?\u201d\n\nI replied that I had no definite knowledge about my ancestor\u2019s original\nhome, and asked him what had made him think that my character did not\nresemble that of the Chinese. Upon this he said:\n\n\u201cThe Japanese are very smart by nature and push on with great patience,\nwhile most Chinese lack in quickness, of course with a few exceptions\nlike yourself. Moreover the Chinese have in general the characteristic\nof sedateness which you see in me, but which I cannot see in you.\nInstead of being calm, you are always hustling and active. It is too\ndelicate a distinction for words, but I am sure you have something\nin you which I cannot trace to the Chinese. But from whom are you\ndescended?\u201d\n\nFrom this way of talking I could understand that he was closely\nexamining me, and trying to find out my secret by my countenance and\nexpression. It seemed probable that he already knew that I was not a\nChinaman but a Japanese. But I did not give him any definite answer,\nand he left me.\n\nSome while later on during the same day I had another startling story\ntold me by the wife of the apothecary. She began with: \u201cSay, Kusho-la\n(your lordship). Don\u2019t you think the most awful thing in the world is\na madman?\u201d\n\nI asked her reason, and she said: \u201cWhy, that mad son of Para has been\ntelling a strange story. It is a story told by a madman, so of course\nI think it cannot be depended upon; but he said that though it was a\ngreat secret, he knew of a horrible affair that was to take place in\nthis country. When I asked what it was, he whispered to me: \u2018There is\na priest from Japan in this town. He calls himself a priest, but he\nis surely a great officer of the Japanese Government, who has been\nsent for the investigation of the country. It is no less a personage\nthan the Serai Amchi. I met and talked with him once when I went to\nDarjeeling, and I found him a great man.\u2019 This is what he tells me. Is\nit not strange? Nobody knows he has ever been to Darjeeling, but what\ndo you think about it?\u201d\n\nI thought the madman was not mad if he had spoken that way, but\nanswered her: \u201cThe story of a madman must be only taken as such.\u201d\n\nThe lady continued, \u201cAnyhow my husband and many others seem to believe\nit. I have told this to you as I heard it, and hope you will not mind.\u201d\n\nThis conversation occurred on the 14th of May. That night I returned to\nthe mansion of the Minister of the Treasury, and on the next day I came\nto the monastery at Sera. At night when all were fast asleep, I took\nout some paper and began to write a letter to the Pope. I did this as\na preparation against the day when my secret should be disclosed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXX.\n\nThe Secret Leaks Out.\n\n\nWhy did I write the appeal? you may ask. At that time I could not\ntell how the matter would turn out, and unless some measures were\ntaken beforehand, incurable evil might be the outcome. So I must at\nany rate make it clear to all that I had come to this country for\nthe study and cultivation of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and with no other intentions.\nFor that purpose I thought it well to write the letter, which I have\nstill by me. I flatter myself that it was written very nicely. I have\nwritten many compositions, both prose and poetry, in the Tibetan\nlanguage, but I never wrote one that pleased me better. It took me\nthree nights to complete it. I may summarise its contents as follows.\nAs is considered proper in Tibetan the letter begins with respectful\nwords to the master of the beautiful country which is purified with\nwhite snow. Then I say: \u201cMy original intention in coming to this\ncountry was to glorify Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and thus to find the way of saving the\npeople of the world from spiritual pain. Among the several countries\nwhere Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism prevails, the only places where the true features of\nthe Great Vehicle are preserved as the essence of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism are Japan\nand Tibet. The time has already come when the seed of pure Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism\nmust be sown in every country of the world, for the people of the\nworld are tired of bodily pleasures which can never satisfy, and are\nearnestly seeking for spiritual satisfaction. This demand can only be\nsupplied from the fountain of genuine Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. It is our duty as well\nas our honor to do this. Impelled by this motive, I have come to this\ncountry to investigate whether Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism agrees with that of\nJapan. Thanks be to the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha the new Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism in Tibet quite agrees\nwith the real Shingon sect of Japan, both having their founder in the\nperson of the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva N\u0101g\u0101rjuna. Therefore these two countries\nmust work together towards the propagation of the true Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. This\nwas the cause that has brought me to this country so far away and over\nmountains and rivers. My faithful spirit has certainly wrought on the\nheart of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and I was admitted to the country which is closed\nfrom the world, to drink from the fountain of Truth; the Gods must\ntherefore have accepted my ardent desire. If that be true, why should\nyour Holiness not protect me who have already been protected by the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and other Gods; and why not co-operate with me in glorifying the\nworld with the light of true Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism?\u201d In conclusion I added that I\nhad been asked by Dhammap\u0101la of Ceylon to present the Pope with a relic\nof Sh\u0101kya Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and a silver reliquary, and begged his acceptance of\nthe gift. When the letter was finished I was in so much haste to copy\nit on good paper that I did not think anything of the consequence if\nit were presented--that my letter would disclose my person and that I\nshould be put to death accordingly.\n\nOn the 20th of May I returned to Lhasa and lodged at the Minister\u2019s.\nThat day I went with the ex-Treasury Minister to the garden-party held\nat the forest of Tsemoe Lingka. This was my last good time in Tibet.\nAt the party there were many old friends of mine present, and many\ncountry-gentlemen, who were still staying in Lhasa for the ceremony. I\ntalked freely with them and spent the whole day in the most pleasant\nconversation on the subject of the lives of the ancient saints of Tibet\nand on various other topics. While I was thus passing a pleasant day,\na very serious thing in regard to my person was occurring at the other\nend of the city of Lhasa.\n\nOn this same day, the caravan chief called on Yabsi Sarba (the house of\nthe father of the new Grand Lama). The present Pope had lost both his\nparents, and his elder brother was looked upon as his father-in-law. He\nwas dignified by the Government of China with the title of Prince, and\nlived in magnificence in the southern part of Lhasa. While they were\ntalking together over their glasses of wine, the caravan chief found\nwhat he called a good opportunity to disclose my person. As I learned\nit from Tsa Rong-ba, the dialogue between them ran as follows:\n\n\u201cHas your Highness heard that there is a stranger in this country, who\nis neither Chinese nor Mongolian?\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me what he is,\u201d said the Pope\u2019s brother.\n\n\u201cHe is a true Lama from Japan. The Japanese Lama resembles a Chinese\nHoshang, but is far more praiseworthy. He takes only two meals a day\nand after midday nothing touches his mouth. He eats no meat and drinks\nno wine.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is he living?\u201d asked the brother of the Pope.\n\n\u201cIf I mention his name you must know where he is living. His name is\nSerai Amchi; the famous Serai Amchi is a Japanese.\u201d\n\nAfter a pause for consideration the Pope\u2019s brother replied: \u201cI have\nheard of Serai Amchi. He must be an expert physician to be sent for\nby the Pope, the nobility and the clergy. One who masters the art of\nmedicine so thoroughly as to gain such a great reputation in so short a\nspace of time cannot be a Chinese. I once suspected that he might be a\nEuropean. But now that I hear this from you, my doubts about him have\nbeen removed. Yes, the Japanese can do quite as great things as the\nEuropeans. But\u201d (shaking his head) \u201cthis is news that troubles me not\na little.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat troubles Your Highness?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I am not wrongly informed, Japan is on very friendly terms with\nEngland. When I consider this I cannot but suspect her. Besides, Japan\nis so strong a country that she can bully China. Such a country is\nvery likely to think it easy to subdue a small country like our own.\nMoreover the religion of Japan is the same as that of Tibet; is that\nnot a fact which might easily awaken the ambition for subjugation?\nTherefore I cannot take him for anything but a spy sent by the Japanese\nGovernment to investigate the state of things in Tibet for a sinister\npurpose. Will not the nobility who are connected with Serai Amchi\nsuffer as did those who were connected with Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s when he\nentered the country? Will not the Sera monastery be closed again? The\nmatter cannot be overlooked. Some measures must be taken about it.\u201d\n\nThis conclusion was an unexpected one for the caravan chief, for he had\nthought the story would please His Highness. His disappointment was\nimmediately followed by the feeling of fear, and with an intention to\ndefend me he said:\n\n\u201cHe cannot possibly be taken for a spy. He lives in Lhasa, where meat\nis considered necessary food, and he often goes to the temple of Sera\nwhere meat and meat gruel are freely given as alms to the priests, but\nhe never touches them, and feeds only on scorched barley. Such a man is\nsurely a Lama of Japan.\u201d\n\nThis strong argument was at once denied by the Pope\u2019s brother, who said:\n\n\u201cYou consider so, for you are short of wisdom. There are devils\nthat resemble Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha in this world; indeed, the greatest devil is\nthe one that can make himself most resemble a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. For example,\ntake the case of saint Upagup\u1e6da. He was the fifth saint from Sh\u0101kya\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. He was born after the death of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and thought how\nhe might see the real Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, who is said to have been perfect in\nphysique and physiognomy. He heard that the devil-king of the sixth\nheaven had often seen the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha while the latter was passing through\nHis worldly life. So he thought he would go and ask the devil-king\nwhether he would, by his miraculous power, give him a glimpse of the\nreal Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha. He did so, and his request was granted at once. The\ndevil-king immediately put on the appearance of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha and sat on the\n\u2018Diamond-Seat.\u2019 He looked so Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha-like that the saint could but\nprostrate himself before the image. In a similar manner Serai Amchi,\nwho really is a spy, may have taken the form of a Lama to deceive\nus. No, he cannot be trusted. The very fact that he could enter this\ncountry, so strictly closed from the rest of the world, tells that he\nis by no means an ordinary person. Did he alight from heaven? He must\nhave had superhuman power to perform such a miracle. Therefore he must\nnot be treated carelessly. At any rate this is a difficult problem to\nsolve.\u201d This argument was strong enough to make Choen Joe sober and\npale.\n\nThat day (20th of May) towards evening Takbo Tunbai Choen Joe called\non Tsa Rong-ba, as I learnt afterwards, with a rather melancholy face.\nHe had determined not to say anything about his conversation with the\nPope\u2019s brother. But it was supper-time when he came in, and the host\npersuaded him to share with him a few glasses of drink, as is customary\nin Tibet. Pretty soon the host perceived that the caravan chief was\ndrinking with unusual haste and a sad look. Being intimate friends, Tsa\nRong-ba asked the reason, saying:\n\n\u201cYou must be uneasy in your mind to drink in such a way. I wish you\nwould tell me what is the matter with you.\u201d\n\nThe caravan chief said that nothing annoyed him. But in the meanwhile,\nthe drink had had its effect, and made the man who was resolved to say\nnothing speak out the details of the whole thing as has just been\nstated. When the story was over it was midnight, and Choen Joe left the\nhouse, leaving the host and hostess in so much anxiety that they could\nnot sleep at all. The next morning (May 21st) Tsa Rong-ba sent me a\nmessenger accompanied by a horse to Sera, to take me back directly to\nhis house. But I was not in the monastery, and this messenger could not\nfind me at the Treasury Minister\u2019s either, for on that day I did not go\nthere. The anxiety of Tsa Rong-ba increased when I was not to be found.\nThe special reason of his anxiety was this; I possessed a letter from\nDarjeeling which had reached me through the hand of Tsa Rong-ba, and\nif I were to be captured the letter would be confiscated, and it was\nevident that he would also be put in prison. Evil might come to him as\nwell as to myself. No wonder he hunted for me everywhere, all over the\ncity of Lhasa. Tired with hunting for me, he had almost given up his\nattempt, thinking that I must already have been captured, when towards\nevening I called at his door. His surprise was great, and he came to\nme almost trembling and with tears too, and said: \u201cHow lucky we are to\nhave you here! Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha must have led you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: CRITICAL MEETING WITH TSA RONG-BA AND HIS WIFE.]\n\nI comprehended that something unusual had happened, but telling them to\nbe quiet, I took my seat, and was ready to listen. Then they told me\nthe whole story, one supplying what the other omitted. When they had\nfinished, Tsa Rong-ba asked me:\n\n\u201cWhat do you intend to do? At any rate, I hope you will burn the letter\nI brought from Darjeeling. But, what are you going to do?\u201d\n\nI replied: \u201cFor myself, my course is already determined. I have written\nan appeal to the Pope. Whatever may befall me I have made up my mind.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know all about it then?\u201d said he with a surprised look.\n\n\u201cYes, I know,\u201d said I, \u201cI could see such a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is why I looked upon you with respectful awe,\u201d he answered. \u201cI\nheard that the Pope\u2019s brother said you have superhuman power, and I\nbelieve his saying is true.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d I returned \u201cI have no superhuman power. Only I inferred that such\na thing must happen. So I have made what I thought preparation against\nit.\u201d\n\nTsa Rong-ba, who followed a peculiar kind of reasoning, protested: \u201cNo,\ndo not say so; I know you heard the conversation between the caravan\nchief and the Pope\u2019s brother by some mysterious means. Otherwise how\nwould you come down to our house on such an occasion as this? But then\nwhy have you not been kind enough to call on us a little earlier? We\ncould not sleep at all last night. But are you really going to present\nto the Pope the letter you have written to him? In doing so, you little\nthink of what will become of us. I doubt not you are a venerable Lama,\nbut the Pope\u2019s brother is by no means a good-natured man. We cannot\ntell what he is going to say to the Pope, and if the Pope listens to\nhim who can tell the result? But I feel sure we must suffer, don\u2019t you\nthink so?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot tell,\u201d said I, \u201cwhat I shall do until I try sam\u0101\u1e0dhi (go into\nabstract contemplation). For the present I can only tell you that there\nare four things to be considered in the \u2018silent contemplation\u2019. They\nare as follows:\n\n(1) If the presentation of my letter to the Pope does not do any harm\nto you, the Minister of the Treasury, and the Sera monastery, I will\npresent the letter though I should suffer from doing so, for I am the\nonly Japanese who has visited this country, and I think it would be\nvery sad to leave this country without telling the people who I am, and\nwhat I have come for.\n\n(2) If the presentation of my letter causes any harm to any of you, I\nwill not present it, though I myself am free from danger.\n\n(3) If I can go to India without giving notice to the Pope, and it\ndoes not cause any harm to any of my acquaintances, I will go to India\ndirectly.\n\n(4) If the presentation of my letter would cause any harm to them\nafter my departure, I will stay here and present the letter, because\nif it is the cause of evil whether I stay here or not, it is my duty\nto stay here and share the evil with my acquaintances to whom I have\ncaused it. I will never be the only one to escape from danger. If I\ncome to the conclusion by the contemplation that there will be no\nevil caused after my departure, I will leave this country. But as I\nam not fully contented with my own decision on my own account, I will\ngo to my teacher Ganden Ti Rinpoche and consult with him. Of course I\nshall not say that I am a Japanese, nor that I am going back for that\nreason, but I will say that I must go on a pilgrimage and ask him his\njudgment whether my departure is advantageous for many people who are\nsuffering; and if his judgment agrees with mine I will adopt it, and if\nnot, I will go and ask the same of the Lama of Tse-Moeling, and if the\nlatter\u2019s judgment be the same as my teacher\u2019s I will follow it, but if\nit agrees with mine, I shall follow that.\u201d\n\nThe husband and wife, who were listening to me attentively, interrupted\nme here and told me that I needed not to ask another\u2019s opinion; my own\njudgment would be good enough to be acted upon.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said I, \u201cthat will not do. The thing is too serious to be\ndetermined by myself; for it concerns others as well.\u201d\n\nThey agreed with me and we parted. That night I was seated all alone\nin my room at the Treasury Minister\u2019s and quietly entered into the\nsilent contemplation and tried to find the best course to be taken.\nAfter some time I reached the \u2018world of non-Ego,\u2019 and the judgment\nwas: \u201cIf I stay in this country it will be harmful to the people,\nwhether I present the appeal or not; and on the other hand if I leave\nthe country, it is no great loss to these people.\u201d Thus I came to\nthe conclusion to leave the country, though it was not quite decided\nwhether or not I should present the letter to the Pope before leaving.\n\nEarly on the next morning (27th of May) I called on Ganden Ti Rinpoche,\nand asked him to give me his judgment, simply stating that I was going\non a pilgrimage. The master with a smiling face judged for me and\nsaid: \u201cThe sick people who (you say) are suffering, will get better\nby your going on a pilgrimage. But by the sick people you do not mean\nthe bodily patients, do you? It may mean that if you stay here, other\ndoctors in Lhasa cannot live, and so you are going to save them by your\ndeparture?\u201d\n\nHe gave his judgment half in joke, but I thought the teacher was\nintelligent enough to perceive that I was leaving the country never\nto come back. I heard there were many great Lamas in Tibet, but he\nwas surely the most respectable priest of all with whom I became\nacquainted. This was the last time I saw this venerable teacher.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXI.\n\nMy Benefactor\u2019s Noble Offer.\n\n\nThat day I returned to the Treasury Minister\u2019s with a determination to\ntell the secret to him. But it was the 22nd of May and the Pope was to\ncome back to Lhasa from his country-seat at Norbu Ling. The ex-Minister\nhad gone out to see the Pope return, and I was also obliged to go,\nthough I had many things to do for myself. The procession of the day\nwas magnificent. The four Prime Ministers and the Ministers of several\ndepartments and other dignitaries were present, all dressed in new\nsuits of clothes. But before the Pope arrived in Lhasa it had begun to\nrain heavily. Still no one but the servants and coachmen were allowed\nto wear anything to protect themselves against the rain. It was a\npitiful sight to see the dignitaries dressed in silk on horse-back in\nthe rain, getting wet through. But when the procession marched along\nthe streets of Lhasa and the Pope entered his temple, the storm had\npassed, and it was fine again. When we got home I asked the ex-Minister\nand the nun to stay at home that evening, for I was going to tell them\na secret which must not be spoken in the presence of others. The nun\nhad treated me with motherly tenderness, and though we had been friends\nonly for one year, yet our acquaintance seemed age-long, and I felt I\nought to tell my secret to her and the ex-Minister, to whom I owed so\nmuch. It was certain that I must leave Lhasa, but how could I leave\nthem without telling them all?\n\nWhen night came, I called on them at the appointed time and told them\nthat I was not a Chinese but a Japanese. Thinking, however, that they\nwould not believe me I set before them the passport which I had taken\nwith me. As the ex-Minister had learned to read Chinese characters a\nlittle, he could read that part of the paper signed \u201cDepartment for\nForeign Affairs of the Japanese Empire\u201d in Chinese characters. Assuring\nhimself that I had told the truth, he said:\n\n[Illustration: REVEALING THE SECRET TO THE EX-MINISTER.]\n\n\u201cAt first I thought you were a Chinese as you said, but later I became\nvery doubtful, because among the many Chinese I have met, there is\nnone who equals you in earnestness of devotion to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. I have\nalso often thought that most of the Chinese priests are ignorant of\nthe Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist religion, and that even the so-called learned and famous\npriests do not amount to much, but that the district of Foochee, from\nwhich you said you came, might be an exception, and that Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism might\nbe studied there with much zeal. Anyhow I thought it strange, but now\nmy doubts have been removed.\n\n\u201cBut I heard,\u201d he continued after a pause, \u201cthat the Japanese are of\nthe same race as the Europeans. Is it really so?\u201d\n\nI explained that they were entirely different races and that the\nJapanese belong to the same stock of races as the Tibetan, which is\ncalled the Mongolian. I also told him that the religion of the two\ncountries is the same. It seemed he knew such things as these without\nwaiting my explanation.\n\nAfter a few such questions and answers he said, \u201cIs that all that you\ncall your secret? Is there anything else to tell me?\u201d\n\nI answered: \u201cThere is another thing. I think I must tell the Papal\nGovernment that I am a Japanese.\u201d\n\nWhen he heard me say this he frowned a little, and said, \u201cWhy must you\ntalk? Is there any necessity for doing so?\u201d\n\nI replied that there was, and told him how my secret had been betrayed\nby Tsa Rong-ba, and how it had been told to the Pope\u2019s brother, and\nso forth. But I did not say anything about the silent contemplation,\nbecause if I told it they would possibly have thought that I was\nanxious to leave for India without caring for their future, though my\njudgment said that my departure would cause no great harm to them.\n\nHe considered in silence for some time after I had finished my story,\nand then he said: \u201cWhat are you going to do next?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs I have come to this country,\u201d said I, \u201cafter so much trouble, I\nwish to inform the Pope that I am a Japanese, and here is the letter to\nthe Pope written for that purpose.\u201d\n\nI took out the letter from my pocket and handed it to the ex-Minister,\nand continued:\n\n\u201cIt is no difficult thing to present it to the Pope, but in doing so I\nmust consider whether you might suffer from it, for you have been my\nfriends and patrons for a long time. Therefore please bind me with a\nrope, take me to the court and tell the officers that you have found\nout that I am a foreigner. If you do so, you are surely free from\ntrouble. As to myself, I will explain to the Government the causes of\nmy intrusion into this country.\u201d\n\nWhile I was speaking thus the frowns on his face had increased, and\nwhen I concluded he interrupted:\n\n\u201cThat will not do, my Japanese friend. If you take such a measure you\nwill certainly be taken to prison, where you will die of hunger and\ncold, and if you don\u2019t die of such causes you will be killed. Of course\nthe Government will not sentence a foreigner to death, but then they\ncan procure the same effect by using poison in secret. You have no need\nto hasten your destruction. What is the use of killing yourself?\u201d\n\nI was somewhat surprised to hear of such awful means to be used in the\nTibetan jail, but I replied:\n\n\u201cIt is of no use for me to succeed if my success is gained by the loss\nof others; it is far better to die and do others no harm. I shall not\nfly from danger and allow my benefactors to suffer, who have shown me\nas much kindness as parents show to their children.\u201d\n\nThe affectionate old woman, who was listening to me with a sorrowful\nface and trembling limbs, could not bear any more, and threw herself\ndown and wept bitterly.\n\nThen the ex-Minister spoke to me in a determined tone: \u201cIt will never\ndo to allow such a noble mind to die in order that we who are not far\nfrom the grave should survive. Though humble, I believe truly in the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and cannot do such an action as to sacrifice a man to save\nmyself. I know you too well to take you for a spy, or for a thief of\nthe national religion. I know it from my long intercourse with you.\nEven I were to be killed for it, I could not rid myself of danger by\npersecuting a man who came here to study Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. How could I do such\na thing? But now, in the present state of things in Tibet, it is not a\ngood opportunity to disclose your nationality. Therefore return home\nfor this time, and wait till the time will come. I am a brother and\ndisciple of Ganden Ti Rinpoche, from whom I received the lesson of the\n\u2018Great Benevolence.\u2019 I cannot expose you to death while I myself escape\nfrom calamity. If we are to suffer after your departure, we must take\nit as due to a cause existing in a previous life, and resign ourselves.\u201d\n\nSaying this, he turned to the old nun and said:\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you think so too, my beloved Ningje Ise (mercy and wisdom)?\u201d\n\nThe nun raised her face and said in a pleasant voice: \u201cYou have said\nthe truth. How glad I am to hear it!\u201d Then turning to me she said:\n\n\u201cAs you are in danger, leave this country as quickly as you can. We can\nfind some means of protecting ourselves; therefore it is better for you\nto cease thinking of us, and to start directly. Now is the best time to\nsteal out of the city, for the visit of the second Pope will keep the\ncity busy for this whole month, and no one will notice your departure.\nNo better opportunity can be found. If it were on an ordinary day,\nyou could not run away even though you were free from suspicion, for\nLamenba--the chief physician to the Pope--wishes to keep you long in\nthis country, and has already spoken to the Pope about it. Lose no time\nin preparing for the journey. This is my sincere advice.\u201d\n\nAs she spoke thus I observed tears in her eyes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXII.\n\nPreparations for Departure.\n\n\nWhen I heard them speak so kindly I was heartily pleased, and so\ntouched that I could not restrain my tears. Though their advice was so\nreasonable and pleasing I was not inclined to take it immediately, and\nbegged them earnestly to deliver me over to the Government so that no\nevil might befall them. They would not listen to me.\n\nAt length the nun said: \u201cAs it is of no use to argue here, is it not\nbetter to leave the matter to the judgment of Ti Rinpoche? and if\naccording to his judgment there is no evil to be feared for you and for\nus, then you can present the letter as you wish. We are arguing in vain\nunless we can foretell the result of the matter.\u201d\n\nI was then obliged to tell them all about the \u2018silent contemplation\u2019\nand its agreement with the judgment of Ti Rinpoche. When I told this\ntheir faces cleared and the ex-Minister said with a smile:\n\n\u201cIf this is the case, our anxiety and argument are useless. The only\ncourse to be taken now is to leave this country immediately. It is of\ncourse of no use to speak of binding you with a rope. You have spoken\nsuch things because you thought of us, but it is all in vain. If Ti\nRinpoche said your departure was better for yourself and ourselves, it\nis a sure thing, and if his judgment agrees with yours it is then the\nwill of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, the breach of which will cause you certain evil.\nTherefore proceed at once. Though we cannot protect you on your way, if\nit becomes public and some one pursues you, we will try to find some\nmeans for your escape.\u201d\n\nTheir unselfish kindness toward me I shall ever remember. I retired\nwith tears back to my room, and then I packed all my sacred books and\nother writings which I had gathered and took them to the apothecary\u2019s\nand said to him:\n\n\u201cI intend to go to Calcutta on a certain mission. I also want to make\nsome purchases there. If I can obtain sufficient money from home to buy\nthe books I want, I will soon be back. But if I cannot get the money at\nCalcutta I must return home and get it, and will come back next year or\nthe year after next. I cannot say when I can come back, but at any rate\nI must start immediately. But the thing that troubles me most is the\ndespatch of my baggage. I wish to carry these books home and show them\nto my fellow-countrymen. If I take all of them they must be packed and\nsent on a horse, or by some other means. Can you find any good way of\ndoing this for me?