Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-01-15
THleETAn MONKS.
Description Of . Lamassery and the Life Of
Its Inmates.

Wv ~ 2AAA0 VI
Its 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 a son too many
in a family, as the third would prove
in a poor one, or the fourth in a richer
one, he is generally packed off to the
Lamassery of the district. Not only
to d~isembarrass the family of a 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
a boy has shown particular sharpness
OF boldness-in fact, that he is worth
having-a Lama or some lower "ec-
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 t'ecclesiastic'' casually tells
the fortune of the family. For the
on he wants he predicts all sorts of
ills and sickness, which can only be
averted by his entering a Lamassery.
This has the desired effect, and he is
handed over to save him from the un-
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 lone-twelfth of the total popula-
ton Of Thibet in Lamasseries. Deduct
for the women and children, and it will
be evident what a ruinous proportion
of the male adult population is wasted
in Lamasseries, perfectly unproductive
and living in a great measure on the
toll of the remainder!
As regards the interior s'monastic"
life and regulations, the members of a
Lamassery %(miscallcd sLamas'D 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
rigueur; the other period is at the new
year, when when they must pass fifteen
days in the Lamassery, also ostensibly
in prayer. The members have no com.
munism, some being very poor-these
often acting as the servants of richer
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 tn,
pleasures and passions of youth, theil
vices have left them, and they have il
consequence elected to abandon thei
vicious courses. The great majority
however, rove about at will, with NJ
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 S
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 a body, and only excer
from SANDER a few, chiefly the very Of
"living Buddhas." Nearly all larg
Lamasseries have one or more of thes
Giving Buddhas. ''-NIneteenM Gen
tU9N.