“If I mention his name you must know where he is living. His name is Serai Amchi; the famous Serai Amchi is a Japanese.”
After a pause for consideration the Pope’s brother replied: “I have heard of Serai Amchi. He must be an expert physician to be sent for by the Pope, the nobility and the clergy. One who masters the art of medicine so thoroughly as to gain such a great reputation in so short a space of time cannot be a Chinese. I once suspected that he might be a European. But now that I hear this from you, my doubts about him have been removed. Yes, the Japanese can do quite as great things as the Europeans. But” (shaking his head) “this is news that troubles me not a little.”
“What troubles Your Highness?”
“If I am not wrongly informed, Japan is on very friendly terms with England. When I consider this I cannot but suspect her. Besides, Japan is so strong a country that she can bully China. Such a country is very likely to think it easy to subdue a small country like our own. Moreover the religion of Japan is the same as that of Tibet; is that not a fact which might easily awaken the ambition for subjugation? Therefore I cannot take him for anything but a spy sent by the Japanese Government to investigate the state of things in Tibet for a sinister purpose. Will not the nobility who are connected with Serai Amchi suffer as did those who were connected with Saraṭ Chanḍra Ḍās when he entered the country? Will not the Sera monastery be closed again? The matter cannot be overlooked. Some measures must be taken about it.”
This conclusion was an unexpected one for the caravan chief, for he had thought the story would please His Highness. His disappointment was immediately followed by the feeling of fear, and with an intention to defend me he said:
“He cannot possibly be taken for a spy. He lives in Lhasa, where meat is considered necessary food, and he often goes to the temple of Sera where meat and meat gruel are freely given as alms to the priests, but he never touches them, and feeds only on scorched barley. Such a man is surely a Lama of Japan.”
This strong argument was at once denied by the Pope’s brother, who said:
“You consider so, for you are short of wisdom. There are devils that resemble Buḍḍha in this world; indeed, the greatest devil is the one that can make himself most resemble a Buḍḍha. For example, take the case of saint Upagupṭa. He was the fifth saint from Shākya Buḍḍha. He was born after the death of the Buḍḍha, and thought how he might see the real Buḍḍha, who is said to have been perfect in physique and physiognomy. He heard that the devil-king of the sixth heaven had often seen the Buḍḍha while the latter was passing through His worldly life. So he thought he would go and ask the devil-king whether he would, by his miraculous power, give him a glimpse of the real Buḍḍha. He did so, and his request was granted at once. The devil-king immediately put on the appearance of Buḍḍha and sat on the ‘Diamond-Seat.’ He looked so Buḍḍha-like that the saint could but prostrate himself before the image. In a similar manner Serai Amchi, who really is a spy, may have taken the form of a Lama to deceive us. No, he cannot be trusted. The very fact that he could enter this country, so strictly closed from the rest of the world, tells that he is by no means an ordinary person. Did he alight from heaven? He must have had superhuman power to perform such a miracle. Therefore he must not be treated carelessly. At any rate this is a difficult problem to solve.” This argument was strong enough to make Choen Joe sober and pale.
That day (20th of May) towards evening Takbo Tunbai Choen Joe called on Tsa Rong-ba, as I learnt afterwards, with a rather melancholy face. He had determined not to say anything about his conversation with the Pope’s brother. But it was supper-time when he came in, and the host persuaded him to share with him a few glasses of drink, as is customary in Tibet. Pretty soon the host perceived that the caravan chief was drinking with unusual haste and a sad look. Being intimate friends, Tsa Rong-ba asked the reason, saying:
“You must be uneasy in your mind to drink in such a way. I wish you would tell me what is the matter with you.”