Buddha Amitayus. Everything being ready and the congregation assembled, the priest, ceremonially pure by the ascetic rites above noted,' and dressed as in the frontispiece, abstracts from the great image of Buddha Amitāyus part of the divine essence of that deity, by placing the vajra of his rdor-jehi gzun-t'ag upon the nectar-vase which the image of Amitayus holds in his lap, and applying the other end to his own bosom, over his heart. Thus, through the string, as by a telegraph wire, passes the divine spirit, and the Lama must mentally conceive that his heart is in actual union with that of the god Amitāyus, and that, for the time being, he is himself that god.* Then he invokes his tutelary-fiend, and through him the fearful horsenecked Hayagrīva (Tamdin), the king of the demons. The Lama, with this divine triad (namely, the Buddha and the two demon kings) incorporate in him, and exhibiting the forms of all three to spiritual eyes, now dispenses his divine favours. He takes up the Las-bum-vase and consecrates its contents, saying,

"Om! namo Tathāgata Abhi-khita samayasriri hūm! Nama candra vajra krodha Amrita hum phat!"

Then he sprinkles some of the water on the rice-offerings (gtor-ma) to the evil spirits, saying, "I have purified it with svabhava, and converted it into an ocean of nectar within a precious Bhum-bowl. Om akaromu-kham! Sarva dharma nantyanutpanna tatto! Om! A! Hum! phat! Svāhā! I now desire to bestow the deepest life-power on these people before me; therefore, I beg you demons to accept this cake-offering, and depart without doing further injury."

Here the Lama, assuming the threatening aspect of the demon-kings, who are, for the time being, in his body, adds, "Should you refuse to go, then I, who am the most powerful Hayagriva and the king of the angry demons, will crush you-body, speech and mind-to dust! Obey my mandate and begone, each to his abode, otherwise you shall suffer. Om sumbhani," etc. Now, the Lamas and the people, believing that all the evil spirits have been driven away by the demon-king himself, shout, "The gods have won! the devils are defeated!"

The Lama then proceeds to secure for himself the benedictory power of life-conferring. He first meditates on "the guardian-deities," murmuring thus: "The upper part (of the divine abode) is of thunderbolt

1 He usually wears a mantle (stod-gyog), on which are embroidered mystic Chinese emblems of luck, including the Bat, etc. See pp. 394, 396.

2 In southern Buddhism is found a very similar instance of ceremonial union with a Buddhist fetish. At the pirit (paritta) celebration "a sacred thread, called the pirit nula, is fastened round the interior of the building, the end of which, after being fastened to the reading platform, is placed near the relic (of Buddha). At such times as the whole of the priests who are present engage in chanting in chorus, the cord is untwined, and each priest takes hold of it, thus making the communication complete between each of the officiating priests, the relic, and the interior walls of the building." -HARDY'S E. Monachism, p. 241.

tents and hangings; the lower part of earth-foundation and adamantineseat; and the walls are of thunderbolts. The entire building is a great tent, protected by precious charms, so that the evil spirits can neither destroy it, nor can they gain entry. Om! vajra rakhya rakhya sutra tikhtha vajraye svāhā !”

Then the magic-circle (mandala) is offered up, saying:

"If I fail to refer to the successive Lama-saints, my words and deeds will count for nothing. Therefore must I praise the holy Lāmas to secure their blessing towards the realization of my plans. O holy Padma-sambhara,1 in you are concentrated all the blessings of the present, past and future! You are the Buddha of the great final Perfection (Maha-utpanna) who beheld the face of Lord Amitayus. O Saint possessed of the gift of undying life, of life lasting till the worlds of re-births are emptied! You hid away from us, in the snowy regions, the revelation upon the true essence of the five hundred 'Obtainings of Life.' The one which we now perform is the iron palace of the attainment of life' (Ts'e-grub lc'ags-kyi-pho-bran), and is extracted from dKonmch'og-spyi-'dus. It was discovered by the saint 'Dsah-Ts'on-shin-po in the cave where you hid it; and this mode of endowering a person with life has come down to me through many generations of saints. Now, O Lord Amitayus and the host of radiant gods! I beg you to sustain the animal beings, vast as the starry host, who now, with great reverence and praise, approach you. Om a hum! O holy shrine of our refuge! Hri! O Hosts of the Bright World of Light! Pad-ma t'od-phren-rtsal-vajrasamayaja siddhi phala hūm!”

Then here is repeated "Ts'e-'gug," or "The Invoking of Life," thus : “O Lord Amitāyus, residing in the five shrines whence glittering rays shoot forth' O! Gandharva in the west! Fama in the south! Nāga rāja in the west! Yaksha in the north! Brähma and Indra in the upper regions! and Nanda and Taksha in the lower regions! And especially all the Buddhas and Bodhisatwas! I beg you all to bless me and to gratify my wishes by giving me the gift of undying life and by softening all the injuries of the harmful spirits. I entreat you to grant life and implore you to cause it to come to me. Hri! I beg your blessing, O Buddhas of the three times. (Dipankara, Ṣākya Muni and Maitreya).

