Moon's Total Eclipse a Bad Sign: Sun's Birthday Adds to Holidays: Buddhist Seeks a Footing Prom Out OWN C ita Tachienlu, Dec, 14. the idea of mai ming Buddhism On the evening of December 8, national religion. the total eclipse of the moon was Some time ago, an Deautifully seen from Tachienla, This border town enjoys in winter Chinese temple property. A_meet-Temerkably clear, blue. skies ing was called and was largely Between ten and eleven in the even-attended by scholars and offal ing, we heard the firing of rifles and first speaker got and Chinese crackers and this soon was denounced priests and temples. "The followed by a babble of voices, then priests are bad," he said, "let us the "singing of the Tibetans' from Grive them out and turn the temples the large Tibetan homes. The to schools."
He was followed by Mbetans on the frontier follow the speaker who said: The teachers Chinese idea and believe that " dog e useless; let us rive them out slowly but surely is cating up the and turn the schools into temples." moony 30, to avoid this dreadful As the priests knew the teachers featastrophe, the Tibetans start id} and the teachers the priests, using their rifles on the unfortunate and both realized there was some Gog. For the next two hours, the Justification in being driven out, the fung was kept up with little effect matter was dropped, the temple on the progress of the eclipse. perty was not interfered with a the Buddhist Mission goes on its The Tibetan idea is that something merely has "gripped the moon." way.
usual, Tibetan prediction is bu Another idea behind the present with its' superstitious prognostic Buddhist movement is a patriotic tions, This total eclipse one for many young Chinese feel libered in the decay of Lamaism and that Buddhism, if modernized, the downfall of officialdom on the standardized and remodelled, may oot of the world, How it all will help to stem the chaos that exists ome about is not clearly explained many parts of th Republic. whether the lamas will marry wives Some of those in town just now have and the officials. become merchants the idea of making Buddhist living active moral principle the daily life of the people. If such is The Lamas Sure Winners their ambition, they have m tremen-eclipse caused considerable dous task before them.
'As a mere ut andy while it Inated, the matter of belief, it may make some imply turned the town' into progress, but as a moral force it pandemonium, Trumpets wea hope.
Mahjong is not an Slown furiously, drums were beaten thing to give uj nor is opium; continuously, and gongs were banged for the love of money. Some of the Vigorously. "The lamas somehow young Chinese scholars in town ftcemed to realize that it was up to anticipate becoming lamas them to save the situation, If that entering one of the local lamaseries little wicked dog was going to eat next up the moon, and if it did not, well, against "Buddhism inactive the lamas got the glory. Fortunate-moral force in the daily life of the ly, the moon appeared on the eve community.
When the - young ing of the ninth and everything devotee enters the draba's cell, he going on as usual, may have and enjoy' much into' course with heaven, but he has After the eclipse old Chinese discussing the Very little with his fellow-ma stoutly maintained Buddhism, in its Lamaistic form, was resting, practised by the lamas along the Bhat the enh are et that we border maken ho lai whatever vera and e free in he Tice "of the alor seen the place where people. The lamas marry wives, earth wa resting hed little Grink wine, and smoke opium. The pression on his mentality. net ardent young Chinese now in town Wye not been slow to notice this Only. difficult but dangerous Qiscuss Einstein's fourth dimen: fact, and what they are prepared away up in these high altitude to do with this dificult problem we left the old Chinese gentleman remains to be seen, to live peacefully with himself and the world, Fortunately, we had a The Three Principl Uttle Chinese tract dealing with the Again, some of the young men eclipses of the sun and the moon, now studying this ancient system, Which we distributed after the fare doing #0 as an offset against eclipse, the present state December 12 was the Sun's birth-officialdom. As they aa and naturally should not understand the Three Principles, by without observation. The they are, oppression of the people, the fachools were very thin, and exploitation of the people, and boys, who now take day demoralization of the people, the slightest provocation, gave the many of them, though they do not Sun's birthday the cause of their say so openly, believe that the SeaMe i very day Nona oun Cut Lheatae 30 actually. believe 8 $0 openly, Pee i eaeet the someone made the sun. That it had 1 beginning, that is, a birthday, no erie doubts." Who made it, and how Tong it has been made, no one ven~ tures to suggest. That was made at a time when someone kept record of the fact is quite evident. Before the Republi school holidays were few and far between; they mow are the order of the day. Nowadays, a comet or any unimportant thing demands a holiday.
'A Buddhist Campaign Dee. 20.
A strong Buddhist society, an outcome of Chinese Buddhist Mistion to Tibet, has been formed here. 'Three times' each week, Chinese priest, known as Lenbai, gives eetures at the school, and these attended by the officials, scholars, and merchants.
It ig very common to see the young Chinese with a red sill tied to one of their indicating that they belong: to the society and that this small piece of silk is their Buddhi Zalisman, A number. of very capable young fellows are trans part of the teaching of Bud ha from the Tibetan books.
Tt is also becoming popular along the frontier for permitting officials to retire into some lamasery and assume the position of a Chinese priest. Some of those studying Buddhism at the present time have, as their de trouble. In conversation with some of the young fellows, we have found this idea very prevalent, namely, that no nation lightly can dispense with religion.
We are living in days when "principle" drives everything before it. Every schoolboy now lards versation with the magic wor ni" There is the principle of finance, the principle of kicking the school-master out of the room, and the principle of this, that, and the other thing, and so these young Buddhists are asking:—Where is the principle of religion? If it is the soul stretching out after God, some good may come from the movement.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.