Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-01-21
THIBETAN MONKS.
Description of a Lamassery and the Life of
Its Inmates.

OescTiptfOh Oh LainaSsery anu inc hAifc VI
It's Inmates.
The young apprentices or novices,
passing through their novitiate, are
generally called Peng Giong, and
sometimes La Tchru (small Lamas).
These are generally recruited as fol-
lows: Should there be son too many
in family, as the third would prove
in poor one, or the fourth in richer
one, he is generally packed off to the
Lamassery of the district. Not only
to disembarrass the family of surplus
son is this done, but also TO gain the
favor of the Lamassery, as although
these have no civil power by right, still
they are strong enough to usurp and
exert a great deal of power. Again, if
boy has shown particular sharpness
or boldness-in fact, that he is worth
having-a Lama or some lower sec
clesiastic" walks into the parents
house unasked, as is quite permitted to
any Thibetan to do in any Thibetan
house, and in the course of converse
ton this "ecclesiastic" casually tells
the fortune" of the family. For the
son he wants he predicts all sorts of
ills and sickness, which can only be
averted by his entering Lamassery.
This has the desired effect, and he is
handed over to save him from the UNI
happy alternative. This result has
often been led up to by preparatory
predictions given from time TO time
concerning the son. Thanks to the
above systematic fraud, there. is now
about one-twelfth of the total popula-
ton of Thibet in Lamasseries. Deduct
for the women and children, and it will
be evident what ruinOus proportion
of the male adult population is wasted
in Lamasseries, perfectly unproductive
and living in great measure on the
toll of the remainder
AS regards the interior 'monastic'
life and regulations, the members of a
Lamassery (miscalled tsLamas') roam
whittier they will, and as a rule with
no proper or moral purpose. They
are practically subject to no discipline
| whatever, nor can there be said to be
any real rules followed, except perhaps
at three times of the year. These
periods are the fifth and ninth moon
during each of which three days must
be spent in the Lamassery, ostensibly
in prayer, though the latter it not dc
rigucur; the other period is at the new
year, when when they must pass fifteer
days in the Lamassery, also ostensibly
in prayer. The members have no com
munism, some being very poor-thes'
often acting as the servants of richel
members; others being rich, and al
living exactly as suits each individual
tastes and means. A few of the elder
remain pretty constantly in the Lamas
series, when, having outgrown thu
pleasures and passions of youth, thei
vices have left them, and they have il
consequence elected to abandon thei
vicious courses. The great majority
however, rove about at will, with M
moral intent, as we have said.
As far as the so-called Lamas them
selves are concerned, their religion i
a farce they do not believe, save in 81
far as it brings them in the good thing
of this world. For that purpose the,
thoroughly appreciate its value. TIL
people, too, already realize and max
common talk of the immortality of tn
"Lamas" as body, and only excep
from Islander few, chiefly the very oil
Giving Buddhas." Nearly all larg
Lamasseries have one or more of thes
Giving Buddhas. "-Nineteenth Cen