The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-04-13
RUSSIA REPUD|ATES
A BUDDHIST POPE
CHINESE PRESIDENT WARNS HIM
HE MUST MEND HIS
WAYS.
NO RIGHT TO MARRY
HOW THIRD LIVING REINCARNA-
TION OF BUDDHA Il USED AS
PAWN IN POLITICAL GAME.

PEkfNG. CHINA. April a-~-The
primitive town OF Uga, capital of the
new State of Mongolia. has just Wit
messed an event which Is irought with
infinite complications for future re-
lations between Russia and China.
Here 1t was that the khutukhta or
third Buddhist Pope. insulted the Rus
sian Consul General M, Muller, and
was instantly repudisted hy that Of
fetal, who has delivered him over TO
be dealt with according to the mercy
Of the president of China. whose vas
sal he actually is.
Since the conclusion If the. Russo
Monaghan treaty in November, 1912,
which gave Russia Outer Mongolia
and special concessions in Mongolia
proper, both the Russian and the Mon
gilians have had their eyes opened
The former believed that they had
To deal with an illiterate people, in
capable of warlike pursuits, who could
easily be nodded into Russian form.
The Mongols. and especially the head
Of the local church, the I<hutukhtas
imagined that the Russians had been
sent them for the sole purpose of re
moving the Chinese yoke Recently
both found that they were mistaken
On the Mongolian New Year day.
the Second Year of the White Pig"
fis hAllti AdiIfu QBbH AtAt
TO offer his official congratulations.
The khutukhta declined to receive
him, but send word on the following
day that he would call and explain
matters, This he failed to do. The
result WAS that NJ. Muller sent two
communications. one to Picking and the
other to st. Petersburg. st. Peters
burg ordered him not TO recognize
the Khutukhta in the future, and
g.. 4 hi
dent of China would discipline the
delinquent pope in his own way.
1t is stated that the Khutukhta has
received n message from YuanShi
Kai informing him that in the opinion
of the Tfbetan clergy his manner of
living is open to grave objection on
account of profanity. and that unless
/ he mended his ways promptly he
might he repudiated by the Buddhist
! church. The message then goes on
to enumerate some OF the Irregularities
committed by the Khutukhtas. and
makes special mention of his wife
and children as a worldly possession
! incompatible with monastic life.
4 The charge is really serious AS
! one Of the heads OF the Buddhist
! church the khutukhta has no right
i 10 marry; yet no sooner did he be-
come, with Russian help, independ-
+
a wife who shared with him the
/ throne at the coronation@cere in
! December, 1911, but he actually pro-
! claimed her to be the rencarnation
/ of the goddess ChagancarA. For three
years he was allowed TO maintain this
standing scandal at his monastery at
Crga, but now it seems he is about
to be put to The question by the Dalai
Lama.
The Khutukhta according to all
accounts. is certainly a most unworthy
representative Of the Buddhist church,
1t must he borne in mind that the
khutukhtas of Urga are reputed 10
be the third living reincarnation OF
Buddha, the first two being the Dalai
Lama and the Panchen Lama. They
originated at the beginning of the
seventeenth century. when the Dalai
Lama. after a long "Babylonian cap
tivity' at the capital of Mongolia had
returned to I4haSa. The question then
arose, How would Mongols continue
TO live without a living Buddha In
their midst? The Dalai Lama then
discovered that the son just born into
the house of Tushetu Khan, the most
powerful Of the Monaghan princes, a
direct defendant Of Genghis Khan,
was himself an incarnation of Budd-
ha. Themarveious boy was then
taken 10 Ln.ssa there brought up,
and afterwards sent home as the first
khetukhta (grand abbott of trga.
( 1t is from this great appointment
that the present khutukhta the eighth
lin the order OF succession, has de-
| scended-though not in The Mesh.
For the khutukhtas have no business
To marry and to establish "a dynasty,
! but are selected each time on the
death of the last holder of the office
from among the babies bora at that
very moment. Al first the selection
lay entirely in the hands of the Lamas
| learned in the mysteries of reinCarna-
| ton. but experience having shown
| that the selection always fell on some
/ scion of the house OF Tushetu Khan,
/ the Picking emperors transferred this
sacred duty to themselves. with the
with the result that the present Khu-