Any violation of the laws of chastity whilst in the priesthood is most severely punished. The culprit is publicly whipped with a ratan. He is then paraded for three days around the city with a crier going before, proclaiming his crime, and is then condemned to cut grass for the king's elephants for life, and his posterity after him, to the most remote generation. The other offending party is condemned to turn the king's rice-mill for life, and her posterity after her to the most remote generation. In consequence of the severe punishment, slips of that kind whilst in the priesthood, in proportion to the numbers, are much less frequent than among the Christian ministry. Sodomy, however, and other unmentionable crimes, are fearfully prevalent.
The priests are the only persons in the kingdom who are not obliged to crouch before the king. The king himself crouches before the high-priest. When any one meets a priest, he places the palms of his hands together and raises them to his forehead in reverence.
The duty of the priests is to take care of the religion, recite prayers at funerals, weddings, &c., and preach when called upon to do so. The people frequently invite the priests to their houses to have preaching. The sermons consist chiefly of exhortations to make merit, and are generally in such lofty words and terms, taken from the Pali, that the common people do not understand them.
The Siamese also make pilgrimages to Prabat and other sacred places. Prabat is a beautiful little volcanic mountain about eighty miles north of Bangkok. The rocks appear to have been thrown up in a plastic state, and in cooling down left innumerable little holes or crevices in the solid rock. One of these, about six feet long, is imagined to be the impress of Budha's foot. They have accordingly bricked it up, and have overlaid the wall with gold leaf. They have also erected over it a beautiful little temple, whose floor is covered with silver cloth, and whose walls are heavily covered with gold. Vast multitudes flock thither during the months of January and February of every year, to make their offerings at that sacred shrine. The principal offering is gold leaf, which they paste on the inside of the footprint. There are at least $5000 expended there annually in gold leaf alone. The little caves also, with which the mountain abounds, are filled with idols, and every prominent point is capped with a pagoda. At the foot of the mountain is rather a hideous idol, at which all pilgrims dismount from their elephants, and make an offering before ascending to the more holy place. The offering consists chiefly of a twig from a tree, or a few flowers. The tradition is, that whoever refuses to make this offering will die before leaving the place. They were very much surprised that we refused at least to dismount. They told us that Sir Robert Schomburgk, the English Consul, who had visited there the previous year, had also refused to dismount, and that he himself had not died, but a favorite dog he had with him on the elephant had died before he left the mountain. Sir Robert however, had a different theory in regard to his dog, and blamed some one for administering to him a dose of poison. Many of the most intelligent princes and nobles have no faith in Prabat, but still assist in keeping up the delusion.
There is also a short distance north of Prabat a very lofty rock called Pra Chei, or sacred glory, where Budha is said to have once taken shelter from a shower of rain, and departing, left his shadow. Multitudes also flock thither to worship. We arrived there about ten o'clock at night, and upon ascending a long flight of steps, found numbers bowed before the rock and pasting gold leaf upon it. When we told them that we could see no shadow, they attributed it to a want of faith.
The Siamese are also very much tormented with the fear of spirits, both good and evil, and use every means to propitiate them. Witchcraft is also very much feared. Wizards and witches are believed to have power to put into the stomach of any one a piece of buffalo meat, or other substance. A very disgusting circumstance of this kind occurred near our premises. The father of a certain family took sick and died. The family believed some foul play had been exercised in his case, and when they came to burn the body, a small portion, perhaps the heart, did not consume as rapidly as the rest. This was taken at once to be the buffalo meat, and was taken home and eaten by the family. The whole family ate of it, except one little girl who was absent in the family of a missionary. The belief is that if they eat of it, they can never be affected the same way.
It is just to state that there are two schools of Budhism in Siam. The late king, whilst a prince and in the priesthood, studied astronomy, and became too intelligent to believe the teachings of the Budhist books in reference to the system of the universe, and accordingly undertook to reform Budhism, by discarding from the sacred books all those things which conflicted with modern science, and especially in reference to astronomy. Many of the most intelligent princes and nobles went with him. A vast majority, however, swallow the whole of the Budhist teachings.
The greatest champion of the New School was Chow Phya Thipakon, late Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was in some respects the greatest thinker in the kingdom. He was the only man in the kingdom who, as yet, has ventured to write a book, and have it printed wholly by his own workmen. It consists of several hundred pages, and was lithographed throughout, which must have taken considerable pains and labor. The title is "Kitchanukit," a book explaining many things. He commences by rather ridiculing the elementary system of education practised in the temples, and tries to stimulate the natives to better things. He also takes up the different systems of religion throughout the world, so far as his knowledge extends, and compares them with his own. He confutes, in his own way, the elementary religious tracts published by the missionaries, and the evidences of Christianity. He maintains his belief in his own system, and gives a few arguments in favor of the transmigration of souls. He also gives a number of illustrations and anecdotes bearing on that subject, of which the following is a specimen: "Another instance is that of the child of a Peguan at Paklat, (a town near Bangkok,) who, as soon as he had learned to speak, told his parents that he was formerly named Makran, and had been killed by a fall from a cocoanut tree, and as he fell, his axe fell from his hand and dropped into a ditch; and they seeing that his story coincided with something that had happened within their knowledge, tried the child by making him point out the tree, and he pointed out the tree, and his story was confirmed by their digging up the axe from the ditch."
Although the book evinces some thought and considerable knowledge, it is infantile when he attempts to grapple with the great truths of Christianity. H. Alabaster, Esq., for ten years Interpreter to H. B. M. Consulate in Siam, has translated portions of the book, accompanied with remarks of his own, and published it under the title of "The Modern Budhist."
It may be asked, what is the effect of such a system of religion upon the morals of the people in comparison with those of eminently Christian countries? There are many kinds of crimes in which Christian nations far surpass them, such as those daring and dark outrages perpetrated in our large cities, the recital of which shocks our sensibilities every time we take up a morning paper. But heathen morals have ever been the same, and the description which Paul gives of the heathen of old, in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, is a complete description of the heathen of to-day. There is a rottenness about everything, morally speaking, which we do not find in Christian countries. It would be impossible on an occasion of this kind, and before a mixed audience, to give you any idea of the prevailing state of morals. I am not one of those, who, like the English governess in the Atlantic Monthly, would consider Budhism a shadow of Christianity, and "thank God" for it. It is eminently the offspring of Satan, as all its bearings and workings on the heart and morals will abundantly show. I have seen none of those glorious death-bed scenes which she describes, and think they are rare. A Siamese man lived neighbor to us for ten years. He could sit in his own door and hear the gospel preached in our mission chapel. He was an excellent neighbor, and was to all appearance a moral man. He had observed, as nearly as possible, all the tenets of his religion. He had made merit in every possible way. All his sons had entered the priesthood. He was about seventy years old, and his death-sickness came. The future was all dark to him. He struggled with, disease and death for a number of days. One of our native church members called to see his old neighbor, and ventured to speak to him about the approaching change. The old man was unwilling to give up, and answered, "Mai yak tai," I do not want to die; "Klua tai," I am afraid to die; and then summoning all his remaining strength exclaimed, "Ch? mai tai," I will not die. Still he had to die, as millions of his race have done, without one ray of light to illuminate the soul, and no faith in Jesus opening up to him the glories of the eternal world.