\u201d\n\nApothecary Li Tsu-shu was a man who believed in me so much that he\nwould do anything for my sake. If I had not had such a friend, my case\nwould have been undoubtedly hopeless. He was faithful to the end; if\nhis confidence in me had not been so strong, he would not have done\nanything for me, or he might even have betrayed me to my undoing. He\nseemed to know that I was a Japanese, for, once when he came to my\nroom, he saw some of the Japanese books in my library, and after that\nhe seemed partly convinced that I was not a Chinese. It was when people\nbegan to talk much about my nationality that I saw him and told him\nthat I was going home. He knew it was dangerous to have anything to do\nwith me, but he willingly agreed to my request, and told me that he\nknew a Chinese merchant who was from the same town as himself, and a\ngood friend of his; that I might go with him, for he was leaving for\nCalcutta on business in four days, and that as he had probably a few\nhorses without freight he could take my things at a smaller charge than\nanyone else. The apothecary was also kind enough to promise me that\nhe would go to see the merchant and talk over the matter. As we were\ntalking thus, the apothecary saw a man entering his house. He ran to\nhim and said:\n\n\u201cWe have just been talking of you. Lucky to see you here! Could you not\ntake about two horses\u2019 load to Darjeeling for this gentleman?\u201d\n\nAs I saw the man I found that he was an old acquaintance of mine; I had\noften bought musk and other things from him and made him some medicine\nto sell in his store. He knew well that I was honest in transactions,\nand would have acceded to my request with pleasure. But he said that he\ncould not take charge of my luggage, for he had no extra horses, but\nthat he knew a man who was going to Calcutta in four or five days, and\nwho would arrive at the city earlier than himself, and that as this\nman was carrying the salary of soldiers to the Castle of Tomo by the\norder of the Chinese Amban his horses were not loaded and might take\nmy baggage, but that probably I must pay him more money. I said that I\nwould willingly pay extra money if the baggage would arrive earlier,\nand asked him to go to that man to get the business settled. I was very\nglad to have everything thus arranged.\n\nIt was about the evening when we parted, and I returned to the\nmonastery at Sera. The next thing to be done was to pack up my\nreligious books and bring them to Lhasa. That night I was so busy\npacking up the books that I had no time for sleep, and the next day\nbefore noon I was able to send away all the packages to the druggist\u2019s\nin Lhasa. This twenty-fifth day was fortunately the best for such a\npurpose. On any ordinary day there were always six or seven thousand\npriests in the temple, and if I were engaged in packing my things, it\nwould have attracted their attention, and caused many enquiries. But\non that day there were only two or three men in each boarding-house.\nTherefore though I was busy all the night in packing and the next\nmorning in sending the things to Lhasa, it caused no suspicion. But\nthere was Chamba-ise, a little fellow who had served me for a long\ntime. I could not leave him without doing something for him. I used to\nsend him to a tutor for study while I was absent, and he would come\nback when I returned and draw water, make tea and do various other\nservices for me. Now that I was leaving the Lamasery I could not leave\nhim without notice. In the first place I must dismiss him, otherwise\nhe would certainly think it strange to see me taking out my books. So\nI told this boy and a few others that I must go on a pilgrimage to\nTsa-ri, as a younger brother of the ex-Minister lived there and had\ninvited me. Tsa-ri is called the second Sacred Place in Tibet. In Tibet\nthere are the three Sacred Places; the first is Kang Rinpoche or Mount\nKail\u0101sa in the north-western plain; the second is Tsa-ri, a peak in\nthe Him\u0101layas in the south-east which forms the frontier of Assam; the\nthird is the highest mountain in the world, the famous Gaur\u012bsh\u0101nkara\nor Chomo Lhari, often called Mount Everest. As to the boy, I told him\nthat it would probably take me four months to go there and come back,\nand that I would leave him money for four months\u2019 tuition and board.\nBut I was afraid a little boy like him would use the money all at once\nif it were handed him directly. So I took the money and deposited it\nwith his teacher. To a man who had been my security since I entered the\nSera seminary I sent a suit of priestly garments and some money; my\ntutor whose lectures I attended and many others were all presented with\nsome money or things as souvenirs. When all these preparations were\nfinished, it was past four o\u2019clock in the afternoon. Then I went to the\nGreat Hall of Je Tatsang to which I belonged, lighted butter-lamps,\nmade some offerings, and in front of the Image of the Sh\u0101kya Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha I\nread my prayer of farewell, which ran as follows:\n\n\u201cHere in the Great Hall of Je Tatsang of the Sera Temple, Tibet, I,\nEkai Jink\u014d, prostrate myself before the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha our benevolent Master\nand pray. It is with great sorrow and regret that I see that the\ndifferent deeds of human beings have caused the different existences of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha among the believers: for the way to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha is originally open\nto all and accessible to everyone. I, Ekai Jink\u014d, bound by the chain\nof deeds done in the previous world, have not been able to accomplish\nthe union and conformity of the Japanese and Tibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists, and now\nam obliged to leave the country. May the good cause of the present day\nbe the beginning of success, and of the union of the Japanese and the\nTibetan Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhists at some future time, and also of illuminating the\nwhole world with the light of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\u201d And calling upon the name of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha ten times together with an equal number of salutations I left\nthe temple.\n\nComing down the steps of the Hall and passing the paved yard to the\nleft, there is a descent of long and steep stone steps which leads to\nthe front of the beautiful gate of Choe-ra (a \u1e0charma garden) where the\nstudent priests are catechised. The premises of the Choe-ra, which are\nenclosed by white low walls, are very spacious. Here and there elms and\nwillow-trees are planted tastefully, and magnolia flowers perfume the\nair in their season. A clear stream, which comes down from the rocky\nhill on the other side of the buildings, runs through the premises, and\nthus adds much to the beauty of the place, especially when the setting\nsun shines upon the stream, as it was then doing. This was the seat I\nloved best in Lhasa, and I could not leave it without paying a visit\nto this favorite resort of mine. When I came here it was late in the\nafternoon, and all was quiet while I roamed about the place. Here my\nheart began to hesitate again. Though I had already bidden farewell\nto the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, thinking I should leave this country, yet I confess my\ndetermination was not strong enough.\n\n\u201cMust I now leave,\u201d thought I, \u201cthis quiet land of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha to which\nI have become attached; must I steal out of this beautiful country\nwithout telling who I am, just as a spy would do? Are there no means\nto say that I am a Japanese, without causing harm to others? Death\ncomes to all sooner or later. Why should I not run the risk of death,\npresenting the letter to the Pope? When I have made such a good\ncomposition, how sorry I am not to show it to him!\u201d\n\nWhile I was thus confused in my mind, suddenly a voice \u2018Giokpo peb\u2019 (go\nback quickly) was heard from somewhere about the Choe-ra. I wondered\nwho spoke those words, and to whom, and looked round, but nothing could\nbe seen but the green leaves of the trees shining in the rays of the\nsetting sun. Certainly it could not be a bird\u2019s voice, and I thought\nit must be only my fancy. When I went on only two or three steps, the\nsame \u201cGiokpo peb\u201d but in a louder and clearer tone reached my ear.\nThinking somebody was talking to me, I cried out to ask who it was,\nlooked about, and went round and behind the Choe-ra whence I thought\nthe voice came, but no one was to be found. Struck with a strange\nfeeling I was going in the direction of my boarding-place when I heard\nthe same strange voice again and again. This strange voice had much to\ndo with my final determination to go back quickly; and when I was fully\nresolved the voice was heard no more. I hastened to my room and fetched\na few things left there, and went and lodged at the druggist\u2019s in Lhasa.\n\n[Illustration: A MYSTERIOUS VOICE IN THE GARDEN OF SERA.]\n\nThe next day was spent in collecting the books which I had asked many\nbooksellers to secure for me, and for some of which I had paid in\nadvance. By the evening I had obtained a large number. The following\nday (May 26th) was employed in the same business as the day before. In\nthe afternoon, Li Tsu-shu made some boxes for me to put my things in.\nHe was also kind enough to get me three sheets of yak-hide in which to\nwrap my boxes. In Lhasa many yaks are killed for food after two o\u2019clock\nin the afternoon every day. The pelt fresh from the butchery is much\nused for packing and shipping goods. Things are wrapped in it while it\nis yet soft with the fur inside and the still bloody and greasy side\nout, and then stitched. When it gets dry it is hard and strong, and\nwell serves to protect the contents.\n\nWhen all was ready it was the 27th of May. As the next day was the\nappointed day on which I could hire a horse from the Chinese merchant\nand start with him, I went to take my leave of the ex-Minister. I\nthanked him for the great favors I had for so long received from him,\nand he gave me several hints and suggestions for my journey. I borrowed\na suit of priestly garments from him, for all my suits were packed up\ntogether with other things. He also gave me a hundred rupees, telling\nme to accept it as an acknowledgement of the favors I had done him.\nThough I thought the thank-offering ought to have been from my side,\nI was in much need of money, and so I accepted his present with many\nthanks and returned to the apothecary\u2019s.\n\nAs I came back I learned from him that the merchant who was to go\nwith me on the following day would not accompany me. I must tell how\nthis unexpected hindrance came about on the eve of my departure. The\nSecretary of the Amban, of whom I spoke before, was a great friend of\nthe merchant whom I expected to accompany. Now the Secretary, who was\nalready suspecting me, told the merchant that I was not a Chinese, but\nmust be a Japanese; that though he could not find the exact reason\nwhy I came to Tibet, it might be possible that I was spying in the\nservice of the British Government, for now-a-days nobody would be so\nmuch devoted to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism as to come to Tibet as I declared I had done,\nand that if his suspicion proved to be true after my departure with\nthe merchant the latter would have his head out off. The merchant was\nsurprised at hearing such a story from a man who was regarded as the\nmost learned and experienced among the Chinese in Tibet, and of course\nbelieved it, so it was not possible in any way whatever to persuade\nhim to take charge of my baggage.\n\nBut after telling this story, Li Tsu-shu told me that he might probably\nfind some means to send off my baggage if I did not mind more expense,\nby making a special application to the servants of the Chinese Legation\nand calling the goods his drugs. I asked him to do so, and as to my\nown journey, as I needed a coolie to carry my personal luggage day and\nnight, I asked him to hire one for me. The druggist went off directly\nto negotiate with them, but came back disappointed saying that the men\nwhom he intended to see were not to be found.\n\nEarly the next morning (the 28th) the druggist went out to see his\ncountry-men who were going to the place called Tomo or Chumbi in\nTibetan and Sui-shi in Chinese, and arranged with them to carry\nmy goods to the place. I paid them the very high fare for the\ntransportation in advance. He sent my luggage to the Chinese Legation\nthat night. As for my coolie, Mrs. Li Tsu-shu secured a man called\nTenba after trying her best. So I made all preparations for my\ndeparture for India by their kindness. I could feel certain of starting\nfrom Lhasa on the very next day, the 29th of May (the 20th of April\naccording to the Tibetan calendar).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIII.\n\nA Tearful Departure from Lhasa.\n\n\nLhasa was at that time in a state of such intense excitement over\nthe festivities that the people hardly seemed to know what they were\ndoing. The police force of the city is not large: it consists of thirty\nconstables (Kochakpa) and thirty policemen (Ragyabpa), and the whole\nenergies of the force were devoted to the duty of guarding the persons\nof the Grand Lama and his Co-adjutor. Every official and priest was\nbusily engaged in the duties of his office; none could spare even a\nthought for anything outside his immediate sphere of occupation--in\nshort the time could not possibly have been more favorable for my plan\nof escaping from the city. Still it was necessary to take precautions,\nfor there were many priests from Sera in the town, and I therefore\ndetermined to divert attention by wearing, instead of travelling\nclothes, a suit of ordinary ecclesiastical garments which I had\nborrowed from the Minister a few days before.\n\nAt eleven o\u2019clock, on the day of my departure, my kind, host and\nhostess of the Thien-ho-thang prepared for me a farewell dinner of\nvegetables only. It was a very sad meal, and the two children, a boy of\nfive and a girl of eleven years old, were almost inconsolable at the\nthought of my departure. Poor things, they did their best to retain me\nand I must confess that I never before felt so strongly the force of\nchildish affection.\n\nSome of the members of the family were very anxious to testify their\nrespect by accompanying me for a mile or two on my journey, but as it\nwould have been hard to escape observation had we left the house in\na large party, we agreed to go out one by one, and meet again in the\ngrove in front of the Rebon Temple outside the capital. So, with a\ncoolie to carry my baggage, I started off by myself through the crowded\nstreets, and when right in front of the Great Temple was accosted by\na policeman. I felt sure that something had been detected, and gave\nmyself up for lost.\n\nHe looked me straight in the face, and said \u201cI congratulate you,\u201d and\nwhen he found I did not reply he repeated his congratulations. I did\nnot know what he was congratulating me about, but at least it did not\nlook as if he were going to arrest me, and I continued my silence, but\nhe made three low bows as signs of his congratulations, and made as\nthough I would pass on. Suddenly it occurred to me that I was wearing\na suit of ecclesiastical garments borrowed from the Minister, and that\ndoubtless the policeman had jumped to the conclusion that as I was\nwearing such dignified robes I had been appointed physician to His\nHoliness (as indeed it was rumored), and that he expected a reward of\nmoney for his well-meant felicitations. So I gave him a \u2018single-handed\nblessing,\u2019 and a tanka of money, which made him stick out his tongue\nin gratitude, and so went on my way. I reckoned it as a thing most\nauspicious that I should have met the man in front of the Temple, and\nthus have commenced my journey with words of felicitation.\n\nThere are some points about the Tibetan police which I must not omit\nto mention. They receive no salaries, and live on the alms of the\ncommunity, though their methods of solicitation differ materially\nfrom those of ordinary beggars. At stated periods they go, usually in\ncompanies of three, through the streets, and standing at the gates of\nprivate houses cry out as follows:\n\n\u201cWe have come to receive alms from the wealthy, and you are so wealthy\nthat you can easily relieve our distress. We therefore pray you, the\nsavior of the poor and the friend of the needy, to give thirty pieces\nof gold to thirty poor men who with their wives live in miserable huts,\nand the gift you give us this day shall be brought home to our women\nand make them happy. We shall fill our broken cups with fragrant liquor\nand let them lie down this evening in a state of blissful intoxication.\n_Lha-kyallo._[4]\u201d\n\n[4] The words \u201c_Lha-kyallo_\u201d mean: the virtuous God will be victorious.\n\nThey will go on repeating these dirge-like petitions at the gate until\nat last some one comes out and gives them a few silver coins and some\nparched wheat-flour in a tin pan covered with a small kata. There is\nno fixed amount to be given, but if a rich man does not give them what\nthey think they have a right to expect, they will let him know what\nthey think. They are not supposed to beg at Temples, but as a matter of\nfact every Temple gives them something for the sake of its own credit,\nand for peace and quiet.\n\nAll the money that is thus collected is handed over to one of the\nKochakpa, who distributes it in regular monthly instalments to the\nmembers of the Force. But the Lhasa police have also further sources\nof income. When a wealthy pilgrim from the country arrives in the city\nthey ask for a donation from him, and if they do not get at least one\ntanka they will set the worthless people of the city on to attack him\nand not stir a finger for his protection. Every countryman therefore\nfinds it to his interest to pay this blackmail to the police, and when\nI was in Lhasa as a layman I had paid my tanka like the others. But\nsince I had assumed the priest\u2019s robe they had not been able to demand\nanything from me, and therefore I suppose that my friend thought the\nopportunity of getting a present in return for his congratulations was\ntoo good to be lost.\n\nIf a policeman goes on a journey, say to arrest a thief, he takes\nnothing with him for the expenses of his journey. He goes to any house\nhe chooses and takes what they give him to eat and drink, and if\nhe is going on to a place where there is no entertainment to be had\nhe just orders the people of the house to provide him with whatever\nhe requires. The Kochakpa however are far superior to the ordinary\npolicemen. They have a regular salary from the Government, and so do\nnot live on blackmail.\n\nHaving got rid of my policeman friend, I turned to the Temple for a\nfinal act of worship, and then passing under the Palace of the Grand\nLama and over the bridge, came out upon the vast plain, where, by the\nsmall grove in front of the Rebon Temple, I found the clerk of the\ndrug-store and a few friends waiting to take their leave of me. I had\nhad my dinner, and I never drink wine: there was nothing left for me\nto do but to change my dress and commence my journey, which I did,\nrequesting my friends to return my clerical clothes to the Minister of\nFinance. But my friends had brought some wine with them, and insisted\non drinking to me before I went, repeatedly expressing their great\nsorrow at my departure and urging me to take great care of my health\nin the trying climate of India. They were also very anxious to know\nwhether, after once returning to India, I should ever revisit Tibet\nagain, and they several times expressed their great indebtedness to me.\nAs for myself, I cannot say that I was very sorry to be leaving Lhasa,\nbut the sight of their sorrow made me sad as I passed out of the grove\nof the Rebon Temple in the direction of Shingzonka, where I stopped for\nthe night.\n\nOn the 30th of May, I hired post-horses and left Shingzonka. Here I\nhad been obliged to find serious fault with my luggage-carrier, Tenba.\nTibetans, as my readers must by this time be well aware, are prone to\nlies, and will grossly exaggerate the most trivial and insignificant\nmatters. I had often spoken to Tenba about this, but in spite of my\nfrequent admonitions, he had told the master of the house where we\nlodged at Shingzonka that I was an incarnation of a Lama. Of course the\ninnkeeper at once was all full of smiles and politeness, put me into\na better room and did all he could for my comfort, and as far as that\nwas concerned I had no reason for complaint. But I was afraid that by\nand by trouble might come to me by reason of that lie, and I spoke to\nhim in severe terms not only about the wickedness but also about the\ninconvenience of uttering falsehoods.\n\n\u201cI only said \u2018yes,\u2019\u201d urged the man in his own justification, \u201cwhen\nhe asked me if you were not an incarnation. If you go round as an\nincarnation, you are respected and honored, and can make lots of money.\nThere is no profit in going about just as you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, you miserable man,\u201d I returned angrily, \u201cI am not here for\nthe purpose of making money. It is unutterably bad to make money by\ndeceiving others.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d he grumbled, \u201ceverybody wants to make money\u201d. Nevertheless he\npromised to be more careful with his tongue in the future.\n\nThat day we had dinner at Ne-thang, and going six miles further on\narrived at the village of Nam. When my teacher, Rai Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra\n\u1e0c\u0101s Bah\u0101\u1e0dur, visited Nam some twenty years ago, it was a village of\nsome thirty houses. It seems almost incredible that we stayed in the\nsingle house now standing in the place. The fact is that some six years\nafter the Rai Bah\u0101\u1e0dur\u2019s departure from Tibet, some sixteen years ago,\nthe whole village was swept away by a flood of the river Kichu. The\nvillagers then removed their dwellings to a plateau between the ravines\nwhere they would be safe from future inundations, erecting just one\nhouse on the old site for the benefit of travellers.\n\nSo, to return to my story, I passed through Nam and reached the village\nof Jangtoe, where lived a priest whose acquaintance I had made at Sera.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d he asked, as he served me with tea.\n\n\u201cOn a pilgrimage to India,\u201d was my politic reply, which was received\nwith great joy, and made my host most sympathetic and helpful. He\ninsisted on lending me a horse the next morning, and I was thus enabled\nto make a rapid journey to Chaksam, where I found several boats, some\nof hides and some of wood. I embarked on one of these latter, crossed\nto the other side and arrived at the station of Pashe, under the high\nand steep mountain of Genpala. At Pashe I hired another horse, (for I\nhad sent back the priest\u2019s horse from the river), and the next morning,\n1st June, at four o\u2019clock, started again on my journey. Half-way up the\nhill I found a Chinaman who had left Lhasa a day before myself. He was\nfeeding his horse by the roadside, and drinking tea, and when I asked\nhim about his luggage, he said that it was being sent after him.\n\n[Illustration: A DISTANT VIEW OF LHASA.]\n\nOn reaching the top of the mountain and looking back, I was able, in\nthe clear air, to see not only Lhasa far away on the north-eastern\nhorizon, but even the Grand Lama\u2019s palace above it, a dim vision of\nheavenly beauty. Both in coming and in going I enjoyed this beautiful\nsight, and saluted the Lama\u2019s Palace in the distance. Genpala rises\nfourteen thousand nine hundred feet above the sea, while Lhasa is\ntwelve thousand, so that the mountain is nearly three thousand feet\nhigher than the city. The distance, as a bird flies, between them is\nthirty-five miles, and though some Tibetan travellers deny the fact, I\ncan vouch for it from experience that the Grand Lama\u2019s Palace can be\ndistinctly seen from a point of vantage on the summit of the mountain,\nthough the slightest change in position causes the palace to disappear.\n\n[Illustration: FAREWELL TO LHASA FROM THE TOP OF GENPALA.]\n\nWhile speaking of Genpala I recollect an amusing story which I will\nhere relate. There is in the house of a rich man in Nep\u0101l a Tibetan\nservant of the name of Penba-pun-tso, who accompanied his master on one\noccasion on a pilgrimage to Lhasa. There were several other Tibetans\nin the company. Now, whereas in Nep\u0101l food is cheap and plentiful and\nevery one gets enough, that is not the case in Lhasa. There, the Lama\ngets a good meal with meats of various kinds, vermicelli, and eggs; but\nthe ordinary layman has to be contented with parched barley flour--not\nunmixed with sand and grit--put in a bowl with tea and eaten. And often\nthere is not enough even of that. The pilgrims cannot always get all\nthey require, and many lose strength, while all lose flesh.\n\nAt last the pilgrimage was over, all the noteworthy Lamas had been\nvisited, and the party of Nep\u0101lese, on their way home, reached the\nsummit of Mount Genpala. With one accord they all turned round to take\na last farewell of the Holy City. \u201cWe are indeed fortunate,\u201d they\nmurmured, \u201cto have been allowed to accomplish this pilgrimage, and we\npray (here they shed tears of pious fervor) that we may deserve to be\nre-born in the Holy Land of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha.\u201d\n\nBut Penba-pun-tso refused to join them in their prayers. He\ndeliberately turned his back on the Holy City, and took no pains to\nconceal his disgust at the behavior of his companions.\n\n\u201cHow joyful it is, brethren,\u201d he replied to their remonstrances, \u201cto\nhave left behind Lhasa, the hateful abode of hungry demons and evil\nspirits. My prayer is that I may never have occasion to see the place\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are very hard on Lhasa,\u201d they said.\n\n\u201cNot a bit of it,\u201d was the reply. \u201cI am only honest; that\u2019s all. In my\nmaster\u2019s house in Nep\u0101l I get plenty of food--good rice, with no sand\nin it. Why should I call Lhasa the Holy City--a place where the greedy\nLamas are the only men who get enough to eat?\u201d\n\nPenba\u2019s pious companions were much shocked at his outspoken heresies.\nBut Penba did not mind their threats.\n\n\u201cI may be punished for what I have said,\u201d he calmly remarked; \u201cbut all\nthe same I am glad not to have been born in Lhasa. The devils of the\nHoly City may punish me if they like.\u201d\n\nThere is a great deal of truth in what the man said. Lhasa swarms with\nbeggars and paupers, and may truly be called the City of hungry devils.\n\nThere are even to be found in Lhasa professional mendicants who are\nalso usurious money-lenders. These men as a rule starve themselves in\norder to save a little money, which they conceal in some secret place\nunderground and then lend out at exorbitant rates of interest. When\nthey die, their secret hoard is lost, until some one some day digs it\nup by chance, when it is presented as treasure-trove to the priests\nof Sera or to those of the Ganden or Rebon Temples. Can these men,\nwho starve themselves in order to make a little additional gain, be\ncalled anything but hungry devils? Truly, I can witness that Lhasa is\nthe abode of these hungry spirits, and that the Lamas are flesh-eating\nogres.\n\nPenba-pun-tso, whose story thus amused me as I climbed over the steeps\nof Genpala, is still living at Nyallam on the borders of Nep\u0101l and\nTibet. I cannot say that I fully share his feelings against Lhasa,\nwhich I know as well probably as he does; but it is indeed a city in\nwhich wheat and tares grow together, a very few noble Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas\ndwelling in the midst of many extortionate demons. It is my earnest\ndesire to return some day to the Holy City and there work for the\nimportant object of bringing together into living unity the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism of\nJapan and Tibet.\n\nOn our way down from the summit of Mount Genpala we diverted our steps\na little in the direction of the village of Ta ma lung, a change of\nroute necessitated by the desire to dine and to change horses, before\nproceeding to the post-station of Palte.\n\nPalte is, as I have mentioned before, a very picturesque town on the\nshores of Lake Yamdo. We arrived towards nightfall after a long journey\nsouthward through beautiful winding roads, and here I fancy that my\nluggage coolie Tenba, who preceded me by a few minutes, must have\nannounced me as a physician from Sera, for soon after my arrival the\nheadman brought me a sick man for examination. I declined to prescribe\nfor the man at first, but the more I drew back the more did the headman\nurge his suit, until I was at last reluctantly compelled to give him\nsome medicine. I was surprised to find with what great reverence the\npeople of the place treated \u201ca physician from Sera\u201d.\n\nIt was almost as if he had been a God of medicine, so great was the\nhonor they paid him.\n\nThe next day, June 6th, I left Palte on horseback at two in the\nmorning, and about eight o\u2019clock reached the eastern extremity of Yase\nthrough beautiful scenery, which I need not however describe again.\nSome two miles to the east of Yase there is a river which empties\nitself into the narrow arm of a lake, and is crossed by a stone bridge\nwhich leads the traveller towards the south. As far as this bridge my\nroute had been the same as on my former journey through this country:\nbut after crossing the bridge, I diverged in a south-easterly direction\nalong the lake shore, and then turned to the south (still along the\nlake) for five miles, where I struck off and reached Nankartse in time\nfor dinner. Here my servant, who was very tired, expected to stop,\nbut I pushed on westward, until we came out on an immense plain where\nwe beheld outspread before us the snow-clad mountains of the Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n\nfrontier. As we pushed on the scenery became more and more beautiful,\nand the mountains closed in on both sides of us. At last, in the heart\nof a narrow ravine, we came to a solitary house beside a river. We\nshould have had to go another five _ri_ before reaching another house,\nso we determined to stop here.