Note 2 — Little Thibet.
Reading edition
This appears to have been one of the Dagobas or bone-holders, which are erected either over the corse of a Lama or the ashes of some person of consequence. “The tribute of respect is paid in Tibet to the manes of the dead in various ways. It is the custom to preserve entire the mortal remains of the sovereign Lamas only. As soon as life has left the body of a Lama, it is placed upright, sitting in an attitude of devotion, his legs being folded before him, with the instep resting on each thigh, and the sides of the feet turned upwards. The right hand is rested with its back upon the thigh, with the thumb bent across the palm. The left arm is bent and held close to the body, the hand being open and the thumb touching the point of the shoulder. This is the attitude of abstracted meditation.
“The bodies of inferior Lamas are usually burnt, and their ashes preserved with the greatest care, and the monuments in which they are contained are ever after looked upon as sacred, and visited with religious awe.”—Turner. ↑