ly 30,000 armed and bigoted monks, maintain a
preponderating influence in the national assembly.[19] These men wield a
greater influence than the four Shapes or the Dalai Lama himself, and
practically dictate the policy of the country.

[19] 'It may be asked how the monastic influence is brought to bear
on a Government in which three out of the four principal
Ministers (Shape) are laymen. The fact seems to be that lying
behind the Tak Lama, the Shapes, and all the machinery of the
Tibetan Government, as we have hitherto been acquainted with it,
there is an institution called the "Tsong-du-chembo," or
"Tsong-dugze-tsom," which may reasonably be compared with what we
call a "National Assembly," or, as the word implies, "Great
Assembly." It is constituted of the Kenpas or Abbots of the three
great monasteries, representatives from the four lings or small
monasteries actually in Lhasa city, and from all the other
monasteries in the province of U; and besides this, all the
officials of the Government are present--laymen and ecclesiastics
alike--to the number of several hundreds.'--Captain O'Connor's
Diary at Khamba Jong (Tibetan Blue-Book, 1904).

The three great monasteries are of ancient foundation, and intimately
associated with the history of the country. They are, in fact,
ecclesiastical Universities,[20] and resemble in many ways our
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The Universities are divided into
colleges. Each has its own Abbot, or Master, and disciplinary staff. The
undergraduates, or candidates for ordination, must attend lectures and
chapels, and pass examinations in set books, which they must learn from
cover to cover before they can take their degree. Failure in
examination, as well as breaches in discipline and manners, are punished
by flogging. Corporal punishment is also dealt out to the unfortunate
tutors, who are held responsible for their pupils' omissions. If a
candidate repeatedly fails to pass his examination, he is expelled from
the University, and can only enter again on payment of increased fees.
The three leading Universities are empowered to confer degrees which
correspond to our Bachelor and Doctor of Divinity. The monks live in
rooms in quadrangles, and have separate messing clubs, but meet for
general worship in the cathedral. If their code is strictly observed,
which I very much doubt, prayers and tedi