The three great monasteries in the vicinity of Lhasa, all claim ing to be foundations of Tsongkhapa (1356-1418), the medieval reformer and organizer of the modern orthodox Lama Church, "the yellow caps," are the following:— I. Debung (written 'Bras spungs) is 6 m. west of Lhasa at the foot of the hills which flank the plain on the north. It is one of the largest monasteries in the world, having some 8,000 monks. In the middle of the convent buildings rises a kind of pavilion, brilliant with colour and gilding, which is occupied by the Dalai Lama when he visits Debung once a year and expounds to the inmates. The place is frequented by the Mongol students who come to Lhasa to graduate, and is known in the country as the Mongol convent; it has also been notorious as a centre of political intrigue. Near it is the seat of the chief magician of Tibet, the Nachung Chos-kyong, a building picturesque in itself and in situation.
2. Sera is 3 m. north of the city on the acclivity of the hills and close to the road by which pilgrims enter from Mongolia. From a distance the crowd of buildings and temples, rising in amphitheatre against a background of rocky mountains, forms a pleasing picture. In the recesses of the hill, high above the con vent, are scattered cells of lamas adopting the solitary life. The chief temple of Sera, a highly ornate building, has a special repu tation as the restingplace of a famous Dorje, i.e., the Vajra or Thunderbolt of Jupiter, the symbol of the strong and indestruct ible, which the priest grasps and manipulates in various ways during prayer. The emblem is a bronze instrument, shaped much like a dumbbell with pointed ends, and it is carried solemnly in procession to the Jokhang during the New Year's festival.
The hill adjoining Sera is believed to be rich in silver ore, but it is not allowed to be worked. On the summit is a spring and a holy place of the Lhasa Mohammedans, who resort thither. Near the monastery there is said to be gold, which is worked by the monks. "Should they . . . discover a nugget of large size, it is immediately replaced in the earth, under the impression that the large nuggets . . . germinate in time, producing the small lumps which they are privileged to search for" (Nain Singh).
3. Galdan.—This great convent is some 25 m. east of Lhasa, on the other side of the Kyichu. It is the oldest monastery of the "Yellow" sect, having been founded by Tsongkhapa and having had him for its first superio'r. Here his body is said to be pre served with miraculous circumstances; here is his tomb, of marble and malachite, with a great shrine said to be of gold, and here are other relics of him, such as the impression of his hands and feet.
Samye is another famous convent intimately connected with Lhasa, being said to be used as a treasury by the government, but it lies some 36 m. south-east on the left bank of the great
Tsangpo. It was founded in 77o, and is the oldest extant monas tery in Tibet. It is surrounded by a very high circular stone wall, 11 m. in circumference, with gates facing the four points of the compass. On this wall Nain Singh, who was here on his jour ney in 1874, counted 1,030 votive piles of brick. One very large temple occupies the centre, and round it are four smaller but still large temples. Many of the idols are said to be of pure gold, and the wealth is very great. The interiors of the temples are covered with beautiful writing in enormous characters, which the vulgar believe to be the writing of Sakya himself.
Population and Trade.—The total population of Lhasa is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000, mostly members of religious orders. The permanent population embraces, besides Tibetans, settled families of Chinese (about 2,000 persons), as well as people from Nepal, from Ladak, and a few from Bhotan and Mongolia. The Ladakis and some of the other foreigners are Mohammedans, and much of the trade is in their hands. Desideri (1716) speaks also of Armenians and even "Muscovites." The Chinese have a crowded burial-ground at Lhasa, tended carefully after their manner. The Nepalese (about 800) supply the mechanics and metal-workers. There are among them excellent gold- and silver smiths; and they make the elaborate gilded canopies crowning the temples. The chief industries are the weaving of a great variety of stuffs from the fine Tibetan wool; the making of earthenware and of the wooden porringers (varying immensely in elaboration and price) of which every Tibetan carries one about with him; also the making of certain fragrant sticks of in cense much valued in China and elsewhere.
As Lhasa is not only the nucleus of a cluster of vast monastic establishments, which attract students and aspirants to the re ligious life from all parts of Tibet and Mongolia, but is also a great place of pilgrimage, the streets and public places swarm with visitors from every part of the Himalayan plateau, and from all the steppes of Asia between Manchuria and the Balk hash Lake. Naturally a great traffic arises quite apart from the pilgrimage. The city thus swarms with crowds attracted by devotion and the love of gain, and presents a great diversity of language, costume and physiognomy; though, in regard to the last point, varieties of the broad face and narrow eye greatly predominate. Much of the retail trade of the place is in the hands of the women. The curious practice of the women in plastering their faces with a dark-coloured pigment is less com mon in Lhasa than in the provinces.