TIBETAN SHRINE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 12, 15 January 1937, Page 7

TIBETAN SHRINE

FABULOUS TREASURES:

A BRITISH VISIT

The fabulous treasures of the Dalai Lamas have been shown to the-British Mission that recently visited Lhasa, states a correspondent of the "Morning Post." They include an' extraordinary collection of objects of gold and porcelain,, precious stones of all kinds,: and exquisite paintings. ■ . ' The chief centre of interest is the! Potala.; For two hours the party wandered round hall after hall and shrine: after'shrine, filled* with gilded idols; or figures 'of "ancient Dalai, oc still more ancient Kings of Tibet. Nearly all these chapels or shrines are very dark, lit only by feeble butter lamps. They saw the Dalai Lama's hall of public audience, also the gallery where the high officials of Tibet drink tea every morning at 9 o'clock. A visit »to the topmost roof of the Potala showed the pagoda-like roofs, covered with gold leaf, of the mausoleums of alf the past Dalai Lamas. Finally the mission saw the last Dalai Lama's'recently completed tomb and shrine. This is the most) striking thing in the Potala. In many previous shrines they had seen masses of heavy gold butter lamps and jewel eiiz crusted images, but this .orie must corfc tain a fortune in solid gold and fabu* 'ous sums in jewels. The shrine consists of a "chorten" 30 or 40 feet higii, the vrhole of it covered not merely with gold leaf, but with solid' sheets of gold, in which are embedded aH manner of precious stones, turquoise predominating. " In front there were rows of gold lamps, cloisonne and China vases, and one vessel entirely covered with pearls. Hung all round are rich silk brocade# and other subsidiary jewelled images. . ARTISTS BUSY. : Unfortunately the lofty chamber in which this "chorten" is housed is too confined to enable one to get, a-com-prehensive view. It should be housed in a large hall or cathedraL It is saic£ the whole cost of this marvellous shrine was raised by subscriptions from the officials and people of Tibet an& Buddhists of'other lands,, and nothing: came from the hoarded wealth in the Potala.

The mission saw some wonderful drawing and painting still going on. Some 15 or 20 Tibetan artists were busy painting "thunkas"-or religioijj banners depicting the history of thje Thirteenth Dalai Lama's life.- These will be hung all round this shrine. They draw the design in Indian ink on cotton cloth stretched tight" in a frame, and then apply the different colours in turn. The work is all done' freehand, and the design is entirely imaginative. The work is wonderfully neat and fine. The party saw the Government Sprinting house, with type all carved out of wood. The mission later rode to the Norbhu Ling-ka, which consists of three palaces, two built by the late Dalai Lama,, set in a large enclosed park. The party were shown beautifully decorated private rooms, bright with lacquer, silk cushions and hangings, jewelled images, and even the DSlai Lama's golden, turquoise-encrusted teacups. Enormous Chinese cloisonne lions and elephants guard every door. Half-way round the mission were refreshed with tea, and finally sat down on a verandah, shaded from the warm, bright sun, and with a lovelyvista of a flower garden, to a Tibetan "light lunch" of fourteen preliminary courses before the piece de resistance of spaghetti and soup. The Norbhu Ling-ka is altogether a most beautiful place, with its wonder-* ful Oriental pavilions and lush fertility of trees and flowers. Of course, the whole park is, skilfully irrigated with stonelin'ed water channels. THE SNAKE TEMPLE. The mission rode to the Trabzchi I (Arsenal), and they were shown round ! by the director, Lungchungna Shape,,. ! and Tsarong Dzasa. Ringang, who is in j charge of the electric power station, acted as interpreter. t The mission saw silver and copper coins being minted, and paper notes' being printed mostly by up-to-date electrically worked machines from England. There were two or three -very, ancient home-made hand-power stamping machines still in use, with wobbly brass flywheels. They saw a new* machine entirely made of brass, in pro-; cess of construction. The Tibetan? cannot work steel. .' * ! In the forge they were melting bftr-ar of silver with marvellous skin bel* lows, mixing it with alloy and recast*" ing it in strips. ' , -? The next morning the mission went] to inspect the ancient and highly revered "Snake Tecsle" on an island ia> a small lake below the Potala. It is dark, but had many curious idols, with! a halo of snakes round the idols!, heads. The deity is a -water one. The journey across the little lake takes place in a very rickety flat-bottomed wooden punt. iThe Dalai Lama used sometimes to go there for a few hours to meditate; the mission saw his room and divan.