\n\nThe next morning, soon after midnight, I got up and aroused my servant.\nHe did not want to leave his bed and grumbled about its being midnight\nand a long way to dawn, but we had before made up our minds for an\nearly start so as to get ahead of possible pursuers, and so I kept\nto my purpose. It was a very lonely ascent through deep snow, and my\nservant was so scared by the darkness and the fear of pursuers that he\ndid not dare to walk behind me, and when I made him go in front, he\nwould often stop for me to reconnoitre some suspicious object ahead.\nFor the road, he said, was full of malicious demons, and there was no\nknowing what harm they might not do to one.\n\n[Illustration: CROSSING A MOUNTAIN AT MIDNIGHT.]\n\nI did my best to re-assure him by the fact of my presence and the\nexample of my courage, and so, with slow and faltering steps we climbed\nup the five _ri_ of steep mountain ascent and at daybreak reached the\nsmall village of Za-ra, when we had breakfast and succeeded in hiring\nhorses. At these mountain-stations it is almost impossible to hire\nan animal, for there are none kept there, and the traveller has to\ndepend on pack-horses and travelling horses that may happen to pass\nby that way. What few post-horses there are, are all taken up by the\nGovernment, and never come into the hands of ordinary travellers. And\nyet it was very important for us to obtain animals, for we had to pass\nalong the snowy peak of Nechen Kangsang, and though there are several\nplaces in the ascent as well as in the descent where riding is out of\nthe question, over the steep and ill-kept roads, there are also places\nin the higher plateau of the mountains where the rarefied atmosphere\nmakes rapid travelling on foot a sheer impossibility.\n\nThanks, however, to our good fortune in procuring horses at Za-ra, we\nwere able to push on towards the majestic mountain peaks as far as\nto Ralung, where we rested till midnight. We then arose, mounted our\nsteeds, and following a stream for some ten and a half miles arrived at\nTsanang. In Tibet there is no beautiful scenery except that of snowy\nmountains. When the snow-peaks disappear from sight, everything becomes\nmonotonous and lonely.\n\nThe next day we rode into the post-town of Gyangtze, the third city\nof Tibet. The city contains a large Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Temple, Pankhor Choeten,\ninhabited by fifteen hundred priests, and in it was living the chief\nfinancial agent of the Lama Government, who was married to the niece\nof the old nun who once lived with me in the Minister\u2019s residence. As\nhe was an old and intimate friend of mine, I ventured to call upon\nhim and was received with great joy. His residence, Serchok, was a\nlarge building on the outskirts of the grounds of the great Temple,\nand my friend was very urgent that I should spend some ten or twenty\ndays with him. This I declined, on the ground that I was going on a\npilgrimage; but as I was anxious to see the Temple, and as moreover it\nwas absolutely necessary to provide oneself with all necessaries of\nlife before attempting the trip across the mountains, I determined to\nstay for one or two days at least.\n\nThe temple is very large, and the tower is the largest in Tibet.\nThe number of priests is comparatively small, but the monastery is\nabout one-half the size of the Sera convent. Priests of the New Sect\npredominate, but those of the Old Sect are allowed to reside there,\nas are also the Sakya and Karma priests. I was shown a great number\nof sacred articles preserved in the Temple, and then returned to my\nfriend\u2019s residence.\n\nGyangtze is a good emporium for trade. A large market is held every\nmorning outside the gate of the great temple, and people flock in\nfrom the whole neighborhood to buy and sell. There are many shops,\nstalls, and booths in which goods of all kinds are exposed for\nsale--vegetables, meat, flower, milk, butter, cotton and articles to\ntempt the fancy of the buyers. Also wool and yak\u2019s tails, on their road\nfrom the table-lands of the north-west to India, are brought here in\ntransit, and are distributed among the merchants who come so far to\nobtain them.\n\nAfter stopping one night in the temple, we started on June 1st, 1902,\nat five o\u2019clock. By the kindness of my host, a horse was lent to me for\nfive days, and so I passed through the town of Gyangtze, crossed the\nriver Tsangchu, and gradually proceeded southward to the place where\nthe nunnery of Nening stands. I was told that in this nunnery there\nwas a living goddess called Dolma in Tibetan, only seven years of age.\nI did not however see her. After taking dinner at the house opposite\nthe temple, we hurried on for about twenty-five miles, and came to the\nnative village of my luggage-carrier Tenba. That night we lodged in a\nsmall temple where his brother was living, and my man and he had a good\ncarouse that night.\n\n\u201cYour master\u2019s complexion is unusually fair,\u201d said his brother, \u201cand\ndiffers little from that of Mongolians. Is he not a European?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d said my servant, eagerly trying to dispel his brother\u2019s\nsuspicion, \u201che is an honorable physician in Sera.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know the physician in Sera,\u201d answered his brother, entirely\nforgetting that I was in the next room; \u201cbut he is a doubtful sort of\nman, one that brings the dead back to life. No man can do such things\nunless he is a European. Be careful, my good brother, that you come to\nno harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not so,\u201d pleaded the other emphatically, relating what he had\nheard from the owner of Thien-ho-thang, \u201che is a Chinaman, an intimate\nfriend of the owner of Thien-ho-thang.\u201d\n\nI pretended not to have heard the last night\u2019s talk between the\nbrothers, and early the next morning I left the house, and as we were\nat the point of departure the brother whispered something in my man\u2019s\near. Walking toward the mountain south of us for about seven miles, we\ncame to the post-station of Kangma. While we were resting, twelve or\nthirteen pack-horses led by a Chinaman, two of them with my baggage,\ncame towards us in great haste. It seemed to me that the Chinese did\nnot know the baggage was mine, and I was glad to see that it was on the\nway to Darjeeling.\n\nThe sight of my baggage may have increased Tenba\u2019s suspicion. When it\nwas first packed in Thien-ho-thang, he thought it was going to be left\nin the care of the drug-store, but now, to his surprise, he found it\nwas going off somewhere. He shut his mouth, hung his head thoughtfully,\nand followed after me for a long while, till at last he suddenly broke\nthe silence.\n\n\u201cAs we are still some five or six days\u2019 journey from the Phari\nChallenge Gate,\u201d he suggested eagerly, yet with some hesitation, \u201cwould\nit not be better for us to take the other road? They are so very strict\nwith their enquiries at the gate that it will be hard for you to get\na proper passport, without a witness who can prove that you are only\ngoing on a short trip to India and that you will soon be back. Such a\nwitness must be taken from the village itself, and it requires quite\na lot of money to get one. You will also have to do some bribing to\nget a passport, and I very much doubt whether you have money enough\nfor the purpose. There is another way where I can get you through for\nabout half the money required at Phari, and if you will entrust the\nmatter to me I will take you to it. We must go by the secret path to\nKhamburong, from which point it will be easy to get into India; but it\nis a difficult road, and not altogether free from wild animals. If you\nare afraid of it, there is another route, through Bh\u016bt\u0101n, though, to be\nsure, it is infested with highwaymen. Still, I dare say you will get\nthrough unmolested, if you conceal your luggage and wear old clothes.\nIt is for you to choose.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean to tell me,\u201d I replied, \u201cthat I had better take some other\nroute than that of Phari on the ground of expense?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir,\u201d replied Tenba; \u201cit is nonsense to throw away money like\nthat.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how much money it will require,\u201d I replied deliberately,\n\u201cbut it is folly to risk one\u2019s life unnecessarily. If we go by the\nsecret path or through Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n the chances are nine to one that we\nlose our lives. It is better to lose money than one\u2019s life. So don\u2019t\ndream of going by a dangerous road, for there is no need for it. I am\nnot without money; how much do you want? I promised to give you seven\nyen fifty sen monthly, and I intend to give you a handsome present as\nwell for the work you undertake to do for me, but I shall not give you\nanything unless you stick to your bargain.\u201d\n\nThe whole of this suggestion originated, I am sure, from his brother\u2019s\nparting whisper, and I was glad to be able to dispel his suspicions,\nat least in some degree. Had I acted upon his suggestions, and given\nhim the money he asked for to take me round by the secret path,\nhis suspicions as to the shadiness of my character would have been\nconfirmed, and he would only have waited for me to fall asleep to steal\nmy luggage. It is impossible to trust oneself entirely to Tibetans,\nfor honesty is observed only among people who are well-known to one\nanother, and only so long as actions are done before the public gaze.\nSocial restraints are no sooner removed than the Tibetan is ready for\nany crime or enormity. One has to keep one\u2019s eyes constantly open in\ntravelling with such people.\n\nAfter a pleasant walk of about five miles along the mountain ridge,\nwe arrived at the village of Salu, where we stopped. We left at one\no\u2019clock the next morning (June 8th), much to the disgust of Tenba,\nwho was again horribly afraid of the journey through the dark, and\nproceeded southward towards the mountains. More accurately, we were\ngoing to the south-west, and after proceeding for some seven and a half\nmiles, reached a high plain. Eleven miles further, we came to a small\nlake with a river flowing to it. We kept along the east bank of the\nriver for another three and a half miles, which brought us to Lake Lham\ntso, a sheet of water connected with the lower lake by the river. We\ncould reach Phari by going round the lake on either side; but we chose\nto go along the left or eastern side.\n\nFrom this point the snowy peaks of the Him\u0101layas look like a row of\nbeautiful maidens sitting in a line on a bench, and wearing snow-white\nbonnets. They are not very high, but there are great numbers of peaks,\nthe lower slopes of which are covered in summer with grass, which would\nI believe make excellent pasture, especially along the borders of the\nlake where grass is profuse. We skirted the shores of the lake for\nabout twenty miles and at last reached the village of Lham-maye, on a\nbeautiful summer evening with the crescent moon shining faintly above\nus. It reminded me of home.\n\n[Illustration: NIGHT SCENE ON THE CHOMO-LHARI AND LHAM TSO.]\n\nWe stopped for the night in a large stone house, from which we had\na view towards the south over a great mountain known in Tibetan as\nChomo-Lhari (the mountain of the Mother Goddess). There are many\nmountains of this name in Tibet, where nearly every snowy peak is\naccounted sacred to the deity and is called by her name. Some say that\nthere are twenty-one Chomo-Lhari in Tibet, some give the number as\nthirty-two; but as nearly every large mountain goes by that name, the\nnumber must be far greater. This particular Chomo-Lhari sits, like the\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist deity Vairochana, with an air of great solemnity in one corner\nof the plain, with its head in the clouds; while the snowy peaks which\nrange themselves on either side of it, embracing the lake as it were\nwith their gigantic masses, look like the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva Avaloki\u1e6deshvara\n(representative of the great Mercy of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha) and Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva Manjushr\u012b\n(representative of the great knowledge of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha) offering before the\ngreat Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vairochana a sacrifice of silent praise. The whole scene\nseemed to me like a picture of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Heaven.\n\nOn this plateau, as on the great north-western plain of Tibet, neither\nwheat nor barley will grow, and the district is fit only for pasturage,\nand that only during the summer months. Lake Lham tso abounds in fish\nof all kinds, from seven to twelve inches in length, and it is much\nfrequented during the summer by fishermen who catch and dry the fish\nfor winter consumption. During the winter, when fishing is impossible,\nthey take to begging, and so the population around the Lake consists\nmainly of people who are half fishermen and half beggars.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIV.\n\nFive Gates to Pass.\n\n\nOn June 9th we were as usual early on horseback, and on our road\ntowards the south. Tenba seemed to fall back into his old suspicious\nmood. We were due to reach the first Challenge Gate on the following\nmorning, and he possibly feared that if anything leaked out he would be\narrested and put into jail. So he began his attacks on me again.\n\n\u201cThe other day,\u201d he said, \u201cyou said that there was no need for us\nto take the secret path, but there you were wrong. It is not nearly\nsuch difficult travelling as you suppose. I have been over it twice\nmyself, and the wild beasts can always be scared away by lighting\nfires. The officers at Phari are, as I have told you, both strict and\nextortionate. Fourteen or fifteen _yen_ ought to be enough, but you may\nhave to pay thirty or even fifty. You will be detained for three or\nfour days at the very least, possibly for a week. If you are anxious to\nget on quickly you had better take the secret path. Why waste money and\ntime?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d I replied, \u201cif the officials want to bleed me, I suppose they\nmust. I have no objection to being bled. It will be one way of making\nan offering to the Dalai Lama.\u201d\n\nAgain my feigned nonchalance cleared his mind of doubt, though it\nsurprised him not a little. But a short time later a most strange and\nweird thing took place. We had gone some five miles further, when\nsuddenly a band of ill-favored savage-looking men, four in number,\nstood in my path, made a profound bow, and begged me to do them a\nfavor.\n\n\u201cWe are on our way from the north,\u201d they said in excited tones, \u201cand\nwe were taking salt to sell at Phari. Last night, while our watchmen\nwere dozing, some robbers came up and drove off forty-five of our yaks.\nWe do not know whether they were Tibetans or Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101nese, but we intend\nto pursue them whoever they are, and we desire you to find out by\ndivination which way they have gone.\u201d\n\nThey had mistaken me for a soothsaying Tibetan priest, and there was\nnothing for me but to act up to the _r\u00f4le_. So I struck an attitude\nsuch as I had seen the native diviners assume, and said solemnly and\nwith decision: \u201cGo towards the north, as quickly as you can: it may be\nthat you will catch them before evening.\u201d\n\nSo they hurried off with great joy, leaving us to proceed on our\njourney to the village of Lham tso on the slope of Mount Chomo-Lhari.\nIt is a poor village, the soil of which is said to produce nothing that\nis eatable, and the inhabitants are generally unable to pay taxes.\n\nBh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n is an independent country under the nominal rule of a King,\nwhose power, however, does not go far over the various tribes within\nhis Kingdom. Each tribe pays a tribute to Tibet, directly, and not\nthrough the King\u2019s Government, and in return for the tribute receives a\npresent from the Tibetan authorities, so that it is really an exchange\nof presents rather than a payment of tribute.\n\nWe were now not very far from the first Challenge Gate. I had had to\ntell Tenba repeatedly to stick to the public road, but I was obliged to\nhave recourse to religious meditation before I could get him to act in\naccordance with my wishes.\n\nFortunately for my authority the men who had lost the yaks on the\nprevious day came up to us. They had recovered every one of their lost\nanimals, and had come to express their gratitude and to make me a\npresent of two tankas and a kata. This incident impressed my servant\ntremendously. He was now quite sure that I was a man gifted with\nextraordinary powers, and was more willing to acquiesce in my decision.\nThat evening I recited the Holy Texts until all had fallen asleep. I\nmyself went into a religious meditation-trance, by the light of which\nI decided to go by the public road.\n\nTravellers taking this road are subjected to a first and very strict\nexamination at the first gate-house at Phari. The first requisite is\na witness, who for a consideration swears that the traveller is going\ninto India on business for a short time, intending to come back. Then\na little palm-oil procures the passport, armed with which he goes on\nto the second gate at Chumbi Samba. Here he produces the passport and\ngoes on to the third gate at Pimbithang, where he is examined carefully\nby Chinese officials. The fourth gate is at Tomo Rinchen-gang at\nwhich the traveller receives a written certificate, which he has to\nshow on reaching the great gate of Nyatong Castle. Here he has to do\nmuch bribery, and is strictly cross-examined. If he comes through the\nordeal, he receives another paper which he has to take back to the\nfourth gate to be countersigned and _vis\u00e9d_. At the fourth gate he\ngets some more papers which he has to take to the Chinese officer at\nPimbithang, from whom he receives another document written in Chinese,\nwhich, together with the document received at the fourth gate, must be\ntaken once more to the gate house at Nyatong Castle. At length, on the\nproduction of all these documents, he is allowed to pass through the\ncastle gate into the village of Nyatong. Here he crosses a small bridge\non the other side of which are some Chinese sentinels, the commander of\nthese Chinese troops receiving from him the certificate which he has\nreceived at the third gate. The document from the fourth gate he takes\nwith him to his destination: its production on his return journey will\nenable him once more to be admitted to the sacred soil of Tibet.\n\nBetween Phari and Nyatong I came across a great number of friends and\nacquaintances--some of them were chance acquaintances, others who had\nknown me at Darjeeling. There was a lady missionary, Miss Annie R.\nTaylor, who was living with her servants near the Nyatong Gate, and\nthere were some ill-natured Tibetans who knew me so well that I was\nobliged to keep my eye constantly open. I might, I felt, have the good\nfortune to get into the gate-house, but whether I would come out again\nwas a more difficult problem. I could hardly expect to get through\nwithout meeting any of my friends. If I were detained for any length\nof time at Phari, there was the danger that I might be arrested by\nmessengers from Lhasa, though I knew that ten days must elapse before\nmy absence from that city would be detected. The period from April 20\nto April 30 (Tibetan style) is a period of confusion and bustle in\nLhasa, and during that period it was almost impossible that I should\nbe missed. The conclusion of the Panchen Lama\u2019s rites would leave the\nofficials with leisure on their hands: then my absence would be noted,\nand in the end they would send messengers after me.\n\nThe day on which I held my meditation was May 3, according to the\nTibetan calendar, and I concluded therefore that two or three days more\nmust elapse before my pursuers could reach me. But a delay of four or\nfive days at Phari might be a very critical question for me, and it was\njust possible that while we were kept cooling our heels in the last\nof the gate-houses, the Government messengers might arrive, and all\nour labour be lost. Yet it was very strange that, in spite of all the\ndifficulties of the way, it had been revealed to me in my meditation\nthat the public road was the one I ought to take.\n\nI had thought that the danger of the two roads was about equal; but I\nthought that I would rather be arrested on the public road and possibly\nbe treated with violence, than fall among wild beasts or robbers on the\nsecret path. I had moreover on several occasions tried the method of\nreligious meditation, and always with success. I determined therefore\nto follow the path that had been revealed to me.\n\nThat night, I slept but very little, in a sitting position, and early\nthe next morning I started off on horseback towards the great snowy\npeak of Chomo-Lhari. By going round the side of the mountain, and\ngradually proceeding south, after leaving lake Lham tso, we at last\nsaw far to the east and south, the great peak towering up above the\nclouds almost like a snowy image of sitting \u1e0charma. It was summer; yet\nthe weather was so exceedingly cold that no plants could grow there,\nexcept lichens of flattened kinds. By dint of whipping my horse all the\ntime, I tried very hard to reach Phari on that day; but as my servant\nwalked on foot and could not keep up with me, it was quite dark when\nwe came to the village of Chu-kya. It is on a very high plateau, and\nthe climate is exceedingly cold. The land here is not only high, but\nlarge snow mountains stand round it on both sides in one continuous row\nand it has been said to be the bleakest and most barren wilderness in\nthe Tsang district. At night unless dried yak dung can be collected,\npiled up and burned continually, the cold is almost intolerable.\nNotwithstanding that it was early summer, it was colder than our most\nrigorous winter in Japan: indeed it is the coldest, wildest, most\nbarren place between Lhasa and Darjeeling. The next morning, June 11th,\nwe took tea and started at four o\u2019clock, going about five miles south\nalong the river flowing through the wilderness. I came to the Phari\nZong just at sunrise.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXV.\n\nThe First Challenge Gate.\n\n\nPhari is a large castle standing on a hill, in form like the Dalai\nLama\u2019s palace in Lhasa, but not so elegant. All the houses standing\nat the foot of it looked somewhat black. Phari is more or less of a\nprosperous town, situated on the plain between the snow-mountains;\nand as all the commodities imported from Darjeeling and Calcutta or\nBombay come to this town, there is a custom-house for levying taxes.\nThe customs duties for imported goods amount to one-tenth, two-tenths,\nsometimes even four-tenths of the original cost according to their\nnature. Most of the duties are paid in kind; but in cases where this is\nimpossible, they are paid in money after the value has been reduced to\nthe corresponding silver coins.\n\nAs we went through the town we saw by the side of it a large pond.\nOn the road between the pond and the castle there were watchmen, who\nasked me where I was going to lodge. As I did not know where to stop,\nI requested them to find me a very good house, and when they saw my\ndress (which was suitable for a man of high position) they mistook\nme for a priest belonging to the nobility, and led me to a very good\nlodging-house.\n\nThere are no real inns or hotels in Tibet; what they call inns or\nhotels being no better than our Japanese Kichin-yado.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, Sir?\u201d asked the inn-keeper respectfully, thinking\nthat I was a high priest.\n\n\u201cI am going to Calcutta,\u201d replied I; \u201cand if circumstance allow me\nto worship at Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101, I will do so; but as I have some pressing\nbusiness, I am not sure whether I can or not.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your service, Sir?\u201d he asked again.\n\n\u201cMy service,\u201d said I: \u201cI have no need to tell it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere do you come from, my noble priest?\u201d said he, intending from my\nreply to conjecture my station in life.\n\n\u201cFrom Lhasa,\u201d replied I.\n\n\u201cWhich part of Lhasa, Sir?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom the Sera temple.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see,\u201d said he, with sparkling eyes, believing that he had found out\nmy secret; \u201cyou are an incarnation of the Lama.\u201d\n\nBefore I could say \u201cno,\u201d my servant, who was sitting near me, spoke to\nhim instantly: \u201cThe Dalai Lama\u2019s\u201d ... but before he could say more I\nstopped him with angry looks: \u201cYou must not talk nonsense; for it is no\nuse.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, what is your station in life, Sir,\u201d he asked me again, thinking\nthat it is very strange that I should conceal my social position, \u201care\nyou His Holiness\u2019s chaplain?\u201d \u201cNo\u201d said I, \u201cI am simply living in Sera\nand nothing else.\u201d\n\nThe more he wanted to know about me, the more I tried to keep him in\nthe dark, and I told him I could not comply with his desire.\n\n\u201cNo, that is not good,\u201d said the inn-keeper. \u201cThis is a very\ntroublesome place; your condition must be thoroughly investigated, your\ndwelling and what position you hold, and all doubtful points must be\nverified. You must also produce a witness that though you are going to\nIndia you are sure to return here again. To get a witness is not an\neasy task; and to do this, I must first hear everything about you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is so,\u201d said I, \u201cI shall make myself clear. I am a common\npriest from Sera studying dialects in the university department.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour looks belie you,\u201d said he. \u201cFrom your circumstance and clothes, I\nconjecture that you are either a high clergyman, or an incarnation of\nthe Lama.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may take me for such,\u201d said I, \u201centirely at your own convenience;\nbut I am not what you think. The truth of what I say will be plain if\nyou enquire about me at my convent.\u201d\n\n\u201cReally?\u201d said the inn-keeper, and withdrew, followed by the servant;\nthe house was small, and their conversation in the room opposite could\nbe distinctly heard.\n\n\u201cYour master has told me this and that,\u201d said the inn-keeper, \u201cyet I\nwant to know his true status, otherwise it will be impossible for him\nto get out of this place for ten or twenty days.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d replied the servant, \u201cI cannot tell you without making him\nangry.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn that case I shall do nothing more,\u201d said the inn-keeper, \u201cfor a\nmonth.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is in great haste,\u201d replied the servant, \u201cand he seems to have some\npressing business. We have travelled the whole night through.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it not strange,\u201d said the inn-keeper, talking very quickly, \u201cthat\nhe should travel the whole night through? I don\u2019t know what kind of\nbusiness he has; but at any rate he is not a common priest; who is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell then, I will tell you,\u201d replied the servant, \u201cif you will keep\nthe secret, and not say you have heard it from me. He is, in truth, the\nphysician of Sera.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed;\u201d said the host, \u201cis he the physician who restores the dead to\nlife?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, he is,\u201d replied the servant. \u201cI am not quite certain, but\naccording to the popular rumor, he went to the Grand Lama, and has\nbeen, I believe, appointed Court Physician. Properly speaking, I am\nnot the servant that always attends on him. To confess the truth, as I\ncame into his service only a little while before our departure, through\nthe introduction of a drug-store keeper with whom I am acquainted. I\ndon\u2019t know my master very well; but at any rate, his influence as a\nphysician in Lhasa is immense.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell then,\u201d said the inn-keeper, \u201cby as quick processes as possible,\nI must get him a passport within four or five days.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will be most embarrassing, if you cannot,\u201d replied my servant.\n\n\u201cBy the way,\u201d said the inn-keeper, with great earnestness, \u201ctalking\nabout the physician, I recall that, among my relatives, there is a\nmost distressing case. Would it not be possible for him to examine the\npatient?\u201d\n\nSaid my servant, with an air of disgust, \u201cHe never treats a patient.\nHe is obstinate and stiff-necked. On our way here if he had treated\npatients he would easily have made money, but notwithstanding my\nurgency, he always refused to do so.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you not be so kind,\u201d said the inn-keeper, requesting him\neagerly, \u201cas to intercede with him for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs the inn-keeper,\u201d said the servant, coming into my room somewhat\nperplexed, \u201cwas enquiring about your person in various ways, I made a\nslip of the tongue, and told him that you were a physician. Since I\nhave been told that there are many patients in this town, I request you\nto examine them during our detention here for four or five days.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I were to act as you ask me,\u201d answered I, with more or less anger\nin my voice, \u201cand examine patients, there would be no end to it; it is\nimpossible for me to see patients, as it would take too much time.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs it is a means to deliver your person from death,\u201d said the servant,\n\u201cI request you by all means to accept the suggestion.