Grand Lama had recently taken the baths, but it was supposed that the water gods (or nagas) had in some way or other been offended, as the water had but aggravated his complaint. To propitiate these lu a hundred lamas had been employed here until within a few days conducting religious services. In and near these springs are numerous black snakes which, though they are said to be venomous, do no harm to either man or beast. They enter houses in the neighbouring villages, but no one ever thinks of hurting them.
The next day they crossed the Jeh la and stopped for the night at the village of Keshong, but again they could not get lodgings. On the 30th they reached the old village of Shendar ding,[1] near which is situated the famous Bonbo monastery of Rigyal Shendar. Ugyen visited this lamasery the following day, and represented himself as a Bonbo from Sikkim on a pilgrimage to the sanctuaries of Bonbo Shenrab mivo, the chief deity of this religion. He expressed a desire to give a general tea (mang ja) to the monks, presented the manager five tanka for the purpose, and it was arranged that the entertainment should take place on the morrow.
In the mean time he was shown about the temple. In the congregation hall the priests were reading the Bonbo scriptures. In the chapel of the upper story he noticed among the images of the various gods of the Bon pantheon that of Sakya Buddha.
The next day the mang ja took place. There were about thirty monks (dabas) present,[2] and, on inquiring why there were so few, Ugyen was told that a large number of monks who are natives of Khams Gyarong had gone to the Chang-tang[3] to look to the interests of the Bon church there.
Ugyen, in company with the head priest (om-dse), then visited the gloomy chapels of the monastery, only lighted by torches and butter-fed lamps, where he saw a number of curious pictures and tapestries on which were represented various terrifying gods. After this he
- ↑ Ding means something like "village." It is a very common termination to names of places throughout Tibet.—(W. R.)
- ↑ Daba, or Draba, is the name applied to all lamas irrespective of rank. The word lama is only used when speaking of some high dignitary in the church, or of a gelong, or "priest."—(W. R.)
- ↑ The Gyade country, which extends from the high-road from Nagchukha to Hsi-ning in Kansu and to Chamdo, is not under the rule of Lhasa, it is a purely Bonbo country. I traversed this region from west to east in 1892. Khams Gyarong refers to the Chin chuan, a small region on the Upper Ta-tung river, in North-west Sze-chuen, where this religion has many adherents.—(W. R.)
