Page:1903 Lhasa and Central Tibet by G. Ts. Tsybikoff.pdf/24

 granted only the third Panchen, Pande-yeshe, in 1870 at an audience at Peking. At present the sixth incarnate lives; he was born in 1882, and is therefore 20 years old.

The Panchen is next to the Dalai Lama in official capacity, but in the supervision of the lamaists he is considerably above him, because of his holiness. Especially is he regarded as the future king of the holy world "Shambala," in which he will be the principal leader.

It is customary to call the Dalai Lama also "Chyab-gong thamchad-mkhen-pa" (the omniscient—the object of faith), but the Tibetan applies this name to every eminent Lama incarnate he respects, since the charm of the Dalai Lama, as a holy individual, is less effective upon the religious feeling simply because of his distance than that of a Lama more easily approached, to whom he can appeal more often with inquiries relative to his religious requirements. The Dalai Lama, therefore, is known at places distant from Lhasa only as the principal ruler of Tibet, while the religious sentiment of the laymen is directed toward their patron, regardless of the sect to which he belongs.

The teachings of Tsongkapa now reign supreme in Central Tibet, but after the struggle during the first period of their introduction they are now entirely reconciled and to a certain extent are indifferent toward other sects. The contemporary lamaist in general and the Tibetan in particular regard the objects of faith of the various sects with exactly the same reverence. Even the central government of Tibet, with the Dalai Lama at its head, frequently bows before the representatives of the old red-hat sect (the yellow-hat sect predominates now). The laity does this, of course, out of ignorance and superstition, but such explanation does not apply to the higher representatives of the yellow-hats, who are guided by Tsongkapa's way of looking at the world and possess a knowledge of the difference in the views of other sects. We believe that the conduct of these men toward other sects is inspired by political motives, the desire to satisfy the superstitious requirements of the populace, and to be vindicated in case of popular suffering and unfortunate political events.

The central government of the land is in the hands of a council presided over by the Dalai Lama, called "deva-dzung." The principals in this council are four "kalons," or dignitaries, appointed by the Chinese Emperor, and their meetings are held in a special office—"kashag," or executive house. They are appointed from prominent aristocratic families, three of them civilians, the fourth a clergyman. For the local administration governors are sent from the "deva-dzung," usually two in number with equal powers—one a clergyman, the other a civilian. Districts are frequently leased, the lessee ruling according to established custom, being obliged to pay into the treasury a certain sum of money or to pay in kind. Usually these lessees are members