Besides the three classes of the higher clergy, alluded to above, Lamaism possesses a lower clergy, which, having no claim to incarnate holi ness, recruits its ranks on the principle of merit and theological proficiency. It has four orders: The pupil or novice, who enters the order gen erally in his seventh or ninth year; the assistant priest; the religious mendicant; and the teacher. or abbot. To these may be added two academical or theological degrees, and also two dignities, conferred by the sovereign Lamas on those doc tors who have distinguished themselves by ex traordinary sanctity or learning. All the mew hers of these orders must make the vow of celi bacy, and by far the greatest number of them live in convents. A Lamaist convent or monas tery, daiinpa, consists of a temple, which forms its centre, and of a number of buildings con nected with the temple. and used as the meeting-rooms, the library, refectory, dwellings, and other spiritual and worldly wants of the monks. At the head of the convent is a Khubil ghan. or an abbot. the latter being elected by On chapter. and appointed by the Dalai-Lama, or the provincial Khuhilghan. In addition to these orders of monks and convents, Lamaism has like wise its nuns and nunneries.
The scriptures of Lamaism are divided into two great collections: (1) The canon or sacred books, called bKalt-'ggur or Iiiing-gyur, the trans lated commands, or words of the Buddha, ren dered from the Indian texts, or in a few instances from the Chinese. (2) The commentary bs-Tait
'gyur or Tait-agar, \•illa is encyclopaedic in its character. The canon, or Kang-gyur, contains no fewer than 1083 works, which in some editions fill 100 or 108 volumes of about 1000 pages each. It comprises the following sections: (a) Dul-va (Sanskrit Linage), discipline; (U) (Skt. Nittra), sermons of the Buddhas; (c) Ch'os-non pa (Skt. .L bhidharma), philosophy, including S'er-p'yin (Skt. Paratnita), or metaphy sics. There are also minor subdivisions contain ing details as to doctrine, including Nirvana (.1/ya-nah-his-Was-pa), ethics, ritual, and the like. The commentary literature. is very voluminous and comprehensive, some 225 volumes in folio, but it has not the canonical authority of the other collection.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. The best work on Lamaism is Bibliography. The best work on Lamaism is by Waddell, The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (London, 1895). Consult, likewise, KOppen, Die lamaische Hierarchic und Kirche, which forms vol. ii. of Ki;ppen, Die Religion des Buddha (Berlin, 1857-59) ; Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet (London, 1868) ; Csoma de K6riis, Die lamaisehe (Berlin, 1859) ; Rockhill, The Life of the Buddha and the Early History of His Order, front Tibetan Works (London, 1881). See also the article BuomusIt and its bibliog raphy.