imported from India, are called "Idma," while those of lower rank are called simply "Choichong," or "Choisrung." The Choichong speak with the lips of the prophets whom they inspire. Only Choichong of lower degrees thus descend to prophets. As protectors and defenders of the faith the people imagine them to be horrible monsters in warriors' outfit. On this account the prophet, before the descent of "Choichong" upon him, dons a helmet and arms himself with spear, sword, or bows and arrows. The sense of the descent is contained in the fact that the spirit guardian of learning becomes incarnated in the chosen prophet for the sake of the living beings. Of such spirit guardians there are many, and the prophets are correspondingly numerous. The superior among them is the one confirmed by the Chinese Government—the Prophet Naichung-Choichong, whose gold-crowned temple and church suite is in the shady garden southeast of the monastery of Brebung. He is appealed to for prophecies, not only by ordinary mortals, but by all the higher clergy, including the Dalai Lama. Their mutual relation is as follows: Lama is "the abode of learning," and Choichong, its "guardian," having sworn to defend the religion vigilantly, will be honored of all for it. The Lama, therefore, honors — that is, brings sacrifices to — the Choichong, and the latter forestalls all that threatens the religion and the Lama, its representative. They constitute a check on each other and are allies at the same time. In this rôle of defenders of the faith the Choichong — or, more correctly, their prophets — wield a powerful influence over all classes. Their power is so great that even the Dalai Lama and the highest Hutuktu must reckon with them; they endeavor to incline all toward themselves. * * *
The "ritods," who are particularly numerous at Sera, are ascetic monks, who have retired from the world and buried themselves in meditation, which is regarded as one of the six means of attaining holiness—its origin based on Gautama's abdication of kingly luxuries in search of truth. The later ascetics choose obscure nooks in dense forests or dark caves in the rocks as places for meditation. More recently they have concerned themselves not only about their own attainment of holiness, but about the good of others, and their peaceful existence became distracted by the care of enlightening fellow-men. The silence of the cell for solitary meditations was broken by the cries of those hungry for knowledge, and to the lot of the ascetics fell the new care of their spiritual and material satisfaction. Then the idea of worldly vanity and comfortable quarters enticed the ascetics, and the cells were converted into comfortable dwellings, with quarters for pupils. The ascetic was thus transformed into the full master and ruler of his servants. Later on, with the appearance of the incarnates, the ritods become the inheritable property of the incarnates of the organizer, and several are transformed into separate monasteries.
