St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-10-04


his name, address and history, trans
fers to tie brotherhood all he possesses,
promises obedience to all lawful COM
mands of the Brother Superior, loyalty,
friendship and sympathy to his fellow
members and devotion and aid to all
human beings in sickness or distress.
He is then admitted, given new name
and new costume, assigned room,
instructed as to his duties, and the
initiation is complete. From now on
his life is fixed. Study and converse
ton, the cultivation of the field and gar
den or the improvement of the retreat,
and the instruction of brothers who
have been less favored, are his daily
duties. At times he is sent out to OBJ
tain subscriptions for the common fund,
or to nurse the sick or feed the starving,
but these occur infrequentlY.
The government Of these brother
moods is pure autocracy. A Brother
Superior governs for life. At his death
he appoints a successor; if the appoint
ment lapse or be not made, the broth
ers elect one of their own number. The
regulations are about the same as in
monasteries. emitting the element of
religion. Cleanliness, sobriety, indus
try, chastity, intellectually, charity
and humanity are the seven stars of
their heaven. No woman is allowed to
cross the threshold of the retreat; no
wine, stimulant or narcotic permitted,
except for medical use; no quarreling,
loud conversation, games of chance, in
delicate or vulg talk is allowed. Dis
obedience is punished by reprimand,
suspension, temporary ostracism or ex-
pulsion, according to the degree of tho
offense. Religious faith scarcely enters
into their daily life. In the same re-
treat will be found the Brahma Budd-
hist, who believes he will. after many
ages, be absorbed into the Divine Be-
ing; the Lama Buddhist, who knows
life to be an evil and prays for annihi-
lation; (Nirvana); the follower of
Khoung-foo-tsee, who Worships the spir-
it's of his ancestor; the disciple of Lao
tse, who believes in the Immortality of
all forms of life.
: The dress worn in the retreat is any
that may suit the comfort, taste or con-
venience of the brother; that used when
without the walls is generally yellow in
color (that being the emblem of repent
ance and righteousness), and indicating
by badge or cut the retreat to which its
wearer belongs. The number of in
mates varies. The lowest is that of
Laichow, which has but two brothers;
the highest that of Tai Sin, with roll
call of 900 names; the average, if the
imperial census may be relied upon, is
twenty. The entire number Of Mi-aus
in the Empire, exclusive of caraTanse-
ries, lamseries and distinctively relig-
ious establishments, is slightly over H.
900. This would show an army of over
10000 men who have renowned the
world forever. A quaint ceremony is
the burial of brother. The corpse is
treated rs he may have requested, or
as he believed. With one the joss
sticks are lighted and kept burning
about the bier; with another incense is
ignited in metal braziers so that his
soul may pass away through pleasant
clouds; with third the body is laid in
dark cell, where sound, life. warmth
and light never come. On the third
day after death the body is carefully
washed in alum-Water and inter and
then placed in a great earthen jar or
vase. This is put in the center of a
large pit and round it built large fire
of wood and charcoal. Day and night
it burns until what was once the broth
er has become but handful of grayish
white ashes. Then, when the fire has
died and the jar become cold, the ashes
are carefully removed and placed in
small cinereal urn of dark, red clay. "A
tablet with the name, date, and it may
be a kindly sentence deeply engraved,
is then placed beside the urn, which is
then deposited in the mausoleum Of the
retreat, The Me-au represents the past
rather than the present. They do not
excite opposition, but only derision. A
brother, despite his humanitarianism,
is invariably the prey of the small boy,
and the small boy of China is fac sim
lie of his American brother. Years ago
the Mi-aus had two inmates where they
now have one; many were populous that
now are deserted and falling into ruin.
The railroad runs between the crun-
bling walls Of a retreat that in the last
century was famous from the Hoang Ho
to the great wall. The invisible spirit
of the railroad, active even in China, is
calmly pulling brick from brick and
changing Mi-au into school and ware
house Wong CHinJoo, in Brooklyn Eagle.
t'Yer M thers''
A /,