ABSTRACT
Kumbum Lamasery lies in a snug valley in eastern Chinghai in the village of Lushar, one day’s cart ride from Sining, the provincial capital. Kumbum Lamasery stands on the spot where Tsongkhaba, the great Tibetan religious leader who founded the Yellow Sect of Lamaism, is reputed to have been born. During the middle 1920’s, relations between the Dalai and Panchen lamas were severely strained by the injection of politics into their relations. The Dalai Lama, by far the more powerful of the two, stood for a pro-British Tibetan orientation and policy. Choosing a Panchen Lama involves a good deal of esoteric ritual, the object of which is to identify a child who has been born at the exact moment when the previous Panchen Lama died. The Panchen Lama has an intelligent face, but it is doubtful if he is aware of the aura of intrigue and power politics that surrounds him.