\u201d\n\nI ended by giving my consent, but with an air of great reluctance. The\ninn-keeper was delighted and hurried away; in a short time he returned\nwith another man, who took me to a black-looking house. All the houses\nhere look black; the reason is that they are made of turf cut up, like\nbricks, into sections of fourteen inches in length, seven inches in\nbreadth, and three inches in thickness, dried and consolidated. It is\nvery durable though not as hard as brick, and houses constructed of\nthis material only are liable to be blown down by the wind. In order to\nprotect them from falling, posts are inserted here and there. With the\nexception of one stone edifice, nearly all the buildings here are made\nof this material. It seems to me that, as the mountains are very far\noff and consequently great expense is required for the transportation\nof stone, turf is selected as the only material for the construction\nof houses. With the exception of one or two houses, all are only one\nstorey high, quite the reverse of what I found at Lhasa. In the case\nof a two-storied building, only the lower storey was made of piled\nstones, and the upper one of turf: this is owing to the danger of the\nsecond storey coming down. I was conducted to such a two-storied house,\nwhere I only felt the pulse of the patient, who after a little while\nfelt quite well again. The patient was the daughter of the house,\nand her disease, as in the first stage of either nervous trouble or\nconsumption, was a feeling of melancholy, which kept her always in her\nroom. Taking out a little quantity of medicine I gave it to her and\nalso suggested to her to go to the temple to worship the Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva\nAvaloki\u1e6deshvara day and night, and then went back to my lodging. After\na little while, the inn-keeper came to my room to express his thanks\nfor the trouble I had taken with the patient, who had greatly improved.\n\n\u201cIt is very hard here,\u201d said he in answering to my request for a\nwitness for the passport I wanted. \u201cWhat do you intend to do, Sir?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am greatly perplexed about it;\u201d answered I, \u201cbut anyhow I must\nget someone as my witness. I am ready to pay a proper amount of\nremuneration for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Government forbids us,\u201d he said, \u201cto act as witnesses for others,\nso I shall take you to a person who may act as your witness, and tell\nhim the circumstances. If he consents you need have no fear of being\nmade to pay an improper amount of money.\u201d\n\nHe then took me to the house of a man who was ready to become my\nwitness. This man was, contrary to my expectation, not a bad man; but\nit is customary for a Tibetan to extort money from anyone who wears\ngood clothes. Notwithstanding my forbidding my companions to talk of\nmy position and rank in Tibet, he told the other person that I was the\nvenerable physician of Sera, and the Dalai Lama\u2019s physician. As soon as\nhe heard this, he instantly consented to become my witness.\n\n\u201cNo remuneration is required,\u201d said the man, \u201cexcept a rupee and a\nhalf, necessary for the process. It may not be possible to get a\npassport at once. Whether the conference can be held to-morrow or the\nday after to-morrow, is not known; yet, I shall request them to hold it\nas quickly as possible. In that case, you may leave here within four\nor five days; but, as it will cause delay if a written petition is not\npresented to-day, I shall take you to the official at once.\u201d\n\nThe gate-house is constructed among the houses of the common people\nat the foot of the castle. There was no room in it for holding a\nconference. There were fourteen or fifteen officials; but I could not\ntell whether there were any superior officials there or not. In Tibet,\ndelay is the rule, and even though all the officials are present they\nnever hold a conference, and sometimes will delay matters for four,\nfive or even ten days. This is done merely to extort as much money\nas possible; the passport is given sooner or later according to the\namount of the bribe. On the advice of my witness, I handed in my\nwritten petition to the most dignified-looking man among the officials.\n\n\u201cOf course to-day,\u201d said he, \u201cno conference can be held; about the day\nafter to-morrow we shall open the conference; and on that occasion I\nshall give you an answer any way. You need not come here; send the\ninn-keeper to hear the result of our conference.\u201d The meaning was that,\nif I should send the inn-keeper on the appointed day, he would tell him\nthat a passport could not be given on that day, but that if I offered\nso much money, it would be given within five days. Even this is the\nresult of much bribery, as it would otherwise take eight or ten days to\nget it.\n\n\u201cAs I have urgent business,\u201d said I, \u201cwill it not be possible, by\nspecial permission, to obtain it to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d replied the official, \u201cwhat kind of business you have,\nbut there is no precedent for giving a passport on the day of arrival.\nWe can\u2019t deliver one now; you had better go home.\u201d\n\nAs the inn-keeper and the father of the daughter who received my\ntreatment were with me, they invited the official apart and told him\nthat I was the court-physician.\n\n\u201cOn what business,\u201d said the official, coming to me again, and with a\ngreat surprise, \u201care you going to India?\u201d\n\n\u201cOn some urgent business,\u201d replied I. \u201cIs it not possible for you to\nhave the conference to-morrow?\u201d\n\nI could see that though I waited till the day after to-morrow, it would\nbe quite impossible to get the passport, so I devised a scheme of my\nown to suit my purpose.\n\n\u201cIf I wait till to-morrow,\u201d said I in great excitement, \u201cgive me a note\nmentioning that though I arrived here on this date there was no time to\nopen the conference, and you detained me here three days.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo such precedent,\u201d said the chief official.\n\n\u201cI am not at all concerned about that,\u201d said I; \u201cI must get a note\nanyhow showing the cause of my detention here. If you want to know\nmy position and my secret business, you may find it out by proper\nprocesses from the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs in Lhasa.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the business in general?\u201d asked the chief official.\n\n\u201cI may say this much. There is in Lhasa a patient of great eminence;\nI am hurrying on the road to get the medicine for him. My going to\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101 is only a pretext; really, I am in great haste to get\nto Calcutta, and shall come back as soon as I get the medicine.\nIf I am detained here two or three days I cannot fulfil my great\nresponsibility; and if I must stay here for several days I must get a\nnote to explain my detention as a proof for a subsequent day.\u201d\n\n\u201cProperly speaking, what is your profession?\u201d said the official.\n\n\u201cAt present, I cannot make it clear to you,\u201d said I gravely, \u201cbut my\ngoing to India may reveal my profession. Besides that, as I have very\nimportant business, as I have told you again and again, I can hardly\nstay here even one day. Please give me a note showing that I arrived\nhere, and handed in the written petition for a passport, and mentioning\nmy detention for some days.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me! I never came across such a case,\u201d said the chief official,\ngreatly surprised, and turning pale. \u201cPlease wait for awhile. Having\nheard that you are a great physician, I request you, while you are\nwaiting, to treat a patient here; but as you are unable to stay here\nlong, we will not detain you longer. As for the passport, I can\u2019t\ndecide it myself, but we will consult together and as soon as we decide\nthe matter, we will let you know immediately.\u201d\n\nWhile I was treating the patient at his request at three o\u2019clock I was\ncalled out and went there again.\n\n\u201cTo-day,\u201d said the chief official, \u201cwe have broken our ordinary\nrule, and considering your private circumstances, we held a special\nconference and decided to give you a passport at four o\u2019clock.\u201d\n\nIn a very short time, about four o\u2019clock that day, I received my\npassport. Even Government merchants who have their passport already\nmust go through various consultations, for the examination of goods\nand other business, and are detained here for at least two or three\ndays. To my great joy, I got a passport the same day that I arrived. I\nmight have left that night, but as there was no house on the way I was\nobliged to stop till the next morning.\n\nDeparting early the next day, we gradually proceeded among the\nsouth-western mountains. The snow-mountains began to project here and\nthere, leaving between them only small portions of plateau. After going\nabout three miles, when we reached the top of the plateau, the Phari\nCastle was no more to be seen. On descending we found that last night\u2019s\nhail had moistened the ground very much, the snow-mountains around wore\nwhite garments, and the reflexion of the sun-light was so bright that\nit hurt my eyes. The temperature was exceedingly cold, and the whole\nscenery was lonesome and lifeless, only various kinds of short grasses\ngrowing here and there near the flowing water. The top of this plateau\nforms the watershed, dividing on the one side the basins that drain on\nto the Tibetan plain, and on the other to India.\n\nBeyond the steep ascent, and across the slope of the snow-mountain,\nthere is a very large stream. Its water was so clear and transparent\nthat all the pebbles at the bottom looked like white or black gems.\nI quenched my thirst with a palm-full of it; it was very cold and I\nfelt as if my hand were almost shrivelled up. As I had sent the horse\nback from Phari Castle, I could not cross the water on horseback.\nWhile I was hesitating about taking off my shoes and crossing the\ncold water, my servant carried the luggage to the other side and then\ntook me also. Although this stream did not differ in temperature\nfrom the neck-deep-stream I had often crossed in the north-western\nplain, I had now become accustomed to the easy and comfortable life in\nLhasa, so that I felt the cold almost unbearable. In times of distress\nand hardship, it is not impossible to stand the severest pains and\nsufferings; in times of ease and comfort, even the slightest discomfort\nseems almost intolerable.\n\nAfter crossing the brook and descending about two miles we came to\nthe foot of a snow-mountain where, among the scanty bushes, yellow,\nred, purple and light-pink flowers of various kinds were growing close\ntogether almost like a spreading carpet. As I never studied botany, I\ndo not know the names of these plants; anyhow they were very beautiful.\nI was attracted also by the surrounding scenery; the incessant change\nof the snow-mountains was almost as if a fairy riding on the clouds\nwere rambling about here and there. As I descended step by step, the\nrain fell quietly; and as the bodies of the snow-mountains gradually\ndisappeared, their snowy peaks presented a still finer aspect. Here and\nthere on both sides of the mountain path the dewdrops on the fragrant\nred and yellow azaleas and other flowers looked like mountain gems\narranged in rows.\n\nDescending still lower along the mountain brook, the bounding current\ndashed against the rock, and its spray splashing on our feet was\none of the most pleasurable sensations I ever experienced. To the\nunrefined Tibetans such a delightful prospect often becomes the cause\nof complaint. My servant grumbled at the rainy weather, and told me\nthat, if the sun were there, he might have changed the weather for us,\nso as to keep my luggage dry and make our lodging easy and comfortable.\nNo doubt it was a great trouble for him, but if he had had any love of\nnature, it would have diminished his trouble. As most of the Tibetans\nare born and die on the stony plains and bald mountains, they do not\nunderstand the idea of beauty in the least. Even in pictures, they have\nnone representing the scenery of their own country; or if they have,\ntheir pictures are imitations of the Chinese style. For that reason my\nservant was quite indifferent as to whether he was amongst mountains of\nincomparable beauty, or on a barren wilderness with yak\u2019s excrements\nscattered everywhere. I had entirely forgotten the discomfort of the\nrainy weather and my wet clothes in the pleasure of the scenery. If I\ncould have taken a sketch or a photograph of it for the entertainment\nof my countrymen, my gratification would have been almost infinite.\n\nAs I proceeded slowly, the picturesque view changed from time to time,\nand the rhododendrons, the famous plants of the Him\u0101laya mountains,\ngrowing here and there among old trees and rugged rocks, opened their\nbright flowers with indescribable beauty. Rare flowers and curious\nplants were bestrewn along both sides of the roaring brooks, the water\nof which was perfectly transparent and as cold as snow.\n\n[Illustration: BEAUTIFUL SCENERY IN THE TIBETAN HIMALAYAS.]\n\n\u201cShall I stay in this land and become a fairy in this fine scenery? If\nI could describe the unutterable beauty of this fairy land, how much\nshould I gratify my parents and countrymen!\u201d was the hearty expression\nof the pleasure I felt, while I was sitting on a rock and enjoying the\nwhole scene before me. Whenever I recollect the pleasure of that hour\nI feel as if I had been free from the cares of the dusty world.\n\nThe rain was falling furiously, and there was no place to get shelter\nor to cook our food. Having heard that a little further on there was a\ncave near a brook, we hurried there, and kindled a fire by collecting\nhalf-decayed branches of trees soaked with rain. We made tea, and\nafter finishing our meal gradually descended, and came to the village\nof Dakarpo (the village of the white rock). That day we walked\ntwenty miles. The place can hardly be called a village. It is only a\nsmall barracks, with sixteen soldiers, and one solitary house where a\nnumber of soldiers\u2019 wives were living at the side of the barracks. A\nlarge white rock sixty yards in height stands out prominently. I did\nnot determine its nature; but it was an exceedingly white rock partly\ncovered with mosses and lichens.\n\nThat night I stopped in the barracks. The duty of these soldiers did\nnot oblige them to examine the passports of travellers.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVI.\n\nThe Second and Third Challenge Gates.\n\n\nThis station serves as a place for the transmission of letters between\nPhari castle and the castle of Choeten Karpo; that is, a station where\nthe letters received from one place can be handed over to the other.\nIn Tibet, there is no more perfect plan than this for the transmission\nof letters. In other places, for example, by going twenty or thirty\nmiles letters can be handed in for transmission. Even this is only for\nletters from the Government to the local office, and not for private\ncorrespondence. Consequently in the case of the transmission of private\nletters, it must be done either by some one in the house or by some\nhired man.\n\nThat night I was allowed to sleep in a comfortable bed. It was the\nfirst time since my departure from India that I lay on a European\nbed. As it was in the rainy season, the next day was also rainy; but\nhaving no necessity to stay there, in spite of my servant\u2019s murmurs, we\nstarted at five o\u2019clock in the morning. This time we got into a very\nlonely forest, where numerous trees of enormous size, requiring three\nor four men to embrace them, were stretching up so close together that\nthe sun could not penetrate. Although this is a part of the Tibetan\ndominion, yet they could not get timber from here on account of the\nlack of means of transportation. All the large rivers run towards the\nsouth; and in such a country as Tibet, where there is no good means\nof transportation, it is natural to leave even such splendid and\nexhaustless forests just as they are. In this forest of about four\nmiles in circumference, there is level ground and a river flowing from\na peak of the Phari in Tibet. This river begins with a very narrow\nstream, but after receiving several small brooks and rivulets it\nbecomes larger and wider as it goes lower and lower down towards the\nplains. After walking about six miles from Dakarpo, we arrived at the\ncastle of Choeten Karpo.\n\nThis Choeten Karpo is not mentioned in any of the works of European\nauthors that I have read. As this castle is of very recent\nconstruction, it is possibly not known to foreigners. It is occupied\nby two or three hundred Chinese soldiers. It seemed that this place\nwas not well-known to the chief local official of Darjeeling; for he\nenquired of me particularly, when I arrived at Darjeeling, about the\ncastle, its condition and the number of soldiers stationed there.\n\n\u201cIt must be well-known to you,\u201d said I, \u201cwhy should you ask me\nquestions like that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOur secret-service men cannot go there,\u201d replied he, \u201cit is utterly\nimpossible for us to know anything about it.\u201d\n\nI am not sure whether what he said was true or not; but it is a fact\nthat even Tibetans living in Darjeeling seem not to know of the\nexistence of such a castle. The Tibetans are shrewd in money-saving,\nbut at the same time they are so entirely careless that though they\nsee the gate of a castle, they never enquire how many soldiers are\nstationed there, what they are doing, and for what purpose they have\nbeen provided.\n\nThere is a passage right under the castle, which I entered without\nmeeting with any rudeness. In it there are the lodgings of the Chinese\nsoldiers, three hundred in number. Though the town is among the\nmountains it is very prosperous. Some of the soldiers are engaged in\nhair-dressing, others are selling vermicelli and toilet articles, or\nmaking _tofu_ (a soft cream-like substance made from bean-curd). Most\nof them have wives and children, and are engaged in some suitable\noccupation. The barrack itself is the town and the soldiers in it are\nmoved here every half-year from Shigatze or Gyangtze. They not only\nreceive a salary from the Chinese Government, but also a sum of money\nfrom the Tibetan Government; consequently they live fairly well on\ntheir double income.\n\nOn ordering our dinner on our arrival at the barracks in this\nsoldier-town, we were abundantly served with boiled rice and various\nother foods cooked in Chinese style. As the feast principally consisted\nof pork and yak flesh, my servant ate with gusto. I did not eat the\nmeat, and asked for salted vegetables instead. This was the first time\non the journey that I enjoyed pickles such as I had had in Japan.\n\nThe castle is strongly constructed, and there are two gates at the\ncentre of a large stone wall which extends to the south along the\nside of the mountain. On the door of the gate a notice is posted up\nannouncing the daily opening from six o\u2019clock in the morning to the\nsame time in the afternoon. I heard from the neighboring people that\nexcept when the gate is opened on the report of a soldier for some\nurgent need, the notice is observed with strict accuracy, since the\npeople at night might be in danger of their lives from the attacks of\nwild animals.\n\nWe then passed a small bridge, and after ascending about half a mile,\nand also descending through a forest along a river, we came out on a\nplain of half a mile in circumference, where beautiful flowers carpeted\nthe ground, and many horses were grazing.\n\nAfter leaving the plain and passing the bridge we went about half\na mile, and arrived at the bridge of Chumbi. It is a large bridge\ntwenty-five yards long and two yards wide, having no railing. At\nthe eastern end of it stands a gate, in front of which there is a\nsmall house where a number of soldiers keep watch. Passports have to\nbe handed to these soldiers, and if a man is considered by them a\nsuspicious person, he is sure to be sent back; also it is said that\nwithout offering bribes one cannot pass through safely.\n\nAs soon as I reached the gate, the soldiers asked me where I was going.\nAs my servant had shown my passport to the chief official, he directed\nthe inferior officials to admit me without any enquiry. This was owing\nto the fact that it was said in the passport that no impolite treatment\nwas to be accorded to the bearer. I had now passed through two\nguard-houses without the least hindrance, and must proceed to try for\nthe third. For the new trial I felt a great confidence arising from my\nstrong devotion, as I had passed my first trial with success according\nto the revelation which I had received in religious meditation.\n\nAfter descending along a river for two miles and a half we arrived at\nthe barracks of Pimbithang, the third guard-house. This day the rain\nfell in abundance, and we were so tired that we stopped in a building\nattached to the barracks. As I heard that there was no necessity\nfor me to be examined here on the next day, I felt I must go to\nTomo-Rinchen-gang, in order to obtain a note from the chief official of\nthe guard-house. The note from the last guard-house being taken as a\nproof of our respectability, we were allowed to pass through the gate\nof Nyatong castle guarded by Chinese; and after enquiring about and\nreceiving a note from the chief of the castle, the fifth guard-house,\nI was obliged to return to Pimbithang again. As I heard at Pimbithang\nthat a note can be given only between eleven and half-past eleven\no\u2019clock, I had to go to Tomo-Rinchen-gang early the next day; but it\nseemed almost impossible to finish the matter within one day; it would\ncertainly require three or four days to do so.\n\nIf I did nothing at this crisis, I should not only be in the ordinary\ndanger of being overtaken by a pursuer, but as the information to catch\nsuch and such a man comes direct to Nyatong and may arrive there at\nall hours of the night, it might easily be utterly impossible for me\nto accomplish my object; so I tried to devise means of escaping the\nimpending danger and avoiding trouble. Just at that time the wife of\nthe chief of Pimbithang (a Chinese military officer) came in to receive\nmedical treatment from me. Who brought her to me, and on account of\nwhat statement she came to me, I do not know. She was a Tibetan woman,\nlong suffering from hysteria. She was a rare beauty, and had almost\nunlimited influence over her husband. Military officers are of course\nentrusted with power to command soldiers; yet in their families, the\nwives are often the officers and their husbands are ready to obey their\ncommand like private soldiers. So much I was told by a soldier, who\nunderstood that his chief officer was a greatly henpecked husband.\n\nAs she took the trouble to come to me, I examined this patient as\nshe desired. After describing the nature of her disease and the care\nit needed, I gave her the medicine which seemed most suitable. It\ngratified her so much that she asked me to receive something as a token\nof thanks for my having served her. Hearing that I had no desire to\ntake anything from her, she returned home and then came back again\nbringing with her something wrapped in paper, but this I refused to\nreceive. I told her that as I was to get a passport, I had to go to\nNyatong first, to get a certificate to be presented to the guard-house\nhere.\n\nThen I said to her:\n\n\u201cWill you be so kind as to secure the immediate issue of a passport\nfrom the chief officer?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat can be easily done,\u201d replied she; \u201cthough my husband is strict,\nand never delivers a passport even in case of his own men going out\nexcept from eleven to half past eleven o\u2019clock, I will be responsible\nfor it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my request,\u201d said I, returning the present in spite of her\nstrong objection to receive it; \u201cand I shall see you again when I\nreturn.\u201d\n\nThanking me again and again for my medical treatment, she returned home\nwith great joy. On the morrow if things in Pimbithang should come out\nas smoothly and favorably as I wished, everything in Nyatong would be\ndone easily, for the arrangements for it were now made. But I was very\nanxious about matters at Pimbithang, and when I asked the soldier\u2019s\nwife where I stopped whether all things would come out as I hoped, I\nwas told that in spite of her husband\u2019s refusal they certainly would,\nfor she had almost unlimited power over her husband.\n\nThe next day, June 14th, at three o\u2019clock in the morning, in\nspite of rain, I left and walked about two miles and arrived at\nTomo-Rinchen-gang. Even then day had not dawned and no one was astir,\nand so I rested a while, the door of every house being fast closed.\nHappily, the rain presently stopped, and while I stood still near a\nclosed shop doors began to be opened here and there. I asked the people\nwhere the guard-house was, and was told that it stood at the end of the\nvillage.\n\nThe guard-house is a very poor one, having no gate, only a small room\nin which to keep watch. I went there just at the time when the keeper\nwas getting out of bed.\n\nTelling the keeper my present circumstances, I asked for a note with\nwhich I could obtain a passport from the other guard-house. The keeper\ngrumbled out that there had been no previous example of such a request.\nMy servant let slip that his master was a physician in Sera. As soon as\nthe keeper heard this, he asked the servant whether his master was the\nfamous physician of the Dalai Lama or not. When I answered him vaguely\nand mysteriously as most of the Tibetan gentlemen do, he believed me\nimmediately and gave me a note more readily than I expected.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVII.\n\nThe Fourth and Fifth Challenge Gates.\n\n\nLeaving the village and walking about a mile, I climbed up step by step\nalongside a broad river among the south-western mountains. There were\nno tall trees, only here and there some small dwarf specimens and wheat\ngrowing in poor soil. Going on about a mile farther there is a castle\nwhich is the largest and last one of the three. The number of soldiers\nstationed in this castle is two hundred; whereas in Pimbithang and\nChoeten Karpo the number is respectively one hundred and two hundred,\naltogether making five hundred in number. It is said that about fifty\nsoldiers are sometimes sent to Pimbithang. In this soldier\u2019s town,\nas in the case of Choeten Karpo and Pimbithang, many of the men are\nengaged in various trades. Passing through the town, there is a very\nlarge gate by the side of which two soldiers were watching. I showed\nthe note to them, and after fixing a seal on it, they readily allowed\nme to pass through. Walking a little further from the gate I saw the\nfifth guard-house where lay the greatest danger to my undertaking.\n\nThe reason why it was specially dangerous to me was the number of\npeople who knew me. Of course there was no man who would act as my\nenemy, but as most of the Tibetans are shrewd money-savers, it was not\ncertain that those who knew me would not tell my nationality to the\nTibetan officials and thereby make a little money. There had been two\nEnglish people there; one of whom was Miss Taylor, a missionary, who,\nas I said before, tried to get into Tibet from China. Proceeding as\nfar as Nakchukha from which the distance to Lhasa is ten days\u2019 journey\nby horse, and fifteen or twenty days\u2019 journey by walking, she was not\nallowed to go any further. Every one can go to Nakchukha, which forms\nthe boundary between China and Tibet, but it is hard to step into\nthe Dalai Lama\u2019s dominion. Miss Taylor returned with the object of\nconverting the Tibetan people, and now lives at the town of Nyatong,\nwhich by some is called Yatung.\n\nAs it is the boundary between British India and Tibet, there are many\nTibetans and British officials there. Among those I knew very well were\nthe Englishmen and their Secretaries hired by the Chinese Government\nto examine both import and export goods; besides there are three or\nfour Tibetans from Darjeeling. If I had been detected by these men,\nthere was no way of escape for me; but committing myself to the will of\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, I proceeded rapidly onwards with firm steps. There were about\nten houses; the large and elegant ones were occupied by officials,\nmissionaries, or Chinese.\n\nOpposite the house of the missionary stands the mansion of a man known\nby the official name Chyi Kyab (Superior), his personal name being\nSardar Dargye. Sardar means coolie-leader, Dargye his personal name.\nIn Darjeeling there are \u1e0dan\u1e0diwala or mountain palanquin carriers,\nso-called from the rudest and simplest form of palanquin used in\nmountain travel, which consists essentially of a basket carried by\nmeans of a pole. This man was originally the chief of these coolies,\nand the custom of this rascal was to deceive and threaten men and\nextort money by violence. As I heard that all in Darjeeling had\nsuffered from his cruel treatment and reproached him vigorously, he\nmust be a very bad man. Now I had to meet this man.\n\nThis upstart, who had been a coolie chief, being in Tibet appointed\nto high rank by the Dalai Lama, is invested with such great power\nand influence that he wears a hat adorned with coral beads. Like\nall upstarts, his speech is more arrogant than that of a Minister\nPresident in Lhasa, and it was thought almost certain that if I\nshould call at his mansion to see him, I should be driven out from his\ngate. Just in front of his house stood an elegant and well arranged\nhouse containing various chambers of convenient sizes, inhabited by\nEuropeans. In it many servants were busily engaged in working here and\nthere. Notwithstanding there were some among them who knew me, I passed\nby without seeing them. We went to Dargye\u2019s mansion, but we were not\nallowed to go in. However one man came out, and looked at me awhile.\n\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d asked the man from my servant in a whisper.\n\nNo sooner did the servant utter the words: \u201cHe is the physician of\nSera,\u201d than \u201cOh!\u201d said the man, \u201cis he the famous physician of Sera?\nSome say he is coming to this place.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is an urgent call for my master,\u201d said the servant, \u201cwe can\u2019t\nlose even a day\u2019s time. At Phari Castle we received our passport on the\nday of our arrival; give us the note as quickly as possible.\u201d\n\nAs I was thinking that the servant for the most part had done well, the\nman said \u201cStep this way,\u201d and happily we were received.\n\nThe supervisor has two wives: one he married when he was coolie-chief,\nand the other after appointment as a supervisor.\n\nTelling him the various circumstances of my journey, I requested him to\ngive me a note allowing me to pass out of the guard-house.\n\n\u201cTell me the whole truth of your business,\u201d said the supervisor gravely.