New-York tribune., 1903-11-29
In Forbidden C5tE1f,

dozen times ia tie previous fortnight. one
journey around the lake. he learned. would
expiate a petty theft. a trip twice around.
with a salaam after each step would shTive one
of murder. whereas three journeys around its
shores would purge the sinner Of killing his
father brother
There are 50 many lamas i'm Thibet that the
land is practically priest ridden. At the head
of the hierarchy are the grand lamas. who all
claim to be Buddha reincarnate. Every lama
sery has such a priest god, and there is one
called Chang Kia Eco who lives at Peking.
Beneath these high p1ies,s there are hundreds
Of lamas who pro.ess to lie the reincarnated
spirits of Buddhist SAINTS. Then there are lanas
in whom supposed to dwell the founders
OF monasteries. ana iamas in whom good men
live their lives over again. The priests con
stitute such a large IOrtiOn of the population
that many of them are compelled to so about
the country begging from door to door. There
are many features about lamaism which strong
ly resemble the doctrines of the Roman Catholic
Church. The ceremonial of worship. the burn
ing of incense. the chanting of hymns.
closely similar to these services in the Roman
Catholic Church that Father Hue, who sue
ceeded In visiting Lhasa in 1880 reached the
conclusion in his "Souvenrs' that the wander
ing lama from whom Tsong KAPPA drew his
j.
Such travellers. however as William Jameson
Reid say that the lamas are wofuIly corrupt,
that while processing oelibacy they are immoral,
that they eat the flesh of the dead, and have
passionate thirst for blood. Many he says
use hypnotic power their parishoners
and obtain wealth by various modes of extor-
tion.
In Thibet all roads lead toward Lhasa, the
forbidden capital, and the residence of the
Dalai Lama. 1t is the mystic treasure city of
Buddha, wherein are kept the countless sacred
relics. images and other paraphernalia wrought
and adorned in pure gold and studded with
precious gems. To get within its gates and
witness some Of the mysterious lamanistic cere-
monials. for centuries veiled from European
eyes, has been the coveted goal of the most
intrepid travellers of recent times. Sarat Chan
dra Das, the learned Indian surveyor in the
interest of the English government. disguised
as a priest, entered the city and succeeded in
making numerous illustrations of its buildings
and inhabitants. His suppressed observations
have recently been made public.
He told of a number of grotesque masks used
before the Dalai Lama during the performance
Of the Great Mystery Play and New Year fes-
uval. the most spectacular Of all the Lhasa cere-
monials-
DR.. Berthold Laufer, explorer, in gathering an
Asiatic collection for the American Museum of
Natural History. has just obtained a set of
these masks from lama monaSteries in China
near the frontier of Thibet Nearing the Holy
City, which shelters sixty thousand one
meets many caravans of camels loaded with
tea and other supplies. together with thousands
or pilgrims and priests who have come from
Thibet and Mongolia. China and India Many
OF these are mounted yaks. These animals
are adapted to high attitudes. having great
powers of endurance. Under the saddle they
move at slow gait, with footed and pot
tering steps. They used in bands of three
hundred for packing purposes, and are urged
on with shrill cries. They run wild and are
also bred for furnishing milk and butter
special herd is used to supply the household
of the Dalai Lama with dairy sundries They
are considered so sacred that when passed by
the people profound bow is made to them
One of the strange sights seen outside of the
walls is some transgressor unusually pious
pilgrim going through the painful and weari-
some task OF encircling the thirteen miles cir
cumference of the city in the attitude of prayer
This is a tOrtuous crawling and dragging of