As if a choir
Of golden-nested birds in heaven were singing;
And with a lulling sound
The music floats around,
And drops like balm into the drowsy ear.”
—Mrs. Judson.
A Siamese wat, instead of a single lofty pagoda, as often represented in the pictures of Burmah, consists of a number of buildings scattered about a large park-like enclosure. Let us in imagination visit such a Buddhist temple connected with a monastery—say, one of the largest to be found in any part of the world—in Bangkok.
Starting on such an expedition, at the entrance of the enclosure, generally near the boat-landing on the river, you would find a large garden or rest-house, called by the Burmese zayat and by the Siamese sala. This sala is made up of two or three open pavilions, according to the size of the wat, erected as lounging-places for the inmates or as resting-places for travelers. It is to the Siamese what the inn is to the American or Englishman, and is often useful to our missionaries in their tours about the country. To build a sala is considered a meritorious act by the Buddhists.
