Upon these plateaux six years have I passed
But yet Illumination’s Morning Star
Have I not seen—the Star that flashed so bright
At that Illumination of our Lord,
The Holy Saint under the Bodhi tree.[5]
We next made a sharp descent of about three miles past the village of Kurikane and an iron bridge, and entered Marku, where we lodged for the night. Starting at three o’clock on the 21st we calculated upon reaching Kātmāndu by the evening. The weird serenity of the great mountain pass under the starry heavens of the early morning; the bracing chill, the gradual revelation of the scenery around under the rising sun, the famous rhododendron flowers almost in bloom, the climb of Chandragiri, the vast plain at the height of six thousand feet above the sea level—all the sights and scenes, awe-inspiring, entrancing and interesting—were there as on the occasion of my former visit.
Arrived in Kātmāndu, I at once proceeded to the official residence of the Local Commander-in-Chief and Acting Prime Minister. His Excellency was too busy to see me that evening, and sent me word asking to come the next day. In the place of the one that had accompanied me to Kātmāndu two fresh bodyguards were then given to me. Such being the case, my arrival in the town had apparently become known to my old friend of four years ago Lama Buḍḍha Vajra; for, as I came out of the Commander-in-Chief’s residence, I was met by one of my friend’s sons and some servants with a horse. I at once rode to the Kāṣyapa Buḍḍha Tower and there renewed my friendship with its master, who, it will be superfluous to say, received me with a right royal welcome and placed me under fresh obligations by his great hospitality. I may add, however, that the Nepālese custom is almost the reverse of that of Tibet, in that all those who can afford to do so marry two, three, even five wives. My friend, though a Lama, but belonging to the Old School, has two wives and thirteen children.
MEETING AGAIN WITH AN OLD FRIEND LAMA BUDDHA VAJRA.