ABSTRACT
TO give an account of this sect and peculiar religion, or rather of this mixture of strange dogmas which constitute a religion unlike, as far as I know, any other in the world, it is fitting to begin with its head, the Grand Lamà. The hierarchy existing in Thibet is not secular but superior to all temporal and regular government. Head of all is the Grand Lamà of Thibet, who is like the Pontiff of this blind and superstitious people, and the chief of all other Lamàs. To explain the devotion of the Thibettans to their Grand Lamà and why they not only respect him, but invoke his aid and offer sacrifices to him and adore him, you must know that one of their most sacred and worshipped idols (as I shall point out later) is called Cen-ree-zij. They say that for ages this Cen-ree-zij has been reincarnated as a human being uninterruptedly in Thibet or in one of the adjoining countries, not so much from a desire to receive the homage of his beloved Thibettans, as to be ready to help them when in need, to guide them in their religion so that it may never waver in the Kingdom, and to lead them in the path of virtue and thereby insure their eternal and perfect felicity. To achieve this, they say that in all his successive incarnations he is always born as the Grand Lamà, that is to say, absolutely alien to things of this life and head Master and Director of Thibet in all matters pertaining to religion. In short the Thibettans believe that their Grand Lamà Cen-ree-zij voluntarily becomes a man for the good of the Kingdom and the salvation of their souls. The accounts given by some writers about these countries are entirely devoid of truth, the Thibettans do not believe that their Grand Lamà is immortal, that he does not die, that he is invisible and never shows himself to anyone. On the contrary they believe and affirm that their Grand Lamà dies like other men, they know the day of his death, mourn his absence, preserve his corpse, and venerate his relics. Not only does he show himself to his beloved Thibettans, but to foreigners, not only does he receive visits in his palace, but on some festivals he goes abroad, and is seen by all in public and solemn state. I must add that when the Grand Lamà grows old, or is ill, or dies, this people show the greatest veneration and love for him, believing that it is out of love for them and for their salvation that he has, not once but an infinite number of times, become a man, and taken upon himself the hardships and misery which afflict fragile, decrepit, and mortal humanity. 1