\n\n\u201cI must go to Calcutta on secret business,\u201d said I sternly, \u201cconcerning\nthe inner chamber of the Dalai Lama\u2019s palace. It is so urgent that\nif possible I wish to return within twenty days; but if you compel\nme to spend more time on the way, you must give me a certificate\nverifying my excuse to show when I return to Lhasa.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is my duty,\u201d persisted he, \u201cI must hear the nature of the secret\nbusiness.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you the right to hear,\u201d said I gravely and with dignity, \u201cthe\nsecret of the Prime Minister? Furthermore, have you the right to hear\nthe secret which no one knows but the Dalai Lama? If you compel me\npositively, I shall tell you the secret of my business; but you must\ngive me a certificate signed and sealed with the chief\u2019s stamp, and\nassume the responsibility for my having told the secret. If you do so\nand keep all men at a distance, I shall lay open before you the whole\nof the Dalai Lama\u2019s secret.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it be so,\u201d said he, giving me a note addressed to\nTomo-Rinchen-gang, \u201cI shall not ask to hear it. As it is a service of\nsuch great importance that it is impossible to detain you even a day,\nI shall arrange to get the passport as quickly as possible. I shall\nwrite a note which you may send by your servant to Tomo-Rinchen-gang.\nYou will receive two copies of the note, which again must be taken to\nthe Chinese military officer at Pimbithang to get a copy of the note\nthere. By showing the one received from Pimbithang, you may pass this\nguard-house without any trouble.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: PASSPORT IN TIBETAN FOR THE AUTHOR\u2019S RETURN TO TIBET IN\nTHE FUTURE.]\n\nAs I previously said, one of the two copies of notes obtained from\nTomo-Rinchen-gang is written in Chinese, and the other in Tibetan.\nThe one written in Chinese is to be taken to Pimbithang, the third\nguard-house, and handed in as a certificate to the Chinese military\nofficer there; while the other one, as shown in the picture, written\nin Tibetan letters, is my return certificate which, when I re-enter,\nmust be handed to the supervisor of the fifth guard-house, serving as a\ntestimonial for the purpose of receiving a new passport there. But as I\nwent out of Tibet and have not yet returned, this return certificate\nremains in my hands as a memento.\n\nTo get a note from the supervisor Dargye was not an easy task. This man\nhas a bad reputation as a taker of bribes. His personal appearance is\ndisgusting. When I told him that I had secret business from the Dalai\nLama, he instantly prostrated himself and bowed low again and again. I\nwas surprised at his entire change of manner; but as I believe that,\nin every country, those who are haughty to their inferiors are also\nservile to their superiors and are usually hateful knaves, my feeling\nwas only deepened by the sudden change.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVIII.\n\nThe Final Gate Passed.\n\n\nI handed over to my servant the note received from the supervisor of\nthe fifth guard-house.\n\n\u201cTake the note to Tomo-Rinchen-gang,\u201d said I to the servant privately;\n\u201cyou must get two notes there instead; but in Pimbithang, if it\nrequires a long time to get one, go to the wife of the Chinese military\nofficer, and rely on her; she will manage the matter exactly as we\nwant.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat he gave it so soon,\u201d said he, somewhat surprised, \u201cwas almost\nlike a dream. If you do not go with me, I shall never get consent from\nTomo-Rinchen-gang.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought so too,\u201d said I, \u201cbut when I told the supervisor so, he told\nme that as everything is mentioned in this note, it is certain that the\nChief of Tomo-Rinchen-gang will write a note to be sent to Pimbithang.\nHe also said that I need not go there but should send the servant\nthere, and myself wait here.\u201d\n\nThe servant then, after receiving from me a note stamped with the seal\nof the supervisor, went back to Tomo-Rinchen-gang as fast as he could.\nOn arriving there, he presented the note to the chief, and waited for\na while. As the special instruction from the supervisor was mentioned\non it, he at once made the two copies and gave them to the servant,\nwho took them, and again went back two miles further to Pimbithang, to\nreceive one written in Chinese characters.\n\nAs the time was about half past one when the servant arrived there,\nthe keeper declined to give him a note. Consequently, according to my\ninstructions, he went to the house of the Chinese military officer\nand requested his wife to obtain the immediate delivery of the note\nhe needed. She, without any hesitation, ran to the guard-house to see\nher husband, and told him to give it at once. When he told her that\nit was too late to give one and that he must wait till the next day,\nshe lost her temper and exposed the true character of a Tibetan woman.\nWhereupon, the henpecked husband yielded to her demands and gave a\nnote to the servant, who came back with it about four o\u2019clock in the\nafternoon.\n\nRain was falling that day, and though I had thought of stopping a night\nthere, it was better for us to depart if possible. If we left there and\nwalked about half a day we should enter British India.\n\n\u201cTo-day is rainy and walking is hard,\u201d said the supervisor, \u201cand\nfurthermore, the distance from here to Nakthang is somewhat great,\nthere being no inn on the way. But if you walk for about eight miles,\nthere is one house; and it would be a good plan for you to stop there\nto-night. By doing so, to-morrow you may easily go to Nakthang; but if\nnot, even if you start from here at three o\u2019clock in the morning, it\nwould be impossible to get there; I advise you therefore, though it is\ntroublesome, to start from here to-day, since you have very important\nbusiness to perform.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am very tired to-day,\u201d said I, \u201cso I should like to stop here\nto-night. Is it possible for me to arrive at Nakthang if I leave\nto-morrow?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is utterly impossible,\u201d replied the supervisor somewhat gravely.\n\n\u201cHow about going there?\u201d asked I of the servant.\n\n\u201cIt is almost impossible for me to walk,\u201d replied the servant, who was\nweary and exhausted.\n\n\u201cAs the servant of a master who has urgent business,\u201d said the\nsupervisor, in a somewhat scolding tone of voice, \u201cit is extremely rude\nand impolite to say it is impossible to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cPardon me,\u201d replied the servant shrinking almost like a rat among\ncats, \u201cyou are right, Sir.\u201d\n\nFearing that to stay that night might perhaps become the source of\nsubsequent evils, I bade farewell to the supervisor and departed.\n\n[Illustration: THE FORTRESS OF NYATONG.]\n\nThe Nyatong castle, as shown in the picture, is strong and solid in\nstructure, yet also magnificent in appearance. Leaving the post-town\nNyatong and descending a little there is a river across which is a\nbridge two yards in width. After passing the small bridge and going on\na little, there is a solitary house near which are stationed a number\nof Chinese soldiers. I handed over the passport written in Chinese,\nwhich I had received at Pimbithang. One of the soldiers examined it\ncarefully and permitted us to pass through. As we gradually ascended\nthe mountain, the rain fell furiously and the ascent became very steep.\nThe road hereabouts is pretty good, though the place forms the boundary\nof Tibet, and does not belong to the British dominion. Most Englishmen\nwho are at present in Nyatong live on land rented from Tibet.\n\nAscending about two miles up the steep slope thickly grown with trees,\nit became dark, and then the servant commenced to complain.\n\n\u201cThere are a great many lodging houses,\u201d he grumbled \u201cbesides the\nsupervisor\u2019s. Can we not lodge somewhere to get out of such rain? I\ncan\u2019t move a step on account of the heavy luggage.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will carry half of your burden,\u201d said I, somewhat moved by his\ndifficulties. I consoled him with great trouble and made him move\non till eight o\u2019clock in the evening; even then the distance to the\nsolitary house was two miles more and he told me that he was unable\nto move even a step. Just at that point a small tent was pitched, and\nsomeone had a fire inside. Around the tent many mules were grazing, for\nmules are used by the people of Tomo-Rinchen-gang to convey wool to\nKalenpong. I stepped into the tent and asked the man inside to lodge\nus. He declined my request, saying that the five of his party could\nhardly sleep in the small tent and no space was left for us too. But\nas my servant sat down on the ground and would not move, we at last\nsucceeded in getting into the small tent.\n\nIt was so small in extent that we could not lie down and I was obliged\nto sit upright the whole night. While thus meditating I was almost\noverwhelmed by my feelings.\n\nTo pass through that succession of five strict and vigilant\nguard-houses in only three days must have been miraculous. Even a\nTibetan merchant accustomed to travel through there many times is\nobliged to spend at least seven or eight days in passing them. In\nspite of the rain, too, to pass through them safely in three days\nand come to that place--it seemed indeed miraculous. No chief of any\nguard-house had had any suspicion about me; even that shrewd and\npenetrating supervisor who had lived in India for twenty years of\ntoil and hardship, not only did not suspect my mind and motive, but\nrefrained from argument, bowed his head low, and sent me out the same\nday I arrived. This must have been entirely owing to the grace of\nthe protection of our Holy Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha; shedding tears of gratitude\non account of it, I read the sacred books and passed the whole night\nwithout sleeping.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIX.\n\nGood-bye, Tibet!\n\n\nThe whole distance through which I had passed from Darjeeling to\nLhasa was about two thousand four hundred and ninety miles. In the\nfirst place, I started from Darjeeling on the 5th of January, in the\n32nd year of Meiji, and passing through Calcutta by railway, came to\nSegauli; hence also I travelled on foot, and on the 5th of February\narrived at K\u0101tm\u0101ndu. The distance between Segauli and K\u0101tm\u0101ndu was\nabout a hundred and fifteen miles. Leaving there on the 7th of March,\non the 11th of the same month I came to Pokhra. I left there on the\n14th of the same month and on the 16th of April reached Lo Tsarang\nat the distance of about eighteen miles from the boundary of Tibet.\nFrom K\u0101tm\u0101ndu to here, I walked about two hundred and sixty miles.\nStaying a year there, on the 6th of April of the next year, I left\nthere and for the convenience of entering Tibet, returning a little,\nI came to a mountain village Malba, situated on the eastern valley of\nMount Dhavalagiri. I started from this village on the 12th of June,\nand passing half way up north of Mount Dhavalagiri at the height of\nnineteen thousand feet, I proceeded to the north-western plain; and on\nJuly 4th I reached the mountain gorge of the province of Hor-to-sho\nin the north-western plain of Tibet. The distance from Tsarang to\nMalba is about seventy miles, and that from Malba to the Province of\nHor-to-sho one hundred and fifty-five miles. In these places, as I\nhad to pass through thickets and round gorges, I walked more than the\nactual distance. On December 5th I came to the temple of Tashi Lhunpo,\nand after staying there a few days, departed. On the 21st of March,\nin the 34th year of Meiji, just two years and three months after the\ndeparture from Darjeeling, I arrived at the Temple of Sera in Lhasa. As\nI took roundabout roads now and then from Hor-tosho to Lhasa I walked\nabout one thousand two hundred and fifty miles.\n\nWhen I got up the next morning I found that some fuel had been\ncollected during the night, so I boiled water and made some tea, and\nat the same time we ate parched wheat-flour, and then departed. That\nday, as we thought it might be impossible to get parched wheat-flour\non the way, we ate plenty of it before starting, and commenced to\nclimb up the mountain. The rain ceased, and the weather was very fine;\nwe climbed up three miles and came to a place covered with bushes\nof various kinds. Ascending half a mile further, there was a lonely\nhouse. It is placed there to detain men of suspicious character coming\nfrom Darjeeling, while word is sent to the castle of Nyatong. In that\nhouse there was a man and also an old woman. I was told that he went\nbackwards and forwards between the place and Kalenpong on some sort of\ncommercial business. I drank tea there, and as after ascending the high\nand steep mountain I was somewhat hungry, I ate parched wheat-flour,\nand again resumed the climb. After ascending about a mile among very\nshort dwarf trees, the path came out upon a snow-mountain called by\nthe name of Jelep-la or Jela. Before advancing over the snow, looking\ntowards the north-eastern sky, across the wide, dark plain appearing\nand disappearing in the clouds, where stands Lhasa from which I had\ndeparted, I bade farewell to Tibet. There is a lake there the water of\nwhich was completely frozen over. While ascending, I looked down and\nsaw an immense volume of cloud rising from a vast wide plain moving to\nand fro in a wide forest, and it was indeed beautiful. On the upper\npart of it, rhododendron flowers in full bloom were to be seen. Walking\nfor a mile over the snow, I reached the summit which forms the real\nboundary of Tibet and British India; a step on the other side of the\nmountain, the people are not governed by Tibetan law.\n\n[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO THE SNOWY JELA-PEAK.]\n\nSince I had reached the boundary of Tibet, or Tsarang, in the Himalayan\nrange, three years had elapsed, and at last I had safely arrived in a\ncountry where free communications are possible. The feeling that my\nsafe arrival in this country is entirely owing to the protecting power\nof the Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha was further deepened, and I worshipped Him with zeal\nand earnestness. Then I composed _utas_, as follows:\n\n O Shakyamuni, Thou, my refuge dear!\n Till now Thy guardian shield has guarded me\n Through many devious dangerous paths and wilds\n And snowy plateaux threatening instant deaths.\n My grateful, fervent heart shall ever thrill\n With deathless Dharma\u2019s virtues taught by Thee.\n In all my wanderings o\u2019er the Himalayan range,\n On all my paths beset with perils great,\n The path of Dharma is the path for me.\n Thus strengthened by the purest Dharma\u2019s strength\n Traversed have I these unknown wilds, secure,\n And holiest Saints and Sanghas have I met.\n Fore\u2019er in Thee alone, O Lord, I live.\n\nAt that time, at the summit of the mountain, I felt extremely cold; but\nthat feeling of coldness was entirely forgotten in the strong feeling\nof gratitude for the grace of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, in the joy felt for the safe\npassing of the manifold guard-houses. When I came to myself, I was\nindeed very cold, but happily the day was bright and sunny, so that I\nfelt warmth more or less even among such snowy mountains. Descending\nabout a mile, I came upon a very good road three feet in width and\npaved with stones. It was indeed a contrast, for even the idea of such\na one is quite unknown in Tibet.\n\nIt was said that the year I came there especially large hailstones\nfell. Hailstones are notable in these regions of snow-mountains, and\nthe hail I saw in Nep\u0101l was very large. I dug out some imbedded in the\nsnow, and found many as large as a pigeon\u2019s egg; while it was said that\nat the time of falling they must have been as large as a hen\u2019s egg.\n\nIt is hardly credible that such large stones come down like rain;\nbut I believe it to be true from actually seeing some imbedded ones\nas large as pigeon\u2019s eggs. Many people coming from Darjeeling and\nTomo-Rinchen-gang for trade declare that what I have said about the\nsize of a hailstone is true. It is not seldom here that when hailstones\nfall in abundance, the passage is stopped even for a month or more.\n\nNow leaving the snowy part of the mountain and descending two miles,\nwe again walked up an ascent of three miles; and descending still\nthree miles more, we arrived at the post-town of Naktang. There were\nabout twenty houses here, which, a long time ago, were constructed as\nbarracks for a soldier\u2019s station, the large ones are at present used\nas store-houses for woollen goods. As it rained that day, the road was\nvery bad, and I lodged there that night.\n\nIn spite of rain falling furiously, we started on June 16th at five\no\u2019clock, and descending through a luxuriant forest for thirteen miles,\nwe arrived at Lingtam and stopped there. If the weather had been fine,\nwe could have gone further that day; but it was rainy all the day,\nand in addition to this, after leaving the Tibetan domain, we had no\nnecessity for being in a great hurry; and the consequence of slow and\nloitering steps was that we were obliged to stop there. The next day\nwe again descended for about four miles and came to a place where we\nfelt extreme heat which by contrast was almost unbearable. I took\noff my clothing and, giving it to the servant, walked on only in an\nunderdress; still abundant perspiration moistened my whole body. Going\nup toward the south-west, we came to Tsom-Takba and stopped there, as\nthe weather was still rainy. The next day, in spite of rain, we walked\nthree miles, and passing over a bridge, we went another three miles,\nand stopped in the town of Boetong.\n\nThis town lies in the centre of a rich and fertile plain among the\nHim\u0101laya Mountains. Many people of Nep\u0101l have immigrated to the\nneighborhood of this town, and in addition to the old cultivated\nfields, they have added many rice-fields here and there. Though it is\nunder the dominion of England, and taxes are paid to the Government of\nBritish India, most of the people are Nep\u0101lese, besides a small number\nof Sikkim people. Along the line of this road the most delightful thing\nI saw was the planting of rice-fields in the rain. Though most of the\nIndian rice is inferior and consequently disagreeable to the taste, yet\nthat produced in this part of the Him\u0101laya Mountains is not different\nfrom our Japanese rice either in quality or lustre. This Indian rice,\nwhen boiled, gives a very agreeable smell and is very sweet to eat. For\nthe cultivation of it they were planting a rice-field that rainy day.\n\nIn this town many Europeans are living, and most of them are engaged\nin farming. It is a very flourishing post-town containing a fine\npost-office, a Roman Catholic Church, and a school for poor people\nconnected with it. As I walked through the town and came right under\nthe building of the post-office, a Tibetan gentleman, standing on a\nveranda and looking at the people passing by, turned his face and\nstared at me with great surprise.\n\n\u201cCome in, Sir,\u201d said he, calling out to me suddenly in a loud voice.\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d replied I, \u201cI am too busy to enter. I am searching for\na house to stop in to-night. Will you be so kind as to lodge me?\u201d\n\n\u201cAny thing will do,\u201d said he, \u201cplease come in, Sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cThough I go in,\u201d replied I, \u201cI shall be in great trouble if you do not\nlodge me.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease come in,\u201d said he, smilingly, \u201chowever it may be.\u201d\n\nThinking it was strange for him to treat me as his intimate friend,\nI stepped in; and as soon as he saw me, \u201cDo you forget me?\u201d said he,\nextending his hand, and showing me in every way that he was indeed\nacquainted with me.\n\nWhile I was in Darjeeling, he was a teacher of the Tibetan language\nin the Government High School there; but he was not my instructor.\nThough he was a teacher of the second class, and not deep in learning,\nyet he was a man of general knowledge having the power of quick\nunderstanding. Of his change of position to be postmaster here I was\nentirely ignorant. After exchanging our respective accounts of events\nsince we parted, he eagerly asked me how I had come through those\nvigilant guard-houses without endangering myself. My servant sitting\nnear me, hearing us talking in English, looked almost stupefied. I at\nonce perceived that our conversation would arouse the suspicion of\nmy servant again, and tried to talk in the dialect of Lhasa. As the\npostmaster knew the dialect of Darjeeling very well, but did not know\nthat of Lhasa, he did not answer me in the latter but consequently\ntalked in English and Tibetan. This, just as I thought, aroused the\nsuspicion which had been happily suppressed since our arrival at the\nfirst guard-house. The servant instantly went to the wife of the\npostmaster and asked her:\n\n\u201cSpeaking truthfully, where is my master from?\u201d said the servant.\n\n\u201cHe is,\u201d replied the lady, \u201ca Japanese Lama.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is Japan?\u201d asked the servant eagerly, as he heard me talking\nEnglish, \u201cis he not an Englishman?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, he is a Japanese,\u201d replied the lady, \u201cJapan is, at present, so\nstrong and powerful that even England looks at it with surprise. Her\nname, like the rising sun, gleams even to the remotest part of the\nworld. So says my husband, who read it in a newspaper.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a terrible matter,\u201d said the servant, being frightened almost\ninto taking flight, haggard and pale; \u201cI shall be killed.\u201d\n\nThis account of her personal conference with my servant was given to me\nby the lady afterwards. It seemed to me that my servant almost trembled\nwith fear, as though he expected every moment to lose his life; but I\nhad no time to explain his misunderstanding. I slept that night in a\nclean and comfortable European bed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XC.\n\nThe Labche Tribe.\n\n\nThe next day I arrived in the rain at Kalenpong, a distance of fifteen\nmiles. Kalenpong is a thriving town situated some thirty miles east of\nDarjeeling, across a large valley and on a little lower level. Though\na cheap kind of goods forms the greater proportion of its business,\nthe total amount of trade carried on there is said to exceed that of\nDarjeeling, for the merchants from Tibet, Sikkim, and Bh\u016bt\u0101n generally\nexchange their goods here. As in Darjeeling, many foreigners live here;\nTibetans, Hin\u1e0d\u016bs, Sikkimese, Bh\u016bt\u0101nese, Nep\u0101lese, and Europeans may all\nbe found. There are also large protestant churches, schools, hospitals,\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist temples, and smaller places of worship of various other\nreligions. In Kalenpong there lives a Tibetan named Pu-chung, who moved\nhere from Shigatze, where he had been a priest; but after his removal\nto this town he became a merchant and is now in good standing in his\nnew way of living. It was to this man that my baggage had been directed\nthrough the kindness of the Chinese druggist Thien-ho-thang. As stated\nbefore, it was put under the care of a Chinese officer who was to carry\nit, together with the allowance to the Chinese soldiers, as far as\nTomo-Rinchen-gang, whence it was to be trusted to some Chinese servants\nand to be brought to Kalenpong. Therefore when I came to Pu-chung I\nexpected to receive it and start again directly, but I found that it\nhad not yet arrived, so I had to wait.\n\nWhen I arrived at his house, the host took me for a Tibetan and treated\nme as such, but after some time he asked my servant who I was, and my\nservant said that he knew nothing about me except that I was called\n\u201cJapan Lama\u201d. Pu-chung came to me and told me what he heard from\nthe servant, and asked whether I was the Japanese Lama who had been\nat Darjeeling, telling me at the same time that there was no need of\nconcealment now that I was at Kalenpong. I answered that there was no\nconcealment, for it had already been discovered at the post-office\nof Boeton, and I asked him what my servant was thinking about me and\nhimself. Pu-chung informed me how surprised my servant was, and how\npale he turned when the host told him that the Japanese Lama must have\nbeen an intruder into the Forbidden Land, and how he could not even eat\nthe whole day from fear of the punishment he would receive when he got\nback for meddling with me. Poor fellow! I had to do something for him.\nIf he was anxious to return to his wife, who was pregnant at that time,\nand to his children (of whom he had two) he must be sent back; but if\nhe was too much afraid of punishment to go home, it might be better for\nhim to stay and find some way of living at Kalenpong or Darjeeling, and\nthen his family must be sent for; I was willing to help him to do this.\nWhichever he might choose he must settle it himself. So I told Pu-chung\nto go and ask my servant which he would prefer.\n\nAfter a while my servant came to me accompanied by the host, and\nrequested me to divine for him by the art of \u2018Eki\u2019 whether or not he\nshould suffer if he were to go back to Lhasa. This request I refused,\nbecause of his connexion with me. Were he entirely a stranger to me\nI might try \u2018Eki,\u2019 but he was my servant; if \u2018Eki\u2019 were in favor of\nhis staying there, it might be suspected that I kept him for my own\nadvantage; if on the contrary, my \u2018Eki\u2019 predicted that it was better\nto return home, he might take me as anxious to get rid of him. So I\ntold him plainly what I thought, and advised him to go to some noted\nLama in the neighborhood and get his advice on the subject. He would\nnot listen to me, and demanded my judgment again and again. At last\nI firmly refused, saying that as there was no necessity to depend on\n\u2018Eki\u2019 now that I was out of Tibet, I should never do it again even if\nany one else applied to me. Seeing my strong determination he went out.\nAfter a while he came back and told me the judgment of a Lama was in\nfavor of his returning home. Thereupon I gave him thirty-five rupees,\nsome old clothes and provisions enough to carry him over the barriers,\nand so sent him away. He was to go by the short road of the Peach\nValley, and he seems to have returned home safely and also to have\nescaped punishment, as I heard nothing more, though I inquired after\nhim afterwards while I was in Nep\u0101l.\n\nFour or five days passed after his starting, yet the Chinese to whom\nI had entrusted my baggage did not come. I began to wonder about the\ncause of the delay; even if he were stopped at a barrier, there could\nbe no arrest of the luggage. So it ought to be at Tomo at least, but I\nheard nothing from Tomo for seven days. On the eighth day, I met with\na merchant from Tomo-Rinchen-gang and was told that there had been two\nChinese with several Tibetan coolies and about twenty horses and mules\ncoming south, but the road being very bad owing to the recent rains,\nthree of the horses slipped into a river and were killed, losing all\nthe loads on their backs, which consisted of musk and silver coins.\nMy anxiety still further increased when I heard that the horses that\ndropped into the river belonged to the bigger Chinese of the two, for I\nremembered that the Chinese who took charge of my goods was the bigger\none. Ten days passed, but nothing but similar tidings were to be heard.\nAt last I was almost in despair, when on the morning of the eleventh\nday I heard of my goods, and that night both the Chinese made their\nappearance and to my great joy, I received my luggage at their hands.\nI paid thirteen rupees as freight from Tomo to Kalenpong.\n\nIt was the first day of July when I received my baggage, and on the\nnext day I left Kalenpong. After about ten miles descent I came to the\nriver Tista, where an iron bridge of European style a hundred and fifty\nfeet long was laid across. The bridge has no intermediate supports,\nprobably because the river is too rapid to allow of them. From the\nSiliguri station by the river side, a bullock-cart way runs by a very\nroundabout way to Kalenpong and Boeton. It is chiefly used for freight.\n\nThe Tista river has a mythological history, which I will mention here.\nAmong the Him\u0101layas there is a savage tribe called Labche who live in\na primitive state. The tribe is subdivided into two classes, of which\none is much inferior to the other. The forefather of the advanced race,\naccording to their genealogy, was called Tikum Serrong, and is said to\nhave been born from the earth of the Him\u0101layas, and his wife, whose\nname was Domi, from the water of the Tista river; they call the river\nDomi\u2019s Rangni Unlam Hoklam. The river Tista runs through a large valley\nto the north-east of Darjeeling and joins the Ga\u1e47g\u0101.\n\nThe inferior tribe of the two is supposed to be descended from a\nlarge stone, which is still to be seen in a little village called\nDalamthang, which is situated on a hill in the plain north-west of\nDarjeeling. Their kinsmen are also scattered about Sikkim. The superior\nand inferior tribes, though they have different supposed ancestors,\nare really of the same race--the Labche, though the latter tribe is\nmuch lower and as stupid as the stone their forefather. With a few\nexceptions, the Labche (who have lived at Darjeeling long enough to\nimitate in dress the Tibetan or the Nep\u0101lese style) all cling to their\noriginal customs and manners. The covering of the body is only a cloth\nwound crosswise around the waist. The cloth, known by the name of\nKusdom of Domi, is woven from the fibres of a grass called Sache in\nTibetan. Sewing with needles is entirely unknown among them. The Labche\nwomen have their chins tattooed in three straight stripes, and those\nwho cannot afford tattooing are content to dye three stripes, in some\nvegetable juice.\n\nTheir food chiefly consists of grasses, seeds of grasses of wild\ngrowth, and various kinds of mushrooms; meat and fish are very seldom\neaten. They are practically vegetarians, and are such good botanists\nthat they can discriminate with wonderful skill the poisonous\nvegetables from the edible; they know that such and such grasses are\ngood against such and such diseases, and in what season they are or\nare not good to eat, and they know the names of all grasses. In this\nrespect they are far more intelligent than the Hin\u1e0d\u016bs, who know nothing\nof the names of grasses, nor even those of flowers. The bamboo is the\nplant most useful to the Labches. In the first place a section of\nbamboo is used as a kettle, into which are stuffed the roots of grasses\nor fruits, and sometimes corn well seasoned with salt and honey.