This appellation is said to have been given it, 6n account of the coldness
of thé climate, by the teachers who first came from India, and
who promulgated the religion which prevails among them.
I shall, for very obvious reasons, decline entering into any formal
discussion respecting the nature of this., religion. It is evidently a
subject, to acquire a competent knowledge of which, necessarily demands
a Jong residence in the country, and an. accurate and critical
acquaintance with its language.. .1 shall therefqre co,nte^t myself, as I
have hitherto done, with communicating faithfully, such superficial
information as I was enabled to obtain, respecting the .religion of Tibet,
and with delineating what occurred to my ownjminedjate observation,
respecting its external forms.
It seems, then, to be the schisma ticaj offspring of thesreligion,pf the
Hindoos, derivingits origin from one of the followers of that faith, a
disciple of Budh, who first broached the doctrine which npw prevails
over the- wide extent of Tartary. It is reported to. haye received its
earliest admission, in that part pf Tibet bordering upon India, [which
from hence became the, seat of .the sovereign Lamas) to have traversed
over Mantchieux Tartary, and to have been ultimately disseminated
over China ,and Japan. Though it differs from the Hindoo in many of
its outward forms, yet it still bears a very close affinity with the religion
of Brahma, in many important particulars, The principal idol in
the temples of Tibet is Mahamoonie*, the Budha of Bengal, who is
worshipped under these and various other epithets, throughout thb
great extent of Tartary, and among all, the nations to the eastward of
* This term is Sanscrit, and literally signifies Great $ain{.
the ,Be?hampo©ter. f fe the, widen expended spaced dsseT'wyhiehwthi'sl fifth
pie\ails, the same object pt,veneration- is *mkno\\lodged undi.pn»iri&-
rous, titles; (amfthgf others, heu^styledtGodajmsai or Gowtama, jint’Assam
,and"(Ava,;-, $amapa,-an giarp?; Amida^Bj^fi^ftltapamlmEphijiti-mShirtaj
,Bu4ha,,<pi4 §hafeamuna, in Bengal*a^dtHi'ndgstgnt;, -Dherma R^ja-aTid
Mahamoonie, ip.Bpotan apd Tibet* ■ ;JDurg^^a©f| Kali; «the
emblem sof wisdqnij; t,apc|’}eQfrfjkeahf( witfi'
aim{..tjib,JK,elI astuupy otlici, ij y gi < U f th $ idq o. 1 ry-I.If d 1cjgy!■)a^e
also a-placpdp their, assemhjlagejpf^ods.
. The .same places ,of. pppular^est^em4.o^j|^£gj^a^^sJjr^^',’Iljfav'e
already hinted, aie equajly respected m Tibet, and mwB' ^ n g a a g ,
CJashij, Durgeedin, Saugor, and Iagatsnauty,axe
grirpage jj.and I ha\e seen loads ol^the saciul. w atu,taken^»iHjVt'he
Ganges, travelling over,the^qmouutams^^whichvjby.tha,byp^qontrihiite
largely, to -its,ipejpas&) upqn the^shpixldersaQfrmen/whqm.^ePthilsiaste
have deemed it; Wortli.their^whil^tQ^htrmat a,caMd6arat|F^ expend,
for. so pious a purpose.
As far as I am able. Ad judge, irespecting^th§iiftriABffiil ,■
worship, it differs materially from the> I I iu d j:^ ^ b ^ rftj3^tidiiSi!t,i}t
semble in chapels, and unite together -in^prodigipus num bi|^t6Y|Seti
form their1,,religioqs servicepwhich, they-phant inj^alteHa^r^dftatiye
and chorus, accompanied by an extensive band of-laitdjraildipouerfnJ'
instrUmenfo,,i^Sd, that,; , vghenever I heard these • cangregat-ions'H; tlrey'
forcibly recalled.fo mj^reoqllectioi^ioth the «ilcmnity, an'd-'ipwndj’idf
the Roman Cathqlic mass.
The instruments made use of wcrq.all, Qfj amenmmou& size. *Trumr