By
continual transformations, and according to their merit or demerit,
pass about in these six classes until they have attained the apex
of perfection, when they are absorbed and lost in the grand essence
of Buddha. Living beings have, according to the class to which they
belong, particular means of sanctifying themselves, of rising to a
superior class, of obtaining perfection, and of arriving in process
of time at the period of their absorption. Men who repeat very
frequently and devotedly 'Om mani padme houm,' escape falling after
death into the six classes of animate creatures, corresponding to
the six syllables of the formula, and obtain the plenitude of being,
by their absorption into the eternal and universal soul of Buddha."
One traveller only I have been able to find who mentions the sentence
as I have done. M. Jacquemont writes, in his "Letters from Cashmere
and Thibet," in 1830: - "I am returned from afar; I have often been
very cold; I have had a hundred and eighteen very bad dinners: but
I think myself amply recompensed for these trans-Himalayan miseries
by the interesting observations and vast collections which I have
been able to make in a country perfectly new. The Tartars are a very
good sort of people. It is true that to please them I made myself
a little heathen after their fashion, and joined without scruple in
the national chorus, 'Houm mani pani houm.' "
Judging by the system of spelling he has adopted in other instances in
his letters, this would be nearly - as regards the two main words -
the same pronunciation as I have given. He however, in another part,
follows it still more closely, and at the same time shows that he
is aware of a translation which, although probably the true one,
has no connexion whatever with the words as he himself actually
represents them.
He says - "In Thibet they sing a good deal also - that is, one or two
inhabitants per square league - but only a single song of three words
- 'Oum mani pani;' which means, in the learned language, 'Oh, diamond
water-lily!' and leads the singers direct into Buddha's paradise.
"But, though composed of three Thibetian words, it is evidently of
Indian origin, and I have proved it BOTANICALLY. The lotus is a plant
peculiar to the lukewarm and temperate waters of India and Egypt. There
is not one of its genus, or even of its family, in Thibet."
The words, however, are not, as M. Jacquemont says, Thibetian,
but Sanscrit; and, although one of the characters in which they are
clothed is the current Thibetian, it would appear that neither their
true pronunciation nor actual meaning is known to the people who thus
make such frequent use of them.
The sentence itself is in the mouths of all. In the monastery of Hemis
alone, probably as many as a hundred wheels are in continual motion,
bearing it within their folds not less than 1,700,000 times. The very
stones by the wayside present its well-known characters in countless
numbers, and the hills repeat it, and yet to those into whose daily
religious observances it thus so largely enters, it comes but as
a vain and empty sound, without either sense or signification. The
Lamas themselves, no doubt, believe that the doctrine contained in
these marvellous words is immense, and the higher dignitaries of
the Church may know their derivation; but, to the great majority,
even the mystic meaning and dim legendary history which the true
pronunciation and rightful origin of the words would bring to their
minds, are unknown, and they are thus deprived of that large amount
of comfort and consolation which they would otherwise derive from
the glowing and all-powerful sentence -
"Oh, the jewel in the lotus, Amen!"
CHAPTER C
A Sketch of the History of Cashmere.
A Mahomedan Writer, "Noor ul deen," who begins the history of Cashmere
with the Creation, affirms that the valley was visited by Adam after
the Fall; that the descendants of Seth reigned over the country for
1,110 years; and that, after the deluge, it became peopled by a tribe
from Turkistan.
The Hindoo historians add, that, after the line of Seth became extinct,
the Hindoos conquered the country, and ruled it until the period
of the deluge; and that the Cashmerians were afterwards taught the
worship of one God by "Moses;" but, relapsing into Hindoo idolatry,
were punished by the local inundation of the province, and the
conversion of the valley into a vast lake.
It would appear, from chronicles actually existing, that Cashmere
has been a regular kingdom for a period far beyond the limits of
history in general. From the year B.C. 2666 to A.D. 1024 it seems
to have been governed (according to these authorities) by Princes of
Hindoo and Tartar dynasties, and their names, to the number of about
a hundred, have been duly handed down to posterity. Of the titles of
these worthies, "Durlabhaverddhana" and "Bikrumajeet" will perhaps
be sufficient as specimens. During these years, the religion seems
at first to have been the worship of snakes, and afterwards Hindooism.
In the reign of Asoca, about the 4th century before Christ, Buddhism
was introduced, and after remaining for some time, under Tartar
princes, the religion of the country, was again succeeded by Hindooism.
The first Mahomedan king of Cashmere is believed to be "Shahmar,"
who came to the throne in A.D. 1341, and during the succeeding reigns
Thibet appears to have been first subdued, and was annexed for a time
to the kingdom.
The next monarch, who appears notably on the stage, was "Sikunder,"
who, influenced by a certain Syud Alee Humudanee and other religious
fanatics recently arrived in the country, began to destroy the
Hindoo temples and images by fire, and to force the people to abjure
idolatry.