\nThen it is fastened with a lid and put on the fire (for fuel they\nuse bamboo) until the outside of the bamboo kettle turns black. When\nit is removed and the lid opened, the contents are found well cooked\nand ready for the table. This is the only way of cooking known to the\nLabches in the mountains. Earthen and stone kilns and metallic kettles\nare not known at all. The bowls which they use at dinner are also of\nbamboo, the bucket in which they carry water, the basin in which they\nkeep provisions and milk, are all cylinders of bamboo. They also make\nbows and arrows from the same useful plant, and are skilful archers\nwith bamboo bows and poisoned arrows.\n\nAmong the Labche tribe polygamy is sometimes, but very rarely, to\nbe found; but polyandry is, in contrast to the Tibetans, entirely\nforbidden. They are very timid by nature and are extremely inactive,\nlike other aboriginal races, but instead of diminishing, like the\nAmerican Indians or the Ainos of Japan, their number increases as much\nas does that of the Tibetans. I believe their being monogamic counts\nfor something in their favor. I cannot say whether their ancestors\noriginated in the Him\u0101laya mountains, but, judging simply from their\nlanguage, which seemingly has no relation either to Tibetan or to\nSamsk\u1e5b\u1e6d, I may safely say that they are descendants of aboriginal\npeople settled there in a very remote time. Their faces are rather\nwhite and fine, and they are the best looking among the Him\u0101layan\nmountaineers. But they have no courage or energy and look rather\nconsumptive. Though thieving is very common among this tribe, such\ncruelty as manslaughter is utterly unknown. Most Labches who come to\nDarjeeling now-a-days are of the superior tribe of the two. Some people\nof the inferior tribe sometimes come up to the city, but they are too\ntimid to mingle with others, and unless the utmost care be taken they\nrun back to their old home. But both of these tribes have the finest\ncountenance in the Him\u0101layas, and, sad to say, many of their women at\nDarjeeling are slaves of soldiers, who are so numerous as to include\nmany of the women of the place in this infamous employment. In Sikkim\nthere are many immigrants both from Tibet and Bh\u016b\u1e6d\u0101n, but they mostly\nuse the broken Tibetan language and can be distinguished from the\nLabches, who differ from them not only in language, but in appearance,\ncustoms, manners and everything. The Labches believe in Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism,\nbut of a very simple kind. I think they are a people of the greatest\nethnological interest. If polygenists find here original man, it would\nbe of no small interest to investigate how his lines of descent have\nbranched off. Monogenists, on the other hand, would have to explain\nwhat linguistic and ethnological relations they bear to the neighboring\ntribes. No careful study seems to have been made of them yet. So we\nmust leave the thorough investigation to the scientists.\n\n[Illustration: THE AUTHOR AS A TIBETAN LAMA AT DARJEELING ON HIS\nRETURN.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCI.\n\nVisit to my Old Teacher.\n\n\nBut I must continue my journey. I crossed the iron bridge over the\nTista river, and found a good and wide road on the other side. This\ntime it was an ascent of seventeen miles as far as Ghoom, where I\nexpected to arrive on that day. I quickened the pace of the horse on\nwhich I was riding, but owing to the recent rain the two horses which\nwere loaded with my baggage could not go so fast, and I was obliged\nto stop at a village for the night, after only seven miles\u2019 journey.\nThe next day, I arrived at Lhasa Villa, the country seat of Sara\u1e6d\nChan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s of Darjeeling, my old teacher, through whom I first became\nacquainted with the Tibetan language. When I knocked at his door, one\nof his children opened it. He had forgotten me and was asking my name,\nwhen Mrs. Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s made her appearance and asked me on what business\nI came.\n\nI replied with a smile, \u201cHave you forgotten me? Can you not still\nremember me?\u201d\n\nThen the Rai Bah\u0101\u1e0dur, who had probably recognised my voice, rushed out\nand said: \u201cIs it you, Mr. Kawaguchi? You are welcome.\u201d\n\nMy baggage was immediately unloaded and carried in by the servant, and\nI was shown in. Great was his surprise and joy to see me again. He told\nme that he had known of my whereabouts from my two letters to him, and\nwith what joy he had heard of my well-being as a doctor, but with what\napprehension he had considered my prospects of getting out of Tibet. He\nalso explained to me how Tsa Rong-ba came to him to hand him my letter,\nbut as he ran away without calling at his house again as he promised,\nhe could not give me his answer, adding that in his answer he had\nintended to advise me to return quickly, because on seeing my letter\nhe had noticed there was no further need for me to study the Tibetan\nlanguage and religion. He also told me that Dr. Bunyiu Nanjio of Japan\nhad been very anxious about me and asked him in almost every letter\nto tell all he heard of me; and he said he would write to the Doctor\ndirectly. I talked of my experiences in Tibet and of the journey, and\nit was midnight when we went to bed.\n\nNext morning I had bad fever, and when the fever went down it was\nfollowed by palsy; my limbs began to lose power and I felt as if\nthe palsy was going to the heart. By and by I was unable to move my\nhands or feet at all, and I thought it must be a kind of heart attack\nof beri-beri from which it is generally believed death is almost\ninevitable. Rai Sara\u1e6d was much concerned about me, and attended me all\nthe time of my sickness. Meanwhile a physician came in and examined\nme. I learned afterwards that the physician pronounced my disease\nto be a Tista fever, the most frightful kind of malaria. I thought\nmyself dying, and thought how lucky it was to die here at Darjeeling,\nfor then my death could be announced to all my friends, whereas if it\nhad occurred in Tibet, no one would have heard of it. But I thought\nthat before I died I must make a will to the effect that the books\nI brought from Tibet must be sent to Japan, either to the Japanese\nImperial University or to any other great library within easy reach of\nmy fellow-countrymen. Therefore though in an almost insensible state I\ntold my teacher to write a will for me, and began to talk in English\nbut with great difficulty. Rai Sara\u1e6d told me it was needless, for he\nunderstood what I meant to say. The physician also told me to keep\nquiet and spare both bodily and spiritual exertion as much as possible.\n\n[Illustration: PERFORMING CEREMONIES IN TIBETAN COSTUME.]\n\nThat night I felt a little better, but the palsy of the limbs remained\njust the same, and I entered into sam\u0101\u1e0dhi, trying thus to remove the\nroot of the malady. If any one had seen me in that state, he would have\nthought that I was indeed beside myself. After three days\u2019 suffering,\nthanks to the careful attendance of Rai Sara\u1e6d, I was a little better,\nand my limbs began to have some feeling in them, and after that, though\nslowly, I grew better and better, and on the eighth day I could move\nmy hand a little. I wished to telegraph home of my whereabouts, but\nfrom Darjeeling to Japan the charge is thirty-seven rupees for three\nwords, and two rupees was all the money I had left in my pocket now.\nNor was I bold enough to borrow the money from my teacher, so after\nall, I did not telegraph home. But wishing to notify my return, I did\nmy best to use my hand and wrote a letter addressed to Hige Tokuj\u016bro\nin my native town, though I do not quite remember what I wrote in it.\nI was gradually recovering, but for a whole month I was unable to do\nanything, and became very thin and weak. While in Tibet I had grown\nfat and healthy, and they had often told me that I was another man\nafter ten months\u2019 stay in Lhasa, and I had felt so too; but now I was\nagain quite lean. Happily, however, by the grace of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha I survived,\nand before another month had passed I was able to read and write.\nAfter that I had a great many visitors with whom I had every kind of\nconversation, to relate which would take another volume, but as they\nhave no direct connexion with the journey to Tibet they need not be\nnarrated here.\n\nI was obliged to stay at Darjeeling for some time, because after\nhaving been accustomed to the cold climate of Tibet, I was afraid\nin my enfeebled state to undertake a journey over the scorching\nplains of India. My doctor also advised me to stay in Darjeeling for\nthree months at least, and I determined to do so. While I was thus\nwaiting for the recovery of my health, I heard nothing from Lhasa,\nfor in this season of the year the communication between Phari and\nDarjeeling is almost entirely suspended from the fear of attacks of\nfever on foreign travellers in the intermediate region. The natives\nof Tomo-Rinchen-gang, who are accustomed to the climate, do not catch\nit easily, but if Tibetans were to pass through the district in the\ndangerous season they would surely be attacked by the malady. When I\nleft Tibet it was at the beginning of the season and the caravan which\nI joined was the last but one. I knew the danger very well, but I had\nno other choice; the affair which occurred in Lhasa drove me to come\nacross the dangerous path, and had caused my illness at Darjeeling. In\nOctober the first caravan came from Tibet and brought me some shocking\nnews.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCII.\n\nMy Tibetan Friends in Trouble.\n\n\nI learned that a month had hardly passed after my escape from Lhasa,\nwhen many of my acquaintances were arrested and imprisoned. According\nto this information, the ex-Minister of the Treasury with whom I lived,\nthe old nun living in his house, and one of his favorite servants, were\narrested and taken to prison; the new Treasury-minister was set free,\nas he had not had much relation with me; the Sera Seminary was closed,\nTsa Rong-ba and his wife and Takbo Tunbai Choen Joe were taken to jail\nand examined with terrible tortures; every house which I had frequented\nwas closely observed by the detectives, and the people in them were\nexpecting every moment to be arrested; therefore everybody who had\nhad any connexion whatever with me was endeavoring to conceal it, and\nconsequently bribery was prevalent in Lhasa. Such were the stories I\nheard from the caravan, but the Tibetans are great story-tellers in\ngeneral, and are very fond of surprising people by lies. So I thought\nthey might be productions of their imagination, derived from the rumor\nthat I escaped from Lhasa, and I did not give them much credit, and\ntold them they were absurd stories; but still I had some doubts.\n\nSome story of this kind reached the ear of the Magistrate of\nDarjeeling. One day he called me to his private house and asked me\nseveral questions as to the number of the priests, and the educational\nsystem, and the regulations of the Sera Monastery, and whether there\nwas any law by which a school could be closed for such occurrences as\nhad happened and whether I believed the stories. To this last question\nI answered negatively, because not only the Tibetans, but even the\nChinese in Tibet, are very often fond of exaggerating truths and\ncirculating rumors at Darjeeling; for instance, they say Russians have\nbeen seen striding along the streets of Lhasa in broad daylight, while\nin fact there are none, but only a Mongolian employed by the Government\nof Russia.\n\nThe local English officers of these districts are very desirous of\nknowing anything about Tibet, and they would write down any tidings\nbrought thence, not distinguishing whether they are true or not. At\nGhoom there is an officer whose special business it is to enquire into\nanything occurring in Tibet. If there is anyone newly arrived from that\ncountry, he would see him, ask various questions, and if he found any\nimportant news he would take the man to the Governor\u2019s to enquire more\nminutely about the matter in his presence. The present Governor of\nDarjeeling can speak the Tibetan language to some extent, but not with\nmuch ease; so interpreters are hired in most cases. But the British\nIndian Government greatly encourages these Governors of the districts\nadjoining Tibet to study the Tibetan language, and they can take an\nexamination if they are able to speak colloquial Tibetan and explain\neasy composition; and if they pass the examination they can obtain\na prize of a thousand rupees. Therefore most of them study Tibetan.\nFrom these facts the reader may infer with what caution the British\nGovernment is trying to get insight into the Forbidden Land.\n\nAs I knew well that the Tibetans were liars, I did not much mind their\ntalk, but when another caravan which came two weeks later brought\nsimilar rumors my uneasiness was greatly increased. Some days after a\nmerchant of my acquaintance came to Darjeeling, so I went to see him\nand asked him whether these rumored stories were true.\n\n\u201cNot exactly,\u201d said he, \u201cthings are not so bad as that. It is true\nthat the ex-Minister of the Treasury was once arrested, but he was\nset free without being taken to prison. However they say he will be\nagain arrested in the near future. When I started from Lhasa he dwelt\nin his residence, not in prison; but I cannot tell what may have\nhappened since. Among those who are sure victims are your tutor and\nyour security at the Sera Seminary, Tsa Rong-ba and his wife, Takbo\nTunbai Choen Joe. Their torture is terrible indeed; they are to be\nflogged every day, receiving three hundred blows daily with a willow\nstick. We wished to pay them a visit, and do something for them, but\ncould not do so; for if we did, it would only arouse the suspicion of\nthe detectives, who were hunting after anything they could get hold of.\u201d\n\nWhen I heard him I wondered what necessity there was for such cruelty\nif it got out that I was a simple Japanese priest, and asked the\nmerchant whether he knew the cause of the persecution. Then he said\nthat they took me for an English spy and not for a Japanese.\n\n\u201cBut then,\u201d said I, \u201cdid any one tell them that I was an Englishman?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, some one did,\u201d said he. \u201cIn an official report Chyi Kyab, the\nchief Guard of Nyatong, has stated to the Pope that the Lama who was\nrumored to be a Japanese was in truth an Englishman and brother to\na high official of the British Indian Government, by whose request\nhe entered Tibet in the disguise of a Japanese or Chinese. He also\nstated that the disguised English spy had, while in Tibet, several\ncommunications from Darjeeling through Tsa Rong-ba and Takbo.\nFurthermore, the report says you are by no means an ordinary man\nand can work miracles. It says you did not come through the barrier\non the highway, and that even the bye-ways were watched with equal\ncare, so that you could not have passed through. It is said that you\nmust have flown to this side of the mountains when you came to the\nneighborhood of the barriers. Since the report was read by the Pope,\nthe persecution of the prisoners is said to have been severe.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy the way\u201d he continued, \u201chow did you come over from Nyatong? Did you\nnot fly?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs I am no bird, how could I do such a thing?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut they say you can do such a thing,\u201d said he, \u201cand I am one of those\nwho believe it, because for one who can revive the dead, it must be an\neasy miracle to fly in the air. In Tibet they all believe what Chyi\nKyab has reported to the Pope.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said I, \u201cI will show you one thing that tells more than my\nspeech; it is the passport given by the order of Chyi Kyab himself.\u201d\n\nThe merchant seemed not to believe me yet, for by this time even in\nDarjeeling the story that I could work miracles became current and he\nhad heard of it. I think that this was caused by the fraudulent report\nof Chyi Kyab, who was afraid of the punishment which was likely to\nbefall him if he made a true one. Sometime later when the merchant came\nto my place, I showed him the passport and he seemed to believe it. But\na new suspicion arose that I must have enchanted Chyi Kyab by magic\nand stolen the passport. Ignorant people very often take a truth for a\nmiracle; and many Tibetans are no exception.\n\nI could not be calm now that I had heard such terrors were raging in\nTibet. In the first place, the ex-Treasury-minister\u2019s fate caused me\nmuch uneasiness. His acute and strong character made him many enemies\namong his mean fellow-countrymen, who might now find an opportunity of\nrevenging themselves upon him. Tsa Rong-ba and his wife, my tutor at\nthe Sera Seminary and my security there, all of whom had shown me much\nfavor and kindness, were now suffering in chains; how could I sleep\nin peace? How I wished I had been able to fly as they said I could,\nand go to Lhasa to their rescue! Many considerations came to my mind\nas to the way of delivering them; but only two of them seemed to be\npracticable. The one was to go to Peking and to secure an order from\nthe Chinese Government to the Tibetan to suspend the hideous cruelty,\nand the other was to go to Nep\u0101l and ask the help of the Nep\u0101lese\nGovernment. It took me a long while to decide which method I should\nchoose, but at last I determined to try the latter.\n\nFirst, it was doubtful whether the Chinese Government would admit\nany application, either from myself or through the influence of the\nJapanese Government. In the second place, China herself has ceased\nto have credit in Tibet. In Tibet it is believed, even among the\nGovernment officers, that the present Chinese Emperor has been married\nto an English lady, and that since then, as she is on good terms with\nEngland, the country is always disturbed. Besides they know that\nChina has become so helpless that they can disobey her without being\nchastised. Lastly, the Tibetan Government does not like any diplomatic\ninterference from China, because China is a country that proclaims\nherself as friendly with all foreign countries. On the other hand,\nNep\u0101l is much feared by the Tibetans, for the people of Nep\u0101l are very\nstrong, and their soldiers, disciplined in the English style, prove\nthemselves very brave in time of war. So the Tibetans are trying not to\noffend her, and her advice is heard with more attention than that of\nChina. What made me think of the greater probability of success through\napplying to the Nep\u0101lese Government was the fact that that country puts\nso much trust in Japan that she sends many students to Japan for study.\nThus I was determined to go to Nep\u0101l.\n\nTo do this, however, some money was needed, of which I had none at\nthat time; indeed, I had even some small debts. Thanks to heaven, help\ncame in my need; my acquaintances at my native town were so kind as\nto collect and send me three hundred yen, and with this money I was\nready to start. But there was one thing that held me back; it was the\ncompilation of a Tibetan grammar, which I had sometime ago begun at the\nrequest of my teacher Sara\u1e6d Chan\u1e0dra \u1e0c\u0101s, who needed a complete grammar\nof the Tibetan language to append to his Tibetan-English dictionary.\nI began at once, and wrote some twenty pages, but the complete study\nof the grammar of a foreign language is not to be compared to writing\ncompositions for papers or magazines; books must be referred to and the\nopinions of others must be consulted. And thus three months were spent,\nbut the completion of the grammar proceeded at a very sluggish pace and\nI felt that it would take a year or more to finish it. But the present\nprison affair in Lhasa required my immediate exertion, otherwise all\nhope might be gone. So I told my teacher that I had to suspend the\nwork, and towards the end of November I left Darjeeling and came to\nCalcutta.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIII.\n\nAmong Friends.\n\n\nI arrived at Calcutta and lodged at the Mah\u0101bo\u1e0dhi Society\u2019s rooms,\nwhere I found many priests from Ceylon and Burma as my fellow-lodgers\nand conversational companions. One or two days after my arrival, I\ncalled on Mr. K\u014djun Omiya, one of my fellow-students in Japan, who was\nnow staying here for a long time for the study of Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d. He had not\nthe slightest notion of my being in the same town, and I was dressed\nin Tibetan clothes when I called on him. Being informed by his servant\nthat he was in the parlor, I entered the room without being announced.\nOwing to the total disuse of Japanese for many years, it was some while\nbefore I could utter a single word in that language, so I simply bowed\nto him a little and stared at him. My old friend, who was also staring\nat me and undoubtedly feeling offended by the intrusion of a strange\nman in a Tibetan dress, addressed me in Hin\u1e0dus\u1e6d\u0101ni: \u201cWhence have you\ncome?\u201d\n\nI could not help laughing to hear him say this, but at the same time\nthe words in Japanese came back to me and I said: \u201cAre you not Omiya?\u201d\n\nHe did not yet recognise me, and asked in Japanese: \u201cYou are a Japanese\nwho knows me? But who are you?\u201d\n\nI replied: \u201cI am Kawaguchi.\u201d\n\nHe was of course much surprised by so great a change in me that I could\neasily have passed for a Tibetan. I was soon shown to his room, which\nwas kept very neat, and we talked about our own country. Mr. Omiya is\na priest of the Tendai Sect and a very agreeable companion, and from\nthis time I shared his room. On the evening of December 14th, Dr. E.\nInouye, the president of the Tetsugakkwan in Tokyo (where we were\ninstructed) came to Calcutta and called on us. I need not describe\nhere how delighted our kind teacher was to see me back safe from the\nForbidden Land.\n\nNext morning, about three o\u2019clock, I waked up Dr. Inouye, and guided\nhim to the Tiger Hill near Darjeeling, the best place from which to\nsee the Him\u0101layas; for though it was the best season of the year to\nsee the loftiest mountains in the world, it was generally impossible\nto get a good view after nine or ten o\u2019clock in the morning. With the\nnoblest work of Nature before us, our poetical interest was aroused\nand we made several poems. After short trips here and there, on the\n23rd of the month I returned to Calcutta with Dr. Inouye, and on the\nsame night we had to start on a pilgrimage to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101. Pilgrimage\nwas not my sole object in going to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101; I wished to go to Delhi\nto see Lieutenant-General Oku of Japan, who was to be present at the\nDurbar in honor of the coronation of the King of England and Emperor\nof India, and to apply to him for a letter of introduction to the King\nof Nep\u0101l, through whose influence I intended to make my appeal to the\nTibetan Pope. So I had first to go to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101, and then to the holy\nland of Benares, where I had to part with Dr. Inouye, he going to\nBombay and I to Delhi. We got into a train and the next afternoon we\narrived at Bankipur. Here we had to stay some five hours to change cars\nfor Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101. Dr. Inouye went to send a telegram and I remained at\nthe station; there was a Hin\u1e0d\u016b there also, who could speak English. He\napproached me and asked: \u201cAre you a Tibetan?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I am not.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you a Nep\u0101lese then?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not that either?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you not come from Tibet?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I did.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you say you have come from Tibet, and yet are not Tibetan?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt does not necessarily follow that I am a Tibetan, though I came from\nTibet.\u201d\n\nWhile I was thus talking, one man whose presence I did not notice came\nrunning to me. Turning to the man, I found my old acquaintance the Rev.\nFujii Sensho. Extending his hand to me, he expressed his joy at the\nunexpected meeting, and congratulated me on my safe return from Tibet.\n\n[Illustration: ACCIDENTAL MEETING! WITH A FRIEND AND COMPATRIOT.]\n\n\u201cBut what are you waiting for in such a place?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI am going to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhagay\u0101 with Dr. Inouye.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen our destination is the same. I am going to call on the Rev. Otani\nKozui, who is staying at Gay\u0101.\u201d\n\nWe despatched a telegram to Mr. Otani telling him that we should arrive\nby the next train, and we three then entered the train which took us\nto Gay\u0101, where we found a carriage sent by Count Otani to meet us.\nWhen we arrived at the Dak bungalow, we enjoyed a conversation with\nthe Honorable Count Otani and his suite. After various questions and\nanswers, His Highness asked me where I was going. I replied that I\nwas going to Nep\u0101l. Mr. Fujii, whom I had not had an opportunity of\ntelling my object, was much surprised to hear it now, and asked me what\nI wanted there.\n\n\u201cI have two things to do there,\u201d said I; \u201cone is to bring back my\nbooks, which I left with a certain person in that country. The other\nis more serious. Many of my acquaintances and friends in Tibet are now\nsuffering in prison for having been friendly towards me. So though it\nis doubtful whether I shall succeed, I am going to Nep\u0101l to get help\nfrom its Government to save them.\u201d\n\nMr. Fujii rebuked me, saying, \u201cYou are no more Kawaguchi of college\nlife. Your fellow-countrymen are anxious to see you come back and to\nhear of the strange land you have visited. Therefore give up that idea\nof going to Nep\u0101l, where you can expect nothing but attacks of fever\nor wild beasts or robbery, of which you have already had plenty of\nexperience; I tell you you had better prepare to start home.\u201d\n\nDr. Inouye, from whom I had heard such advice very often, but who found\nme unpersuadable, now said to Mr. Otani: \u201cWhat is the opinion of Your\nHighness about the matter of Kawaguchi?\u201d\n\nHis Highness, who was listening to our discussion with interest, spoke\nnow: \u201cI can but praise your courage, Mr. Kawaguchi; with such courage\nonly you could enter and return from the closed country. But think of\nyour personal position; you must not expose yourself to useless danger.\u201d\n\nI was again obliged to expound my motive and intention to go to Nep\u0101l,\nand said:\n\n\u201cAll that has been said is very true. But if I follow the advice of you\nall, where is \u2018the Japanese righteousness?\u2019 I am a servant of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha,\nand my duty is to save any one from misery, though he should have no\npersonal relations with me. But here are a great many men, to whom\nI owe a debt of gratitude, by whose help I accomplished my escape.\nThey are suffering in jail; while I am enjoying myself in a warm\nand comfortable room, what pains are they suffering? I can see them\nshivering with cold in the unlighted prison of Lhasa. In the day-time\nthey are flogged, and the only food given them is a small quantity of\nparched barley once a day. Knowing them to be in such a condition, how\nshould I abandon them, and start for home, even though my life is very\nprecious to me?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIV.\n\nThe Two Kings of Nepal.\n\n\nHaving made up my mind as to what I was going to do, I took a train\nback to Calcutta a few nights after. Money has its power in India, as\nelsewhere, and soon afterwards I was once more on my way to Nep\u0101l.\n\nBy some means I was introduced to a Professor Ke\u1e0darn\u0101\u1e6dh Chatterji,\nan old Bengal\u012b gentleman who had once been the Principal of the\nMunicipal School of K\u0101tm\u0101ndu, Nep\u0101l, and was then living in Calcutta\nand known to be in the good graces of the King of Nep\u0101l. He readily,\neven cheerfully, complied with my request and gave me a letter of\nintroduction to the King of Nep\u0101l. I may observe that the natives of\nTibet, Bh\u016b\u1e6dan and Sikkim are allowed to travel in Nep\u0101l, so long as\nthey are in possession of a passport issued by the Commander-in-Chief\nof Beelganji; but no other foreigners are admitted into that country\nunless armed with the King\u2019s own pass. Hence my negotiations with\nProfessor Chatterji, to whom I presented myself as one anxious to make\na pilgrimage to all the holy Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist stations in Nep\u0101l.\n\nOn January 10th, 1902, I left Calcutta by train and reached Raxaul, a\nstation on the Nep\u0101lese border, at dusk of the following day. It was\nabout six o\u2019clock then and, hiring a coolie to carry my luggage, I\ncrossed the Siman River which separated India from Nep\u0101l. Landed on the\nother side, I was refused further progress by the officers of a police\nstation there, on the ground that the King of Nep\u0101l was soon coming\nhome, and that, consequently, no one from beyond the borders could be\nallowed entrance into the country, until they had been subjected to\nthorough examination and found harmless. I noticed that the natives\nbegged, begged, and were finally allowed to pass on. I thought that\nhere too bribery had its logic. But, no, I was a foreigner and could\nunder no circumstance be granted an immediate passage. I finally\nproduced Chatterji\u2019s letter of introduction to the King of Nep\u0101l. The\npoliceman on attendance, who until then had refused even to let me\ninterview the chief of the station, now took me to that functionary.\nThe upshot was that the station chief caused my letter of introduction,\ntogether with a very carefully prepared description of my person, to\nbe forwarded to Beelganji and ordered me to wait for the result. At\nBeelganji was the Commander-in-Chief, who was then acting there as\nRegent in the absence of the King, and it was to this authority that\nthe documents were sent.