d it
and deposited a small offering in the collection-box. This seemed to
please the Lama greatly, for he at once fetched a holy-water amphora,
hung with long "veils of friendship and love,"[6] and poured some
scented liquid on the palms of my hands. Then, producing a strip of
veil, he wetted it with the scent and presented it to me. The majority
of pilgrims generally go round the inside of the temple on their knees,
but, notwithstanding that, to avoid offending prejudices, I generally
follow the principle of doing in Rome as the Romans do, I could not here
afford the chance of placing myself at such a disadvantage in case of a
surprise. The High Lama explained the different images to me, and threw
handfuls of rice over them as he called them by their respective names,
all of which I tried hard to remember, but, alas! before I could get
back to the _serai_ and scribble them down on paper, they had all
escaped my memory. A separate entrance led from the monastery into the
temple.

Lights, burning in brass bowls, their wicks being fed with melted
butter, were scattered on the floor in the central quadrangle. Near them
lay oblong books of prayers printed on the smooth yellow Tibetan paper
made from a fibrous bark. Near these books were small drums and cymbals.
One double drum, I noticed, was made from reversed sections of human
skulls. My attention was also attracted by some peculiar head-gear worn
by the Lamas during their services and ceremonies, when they not only
accompany their chanting and prayers with the beating of drums and
clashing of cymbals, but they also make a noise on cane flutes, tinkle
hand-bells, and sound a large gong. The noise of these instruments is at
times so great that the prayers themselves cannot be heard.
Awe-inspiring masks are used by Lamas in their eccentric and mystic
dances. The Lamas spend the entire day in the temple and consume much
tea with butter and salt in it, which is brought to them in cups by
Lamas of an inferior order acting as servants. They pass hour after hour
in their temples, apparently absorbed in praying to the God above all
gods, the incarnation of all the saints together united in a trinity,
the _Kunjuk-Sum_.

_Kunjuk-Sum_, translated literally, means "the three deities." Some take
it to refer to the elements--air, water, and fire--which in the Tibetan
mind are symbols of speech, charity, and strength or life. One great
point in Buddhism is the love and respect for one