£ 6 0 T I B E T.
apparently regardless of our presence. It was his duty, together with
others, who occasionally relieved him, to pray eternally upon the same
spot, and keep alive the sacred fire, that hums before the shrine. Two
ponderous doors, painted with vermilion, and embossed with huge
gilded' knobs, made the whole fabric ring, as their pivots grated within
the sockets, and their massy sides came with strong concussion against
the walls. It now appeared, that the building we had hitherto seen,
served only as a case, to cover a most beautiful pyramid placed within
it. At the base of this pyramid, the body of the late Lama was deposited
in a coffin of pure gold, made by command of the Emperor of
China, upon the decease of the Lama at his court, and in which the
body was-conveyed, with the utmost solemnity and state, from Pekin,
through the provinces of China and Tibet, to Teshoo Loomboo. His
votaries all the way, paid the most profound homage to his manes, ’
and thought themselves peculiarly blessed, if they- could but touch
the pall, or any part of the bier, as the funeral procession passed,
slowly along.
It is the custom in Tibet, to preserve entire the mortal remains of
their sovereign Lamas only; every other corpse is either consumed by
fire, or given to be the promiscuous food of beasts, and birds of prey.
As soon- as life has. left the body of a Lama, it is placed upright, sitting
in an attitude of devotion, his legs being folded before him, with
the instep resting upon each thigh, and the soles of the feet turned
upwards. To a person unused to the practice, this must be a posture
of extreme constraint; though, Lam Rimbochay, of Bootan, has repeatedly
placed himself in it before me, with much apparent ease.
T I B E T. 261
The; right hand is jested yvkh its back upon thé-thigfe,with the
thumb bent across the palm. The left arm is bent and held dose to the
body, the hand being open, and the thumb, at right angles with the
fingera, touching the point of the shoulder.
-This is the attitude óf-abstracted meditation. TfiéeyëSy at the Same
time, being directed-downwards, and half dosed,"indicate that,- with
the suspended powers of the bódy, thé faculties of the mind also, are
completely absorbed -M Contemplation, effectually guarded ’ against
wandering, and shut to every species- of esternal hhjÉgsslQfi,
The late Teshoo Lama is? represented in an èffigy of gold, which
crowns the pyramid, and is placed within the concave of * large shelly
radiated alternately, with white and fed, thé edges beingSCöllöped, and
projecting so far as to form a canopy, that InetösêS Within its- hallow^
the whole body of the figure. The image is represented sitting upon
cushions, and has the drapery of a yellow satin mantle; negligently
flowing over the lower part, whilst a cap,- resembling a mitre, covers
the head. As a tribute of respect, whichmight be gratifying to hf$
votaries, and tend to conciliate their affection; I made an offering-Of a
white pelong scarf, which the attending priest received, and passed
over the smoke of thé incense burning befere the shrine, while the
Gosein and others prostrated themselves nine times with devout humility.
The priest then ascended a ladder, and put one end ofthé-sèarf
upon that hand of the image which was adittle advanced; the othet
hung down upon the pyramid. Round the borders of tuë^öörapyi were
suspended all the various rosaries, Of the richest gents, rjsedhy the Lama
during his life; they consisted of pearls, emeralds»,-flies',-sapphires,