Rebecca Goldman, age 16, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for her question:
IS LAMAISM AN OLD RELIGION?
Lamaism is the predominant religion of Tibet and Mongolia. It is essentially Buddhism of the Mahayana or theistic school, with accretions of corrupted Shivaism and native ritualistic shamanism.
In A.D. 747 a Buddhist monk and scholar named Padmasambhava journeyed from northern India to Tibet, where he established the first order of lamas, or monks. Thereafter the religion developed and spread rapidly.
Lamaic worship consists mainly in reciting prayers and sacred texts and chanting hymns to the accompaniment of horns, trumpets and rums. For this worship, which takes place three times a day, the Lamaic clergy are summoned by the tolling of a small bell and are seated in rows according to their rank.
Religious rites performed by the lamas involve the use of rosaries, prayer wheels and prayer flags, in addition to holy relics, charms, talismans and such mystical incantations as the frequent repeated °om mani padme h'um" ("oh lotus jewel, amen").
The Lamaic religion is organized according to a traditional hierarchy. The supreme position is occupied by two lamas, namely the Grand, or Dalai Lama, and the Panchen, or Bogodo Lama.
Before the Chinese invasion of the area in 1950, both lamas theoretically had the same authority, but in actuality the Dalai Lama, possessing a greater temporal jurisdiction, was considerably more powerful.
Next in rank are the Hutukhtus, or spiritual dignitaries. The third order is that of the Hobilighans, or bodhisattvas, those who have undertaken various ethical and spiritual disciplines with a view to achieving Buddhahood, or complete enlightenment.
A lower clergy is recruited on the basis of probity and theological proficiency. The lower clergy has four orders: the novice, the assistant priest, the religious mendicant and the teacher or abbot. The members of each order must take a vow of celibacy. Most live in monasteries.
Those in the three top orders the Lamas, the Hutukhtus and the Hobilighans constitute the so called higher clergy, the members of which are regarded as the incarnations of Buddhistic saints.
Much of the ritual of Lamaism is based on the esoteric mysticism of Tantra, devotions that involve both yoga and mantra, or a mystical formula, and ancient shamanistic practices.
On special holidays the temples, shrines and altars of the lamas are decorated with symbolic figures. Milk, butter, tea, flour and similar offerings are brought by the worshipers.
The scriptures of Lamaism are divided into two great collections: the canon or sacred books and the exegetical commentary.
The canon, consisting of councils and injunctions of the Buddha rendered from Indian and Chinese texts, contains more than 1,000 works, which in some editions fill more than 100 volumes of approximately 1,000 pages each.