Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 255

DECEMBER, 1931)
SCRAPS OF TIBETO-BURMAN FOLKLORE
225
washed this luck-covering away. Not infrequently the natural layer will be supplemented by smearing the body with butter or sheep's fat."
"The afternoon of this day (p. 283) was marked by a very important event, the taking of a bath [at Lhasa). .... At last everything was ready, when, to my horror, I discovered that after all I did not want a bath! Cleanliness and dirtiness are largely a question of habit, and perhaps of climate. At first the steadily increasing layer of dirt had been a misery, but now, with the Tibetans, I had come to regard it as a secure protection."
8. Natural Hot-baths. “On passing a village (p. 211) situated in the lower valley (of the Brahmaputra), near the water's edge, I saw a number of persons lying stark naked near the roadside. I thought they must be raving lunatics, or else corpses, to be thus exposed to the cold. But as we came nearer I discovered that they were ordinary Tibetan peasants lying in shallow pools of steaming water. The village in question, I learned, is famous for its natural hot springs. Great curative powers are ascribed to the waters, and the Tibetans sometimes overcome their disinclination to wash and will then soak themselves in the steaming water for hours."
"But in addition (p. 212) to the great importance attached to the healing properties of the hot springs, the Tibetan has an ulterior motive for bathing in the sulphurous waters. He is a verminous creature, and his Buddhistic beliefs preclude the hunting and slaughter of the insects which infest his body and clothing. The springs, then, provide him with a simple means of ridding himself of vermin without trespassing too far on his religious scruples."
9, Story of an Abbot. "The nemo, or landlady (at Shigatse), came up to talk to us (pp. 188-189) and to tell us about the local scandal. She had a good deal to say about the local abbot, who was con sidered to be an 'incarnation of deity,' and the troubles which he was having. He had, of course, been chosen as the true incarnation and appointed abbot when he was still an infant, and during his minority the power had been exercised by one of the senior monks. Even when the young divine ruler' came of age, the regent was very unwilling to renounce his power, and a bitter enmity sprang up between the two as to who was to have the real control of the affairs of the monastery. The regent, as the older and craftier man, had proved successful, and in wrath the incarnate abbot had resigned his post and left the temple.
"I was very much interested to learn that an incarnate and re-incarnate abbot could resign his job, and asked our gossipy informant what had become of him. She answered that he had received an invitation from another monastery to become its head, and had ordained that hereafter he would be reborn as the abbot of the new temple, rather than as the ruler of the temple from which he had been ejected. This little incident was of great interest to me, as it threw fresh light on the way in which the Tibetans regard and regulate the institution of re-incarnated divine rulers."
10. Preaching. "This, I found (p. 280), was the Lhasa pulpit (a curious sort of platform rather elaborately decorated), the only pulpit I ever saw in Tibet. Preaching plays no part in Tibetan religion. The peasants are quite willing to pay money to the priests to perform ceremonies for them. This propitiates the gods and demons: why, therefore, should one be forced to listen to sermons ? The monks on the other band see no reason why religious secrets should be delivered to the masses...... (this pulpit) is used only by the Dalai Lama, who once a year, in the character of high priest of bis people, delivers a short discourse to the Lhasa commu. nity, which packs itself in the open space around. This annual sermon is a very quaint custom, and I was very anxious to learn something of its origin, but I found no one who could tell me."
11. Romoval of Residence. "To my surprise I found that he [Tsarong Shape, the Commander-in-Chief] was build ing a new city palace only a few hundred yards away from his present establishment. I