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The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ meaning thereby the convent of Himis, where Mr. Notovitch discovered the manuscripts, and further on: "he visited the convent of Himis, which we do not find on our own calendar of Buddhist ecclesiastical establishment near Leh, the capital of Ladak.” Monstrous statements ! The monastery of Himis is one of the most well-known institutions in Thibet, and very few persons who have traveled in Ladak have failed to visit that monastery. Professor Sir Monier Monier-Williams makes mention of this monastery in his work on Buddhism (p. 433, English edition, 1889) in these words: “ Hence large monastic institutions are often found in solitary places and elevated situations; for instance, in Ladak those at Lama Yurru and Himis are more than 11,000 feet above the sea, and that at Hanle is 14,000 feet. They resemble romantic castles towering upwards in the midst of rocks, crags and snowy mountains.” In the years 1854-58 a scientific mission was undertaken by the brothers Hermann, Adolphe and Robert de Schlagintweist to India and High Asia; they also visited various parts of Thibet and the Buddhist countries in the Himalaya. The first of them visited the monastery of Himis in September, 1856, and got an exact copy of a curious inscription relating to the founding of the institution, which is carved on a stone slab in the monastery, and of which I here give a copy and the translation for the information of my readers. | also give a picture of the monastery, so that they may be assured of its existence.
The inscription is divided into two paragraphs, the first of which begins with a hymn to the Buddhist triad:
"Hail! Praise be and benediction! Salutation to the teachers! To the most perfect, eminent Buddha, who has the characteristic signs and proportions; to the excellent law, which reveals the entire truth; to the congregation of the faithful, who endeavour to become delivered; all honour be to these three Supremacies after a prostration at the feet of the superiors [Lamas.)”
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