3-082-386 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Dance of the Death-Demons in the Hemis Monastery, 1895. Buddhist monks performing in Ladakh. 'Surgeon-Major Waddell's book, which has just appeared, is...a mine of knowledge. The author's name is not unknown to students of Indian archaeology, for he has previously communicated some very valuable papers on Tibetan subjects to the Royal Asiatic Society, of which he is a member. In order to qualify himself for the study of Tibetan Buddhism, the author acquired a knowledge of the language, which is reputed to be a very difficult one. He appears to have lived among the Lamas, and finding that they would not disclose or explain to him what they considered to be mysteries, he purchased a temple, with its fittings, Lamas and all; and thus becoming master of the situation, he accomplished his purpose. By this means he has been able to give us a book which is brimful and even running over with knowledge of the greatest interest in relation to almost every phase of the Lama system. One special feature is the fullness of details regarding the elaborate ritual of Tibetan Buddhism'. Illustration from "The Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism, With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology and in Its Relation to Indian Buddhism" by L. Austine Waddell, published in "Illustrated London News", 1895.