Part I : Bengal & Bhutan 1774 -- The Panchen Lama's letter -- Private commissions to Mr Bogle -- Lazy, lolling palankins -- Perpetual ascending and descending -- The first European in these parts -- Monkish to the greatest degree -- Bloody work -- Part II: Tibet 1774-1775 -- God's vicegerent -- To Tashilhunpo -- Thibet vocabulary -- The business of a traveller -- Living like a Thibetian -- A last farewell -- Part III: Bengal, Tibet & China 1775-1793 -- Melancholy hall -- Tibet garden -- To adventure for possibilities -- The emperor's invitation -- The meeting between the two -- The pure light of the void -- The tank -- The golden urn.