\n\nThe distance between the Siman police station and Beelganji is only\nabout a mile. I had waited in vain till eleven o\u2019clock at night for the\nexpected instruction, and I had just set about making a hot cup of tea\nin order to keep myself warm, when a policeman belonging to the Royal\nPalace Force put in an appearance and ordered me to accompany him at\nonce to Beelganji. At Beelganji I was taken to a cottage in front of\nthe Local Hospital to lodge for the night. The next morning I presented\nmyself at the Regent\u2019s court and there had to wait till five in the\nafternoon before I could have an interview with His Excellency, who\ninformed me that the King was coming home on the 14th and that he would\nthen endeavor to secure for me an audience with his royal master.\n\nI may here explain why I have given to the present chapter the heading:\n\u201cThe Two Kings of Nep\u0101l.\u201d Nep\u0101l, indeed, possesses two Kings, a King\n_de jure_ and a King _de facto_, in Nep\u0101lese respectively P\u0101nch Sark\u0101r\nand T\u012bn Sark\u0101r. The _de facto_ King is the real Ruler of Nep\u0101l and\nthe _de jure_ King is only the figure-head, maintaining his court by\nmeans of a civil list, or rather a pension allowed by the former. In\nname the _de facto_ King is the Prime Minister of the country, but the\nactual sovereignty is in his hands, and the nation knows only him as\nits King. The existence of the King _de jure_ is known, it may be said,\nonly by a circle of Government officials, the general mass having but a\nvery vague idea about it. It was of the return home of the _de facto_\nKing that I was informed.\n\nAbout sunset on the 14th, the Prime-Minister (the King _de facto_) did,\nindeed, arrive in Beelganji, preceded and followed by a _cort\u00e8ge_ of\ngreat splendor, the most conspicuous feature of which was a train of\nenormous elephants, on which were seated the Princes and Princesses\nof the royal family. Nep\u0101l is a polygamous country, and the number of\nroyal scions is consequently very large. The entrance of the royal\nprocession into Beelganji was announced with a salvo of thirteen guns.\nSo the King returned, but the Regent advised me to wait another day,\npromising me that he would manage to obtain an audience for me at about\nten o\u2019clock the following morning, or more accurately, he would arrange\nthe matter for me if I should present myself at the palace at about ten\no\u2019clock in the morning and patiently wait there till five o\u2019clock in\nthe afternoon. This I did.\n\nIt appeared that no person, as a rule, is granted an audience in the\npalace on the occasion of a first presentation. However I was taken\ninto an inner court and was presented to the King as he came out on his\nevening walk. Then I had the singular satisfaction of his accepting\nfrom me a certain object of Japanese fine art. The Prime-Minister King\nseemed to be very well pleased with my present, and even offered to pay\nme its price. Whatever the King\u2019s offer meant, I insisted on its being\na present on my part. Then I was invited to go in with His Highness,\nwho treated me like a ten years\u2019 acquaintance.\n\n[Illustration: THE PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL, H. H. CHANDRA SHAMSIR.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCV.\n\nAudience of the Two Kings.\n\n\nFollowing the _de facto_ King into a royal apartment, I saw His\nHighness take his seat first, followed by another who sat by him and\nwhom I took for a Minister of State. I subsequently found out that the\nsecond gentleman was no less a personage than his Majesty the real\nKing of Nep\u0101l. The audience took the form of a catechism, which was in\nsubstance as follows:\n\n\u201cI understand that you have been to Tibet: what made you undertake the\nadventure?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn order to complete my study of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, Your Highness,\u201d replied I.\n\n\u201cI am told,\u201d said the Prime Minister, \u201cthat while in Tibet you were in\nfriendly intercourse with the nobles and high priests of that country:\nwho is the most powerful person in Tibet just now?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priest,\u201d answered I, \u201cI devoted all my time to the study\nof Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and had no opportunity to make myself acquainted with the\npolitical condition of that country.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no occasion whatever for you to be reserved; Tibet and our\ncountry are on the most friendly terms with each other, and your\ndivulgence will do no harm. I want to know these things only for my\nown information: besides, I know that you are well posted on things\nTibetan.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour Highness, I am well aware of the amicable relations existing\nbetween Nep\u0101l and Tibet: I only wish to speak of nothing of which I\nhave no accurate information.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand that;\u201d said the Minister; \u201cI do not mean to find fault\nwith you: I shall only be pleased to hear your opinion on the subject.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it please Your Highness, then, the most powerful personage in\nTibet at present is, I think, the Dalai Lama himself, and the man of\nthe greatest influence among his subjects, Shata.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you think of the position of the Chinese representative in\nTibet in relation to the Hierarchy?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think his influence is in decadence now, Your Highness.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you account for that, Mr. Kawaguchi?\u201d\n\n\u201cI imagine it all comes from the impotency of the Peking Government, on\nthe one hand, and from the fact of His Holiness being a man of great\nability, decision and political acumen.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know Tsan-ni Kenbo of Russia?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Your Highness. He was not in Lhasa while I was there.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you must have heard something about him?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I have,\u201d I admitted.\n\n\u201cWho among the Government officials of Tibet is said to be on the most\nfriendly terms with him? Do you think he enjoys the confidence of the\nDalai Lama, as well as that of His Holiness\u2019s high officials?\u201d\n\n\u201cShata alone, with the Dalai Lama, seems to place infinite confidence\nin Russia; but the latter is an object, as far as I know, of much\ndistrust and dislike to all others.\u201d\n\nHere the true King, sitting next to the Prime-Minister, asked in\nNep\u0101lese whether or not what I was saying coincided with the stock\nof information in this latter\u2019s possession. The reply was a full\naffirmative. Then the catechism was resumed:\n\n\u201cSupposing,\u201d asked the Minister \u201cthat Tibet concludes a secret treaty\nwith Russia, do you think that our neighbor will be able to give effect\nto such a treaty?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn my humble opinion, Your Highness, there will be nothing to prevent\nthe two Governments concluding such a treaty; but the moment it\nis made public and an attempt is made to put its stipulations into\npractice, one of two things will happen--either the poisoning of the\nDalai Lama, or a popular uprising.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat makes you hold such a view?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause,\u201d replied I, \u201cso far as I can see, the majority of the\nGovernment authorities and the people in general are opposed to such a\nstate of things, even though a few persons may be in its favor.\u201d\n\nThe Prime-Minister-King asked me some other questions, but these I\nmay omit here, with the answers which I made. The point he seemed to\nbe most anxious to know was the secret path I took in entering Tibet.\nFor a moment I thought of satisfying his curiosity, but prudence\ncounselled forbearance, and I kept silence; because I thought that the\ndivulgence on my part might involve some of my erstwhile friends and\nacquaintances in serious trouble. Consequently I excused myself on the\nground that my poor command of English was not equal to the task of\nnarrating so complicated a tale, and that I might have an occasion,\nwhen in the Nep\u0101lese capital, of imparting the whole story to some of\nhis Highness\u2019s trusted officials who understood Tibetan.\n\nThe last question I was asked on the occasion was: \u201cWhat has\ntransformed Japan into so great a power as she is now?\u201d I, of course,\nanswered that it was the result of education and patriotism. I was then\nexcused from the royal presence with the instruction that I should\nreturn there at two o\u2019clock the following afternoon.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVI.\n\nSecond Audience.\n\n\nAt the appointed hour on the following day, I repaired to the\nGovernment building, and the guards refused me admittance until about\nfive o\u2019clock. When finally I was admitted to the royal presence, it was\nonly to be told that his Highness was extremely busy that day, and that\nhe would see and give me the necessary papers the following day at the\nLamb\u0101n preserve.\n\nWhen I came back to my lodging that evening my servant expressed\nhimself as quite sure that I was being duped and that I would never\nbe allowed to reach Lamb\u0101n on the morrow. That was bad. So I walked a\ndistance of about two and a half miles and back, in order to see and\nbe assured by the King\u2019s Lord Chamberlain that I was only uselessly\nworrying myself.\n\nOn the 17th I hired an _ekka_ (a single seat carriage) and with my\nservant drove to the foot of a mountain called Binbiti, going over a\ndistance of about four days\u2019 journey on foot. On the way I went to the\nroyal preserve of Lamb\u0101n, which is situated at the southern end of the\nDalai Jungle. The place presented a grand sight on this occasion, for\na hunt was being held in honor of the Coronation of the Emperor of\nIndia. There must have been fully five or six hundred tents pitched,\ncovering an immense tract of land and forming an entrance to the famous\nDalai Jungle. The royal tents sheltering the Kings and their multiple\nconsorts, the Princes and Princesses, were conspicuously beautiful\nto look at, while the sight of those of the Ministers of State and\nothers, variegated in colors of red, white, blue and yellow, dotting\nthe woodland, was both grand and picturesque. There were about two\nthousand soldiers present, all of the Royal Bodyguard. Their uniform\nwas after the British pattern, and they all looked men of splendid\nphysique.\n\nBeing refused admittance, I hung about the royal precincts for about\nfour hours, all the time looking for an opportunity to obtain an\naudience. Ultimately I got a glimpse of the King, who was going out\non a hunt seated on a huge elephant. He recognised me, but had just\ntime enough to express his regret and tell me to come to him in the\nmorning; and he was gone! Then my servant again tried to make light of\nmy credulity; but I scolded him into silence.\n\n[Illustration: STRUGGLE WITH A NEPALESE SOLDIER.]\n\nAt six o\u2019clock on the morning of the 18th, I smuggled myself into the\nroyal enclosure, having chosen an unguarded spot for the purpose.\nThere was such a great number of tents that I in vain tried to locate\nthat intended for royalty. While wandering about I was challenged by\nan officer. I explained the purpose of my presence there, only to be\ntold that the time for audience had not yet arrived. Eventually the\nofficer ordered a private to see me out of the enclosure. I thought\nthat, once out of the enclosure, I might never have an opportunity of\nseeing the King, and feigning not to hear the remonstrances of the\nprivate, I doggedly held my ground. Finally a guard came and ordered\nme out. I said that I was there by the order of the King. But my words\nwere only wasted on the sturdy soldier, who forthwith collared me\nand with a push on my back, as I staggered up, hurled me out of the\nenclosure, handling me altogether as if I were a little child. Outside\nthe fence I became an object of the laughter of the soldiers and of\njeering remarks from the general spectators. Professor of resignation\nand self-denial though I am, this treatment could not but displease\nme. But on second thoughts I awoke to the fact of my still lacking\nthe spirit of patience and perseverance. Dead to my surroundings for\nthe time being, I sat in silence on the grass for hours, and in the\nmeanwhile I could not hold back my tears as I thought, if it was hard\nfor me to bear these insults, how great must be the suffering of my\nTibetan friends and benefactors, who because of me were even then, as\nI imagined, undergoing dreadful tortures, having no one to vindicate\ntheir innocence for them, and I composed an _uta_ for my consolation:\n\n My suffering surely I with ease must bear\n Compared with all the tortures which my friends\n Now undergo, for my sake prisoners made,\n In distant regions far above the clouds.\n\nAt about eleven o\u2019clock I noticed the Lord Chamberlain passing by me,\nand I hastened to acquaint him with the plight I was in. His Lordship\ngreatly commiserated me and at once gave orders that I should that\nminute be taken to the tent of royal reception. After waiting another\ntwo hours in the tent, the King was announced--the Prime-Minister-King\nI should have said.\n\nThe King wanted to know what I wished to have from him. The passport, I\nsaid. Then he said that that I should certainly have, but that what he\nhad meant was if I was well provided with travelling funds. I replied\nthat I had then with me three hundred rupees. His Highness thought that\nthe amount was not enough for my purpose, and ordered his attendants to\ngive me two hundred rupees. I refused to accept his generosity, saying\nthat I had not come to his country to make money. What was it then that\nI wanted in reality? I was on the point of making a direct reference\nto my petition; but that spirit of caution and forbearance which I\nhave already mentioned counselled me once more to bide my time on that\nscore; and I disclosed a part of my desire, that I wished to secure a\ncomplete collection of the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d text of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Scriptures in\nexistence in Nep\u0101l, offering in return to forward the Japanese edition\nof the same on my return home. That I should have, he said, and ordered\nme to present a list of the texts I wanted to the Regent at K\u0101tm\u0101ndu,\nwhere His Highness was to return in twenty-five days. Henceforward I\nbecame a sort of special traveller under royal protection, for a police\nofficial was detailed to escort me to K\u0101tm\u0101ndu.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVII.\n\nOnce more in Katmandu.\n\n\nAfter procuring my passport, escorted by the policeman, I came back\nto a village called Simla where I had left my carrier and carriage. I\nfound that the carriage and its driver had absconded in my absence: it\nhad been paid for in advance. The policeman wanted to beat my carrier\nfor allowing the driver to abscond; but I interfered. It was then after\nthree in the afternoon, and my route to Kh\u0101tm\u0101ndu lay for eight miles\nat least through the jungle. I was warned about tigers; but I knew the\nroute, as I was going over it for a second time, and forthwith I set\nout on the road.\n\nEvery two miles, through the eight miles of the jungle, is a large\nreservoir of drinking water, each reservoir being connected with the\none next to it by means of iron ducts. Originally not a drop of water\nwas obtainable in the jungle, and the ducts and reservoirs were built\nin compliance with the dying wish of the late Queen of Nep\u0101l, who in\nthat way wanted to benefit the travelling public. One reads the origin\nand history of this benevolent institution engraved on stone tablets,\nset up on the roadside; the language used on one being Nep\u0101lese, on\nanother Tibetan, on the third English, then Hin\u1e0d\u016b and Pars\u012b.\n\nBefore night came on I arrived at Bichagori, where on the occasion of\nmy former visit I heard a tiger break the midnight silence with his\nroars. I felt rather lonely on account of the absence of his roaring\nnow, and I made an _uta_:\n\n The same as once before the moonlight sleeps\n On Bichagori fair; but whence is heard\n Upon the stream the savage tiger\u2019s roar?\n\nCrossing the Bichagori river, I travelled to Spalta, from Spalta to\nBahise, thence to Binbit and Tispan\u012b during the next two days. Tispan\u012b\nis also known by the alternative name of Tisgari, which, I think, was\nthe one I mentioned before. Between Simla and Tispan\u012b I had my passport\nexamined three times. Tispan\u012b maintains a custom-house and all ordinary\ningoing travellers are detained here at least half a day. The case was\ndifferent with me: my stop here lasted no longer than half an hour.\nMy police-escort took leave of me here and his place was taken by a\nsoldier, who thenceforth accompanied me to K\u0101tm\u0101ndu.\n\nAs we reached the top of Tisgari, I once more stood an all-absorbed\nadmirer, struck by the wondrous grandeur of the Him\u0101layas, which, seen\na second time, appeared to increase instead of diminish in their fresh\nmajesty and charms.\n\n To fitly paint the grandeur of the scenes\n Words fail me quite; what can I, helpless, do?\n These scenic beauties on the Himal\u2019yan range\n E\u2019en human eyesight fails to comprehend.\n\nThousands of years ago, Sh\u0101kyamuni Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, our Lord, spent six years in\nthe jungles and mountains, and I imagined that I was possibly treading\nin His holy footsteps. I had spent the same number of years under the\nshadows of the Him\u0101layas, but neither had I attained Nirv\u0101\u1e47a, nor\nbecome a Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dva!\n\n _Yuki yama-ni mutose heshi mino ikani-shite\n Akatsuki-no Hoshi-ni awade sugoseshi?_\n\n Upon these plateaux six years have I passed\n But yet Illumination\u2019s Morning Star\n Have I not seen--the Star that flashed so bright\n At that Illumination of our Lord,\n The Holy Saint under the Bodhi tree.[5]\n\n[5] The Gospel teaches that the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha attained His enlightenment as\nHe sat gazing up to the \u201cMorning Star\u201d on His last night of meditation\nunder the sacred bodhi tree.\n\nWe next made a sharp descent of about three miles past the village of\nKurikane and an iron bridge, and entered Marku, where we lodged for\nthe night. Starting at three o\u2019clock on the 21st we calculated upon\nreaching K\u0101tm\u0101ndu by the evening. The weird serenity of the great\nmountain pass under the starry heavens of the early morning; the\nbracing chill, the gradual revelation of the scenery around under the\nrising sun, the famous rhododendron flowers almost in bloom, the climb\nof Chandragiri, the vast plain at the height of six thousand feet above\nthe sea level--all the sights and scenes, awe-inspiring, entrancing and\ninteresting--were there as on the occasion of my former visit.\n\nArrived in K\u0101tm\u0101ndu, I at once proceeded to the official residence of\nthe Local Commander-in-Chief and Acting Prime Minister. His Excellency\nwas too busy to see me that evening, and sent me word asking to come\nthe next day. In the place of the one that had accompanied me to\nK\u0101tm\u0101ndu two fresh bodyguards were then given to me. Such being the\ncase, my arrival in the town had apparently become known to my old\nfriend of four years ago Lama Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra; for, as I came out of the\nCommander-in-Chief\u2019s residence, I was met by one of my friend\u2019s sons\nand some servants with a horse. I at once rode to the K\u0101\u1e63yapa Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha\nTower and there renewed my friendship with its master, who, it will\nbe superfluous to say, received me with a right royal welcome and\nplaced me under fresh obligations by his great hospitality. I may add,\nhowever, that the Nep\u0101lese custom is almost the reverse of that of\nTibet, in that all those who can afford to do so marry two, three, even\nfive wives. My friend, though a Lama, but belonging to the Old School,\nhas two wives and thirteen children.\n\n[Illustration: MEETING AGAIN WITH AN OLD FRIEND LAMA BUDDHA VAJRA.]\n\nI considered it a rare privilege to pass a night in a place of such\nholiness, and availing myself of the opportunity I spent the best part\nof the night in lighting up the butter-lamp and holding a service\nin memory of my father and friends, who had died at home during my\nabsence. The next morning I saw the sun rising from the snows and felt\nthe emotions which are embodied in the following _uta_.\n\n In Japan was I born, my native land\n Of cherry flowers fair, the cheerful home\n Of birds e\u2019er singing their melodious songs.\n It is for this am I inspired to sing\n Of that bright light reflected from the snows?\n\nThat afternoon at one o\u2019 clock, accompanied by my friend, I called on\nHis Excellency Bheem Shamsher, the Commander-in-Chief of Nep\u0101l. We were\nshown into the reception hall in the second floor of the building, in\nwhich I found fourteen or fifteen chairs of Western style, while the\nupper half of the floor was covered over with a rectangular piece of\nthick Nep\u0101lese carpet, with a layer of white cloth over it. On the\nwalls of the room I noticed a number of pictures in occidental frames.\nTrifling as these details may appear, I mention them here, because the\nuse side by side of native and western articles indicates the general\nfeatures of the national policy of Nep\u0101l.\n\n[Illustration: THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF NEPAL, H. E. BHIM SHAMSIR.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVIII.\n\nInterview with the Acting Prime Minister.\n\n\nIn His Excellency Bheem Shamsher I found a perfect gentleman, easy of\napproach, but nevertheless of commanding presence.\n\n\u201cHow are you impressed with our country?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI am filled with a feeling of extreme pleasure,\u201d I replied.\n\n\u201cHow can that be?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause not only your natural scenery, trees and plants, but even\nyour people look very much like those of my own country, and I cannot\nhelp feeling quite at home here--a feeling which makes me forget the\ndifficulties of travel I have come through.\u201d\n\nHis Excellency smiled a little. \u201cThat may be, because we belong to the\nsame race; but are you quite sure about our flora?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, yes, Your Excellency, not only your mountains and waters look\nlike ours, but you have pines, cedars, oaks, willows, keyaki (_Planeta\njaponica_), cherries, peaches, pears, oranges, azaleas, elms, among\ntrees, and field products, such as rice, wheat, beans, millet,\nbuck-wheat and corn are as common with you as they are in Japan. I\nalso notice an equal similarity between the flowers and birds of the\ncountries. Above all I am profoundly impressed by the bravery of your\npeople and their kindness toward strangers.\u201d\n\nQuite pleased at what I said, His Excellency now changed the course of\nconversation:\n\n\u201cI have been told that Tibet has concluded a treaty with Russia: do you\nknow of any evidence to prove this?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not come across any definite proof,\u201d I replied; \u201cbut judging\nfrom what Tsan-ni Kenbo has done and the fact that the Dalai Lama has\naccepted a present of a Bishop\u2019s robes from the Russian Government,\none may think that there must be some foundation for the rumor.\nFurthermore, since the return of a Tibetan envoy from his mission to\nthe court of S. Petersburg, the Tibetan Government has, it is said,\ncome to show great firmness, even to the extent of expressing its\ndetermination to engage in war, if need be, with any other country, and\nthis fact may point to the existence of a secret Russo-Tibetan treaty.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no doubt of its existence,\u201d said my interlocutor; \u201cbut what do\nyou think has induced Tibet to conclude it?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a mere priest, I know nothing about politics and diplomacy, but\nI may venture to presume that it all came from the unreliability of\nChina, and the skilful man\u0153uvres of Tsan-ni Kenbo, who worked on\nTibetan sensitiveness as regards its relationship with the Indo-British\nGovernment.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy is the Tibetan Government hostilely disposed toward England?\u201d\nasked the Commander-in-Chief.\n\nThe other questions which he put to me may be gathered from the\nanswers I gave, which were to the effect, that Tibet believed that its\nintercourse with Christian England would end in the destruction of its\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism and nationality, while it rejoiced in the delusion that Russia\nwas a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Power, and that the reason why it did not befriend Japan\nwas because it knew practically nothing about the existence of such a\ncountry.\n\nI next took my turn in leading the conversation, and as a beginning\nI gave in detail the story of the causes which had led to the\nincarceration and torture of my friends and benefactors in Tibet,\nand appealed to His Excellency\u2019s generosity to take the trouble\nof forwarding my petition to the Dalai Lama. In the second place I\nreferred to the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d edition of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Scriptures, promised me\nby the Prime-Minister-King. Thereupon the Commander-in-Chief cheerfully\ngave consent to both my requests. He greatly pitied the ignorance of\nthe Tibetan authorities, and keenly sympathised with my position. He\npromised me to do all in his power to have the petition forwarded, but\nas the matter rested solely with the King _de facto_, he advised me to\nwait for the latter\u2019s return, when he would put in a good word for me.\nAs for the Scriptures, he saw no way of procuring for me the entire\ncollection within the period of time I intended to spend in Nep\u0101l. I\nthen informed him of my determination to revisit Nep\u0101l in two years\u2019\ntime, and that I should be most pleased to receive the remainder of the\nScriptures on the occasion of that second visit, I taking home for the\ntime being such portions of them as could be collected during my stay.\nAll this was agreeable to His Excellency, and before I took leave of\nhim he shook me warmly by the hand and flattered me by saying that he\nwas very glad to have met such an honored Japanese.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIX.\n\nPainful News from Lhasa.\n\n\nA few days after my arrival at the Tower, I met many Tibetans who had\ncome to worship at the holy places in Nep\u0101l. They told me positively\nthat the ex-Minister of Finance had been imprisoned on such and such\na day and had been tortured in the Court. I could not quite believe\nthe news, but I was very anxious to know the truth of the case.\nFortunately I saw a high Lama named Kusho Lokela from Lhasa, who was on\na pilgrimage in memory of his master Temo Rinpoche, whom I have already\nmentioned. I enquired of him whether the rumor about the imprisonment\nof the ex-Minister of Finance was true.\n\n\u201cI left Lhasa a month and a half ago,\u201d he said, \u201cand then the\nex-Minister was at home. After my departure from Lhasa I heard of his\narrest, on my way to Nep\u0101l. But I cannot say whether it is a fact,\nfor, as you know, in Tibet rumor often magnifies misfortune. But there\nis really great misfortune for Tsa Rong-ba, who was somehow connected\nwith you. I saw him on the veranda of the Court waiting for his trial.\nI wondered at his bonds, and asked him about his imprisonment. He\ntold me with tears, that he did not commit a theft, nor engage in any\nquarrel, but he was acquainted with and asked medicine from a doctor of\nSera, and that was the cause of his arrest. But he did not know very\nmuch about you personally. He was tortured every alternate day, and\nhe became so thin that his body was mere skin and bone. My sympathy\nand pity became the greater when I heard from him that he bore all his\nsufferings patiently in the belief that his tortures were due to the\nsins of his former lives.\u201d\n\nKusho Lokela was a very honest gentleman, so I could not but believe\nthis. I was really very sorry to receive from him this sad information,\nand I could not sleep through the night thinking about these Tibetan\nfriends of mine who were imprisoned. I composed an _uta_ about it,\nwhich may be rendered in prose somewhat as follows:\n\n\u201cTo hear about the misfortunes and sufferings of my friends is to\nme painful; to speak of them is still more painful and bitter; but\nunbearable it is for me to write of them. But now for the sake of\nreviving my recollection of them in my memories in the future, I shall\nrelate in verse all the details.\n\n\u201cSix years ago, I remember, I determined to study Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism, the\nwonderful Pure Law. I left my Motherland, and traversing the snowy\nrange of the Him\u0101layas I entered Tibet, and again have I arrived here\nfrom my travels. My heart bleeds to hear now that in that hermit\ncountry those friends of mine, as a result of their friendly services\nto me and for no other offence, have been arrested and imprisoned \u2018in\ndurance vile\u2019 and confined within stone walls.\n\n\u201cFor these friends of mine I cannot but shed tears when I know that it\nis for my sake that their sufferings are acute, their bodies shivering\nwithin the stony walls of their prison-house in the snowy capital\ncity of Lhasa, sitting disconsolate and wretched on the wooden floor\nunenlivened by the light of the sun.\n\n\u201cWho will give them food? As a rule in the jails of Tibet, the\nprisoners get but one meal a day--a handful of barley flour. If my\nfriends are the victims of this rule they will die of starvation,\nbenumbed with the cold.\n\n\u201cStill worse misfortunes and excruciating sufferings they are\nundergoing, I am sure, for the jailors, unfeeling and cruel, not only\nstarve them with insufficient food, but with insults beat them and\ninflict bodily pain. My friends, I fancy, now desire to extinguish\nthemselves as a release from their sufferings. These painful\nreflections on my part drive me to the desire of extinguishing myself\nalso in order to put an end to all my own tortures.