Their religious service is performed in Tibetan,[1] which is also the language of their sacred books. The most famous is the Ganjur, comprising 108 vols., including, besides religion, such subjects as history, mathematics, astronomy, &c. Service in the temples is performed three times a day: at morning, midday, and in the evening. The call to prayers is by blowing trumpets made of large sea-shells; when the congregation are assembled, the lamas, seated on the floor or on benches, chant passages from the sacred books. From time to time this monotonous chanting is interrupted by exclamations from the presiding lama, repeated after him by the others, and at certain intervals cymbals or brass plates are clashed, which add to the general noise. The service continues for some hours; when the Kutukhtu is present in person, the ceremonial observed is of course more imposing. He always occupies a throne, robed in vestments, with his face towards the idols, while the attendant lamas swing censers in front of him and read the prayers.
The frequently repeated prayer, constantly on their lips, is 'Оm mani padmi hom.'[2] We tried in vain to discover its meaning. The lamas assured
- ↑ Which the lamas themselves do not always understand. The Tibetan letters are arranged in horizontal lines, not like the Chinese and Mongolian, which are in vertical columns.
- ↑ Klaproth's explanation of this prayer, which, he says, is composed of four Hindu words, meaning 'Oh! precious lotus,' is unsatisfactory. See Timkowski's 'Travels,' English edition, London, 1827, vol. ii. p. 349, note.
Mr. Wilson found these words beautifully inscribed on stones in some parts of the Himalayas, even high up the mountains. In refer-
