In the history of the Red Sect, Tianjialin Temple seems to have been a subject of mystery and wonder. The best-knownlegend tells of the last Senior Monk, Lhabushan Jiaqu, whowas said to be deeply versed in witchcraft and able to subdue demons and ghosts. He had a magic flute which, so the story goes, could summon the mountain goblins to his presence,where they would appear before him and listen to him expounding Buddhist texts. As an archaeologist I knew that in the past the serf-owners of Tibet did not hesitate to make use of the Lamaist superstitions to delude the people and keep them in subjection. So, generally speaking, I didn't take legends of this sort very seriously. However, in the early 17th century many people, including officials, merchants and travellers who visited Tianjialin Temple claimed to have seen Lhabushan Jiaqu's magic flute and the mountain goblins it summoned to his presence. It seemed unlikely that all these records were fabrications. For this reason, every day when the day's work was over and I was sitting by the campfire in front of the tent, looking at the snowy peaks red in the sunset,the clear lake, the green and thick forest and the dark temple ruins, strange fantasies would come to my mind.