\n\n\u201cO how pitiful is my friends\u2019 condition! When I was in Lhasa, you,\nmy friends, never thought that you would be treated as culprits for\nmy sake; your offence simply was the help you rendered me during my\nsojourn in your country. Now how can I leave you helpless without\nsaving you?\n\n\u201cJudging of men as they naturally are, I should fancy that you would\nfeel disgust towards me and hate me. I thought so, but I have since\nheard from the man who has met you in the Court of Justice that you\nsaid this:\n\n\u201c\u2018I am not guilty of any theft or breach of the peace, but was told by\nthe Judge that I had acted against the law. I was simply acquainted\nwith a Japanese priest of whose antecedents I knew scarcely anything.\nAll these torments which I am now suffering are, to my mind, but the\nresults of the evil deeds (Karmas) of my past lives. Therefore it is I\nhave to bear them in order to get rid of them as such.\u2019\n\n\u201cO my friends! you may mitigate your misfortunes with that kind of\nconsolation; but how is it possible for me to bear the galling thought\nthat I am the cause of all the misfortunes you have suffered for my\nsake?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER C.\n\nThe King betrays his suspicion.\n\n\n[Illustration: THE AUTHOR AND HIS FRIEND BUDDHA VAJRA ENJOYING THE\nBRILLIANT SNOW AT KATMANDU.]\n\nOn February 9th at two o\u2019clock, accompanied again by Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra, I\npresented myself at the palatial residence of His Highness Chan\u1e0dra\nShamsher, Prime Minister or King _de facto_ of Nep\u0101l. The residence\nwith its grounds must cover an area of at least three hundred and fifty\nyards square, and it has a guarded gate, within which are barracks,\na small parade-ground, and a race-course. Proceeding over a broad\npavement for about seven hundred yards, we came to the main entrance of\nthe palace. Inside the reception hall, into which we were taken, I saw\nthree chairs and a thick piece of white cloth carpet of the Nep\u0101lese\nstyle at the upper end of the room, and a teak-wood shelf of European\ndesign standing against a wall, with a white statue of a Nep\u0101lese\nGoddess riding on an elephant on its top. Other conspicuous objects\ncatching the eye at a glance were a pair each of the carved heads of\nlions and deer, and a huge pendulum clock. From where we were seated we\nsaw to the south through the glass-paned windows a most enchanting view\nof the \u201cMoon Peak,\u201d the \u201cDragon Tree Peak\u201d and other great elevations.\n\nIn the reception hall were many officers of the army and other\ndignitaries. The Secretary for Foreign Affairs being one of the\ncompany, took me to task--all by pre-arrangement as I suspect--and I\nreplied to his questions as well as I could.\n\n\u201cI believe more than twenty days have elapsed since your arrival here,\u201d\nsaid he; \u201chow have you been employing yourself in the interval?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn religious meditation and in composing poems,\u201d I replied.\n\n\u201cWhat is your court rank and what office do you hold in Japan?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d I answered.\n\nBut he continued: \u201cDon\u2019t try to make a secret of those things; do you\nthink we can form no idea of our own about you? It will be better for\nyou to tell me all.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir, I am a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priest, and I possess no rank, nor order, nor any\noffice under the Japanese or any other Government for that matter.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! come, Mr. Kawaguchi; how do you happen to visit Tibet and Nep\u0101l,\nin spite of the great expense involved?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am absolutely free from all official connexions: I went to Tibet and\ncame to your country with the one sole object of completing my Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist\nstudy.\u201d\n\nNext he asked \u201cWhat route did you take in entering Tibet?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy way of M\u0101nasarovara,\u201d answered I.\n\nAt this he evinced signs of suppressed excitement, and asked quickly:\n\u201cAnd what was the route you took in reaching M\u0101nasarovara?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d I replied, \u201cI cannot answer that question, except in the\npresence of the King.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I do not wish to bring trouble on innocent parties.\u201d\n\nThe other officers then took turns in catechising me as to the manners\nand customs, national characteristics, and military organisation of\nTibet and of Japan. I heard them say in Nep\u0101lese that I must be an\nemissary of the Japanese Government.\n\nPresently we were told to proceed to the court of audience, whither\nthe rest of the assembly were now hurrying. I proceeded as far as a\nportal, where I observed a large number of the provincial dignitaries\nof Nep\u0101l (as I subsequently found them to be) sal\u0101aming in the most\nrespectful manner. I also noticed one man in the crowd who appeared\ngreatly astonished to see me there: he was the chief of the district\nof Tukje, in whose house I stayed when on my way to Tibet, and when I\nwent to him in no better capacity than a begging Chinese Lama.\n\nThe Prime-Minister King had finished examining the horses sent in as\na tribute and sat down on a sofa, and I advanced to his presence. He\nasked me:\n\n\u201cWhat can I do for you now?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy first appeal to Your Highness is the forwarding of my petition\nto the Dalai Lama of Tibet, and the second is about Your Highness\u2019s\npromise as to the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d text of the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Scriptures.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will talk about those things afterwards,\u201d said he. \u201cI understand\nthat you were in this country four years ago; is that true?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, your Highness, I was most certainly here four years ago.\u201d\n\nHe straightened himself up and said in a changed tone of voice--\u201cHa!\nHow was it that you did not tell me so when you saw me at Beelganji? Do\nyou not think that it was in the order of things that you should have\ntold me about your former visit to this country then?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not deny that, your Highness; let me say, however, that much as I\nwished to do so then, I abstained from doing so owing to a certain fear\nI entertained.\u201d\n\n\u201cMight I know what you were afraid of?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, your Highness. In the first place I thought then, that\nshould I open my mouth carelessly, I might invite your anger and\nconsequent punishment on the officers of your challenge gates and many\nother people of this country. I should have felt unbearable sorrow of\nmind, had my thoughtless divulgence of the fact at the time involved\nmy friends and acquaintances in Nep\u0101l in the troubles and afflictions\nnow being undergone by those in Tibet. I most earnestly beseech Your\nHighness that you will punish none of your subjects because of my\nhaving passed through this country once before, or else I pray your\nHighness to allow me to retract all that I have said about my former\nvisit.\u201d\n\n\u201cI grant your request; you may rest assured that I will not punish any\nof our people on your account.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour Highness has greatly relieved me; I thank your Highness for your\nmagnanimity.\u201d\n\nWhen truth speaks, it touches the heart; and I was gratified to notice\nthat the King seemed to believe my words. But when it came to the\nquestion of the motive of my Tibetan and Nep\u0101l journey, it was another\nthing--as the King appeared to say, for he next asked me:\n\n\u201cWho sent you to our country and Tibet--was it your Minister of Foreign\nAffairs, or your Chief Marshal? Tell me the truth.\u201d\n\nI was thunder-struck--I could see that even the King was laboring under\nthe suspicion that I was a political emissary of Japan. Never did I\nfeel more disgusted with what they call politics and diplomacy than\non that occasion; especially as I had always had a higher opinion of\nNep\u0101lese than of Tibetans. Absorbed in these thoughts I kept silence\nfor a while. The silence was misunderstood, for the King said:\n\n\u201cSo you cannot disclose your secret?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour Highness, there is no secret about me! I will tell your Highness\nall the truth there is: it was my own self that sent me here.\u201d\n\nThe Minister laughed, and exclaimed:\n\n\u201cGood; but you must know that one cannot travel abroad for six years,\nunless he is well provided with money; and then you have given to me,\nas well as to our Commander-in-Chief, presents which must have cost\nyou no small amount of money. Altogether the amount of money involved\ncannot be such as is likely to be found in the pocket of a mere\nBu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priest with no worldly possessions. Then you seem to be a man\nof scholarly attainments, besides being well informed of the affairs\nof the world. You are now before me, and there is no necessity for you\nto adhere to your secret. If however, you must keep your secret, I will\ngrant you a special audience the day after to-morrow, when you may see\nme alone and tell me all. Should you still insist on being reserved,\nthen, I may withdraw all my promises to you; nor will I grant you any\nprotection.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have long since vowed my vow to our Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and I tell no\nfalsehood. If your Highness refuses to believe me, I can only rest\ncontented with the fact that I have always adhered to the truth, and\nbeyond that I shall have no means, for the present at least, to prove\nthe truth of what I say. I can only hope that a day will come when your\nHighness will be convinced of the truth of what I say.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you tell the truth,\u201d replied the Minister, \u201cnobody will suspect\nyou. I shall grant you another interview at half past ten on the\nmorning of the day after to-morrow, and I hope you will think well\nabout telling the truth in the meantime. I bid you good afternoon.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CI.\n\nThird Audience.\n\n\nIt was on the 9th of February that I had had such an unpleasant\ninterview with the Nep\u0101lese Prime Minister, and was told to wait on\nhim again two days after. On the way back to the Tower, deeply moved\nby what I had heard, I saw the grand appearance of Gaur\u012bshankara, the\nhighest peak in the world, now mottled by clouds, and I gave vent to my\nfeelings thus:\n\n What gnawing torments do I suffer now?\n Suspense, distrust and doubts o\u2019erwhelm me.\n These melt not or dissolve not from my heart\n As yonder snows unmelted, hard to melt.\n Those friends of mine, what fate attends them now?\n \u2019Tis hard their painful destiny to guess:\n Incarcerated and in durance vile\n In regions far beyond those snowpeak clouds;\n Communing with myself in dire suspense\n I know not how to save them, in despair.\n\nBut again:\n\n Should I such means adopt, perversely false,\n Subversive of all Truth, dishonest, vile?\n To utter falsehoods base would choke my throat;\n But still to rescue them resolved am I\n To seek for means, untainted by untruth;\n To truth, unvarnished, perfect, will I cling.\n\nSo on the 10th I spent much time in the company of my host, who tried\nto persuade me into acting conventionally. He himself believed,\nhe said, that I was truly a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priest and nothing more, but\ncounselled that I might better serve my purpose by acting on the King\u2019s\nsuspicion than by adhering to the truth. Had I not already had occasion\nto have recourse to falsehood, when it suited me, as for instance, in\npassing myself off for a Chinese Lama? Was not the most important thing\nin view the rescuing of my Tibetan friends, and did I not consider\nthat the prospect of enlisting the Nep\u0101lese King\u2019s assistance in the\nmatter was greater by passing myself for a Japanese official than by\ntrying to be strictly truthful? That was all so, I replied; but I dwelt\non the points of difference between Tibet and Nep\u0101l.\n\n\u201cStratagems or temporary plans,\u201d I said, \u201cmay be used in war, or\nin circumstances like war, or among rascals, in order to avoid\ndifficulties for others as well as for ourselves. Now the Nep\u0101lese are\nnot like the Tibetans, who do not allow a foreigner to enter into their\ncountry. The civilisation of Nep\u0101l permits the people to hear reason\nand truth. How could I insult the Governor with falsehood? If he will\nnot believe me I shall be satisfied with my own truth, and I shall go\nto Peking and there do my best for these Tibetan friends of mine.\u201d\n\nMy host finally acquiesced in the line of argument I pursued, but\nnevertheless seemed quite concerned about my future safety.\n\nThe 11th had come, and Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra and I reported ourselves at the\npalace at the appointed hour. In the waiting-room I found a number of\nofficers and officials as before. A secretary came to me and took down\ncarefully in English what amounted to my _curriculum vit\u00e6_. Presently,\nand quite suddenly too, another high official who spoke English with\ngreat fluency wanted to know from me if I had not drawn maps of Tibet\nand Nep\u0101l, and if he could see them. I denied the charge. The official\ninsisting, however, on the correctness of his suspicion, I told him\nthat he was welcome to cherish his own suspicion, as I for my part\ncould rest contented on the saying that detectives see thieves in most\npeople. He was saying that his suspicion was not his alone but was\nshared by a large number of people, when we were summoned to the royal\npresence.\n\nWe were then shown into a fine room after going up four flights of\nstairs. I saw the throne occupied by one whom I had taken to be a\njunior member of the Cabinet at Beelganji. The King _de facto_ sat\nby the King _de jure_. A few military officers and some Chamberlains\nremained standing outside the room. I was told to sit before the\n_de facto_ King and I took my seat after Tibetan fashion, sitting\ncross-legged on the floor. The _de facto_ King opened the conversation\nas follows:\n\n\u201cYou are ready now to tell me your secret, I suppose; what is it you\nwish to tell me most?\u201d\n\n\u201cI possess no secret, Your Highness,\u201d I answered. \u201cWhat I most\nearnestly solicit is that Your Highness will be kind enough to take the\ntrouble of forwarding my petition to the Dalai Lama of Tibet and also\nprocuring for me the Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist Scriptures in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d.\u201d\n\nThe King appeared disappointed but not discomforted. He next wanted to\nknow the gist of my petition. I replied that I pointed out in it that\nI was in truth a Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhist priest of Japan, that my Tibetan friends and\nacquaintances in trouble had associated with me without knowing my\nnationality; that I was the sole cause of all the trouble, and that\nthose Tibetans had committed no crime; that I would come to Tibet\nin order to clear my friends and show their innocence, if the Dalai\nLama so willed; that if my coming into Tibet was not permissible, it\nwas incumbent on His Holiness to send to Japan a number of competent\nscholars to ascertain the truth about me before he punished his\ninnocent subjects; that I was willing to find means to bear the cost of\nthe proceeding; and so on.\n\nAfter attentively listening to my recital, the King, who now seemed to\nhave more or less banished his suspicion, said:\n\n\u201cI see; I shall then want two copies of your petition, one in Tibetan\nand the other in Nep\u0101lese; I will forward the one in Tibetan to His\nHoliness the Dalai Lama for you, and shall keep for myself the Nep\u0101lese\ncopy.\u201d\n\nThe order meant that I had not come to Nep\u0101l in vain, and in secret\nI wept with joy, and I thanked His Highness with all my heart. Being\nthen asked if I had not really disclosed my identity to any one before\nleaving Tibet, I admitted that I had taken the ex-Minister of the\nTreasury alone into my confidence.\n\nI was not yet safely through my ordeal; for the King was very curious\nto know next how I had occupied my time during the twenty days that\nhad elapsed since my arrival in K\u0101tm\u0101ndu. He accepted my reply, which\nwas to the effect that I had spent my time chiefly in literary efforts\nto take home in verse and prose descriptions of the grandeur of the\nHim\u0101layan scenery. I then submitted to His Highness a list of the\nScriptures in Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d that I wished to procure. The King took the\nlist from my hand and gave instructions accordingly to one of his\nChamberlains. He said that I should have all that could be collected in\nfifteen days.\n\nOn the way back to the Tower I again saw that highest peak,\nGaur\u012bshankara, but its splendor was now far greater than it had been\nthat other day. Moreover my desires had been fulfilled by the grace of\nour Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha, and I thanked Him with _utas_:\n\n Till yesterday uncertain of their fate,\n In doubts and painful anguish was I lost.\n To-day means being found to rescue them\n My doubts dissolve like snows upon the hills.\n Of all expedients, honest Truth must be\n The best; no doubt, whatever be the fruit,\n E\u2019en if the object aimed at be not gained,\n But honest Truth itself is th\u2019 object gained.\n\n I find no place where Buddha not exists.\n Non-space, non-Buddha--this my constant thought.\n These brilliant snowy mountains in the sky\n The Lord Supreme pervades--the Lord of all.\n\nWhen I left Japan for Tibet, a friend of mine, Mr. S. Shimamura, had\nsent in farewell a prophetic _uta_ which had been fulfilled, so I\nmention it here with my reply.\n\n The path for you, you\u2019ll find as you proceed\n Across the pathless mountain-passes drear;\n The Universal Leader, Buddha Great, your Guide\n Shall be in all your rambles in Tibet.\n\nReply:\n\n My heaped my sorrows and calamities\n Now all are melted like th\u2019 eternal snows\n With that unfailing Beacon-light, my Guide;\n The Universal Leader, Buddha Great, my Guide\n Has been in all my rambles in Tibet.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CII.\n\nFarewell to Nepal and its Good Kings.\n\n\nI had asked my host Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra to make a translation of my petition\nto the Dalai Lama into Nep\u0101lese. He had finished the translation, taken\nboth copies to the palace and handed them to the King Chandra Shamsher.\nHe had come home and was talking to me:\n\n\u201cNever before in my life,\u201d said he, \u201chave I felt so pleased as I did\nto-day!\u201d\n\n\u201cPray, what happened?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I handed up the petition and its translation, the King wanted to\nknow who had composed your Tibetan petition. I told His Highness that\nyou were your own author--which was nothing but truth--and he appeared\nto be well pleased. I then said that His Highness might judge the high\nmerit of your composition by reading my translation of it, which was\nbut a poor effort. The King took up my translation and began to read\nit. When he had finished going over the concluding part, where you\nsaid: \u2018The Dalai Lama of Tibet is the incarnation of the God of Mercy\nand knoweth all. The fact that Ekai Kawaguchi, a priest of Japan,\nwas allowed personally to wait on and be taught by Your Holiness who\nknoweth all, proveth that our Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha willed that it should be even\nso; not only that, but the same fact proveth that the Gods guarding the\nfour points of Your Holiness\u2019 palace all willed so. Twenty years have\nelapsed since Your Holiness\u2019 country adopted the policy of absolute\nseclusion, and no foreigner has been allowed to enter it during that\ninterval; and the fact that I alone was suffered to visit it proveth\nthat the Gods guarding the frontiers of your country had permitted me\nto do so. Furthermore I discern something profoundly significant in\nthe combination of events which led Your Holiness that knoweth all\ngenerously to overlook Ekai\u2019s entry into your land and impart to him\nthe grand mysteries of your religion. Your Holiness knoweth as well as\nI that the only two countries in the world that maintain the Mah\u0101y\u0101na\nteaching of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism are the Empire of Japan and Tibet. There are\nothers indeed, but they are insignificant and are in decadence now.\nThe time is come when these two countries of Mah\u0101y\u0101na Bud\u1e0d\u1e0dhism shall\nbecome acquainted and open intercourse with each other, and join in\nsending forth to the world the light of true Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism. I think it was\nthe advent of this new epoch that paved the way for my entrance into\nTibet, and gave me an opportunity, most difficult to obtain, of being\ninitiated into the grand mysteries even by your Holiness.\u2019 The King was\nenraptured with the force and eloquence of your argument.\u201d\n\nI was well pleased that things were so, and I praised our Lord Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha,\nfor by His protection and assistance my purpose in coming to Nep\u0101l was\naccomplished.\n\nI had to wait till about the 10th of March, in order to secure the\npromised royal gift. I thought it unwise to spend the interval in doing\nanything that would give an appearance of my being engaged in secret\nobservations; so openly obtaining permission, I made a trip to the\nfamous N\u0101gar Zong peak, a place sacred to Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\n\nOn the 12th of March, a few days after my return from the trip, I was\nonce more and for the last time summoned to the palace. I took with\nme then a red and a white piece of crape, which had arrived in the\nmeantime from Japan, and presented them to the King, who accepted them\nonly after much protest. His Highness then caused the Samsk\u1e5b\u1e6d Texts to\nbe brought in and gave them to me. He at the same time signed to one of\nhis English interpreters and through him said in an authoritative tone\nof voice:\n\n\u201cMr. Kawaguchi, these are rare volumes; I have been able to collect\nonly forty-one parts of the Scripture. I hope you will accept them from\nme as a mark of my appreciation of your presents to me.\u201d\n\nI tendered to His Highness my most heartfelt thanks and took leave of\nhim after a most respectful farewell. The volumes were forwarded for me\nto Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dha Vajra\u2019s house, borne by two men.\n\nEverything was done to oblige me, even to passing all my luggage--which\nhad by that time become quite considerable--through the customs-house\nin advance at K\u0101tm\u0101ndu instead of at Tispan\u012b or Chisapani, which is the\nusual place where all outgoing freights are examined.\n\nOn the 16th of March I left K\u0101tm\u0101ndu, reached Raxaul station in the\nnight of the 21st, and on the following night arrived at Calcutta,\nwhere I was met by my friend Mr. Omiya, who scolded me for spending\nmoney recklessly. I spent some days in Calcutta, doing a good deal\nof preaching among my countrymen residing there. Thence I went to\nBombay early in April, and there received a most hearty welcome.\nThere too I did some preaching and also lecturing, on one occasion\nbefore an assembly of Japanese gentlemen resident in the port and on\nanother before the members of the local branch of the Asiatic Society.\nContributions and gifts given me in money during my stay there amounted\nto a considerable sum, and with that money I purchased my passage home,\nbesides paying back the debts I owed to my friends in Calcutta. On the\n24th of April I embarked on the _Bombay Maru_, and sailed for home.\n\nOn May 19, 1902, the good ship passed Moji, and the next day she\ncame along side the Kobe pier, where from a considerable distance I\ndiscerned the figures of my friends, relatives and members of my former\nflock, with eyes that grew dimmer and dimmer as the distance shortened.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CIII.\n\nAll\u2019s well that ends well.\n\n\nSomething more than two years had elapsed since my return to Japan, and\nin all that time the worry of my mind had kept on increasing, instead\nof abating; in fact, every day that passed seemed to add to the misery\nand to make more vivid the picture of the dreadful fate of my friends\nand benefactors in Tibet. The reader may well imagine, therefore, with\nwhat kind of feeling I read the following letter (from which an extract\nonly is given here):\n\n\u201cMr. Kawaguchi passed through Yatung (Tibet) on his way to Darjeeling\nfrom Lhasa about June 1902. During his brief stay at Yatung, he, to my\npersonal knowledge, attended or prescribed for the wife of the local\nTibetan official there, commonly known as Dhurkey Sirdar. Soon after he\nhad crossed the Jelap pass into Sikkim (British protected territory)\nan order was sent from Lhasa to the effect that he had been living at\nthe Gompa of Sera, Lhasa, for some fifteen months and had suddenly\ndisappeared, and was believed to be a foreigner. Therefore Dhurkey\nSirdar was instructed to compass his arrest. This in itself would seem\nsufficient proof or corroboration of Kawaguchi\u2019s statements, however,\nthey need not rest on this alone, for there is no Tibetan official\nor merchant whom I have met who was not cognisant of Kawaguchi\u2019s\nlengthened residence at Sera Gompa and his flight therefrom....\n\n\u201cAs I have already mentioned, I never yet met an official or merchant\nwho did not know of Kawaguchi\u2019s lengthened residence at Lhasa, but I\nhave still to meet either one or other who has ever heard of Lander of\nspiked-saddle fame!\n\n\u201cPlease tell Kawaguchi that from enquiries I have ascertained that his\nTeacher and the merchants who befriended him have been released. I am,\nhowever, instituting fuller enquiries and will do all in my power for\nthem and let him know as soon as possible.\u201d\n\nThe letter is dated \u201cc/o Gratong P. O., Tibet Frontier Commission,\nTuna, 17 March, 1904,\u201d and is from Captain Randal Parr, British Tibet\nFrontier Commissioner, to whom I previously had the pleasure of\nwriting, through the introduction of Miss E. R. Scidmore of Yokohama.\nIt is addressed to the lady just mentioned, who has kindly placed at my\ndisposal the contents thereof.\n\nThe present translation of my book on Tibet was near its completion\nwhen I was allowed a perusal of the above, and never before had I\nread any letter with so much genuine and mingled feeling of the\nmost profound joy and gratitude as I felt on that occasion. A great\ntormenting load was suddenly taken off my mind--it will not be\nnecessary to say why. I am glad further that I am able to incorporate\nthis piece of good tidings in, and make it the concluding chapter of\nthis translation of my book.\n\n\nPEACE TO ALL BEINGS.\n\n[Illustration: MOUNT GAURISHANKARA, THE HIGHEST PEAK IN THE WORLD.]\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\n\nIllustrations have been moved next to the relevant text.\n\n\nThe following apparent errors have been corrected:\n\n\np. xi \"Third Challenge Gates\" changed to \"Third Challenge Gates.\"\n\np. xi \"from Lhasa\" changed to \"from Lhasa.\"\n\np. xv \"Baha\u1e0dur\" changed to \"Bah\u0101\u1e0dur\"\n\np. 7 \"\u1e0carjeeling\" changed to \"Darjeeling\"\n\np. 13 \"L\u0101ma Shabdung\" changed to \"Lama Shabdung\"\n\np. 53 \"Pa\u1e0dma Sambhava\" changed to \"Padma Sambhava\"\n\np. 66 \"\u1e0cas\" changed to \"\u1e0c\u0101s\"\n\np. 142 \"Bodhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas\" changed to \"Bo\u1e0dhisa\u1e6d\u1e6dvas\"\n\np. 142 \"Ami\u1e6d\u0101bha\" changed to \"Amit\u0101bha\"\n\np. 144 \"just at\" changed to \"just as\"\n\np. 146 \"than M\u0101nasa\u1e5bova\u1e5ba\" changed to \"than M\u0101nasarovara\"\n\np. 172 \"of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism\" changed to \"of Bu\u1e0d\u1e0dhism.\"\n\np. 196 \"ice-blocks\" changed to \"ice-blocks.\"\n\np. 218 \"he would\" changed to \"He would\"\n\np. 229 \"agreable\" changed to \"agreeable\"\n\np. 237 \"priests\" changed to \"priests,\"\n\np. 241 \"twenty one\" changed to \"twenty-one\"\n\np. 244 \"familar\" changed to \"familiar\"\n\np. 245 \"two and half\" changed to \"two and a half\"\n\np. 256 \"someone\" changed to \"someone.\"\n\np. 258 \"in one\" changed to \"is one\"\n\np. 263 \"occasion\" changed to \"occasions\"\n\np. 295 \"being trouble\" changed to \"bring trouble\"\n\np. 298 \"in front of of\" changed to \"in front of\"\n\np. 321 \"so much,\" changed to \"so much.\"\n\np. 370 \"neigbors\" changed to \"neighbors\"\n\np. 395 \"class\" changed to \"class.\"\n\np. 425 \"other which\" changed to \"other with\"\n\np. 440 \"divisons\" changed to \"divisions\"\n\np. 453 \"sen at Lhasa\" changed to \"_sen_ at Lhasa\"\n\np. 456 \"inconvenience to\" changed to \"inconvenience\"\n\np. 487 \"a fatal\" changed to \"fatal\"\n\np. 499 \"Tsar in\" changed to \"Tsar is\"\n\np. 527 \"agressive\" changed to \"aggressive\"\n\np. 535 \"of a abiding\" changed to \"abiding\"\n\np. 535 \"ngos' should\" changed to \"should\"\n\np. 535 \"monastery\" changed to \"of a monastery\"\n\np. 572 \"ancester's\" changed to \"ancestor's\"\n\np. 577 \"D\u0101s\" changed to \"\u1e0c\u0101s\"\n\np. 579 \"determined\" changed to \"determined.\"\n\np. 592 \"aquaintance\" changed to \"acquaintance\"\n\np. 601 (note) \"\u201c_Lha-kyallo_\" changed to \"\u201c_Lha-kyallo_\u201d\"\n\np. 613 \"road?\u201d\" changed to \"road?\"\n\np. 614 \"choose.\" changed to \"choose.\u201d\"\n\np. 626 \"do so.\" changed to \"do so.\u201d\"\n\np. 654 \"ollows\" changed to \"follows\"\n\np. 657 \"disagreeble\" changed to \"disagreeable\"\n\np. 664 \"Lapches in\" changed to \"Labches in\"\n\np. 673 \"then,\" changed to \"then,\u201d\"\n\np. 674 \"the air\" changed to \"the air.\"\n\np. 674 \"security, there\" changed to \"security there,\"\n\np. 699 \"fowarding\" changed to \"forwarding\"\n\n\nInconsistent spelling and hyphenation have otherwise been kept as\nprinted.","title":"Three Years in Tibet","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":208056}