Religion: 14th Reincarnation

Tibet is a windswept highland where the chief drink is buttered tea, the chief fuel is yak dung, and a stuck-out tongue is a friendly greeting. Faith of the 3,000,000 Tibetans—and of other millions throughout the fastnesses of Central Asia—is Lamaism, a theocratic form of Buddhism. Lamaists believe in numerous divine incarnations, chief of them the Dalai Lama, "Buddha of Mercy," who is not only temporal ruler of Tibet but a god. Since the death of Ngawang Lopsang Toupden Gyatso in 1933, Tibet has been ruled by a council of lamas. Last month,...