Tachientu, June 25, Religion may be dying out in some parts of the world but it is certainly not showing signs of any decadence on the Roof of the World. The Red menace may come and go but if there one lama left with his prayer stone, his prayer lag and his prayer wheel, Lomaism will' continue to function and flourish—bulldings are unnecessary, and on audience is not requisite. During the great persecution in the time of Langdarma, Lamaism was almost extinguished,' but a few lamas were left, and the system began all over again. Houses, clothes or even food are not absolutely necessary. Ju the spread of Lamaism. The Loka Lama, one of the most religious men. who has ever been in Tachlentu, fives in a rock eave in the mountains above the city, During last week' religious observatices and ceremonies the Loka Lama followed the footsteps of the great Amdo reformer, Dzong-Kapa, and denounced the drabas in Tachienlu for their vicious and mercenary spirit.
'Of course the draba, like every other human being has' to live, and to live he must make money. To make money he must work, and his work consists in helping sinners accumulate merit; and though he may have very little of his' own, still according to Lamaism, it does hot affect the general plan of salvation. 'The draba prays, reads, blows trumpets, beats drums,' brings music from the conch-shell and burns Juniper before the gods, and may have very little personal' interest in the performance, The Aja who invites him provides the barley flour, the butter-tea and a place to rest his head, The draba trims the sacred light, sweeps the sacred floor, burns the sacred tre Yeads the sacred book and chants the sacred song. If the Aja is kind and Generous the draba receives a few coppers (dirty paper notes).
'The Lamas' "Jumble Sal The fourth month in the lama's calendar is a kind of Jumble Sale when bargains go for almost nothing. It was during the fourth moon that Sangje, in the incarnate form of Jenrehizes, came back again to earth to carry on the salvation of all forms of living beings, Therefore ang act of merey or any little deed of kind= ness shown, any prayer offered, any act of circumambulation performed, any turn of the prayer wheel or any counting of the rosary passes for more than its face value during the fourth moon, The idea is something like this: You put a penny in the bank and the bank very generously puts, 100,000 against your penny, provided ' of course, that, your deposit is made during the fourth moon. So ducing the fourth moon there was a decided premium on religious exercises along the Tibetan frontier. The idea from 8 lamaist standpoint simply works wonders and as the nomad is not averse to taking any advantage of spiritual bargains, he decides to work hard from a religious, point of view. As long as Lomaism Keeps these rovival stunts going there is very little fear of the inhabitants on the Root of the World lapsing back into bar-
For sixteen days the lama devotees in Tachtenlu were invited to take up residence in the seven lamaseries and very many took advantage of the opportunity. Every second day was proclaimed a fast and every form of speech forbidden. A lama stood bo-side the picture of the Jenrehzee Incarnation and took the eight-fold vow of the simple minded people, namely; Not to kill, lie, steal, for-nicolo, drink wine, adorn, covet and to play.
Tenaclous Hold on the Nomad The drinking of wine inclided re: training from meat and onions Lamaism has and will retain its tenacious hold on the nomad because it Is a wise and judicious combination of pleasure, business and religion. Sixteen days fast was interspersed with eight days pleasure, Not to in troduce temptation, the friends of those observing the fast, refrained from visiting the lamasery on the days when speech was forbidden. But fon such days when food and speech were allowed the lamasery had all the appearance of a garden party. Relatives and friends packed lunch baskets, and this included a little wine, Merit was being accumulated at the alarming ratio of one to 100,- 000, At such times the spirit can afford to be a little jovial and enjoy the pleasures of life. And the lamas and drabas came in for their share of the good things.
The next turn in the wheel may not throw them out in such good company or in such good circimstances, so why despise the day of good things? Pleasure, business arid Feligion: these have given Lamaisia its peculiar hold and made Tibet the Jand of the lamas. The Aja fasts, rays and counts her beads and the next day she talks business end drinks a little wine, And Lamaism Is very accommodate ing. Song Lama, "one of the wealthy lamas in Tachienlu, makes provision for the feeble "and infirm. His small residence is in the centre of the town and the old folks who can walk go there and perform fan abridged and abbreviated religious ceremony, They fast when they feel like it and pray when inclined, Song Lama, a bit of a rascal, helps out when necessary,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.