I.

Introduction

Tibetan Buddhism, predominant religion of Tibet and Mongolia, also called Lamaism; it is essentially Buddhism of the Mahayana school (see Mahayana Buddhism), with elements of modified Shaivism and native ritualistic shamanism. In ad 747 the Buddhist monk and scholar Padmasambhava (Sanskrit “born of the lotus flower”) journeyed from northern India to Tibet, where he established the first order of lamas, or monks. Thereafter the religion spread rapidly. Tibetan Buddhist worship consists mainly in reciting prayers and sacred texts and chanting hymns to the accompaniment of horns, trumpets, and drums. For this worship, which takes place three times a day, the 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, (known in Tibetan as pren-ba), prayer wheels, and prayer flags, in addition to holy relics, charms, talismans, and such mystical incantations as the frequently repeated om mani padme h'um (o lotus jewel, amen).