(Conti gardeners to leave their homes in eastern Szechuen and come to Litang. An enormous plain, it was explained, [could produce tons of good vegetables, The Chinese vegetable gardener, known all-over the world for his patience, persistence and prosperity. could do nothing on the Litang plain.
sheer desperation the adventure /was given up and the Chinese began. digging gold.
Why, "they asked, would that magnificent plain not produce veget-fables, 'There must be some cause; Jand one was found, "A lama, it was quietly, mooted, in the large' Litang Tamasery., had cursed the Litang plain, and so. vegetables refused to grow. 'The fact that this plain was, 14,000 feet high never entered into the question. Nothing but grass will grow this. immense plain, but this Tuxurlant grass will' feed enormous. herds of cattle," Strange, we once saw a Lao San with a tiny vegetable garden in this city.
"Do the Tamas or drabas," T asked the Incarnation, "in the three great religious "institutions round Lhas jer indulge in feasts or parties? "Oh yes." he replied. "a feast of party in Drebung in not unknown." "This Was news to me so T was anxious to Know just what form it took, The Club Habit Drebung, Sera, and Galdan divided up into houses somethin, ik our great public schools at home. 'And in the lamasery each house has ts own particular name, that is, the mas from Litang go to the Litang House or headquarters and the lamas from Minya go to the Minya House, and soon, each district in Tibet having its' own section. set. apart. Naturally an association tke that of St. George's, St, Patrick's or St. Andrew's 1 formed in the three great Tamaseries, and of course, human nature being very much the same all over the world the club habit at once Begins. And club habit includes dinner parties, tiffins and teas and 0 the Tama extends an invitation to his brother Tama to come and drink. some nice, rancid and hard-smelling yak butter tea, with the proviso, of Sourse that he brings his own wooden dzamba bowl, The different dishes may not make very strong appeal to the European palate but the lama loves them and on them grows fat and comfortable, ere is one dish of rancid butter, eu is, cheese and one of mili; and these same dishes may be served, wot of dry, hot or cold, ancient or modern, 'The guests sit on the floor; the small fable is one foot high; the dishes are Chinese bowls; large' wooden bowls being used to hold the different yok. viands.
Sometimes there are slices of cold large Jamaseries near Lhasa so. a Jama tiMn or dinner is almost ex: felusively confined to the produce of the frisky: yak, with the exception of Chinese tea, Every party begins and Jends with yak butter tea, but when the occasion is of the nature of a celebration all that is necessary more old rancid bulter and a special brand of Chinese tea, The idea of finding raw materials for a party in no way embarrasses the patient, simple lama, That should ght the Australian black on the question of sea slugs, or a South Seq "Islander" on the question of shellfish. or Norway on the question of cod liver all. or Sweden on he question of matches, or Spain on the fauestion of cork, never once crosses World markets have assumed an me ternational significance but they neither distur nor embarrass the Tama nor nomad, "Raw materials may istress and. harass civilization: the Tibetan dwelling. quietly and. safely jon the Roof of the World has. reduced existence to a solentine basis. He has very little to export and less fo import and the question of a care~ fully balanced budget seldom, it ever. disturbs his prayers. He has practiically eliminated every problem from the business of living and reduced life almost to a state of Nievana, Simple Meals But Many Prayers A fow bowls of buttered-tea and he prays for hours: a few bowls of Bround barley and he reads for days: Jo fow bags of flour and he lives for weeks, Raw markets may be a neces sity: They donot interest the red robed lama, Life to him consists not what aman shall eat, drink, wear buy, sell oF possess, butin what pre paration he has made, not for this Tite, but, the next, The science of life as he sees it is something with so many dimensions, but a little elrele round which Folates his. sheepskin garment, his dzamba bowl, his prayer wheel, andihis. butter-tea, and within these the lives and moves and has his being, The dea of drinking with Beautiful Par fection at 10am. lunching with Perfect Virtue at 1" p.m, and dining with Tustrious Mind at 8 p.m. may. fit ins nicely at the Coast but it simply won't work on the Roof of the World.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.