Buddhism, in Its Connexion with Brahmanism and Hinduism, and in Its Contrast with Christianity

by Sir Monier Monier-Williams

Those of the vast monastery of Nālanda near Rāja-gṛiha, and others at various other sacred places, have been already described (see [p. 412]).

Turning next to the monastic structures of modern Buddhist countries, and beginning with Ceylon, we find that in that island, as Spence Hardy has pointed out, and as I myself observed during my sojourn there, the residences of the monks are of very simple construction, and often extremely mean in appearance. They are called Pān-sālās (Paṇṇa-ṡālā = Sanskṛit Parṇa-ṡālā) because supposed to be made of leaves. In general, however, they are constructed of wattle filled up with mud, the roof being covered with straw, or with the platted leaves of the cocoa-nut. They are always dirty and always abound in cobwebs.

A monastery which I saw near Kandy consisted of an oblong rectangular court-yard, surrounded in the interior by a kind of roofed cloister or verandah, out of which opened the monks’ cells, lighted only from the sky above the court. The interior walls of both cloister and cells were begrimed with patches of dirt and masses of cobwebs, which are never touched for fear of breaking the first Buddhist commandment, ‘kill not’ ([p. 126]).

Of course there are monasteries of a better and more imposing type, such as that attached to the Māligāwa temple of the sacred eye-tooth on the Kandy lake (see [p. 454]).

In Burma the ordinary residences of the monks appear to be simple in character, like those in Ceylon. In Siam, on the contrary, they are sometimes elaborate, and often have richly-covered entrances. At the same time the Siamese monks (according to Mr. Alabaster) are in the habit of itinerating a good deal, only remaining in their monasteries during the three months of rains, when residence there is imperative.

Speaking of the larger and more imposing monasteries (Kyoung) in Burma, Mr. Scott says (I give his account in an abbreviated form):—

The monasteries are built of teak, or, sometimes in Mandalay and Lower Burma, of brick. The shape is always oblong, and the inhabited portion is raised on posts and pillars, eight or ten feet above the ground. They are, like all the other houses in the country, only one story high; for if it is an indignity to a layman to have anyone’s feet over his head[225], it is much more so to a member of the brotherhood. The space between the ground and the floor is always kept open, and is never used except by the monastery school-boys. A flight of steps of stone or wood leads up to the verandah, which extends along the north and south sides, and frequently all round. From the raised floor thus reached, rises the building, with tier upon tier of massive roofs (in diminishing stages), giving the appearance of many stories when there is only one. The accommodation is simple. It consists in the main of a central hall divided into two portions, one level with the verandah where the scholars are taught, and most of the duties of the monastery carried on, and the other a dais, raised about two feet above the level of the rest of the building. Seated upon this, the monks are accustomed to receive visitors, and at the back, against the wall, are arranged the images of Buddha, a large one usually standing in the centre on a kind of altar, with candles, flowers, praying flags, and other offerings placed before it. On shelves alongside are a number of smaller figures of gold, silver, alabaster, clay or wood, according to the popularity of the monastery, and the religious character of the neighbourhood. Occasionally there are dormitories for the monks, but as a rule they sleep in the central hall, where the mats which form their beds may be seen rolled up against the wall. The whole area of the extensive compound in which the monastery stands is enclosed by a heavy teak fence with massive posts and rails, seven or eight feet high. The laity, when they enter, take off their shoes and carry them in their hands. This rule applies to the highest in the land.

The daily life of the monks inhabiting monasteries of this kind in Burma has been already described (see pp. [311]-314 of these Lectures).

If we now pass to northern Buddhist countries we shall find that, as a general rule, the dwellings of monks are insignificant tenements of poor construction, attached to or built round small chapels or shrines. Sometimes the monks live in the rooms built over such chapels.

Sir Richard Temple (Journal, ii. 207) visited a so-called monastery at Pemyangchi (in Sikkim), which consisted of a single building with two stories. In the upper some of the monks resided, and a chapel formed the lower.