ous religious observances must
take up nearly their whole day. But the Lamas are adept casuists, and
generally manage to evade the most irksome laws of their scriptures.

[20] I have derived most of my information regarding the discipline
and constitution of Depung from 'Lamaism in Tibet,' by Colonel
Augustine Waddell, who accompanied the expedition as Archaeologist
and Principal Medical Officer.

Soon after our arrival in Lhasa we had occasion to visit Depung, which
is probably the largest monastery in the world. It stands in a natural
amphitheatre in the hillside two miles from the city, a huge collection
of temples and monastic buildings, larger, and certainly more imposing,
than most towns in Tibet.

The University was founded in 1414, during the reign of the first Grand
Lama of the Reformed Church. It is divided into four colleges, and
contains nearly 8,000 monks, amongst whom there is a large Mongolian
community. The fourth Grand Lama, a Mongolian, is buried within the
precincts. The fifth and greatest Dalai Lama, who built the Potala and
was the first to combine the temporal and spiritual power, was an Abbot
of Depung. The reigning Dalai Lama visits Depung annually, and a palace
in the university is reserved for his use. The Abbot, of course, is a
man of very great political influence.

All these facts I have collected to show that the monks have some reason
to be proud of their monastery as the first in Tibet. One may forgive
them a little pride in its historic distinctions. Even in our own alma
mater we meet the best of men who seem to gather importance from old
traditions and association with a long roll of distinguished names.
What, then, can we expect of this Tibetan community, the most
conservative in a country that has prided itself for centuries on its
bigotry and isolation--men who are ignorant of science, literature,
history, politics, everything, in fact, except their own narrow
priestcraft and confused metaphysics? We call the Tibetan 'impossible.'
His whole education teaches him to be so, and the more educated he is
the more 'impossible' he becomes.

Imagine, then, the consternation at Depung when a body of armed men rode
up to the monastery and demanded supplies. We had refrained from
entering the monasteries of Lhasa and its neighbourhood at the request
of the Abbots and Shapes, but only on condition that the monks should
bring in supplies, which were to be paid for at a li