At this stage the celestial Buddhas, Bodhisats, and other gods are now supposed to have consecrated the fluid in the vase and transformed it into immortal ambrosia. Therefore the priest intones the following chant to the music of cymbals: "This Vase is filled with the immortal ambrosia which the Five celestial Classes have blessed with the best Life. May life be permanent as adamant, victorious as the king's banner. May it be strong like the eagle (Gyun-drun) and last for ever. May I be favoured with the gift of undying life, and all my wishes be realized.

"Buddhu! Vajra! Ratna! Padma! Karma, Kapâbamāla. Hri maharinisaayu siddhi phala hūm! Om A Hūm vajra Guru Padma siddhi ayukke Hūm nijā!”

The priest now bestows his blessing as the incarnate Amitāns as well as the other gods of longevity, by laying-on of hands, and

A Lama of the established church would usually invoke St. Tson-K'a-pa, and the subsequent prayer would be slightly different.

The Vija-mantra of Avalokita and Amitabha.

he distributes the consecrated water and food to the assembled multitude. When the crowd is great, the votaries file past the holy Lama. In smaller congregations the Lama, with the Ti-bum vase in hand, walks along the rows of kneeling worshippers near the temple door, and pours a few drops of the holy fluid into the hands of each votary. With the first few drops the worshipper rinses his mouth, and with the next few drops he anoints the crown of his head, and the third few drops are reverently swallowed.

Then the Lama brings the vase of Life and places it for an instant on the bowed head of each of the kneeling votaries, reciting the spell of Amitayus (Om Amarani jivantiye svāhā), which all repeat. Then the Lama touches the head of each one with the power-conferring vase; and afterwards, in similar manner, with the divining-dagger, saying: "The _life_which you now have obtained is unfailing like the vajraarmour. Receive it with reverence! As the vajra is unchangeable, so now is your life. Vajra rakhya rakhya svāhā! Worship Amitayus, the god of boundless Life, the chief of all world-rulers! May his glory come, with virtue and all happiness." And all the people shout, "Glory and all-happiness!"

Each worshipper now receives from the skull-bowl a drop of the sacred wine, which he piously swallows; and each also receives three of the holy pills, the plateful of which had been consecrated by the touch of the Lama. These pills must be swallowed on the spot. They are represented as beads upon the vase which the image of the god of Infinite Life holds in his lap.

The Lama then takes a seat on a low throne, and the votaries file past him offering him a scarf and any money presents they may have to make; the majority pay in grain, which is piled up outside the door of the temple. Each then receives a benediction from the Lāma, who places his hand on their heads and repeats the spell of Amitayus; and on its conclusion he throws over their shoulder a knotted white scarf (Tsim-tu) from a heap of consecrated scarves lying at his side. The colours of the scarves are white for the laity and red for the priests.

Other ceremonies for prolonging life, especially resorted to in severe sickness, are "The Saving from Death" ('ch'i-bslu); the "Ransoming of another's Life" (srog-bslu); Substitution-offering to the devils of an effigy of the patient, or as a sacrifice for sin (Ku-rim') as in the illustration given on the opposite page; Libation of wine to the demons (Serskyems); gyal-gsol, etc. All of these services are more or less mixed up with demonolatry.

Numerous other ceremonies have already been referred to in other chapters, such as the "Water Baptism" ("Tüi-Sol ")," "The Calling for Luck" (Yan-gug), etc., "The Continued Fast" (Nungnas).*

1 sKu-rim; cf. JAESCH., D., 22; GIORGI's Alphab. Tib., p. 442; ROCKHILL'S L., p. 114. abKrus-gaol = ablution + to pray or entreat; see SCHLAGINTWEIT, Budd., p. 239. 3 See p. 447; also SCHLAG., p. 263. 4 SCHLAG., p. 240.

The rites for the attainment of supernatural powers, and for downright demonolatry, are detailed in the chapter on sorcery and necromancy. And it is evident that the Lamas or professing

Buddhists are conscious of the unorthodoxy of these practices, for the so-called reformed Lamas, the Ge-lug-pa, do their demoniacal worship mostly after dark.

1 After Rockhill.

G G

"That mendicant does right to whom omens, planetary influences, dreams, and signs are things abolished; he is free from all their evils."-Samma Paribbajaniya Sutta, 2.

IKE most primitive people, the Tibetans believe that the planets and spiritual powers, good and bad, directly exercise a potent influence upon man's welfare and destiny, and that the portending machinations of these powers are only to be foreseen, discerned, and counteracted by the priests.

Such beliefs have been zealously fostered by the Lamas, who have led the laity to understand that it is necessary for each individual to have recourse to the astrologer-Lama or Tsi-pa on each of the three great epochs of life, to wit, birth, marriage, and death; and also at the beginning of each year to have a forecast of the year's ill-fortune and its remedies drawn out for them.

These remedies are all of the nature of rampant demonolatry for the appeasing or coercion of the demons of the air, the earth, the locality, house, the death-demon, etc.

Indeed, the Lamas are themselves the real supporters of the demonolatry. They prescribe it wholesale, and derive from it their chief means of livelihood at the expense of the laity.