STORY OF TIBET

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22850, 25 October 1939, Page 3

STORY OF TIBET

“THE MOST WONDERFUL

COUNTRY”

DR. MACDONALD-BAYNE’S ADDRESS “It is the most wonderful and the most fascinating country in the world, and it holds the whole secret of life.” said Dr. Murdo MacDpnald-Bayne, in the first of a series of addresses cn Tibet in Christchurch last evening. The lecture was entitled “Beyond the Himand Vhe Caledonian 'Hall was crowded.

Dr. MacDonald-Bayne illustrated his address, with striking pictures of Tibet. The address was a preliminary to a series on the mysteries of Tibet, and gave an impression of the environment and character of the people. Special lectures will bo devoted to the life and teachings of the lamas. The approach to Tibet from the Indian border was outlined by the speaker, who presented vivid pictures of the desolate, storm-swept country near the Himalayas, while the mysterious people of Tibet lived in prosperous valleys at higher altitudes, where rugged mountain peaks sheltered “a paradise on the. top of the world.” The grandeur of the scenery oij the upward journey was pictured by the speaker, and as the supply of modern facilities dwindled, it was shown how the colourful people of Tibet spent a happy existence, depending on their own resourcefulness to exploit the simple machinery at their disposal. Magnificent vistas from peaks' in the Himalayas were shown, and an impression of the rugged grandeur of the country was given when pictures of glaciers and rivers, more titan five miles wide, were screened. Unusual Transport Dr. MacDonald-Bayne presented remarkable pictures of pack trains of more than 100 donkeys tracing their way up narrow mountain paths, and ho also showed a pack herd of 800 yak. Dealing with transport, he spoke of the remarkable development of the physique of the people, and mentioned that he had seen how a woman had carried a piano, suspended on her back from her head and waist, for 40 miles.

Ingenious schemes of irrigation from huge mountain sjy-ings were shown with pictures of primitive farming with the wooden plough and flail. Among pictures of unusual dishes prepared by the Tibetan people was one of a sheep skinned only on the trunk of the body and dried in the sun instead of cooked. The crossing of wide mountain torrents by flimsy suspension bridges, by animal, and by floating on rafts and inflated sheepskins was also depicted. Magnificent panoramic views of Inner Tibet were presented, and interesting sidelights given on the exotic flowers of the country, which grow in profusion in all the valleys.

“Is it Faith?”

Instances of remarkable healing from the holy rivers were recounted. “Is it a quality of the water, or is It faith?” asked the speaker, when he mentioned having seen men cured from drinking the same water which had healed the vilest sores of bathers. He spoke of the untold mineral wealth of the country, and showed pictures of buildings, of which large portions were wrought in solid gold. He depicted the people as a remarkably fine type, with high intelligence. “People ask why the lamas do not come out of their solitude to tell the world if they have found the secret of life, but would the world listen? The greater part of our reactions are negative,” said Dr. MacDonald-Bayne. Ah impression of the grandeur of the monasteries was given by scenes of one settlement housing 8000 lamas, with magnificent buildings of several storeys covering many acres. Some of the mysterious rites of the lamas were told with the story of the burial ceremony in which the flesh of the lamas is fed to the vultures before their powdered bones arc interred in massive gold inlaid tombs, high in the mountains. Details were given of the remarkable psychology of the lamas, who, the speaker said, live to be up to 200 years old, and develop the highest of intellects.

“Life alone is conscious, and unless people stop creating images in their minds they will find themselves giving destructive reactions, the effects of causes which they themselves create,” said Dr. MacDonald-Bayne, when speaking of the teaching pf the lamas. The very life in man gave him the power over all things if he realised its consciousness, he said. He outlined the technique by which the lamas gained perfect control of life.