Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/784

* LAMAISM. 710 LAMAISM. similar nature, are made by the worshipers, ani- mal sacritices or ■jH'eriiigs entailing injury lo life being forbidden, as in the Buddhistic faith. In the ritual which the priests conduct rosaries, prayer-wlieels, and prayer-flags fiirni also a part, and symbols, charms, and aiiuilcts are employed in acts of worsliip or superstitious rites, while charms, spells, incantation, divination, astrology, and necromancy are also resorted to. The religious festivals and holidays of Lama- ism are numerous. The three great festivals are New Year's, the Flower Feast, and the Water Feast, to which might be added a lantern festival and the chase of the scapegoat of bad luck. The Luy-yNnar, or the festival of the new year, in February, marks the comn'.cncenient of the season of spring, or the victory of light and warmth over darkness and cold. The Lamaisls, like the Buddliists, celebrate it in commemora- tion of the victory obtained by Buddha over six heretic teachers. The second festival, proliably the oldest festival of the Buddhistic Church, is held in commemoration of the conce])tion or in- carnation of the Buddha, and marks the com- mencement of summer. The third is the Water Feast, in August and September, marking the commencement of autumn. The two principal sacraments of Lamaism are baptism and confirmation. The former is ad- ministered on tiie third or tcntli day after birth; the latter, generally when the child can walk and sjieak. The marriage ceremony is to the Tibetans not a religious, but a civil act, though it is from the Lamas that the bridegroom ancl liride learn the auspicious day; nor do they fail to complete the act with prayers and rites, which must be responded to with handsome presents. A similar observation apjilics to the funeral ceremonies of the Tibetans. The method of disposing of the dead is by burning, by interment, and likewise by exposing the body in the open air, to be de- vourefl by birds and beasts of prey. When a man dies, a Lama must lie present to stiperintend the i)roper separation of the body and the soul, and to direct the spirit on its journey to the Western paradise; also to cast the liorosco]ie and to enable the departed to be reborn in a happy existence or to enter the regions lieyond reliirth. for Lamaism, like Buddhism, has fhe doctrine of metempsychosis and reincarnation. The most lucrative part of the Lama's Inisiness, however, is the masses which he has to perform until the soul is released from Yama. (he infernal judge, and re.Tily to enter upon its new existence. One of the most interesting features of Lama- ism is the organization of its hierarchy. Its summit is occupied by two Lama popes, the one called Dalai-Ldm-a, i.e. ocean - priest, or priest vast as the ocean — he resides at Po- tala, a hill near Lhasa — the other bearing the titles of Tcush-Lfnna. Boijodo-LSma, etc., and officially called Pnn-ch'en rin po ch'e, literally 'the right reverend great teacher-jewel' (i.e. precious teacher) ; he resides in the convent at iiKra Shiss Lhun po, near gShiss Ka rTse. In theory, both popes have the same rank and au- thority, in spiritual as well as in temporal mat- ters; but, as the Dalai-Lama possesses a much larger territory than the other, he is in reality much more powerful. Next in rank are the Khutuktus. The third degree is that of the Khubilglmns or Ilohilfihans — which Mongol name is more frequently given to them than the Tibetan title, hjang ch'uh — a translation of the Sanskrit hOdliisattiU. Their number is very great. These three degrees represent the clergj', which claims to be the incarnation of the Buddhistic saints. The theory of the reincarnate succession of the Lamas is strongly marked. The Dalai- Lama and the I'mi-ch'en were in their former lives the two chief disciples of the great Lamaist reformer bi'song-K'a-pa. who was an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Amitabha, or, as some will have it, of Manjusri and Vajra- pani, and who is reputed to have founded, in J355 or 1357 of the Christian Era, the present system of the J^ama hierarcliy. The Khutuktus were, in their prior existences, other Buddhistic saints of very great renown; and the Khubil- ghans are those reborn hosts of saintly patrons whom the temples and convents of Lamaism possess in boundless numbers. On the death of a Grand Lama, his soul is supposed to take up its abode in some infant born shortly after the pontili's decease. I'p to the end of the eighteenth century the clergj- of these various classes deter- mined the choice of the children into whose bodies the souls of their departed members had migrated. At present, however, it seems that the Emperor of China exercises a [laramount in- fluence on the discovery of those transmigra- tions. In order to ascertain the rebirth of a departed Lama, various means are relied upon. Sometimes the deceased had, before his death, confidentially mentioned to his friends where and in which family he would reappear, or his will contained intimations to this etl'ect. In most instances, however, the sacred books and the official astrologers are consulted on the sub jeet; and if the Dalai-Lama dies, it is the duty of the Pan-ch'en to interpret the traditions and oracles; whereas, if the latter dies, the Dalai- Lama renders him the same service. The proc- lamation of so great an event, however, as the metempsychosis of a Dalai-Lama or Pan-ch'en is preceded by a close examination of the child who claims to he in possession of the soul of either of these personages. Besides the three classes of the higher clergy, alluded to above, Lamaism possesses a lower clergy, which, having no claim to incarnate holi- ness, recruits its ranks on the principle of merit and theological profieiency. It has four orders: The pupil or novice, who enters the order gen- erally in his seventh or ninth year; the assistant priest; the religious mendicant: and the teacher, or abbot. To these may be added two academical or theological degrees, and also two dignities, conferred by the sovereign Lamas on those doc- tors who have distinguished themselves by ex- traordinary sanctity or learning. All the mem- bers of these orders must make the vow of celi- bacy, and by far the greatest number of them live in convents. A Lamaist convent or monas- lery, dGonpa. consists of a temple, which forms its centre, and of a number of Iniildings con- nected with the temple, and tised as the meeting-rooms, the library, refectory, dwellings, and other spiritual and worldly wants of the monks. At the head of the convent is a Khubil- ghan. or an abbot, the latter being elected by tha chapter, and appointed by the Dalai-Lama, or the prm'incial Khubilghan. In addition to these orders of monks and convents, Lamaism has like- ise its nuns and ntinneries. The scriptures of Lamaism are divided inte