III.
The inscription is carved on a tablet standing upright on the back of the fetiche of Chinese, the tortoise, uuder the shelter of a pavilion to the right of the Dagoba.
It is—as are nearly all of them in China—presented in four languages, Chinese, Manchu, Tibetan and Mongolian. To the text proper, Buddhist prayers are appended, the translation of which I esteem out of place published here.
The inscription is for two reasons worthy of attention. Primarily it gives a clear, though not exactly detailed account of the visit of the Pan-ch‘an Lama, then it comments upon the general views of the Emperor Ch‘ien Lung on Buddhism—the Buddhism of his day. They prove him favorable to the Buddhist scheme just as much as, or more than, Emperor Shun Chih was, and they are certainly widely different from the views of the Emperor K‘ang Hsi, as exposed in his Sacred Edict. This latter sarcastically emphasizes those defects of Buddhism which must have been conspicuous to every mind trained in the spirit of Chinese classics. It had of course to decry "all that these Buddhists talk about, being absorbed in contemplation, comprehending intelligence and becoming Buddhas." It was obliged to sneer at "their" (the Buddhist's) "classical writings, the Heart classic (多心經), etc.," and had to express doubts as to "the existence of the Western Paradise," and the belief "that by serving Buddha one's life would be prolonged."
Yet this same Emperor K‘ang Hsi was gracious to the Lamas and the whole Lamaist hierarchy, when he planned to
