Evening star., 1901-12-14

~ copy Ol ftuuydTu hlpIlnS Nl1Il was
lying on the center table. Later on one of
the party translated from it to them the
passage in which Teshoo Lama tells of the
immense and sumptuous ritual of ava
lanche-guarded cathedralS, of professions
and devil dances, of the changing of monks
and nuns into swine, of holy cities 1900
feet in the air, of intrigues between monas-
terry and monastery, of voices among the
hills and of the myterious mirage that
dances on dry snow Pe spoke even of
Lhassa and of the Dalai Lama, whom he
had seen and adored. 1t set them won
dering.
And do YOU mean to saw that the Dalai
Lama is the grand pontiff of this White
Freemasonry ?" they asked.
Exactly" replied the Russian. Long
ago Lhassa foresaw the inevitable attack
OF the west on the east, of which the pres
ent humiliation of China is a foretaste. I
think that Lhassa cares little for China
and Chinese ideals, but western aggres-
s1Veness, with its cock-sure science, is it's
abomination, and to protect Asia on the
west Its almost superhuman politicians
nave long been working in Russia On her
SIDE, Russia is more Asiatic than Euro
pean. The Free Beings of the White Free
masonry Russians and they see in
such an understanding a splendid and DOM
mating destiny for Russia in the east
Here she interrupted herself. as if struck
by sudden thought, here is a tangible
fact for you. With the exception of Eng
land, western Europe attached no impor-
tance to 1t at the time. l refer to the con-
SttullNe embassies Wnlcn tne CrdnQ Lama
sent only recently to st. Petersburg and
which were officially received by the czar.
British Questions.
THE British ambassador was the only
one to interest himself in these strange
diplomats-becarse, perhaps, his nation is
the one that would have the most to fear
from them. he British ambassador for
mally begged the Russian ministry of for
eign affairs to furnish him with few eX-
plantations on the subject. Lamsdorf, a
cold-blooded joker, replied that they were
visits of pure courtesy England did not
dare to insist, but she thinks the more,
because she knows that the Grand Lama,
through a vast and intricate system of
secret societies. really governs a great part
of the orient. and that in the case of
serious conflict his hostility would be
equivalent to disaster
Did not one of the envoys come to
Paris?' asked somebody
Yes; one of them came, with his suite.
They went freely about the capital, no
one noticing that they were not French
men Do not forget that they are Aryans-
white people. like ourselves
And Europeans are forbidden to enter
Lhassa?"
Since the year 176O three Europeans
only have succeeded in penetrating to the
metropolis of the Buddhist-Lamaite world
y 1911 the Engishman Manning visited
Lhassa In the costume of a Hindoo physi-
clan, and in 1914 the French missionaries
Hue and CADET remained there five days
as Buddhist monks. 1t is significant that
the three We're thoroughly orientalized Eu-
ropeans. Manning a fanatic of the higher
Buddhlstic culture, living and dying in the
land of his adoption, while the Jesuit
missionaries, like all their kind, had thrown
IN their lot with their charges for once and
all. From this date, 1874, until the pres
ent year Europe's information of Lhassa
has had to come through on-European
travellers, Hindu 'pundits' trained by the
I'M 1lY0f for tl1s
twice, in 1866 and 1879, one such. Main
Sing, visited the forbidden city and deter
mined its astronomical position.
An Oasis of Culture.
The astronomical position of Lhassa
was known by its savants several hundred
years before, but let that pass There was
no harm in the Europeans wanting to know
it. The pundts brought back little other
Information apart from their agreement
with the three European pioneers that the
forbidden city is an oasis of culture and
intellectual activity unique in the east. To
them succeeded the kalmouks of Russia,
themselves BuddhiSts, and consequently
better able to receive Impressions A few
years ago the kalmouk Buddhist -Lamaite
priest Baza-Bakchi Meunkeundjuev ac-
Gonphshed pilgrimage from Astrakan to
Lhassa. The recital of his voyage in Kali
nouk and Russian makes a book of 42O
pages. published at St. Petersburg by the
faculty of oriental languages of the uni
versity. And now, scarcely three months
ago, another Kalmouk, also a Russian s1,h-
Ject, has returned from a trip to Lhassa.
bringing with him excellent photographs
OF the forbidden city.
There is something significant in the
of these things with others 7
could mention" she insisted "The two en-
bassies to st. Petersburg, the publication
OF the photograph and according to NJ
Seilliere's informant, brilliant young pro-
lessor of the University of Heidelberg the
movement toward Lamaite Buddhism and
Its central doctrine Of the transmgration of
souls IN the German universities is so great
and ardent that it might be called a meta
physical panic. All yes. the time is grow
ing ripe" she murmured
The photograph showing a general view
great eclat, by the official bulletin of the
Societie de Geographic of Paris" she went
on 1t represents the sacred mountain.
Bodola or Po-tala, which forms the west
ora ern part OF the vast and splendid agglom-
Grafton of temples, palaces, schools and
guest houses surrounding the residence of
the Dalai Lama. The view is taken from
the south, from the exact spot-note this
chosen by the Jesuit Fathers, Hue and Ga
bet in 1860. a comparison of the modern
photograph with the old drawing will show
that CIVIC improvements may not be so
lnuch the exclusive possession of the west
handing around the two pictures. "confass
that the forbidden city has an up-to-date
lOOki' w ''0
Its Nine-StOry TempIe.
1t Is the nine-story temple, seen In the
middle of the photograph that according
TO the pundit A. K) there stands the colos-
sal statue of "Djamba,' or Jam-d Byans.
one of the incarnatons of the boddisatya
Manjucri, seventy-fve feet high. Standing
on pedestal on the ground floor. this
statue extends through three stories Of the
temple; its head. in gilded bronze, orna-
mented with precious stones, Is lust be-
meath the roof of the fourth story. Accord
ing to the pundit, the professions of nil
grims and monks around the galleries that
lead from it's feet to It's head are Of a splen
dor and impressiveness beyond description.
The kalmouk, who took the photograph
says that he did not visit the interior of
this or any other of the buildings of the
mountain, because his visit to Lhassa was
during the summer season, during which
the Grand Lama and his court remove to
a charming country place,
buried in the verdure of a forest and park
situated to the west of Bodala There
through fresh early morning hours, groups
OF hundreds sit in sylvan amphitheaters, at
tentve to discourses that have little in
common with ChatauQua as explained to MS