The ancient worship of Buddha was strongly rooted in the minds of the people. But Tsong-Kaba made partisans rapidly. They were called Yellow Cap Lamas, to distinguish them from the Red Cap Lamas who supported the old system. In a short time, the reformers became predominant, and the homage of the multitude was turned from the living Buddha, or Chakdja, the head of the old hierarchy, to Tsong-Kaba. At an interview between the two chiefs, a discussion was held, which resulted in the complete triumph of the reformer. Thenceforward the reforms proposed met with no obstacle; they were adopted throughout Thibet and Tartary. In 1419, the soul of Tsong-Kaba, who had become Buddha, quitted the earth, returned to the Celestial Realm, and was admitted to the heaven of rapture. His body is reported to preserve all its freshness to the present day; and, by a perennial miracle, it lies a little above the earth, without being supported by anything visible. Besides reforming the liturgy, Tsong-Kaba issued a new edition of the "Body of Doctrine," and left, among his other works, an important one entitled the "Lam-Rim-Tsien-Bo, or the Progressive Path to Perfection."
MM. Gabet and Huc were impressed with the striking similarity between the Lamanesque worship and Catholicism. The cross, the mitre, the dalmatica, the cape, which the Grand Lamas wear on their journeys, or when they are performing some ceremony out of the temple; the service with double choirs, the psalmody, the exorcisms, the censer, suspended from five chains; the benedictions given by the Lamas by extending the right hand over the head of the faithful; the chaplet, ecclesiastical celibacy, spiritual retirement, the worship of the saints, the fasts, the processions, the litanies, the holy water, all these are analogous in the two modes of worship. Monasteries were founded by Tsong-Kaba, and they now contain a very large number of Lamas. The principal one is situated about three leagues from Lha-Ssa. It contains eight thousand Lamas, who devote the greater portion of their lives to study. The monastery of Hounboum is situated at the Lamanesque Mecca—the foot of the mountain where Tsong-Kaba was born. Near it is shown the tree of the Ten Thousand Images, which is said to have sprung from the hair of Tsong-Kaba. MM. Gabet and Huc both saw this wonderful tree, and they testify that Thibetian characters are distinctly traceable upon its leaves. It is covered by a dome of silver, erected by the Emperor Khang-Hi.
The French missionaries naturally conjectured that the Lama from the remote west, who taught Tsong-Kaba, was a Christian priest. Upon a further intercourse with the Thibetians, they learned that the only two essential points in which the Lamas of Thibet differed from the Catholic priests of Rome, were concerning the origin of the world and the transmigration of souls. Two alternatives presented themselves to the minds of the missionaries: To believe that the Thibetians had enjoyed the blessing of a divine revelation, or that they had been visited ages before by Christian missionaries. They concluded the latter was the most rational and probable. The celebrated Swedenborg declared that an Ancient Word, a revelation prior to the Mosaic, and including the lost Book of Jasher, was still preserved in Tartary; and the members of his church now assert that the discoveries of MM. Gabet and Huc go very far towards establishing the truth of this declaration.
The Lamanesque Church has a regular organization like that of the Church of Rome. Each Tartar kingdom has a Grand Lama, who is selected from the members of the royal family. There is also a Grand Lama for all Thibet. This personage resides in the Lamasery, like a living idol, receiving every day the adorations of the devout, upon whom, in return, he bestows his blessing. Everything which relates to prayers and liturgical ceremonies is placed under his immediate superintendence. The Mongol Grand Lama is charged with the administration, good order, and executive of the Lamasery; he governs while his colleague is content to reign. Each Lamasery of the first class has a Living Buddha for its head. He is believed to be immortal. When his death is reported, there is no mourning in the Lamasery; for it is believed that he will soon reappear as a child. The augur, or Tchurtchur, indicates the place where the child will declare himself, and this always occurs. A certain precocious child announces that he is the Living Buddha, and the people immediately display the most enthusiastic joy. The child is rigidly examined as to the residence, habits, and property of the deceased Buddha. If his answers are satisfactory, and they generally are, he is conducted in triumph to his Lamasery, the people prostrating themselves along his path.
The Grand Lamas who govern have a number of subalterns, who direct the details of administration. After this staff, the inhabitants of the Lamasery are divided into Lama-masters and Lama-disciples, or Chabis. Each Lama has under his direction one or more Chabis, who live in his small house and execute all the details of the household. These Chabis are also considered as pupils, and when they fail to commit their studies to memory they are severely punished.
All instruction, both in Thibet and Tartary, is ecclesiastical. It is said that the majority of the people constantly act with a view to a future life. They are, in fact, much more consistently religious, according to their notions, than the so-called Christian nations of Europe. As to the character of those notions, we may learn from the Thibetian work entitled "The Forty-Two Points of Instruction delivered by Buddha," that they are purely moral. According to this book, "there are in living creatures ten species of acts which are called good, and also ten species of acts which are called evil. There are three which appertain to the body, murder, theft, and impurity; four, which appertain to speech, are words sowing discord, insulting maledictions, impudent lies, and hypocritical expressions; three appertaining to the will, are envy, anger, and malignant thoughts." The wicked man who persecutes a good man is compared to a madman who spits against heaven, the spittle falling back in his face. The man who seeks riches is compared to a child who cuts itself while trying to eat honey with a knife. Voluptuousness is denounced as a sin, and the dominion of the mind over the passions of the heart is rigidly enforced. The belief in a spiritual God, who rewards good actions and punishes evil ones, is common to all Tartars and Thibetians. They believe that he is the beginning and end of all things, and that he has assumed the human shape and appeared among men to stimulate them to do good. They divide living beings into six classes, angels, demons, men, quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles, corresponding to the six syllables of the prayer they constantly repeat: "Om mani pad me houm." (Oh, the gem in the lotus, Amen.) The meaning of this singular prayer is said to be an aspiration after divine perfection. The reward of the just and perfect is believed to be an absorption into the blissful soul of the Deity.
The monasteries of these people differ in some respects from the Catholic establishments of Europe. It cannot be said that the Lamas live in community. You may find among them all the graduated shades of poverty and wealth that you see in mundane cities. Every third month, the authorities make a distribution of meal to all the Lamas of the Lamaseries without distinction. The voluntary offerings of the pilgrims to Hounboum come in aid of this donation. Some of these offerings are in money; but generally they consist of a tea-drinking entertainment, to which all the Lamas are invited. These entertainments are very expensive.
A large number of the Lamas gain a livelihood by the ordinary occupations of life; but a certain class devote themselves entirely to study and contemplation. Among the industrial Lamas, a number occupy themselves in printing and transcribing the Lamanesque books. The Thibetian writing proceeds horizontally from left to right. Stereotype printing on wood is alone practised, no use being made of movable type. The Thibetian books resemble a large pack of cards, the leaves being movable and printed on both sides. The manuscript editions of the Lamanesque books are enriched with illustrative designs, and the characters are elegantly traced. The Lamas use sized paper and a bamboo pen. Their inkstand is filled with cotton saturated with ink.
In each Lamasery there is a Faculty of Prayers, and the Grand Lama and the students of this department are often appealed to by the government to preserve their locality from calamity. On these occasions, the Lamas ascend to the summits of high mountains, and spend two whole days in praying, exorcising, and in erecting the Pyramid of Peace—a small pyramid of earth whitened with lime, a flag, inscribed with Thibetian characters, floating above.
