Bismarck weekly tribune., 1888-10-05
outward sweep

Next, he crosses his arms upon his breast.
with the outstretched fingers almost touching
the opposite shoulders, and so bows three
times. Then be returns to the first position
and bows three times more in the original
way. After that he may, or may not, ac-
cording to his own knowledge of his spiritual
requirements, bow twice more in the second
fashion and perhaps twice again as at first.
While he is doing all this he is mentally
praying, either putting special petitions
suited to his requirements before the Deity
for consideration, or repeating one or more
OF the 200 formulated prayers prescribed by
the priests, many of them said to be far
more ancient than the Christian religion.
Here is a free trans alton Of one that is said
to be more than 5000 years old, and is yet
one OF those in commonest use today:
"Oh, God! accept my love. Forgive my
misdeeds. of the body and the thought
Bless me, and my family, and my ancestors,
and those l love, and all who love thee
Bless those who love thee not, and bless
those Who know thee not. Give unto me
a happy future and call me as thy child
when all things are past. And bring about
the time when thou shalt be with us. A1nen.n
And here is one of their little prayers that
conveys the ideas of reincarnation and
karma:
''Oh! Lord, I thank thee that have grown
through SO many lives to be a man and
thence to be myself. pray thee that nv
good deeds may hold me up in other lives
and that thou wilt assist me in my growth
until reach thee in the end''
Finally, here is one with which the wor-
shipper may close his devotions as simple,
trustful and beautiful as any child's PRAYER
ever was:
''Oh! Lord, now lay me down to sleep.
Keep away from me all diseases and all
dragons, and so fill my soul with thy good
ness that when I awake I shall be better
man.
But before arriving at that point, when he
has sacrificed, made his obeisances and said
his prayers, the worshiper-especially in
these troublous times-will want to look into
the future. Quong- Tai Gong, if his adora-
tions have been acceptable, will aid him. On
the altar stands deep cylindrical bamboo
vase, handsomely lacquered. In it are stand
ing upon end many very thin long strips Of
bamboo that do not quite reach to its TOP.
Sometimes there are not more than so or 100
OF these strips, but there should he 800. With
the latter number one has an oracle that
amounts to something. He who inquiries Of
fate clasps his hands around the vase and
shakes it with rotary movement AS he
does so one of the slender bamboo strips de-
taches itself from the mass and with steady
movement. as if it really meant it. rises
higher and higher, until it is ready to fall to
the ground, and doubtless would do SO if the
shaking were continued The theory is that
magnetism from the soul of the earnest in.
quirer, especially when he has just been puri-
lied by prayer, acts upon the bits Of bamboo
and causes them to be receptive Of the
spiritual power that selects the particu.
lar one that points out truthful
answer to the question that is domi.
nant in the mind of him who
holds the vase. Each of the strips bears 8
number and that number is affixed to o sen.
tence in the Book of Fate-a volume that lies
upon a table at the farther end OF the room
from the shrine. A priest generally takes
the strip, hunts up the sentence it indicate
and reads it to the worshiper It is supposed
mat those sentences reply, in all possible
ways, to all serious questions concernino
| LIE that can be asked, and, taking into con.
alteration the oracularly ambiguous con.
etructlon OF some Of them, they probably
do-more or less.
Chinamen have an immense deal of faith
IN this method of divination, and q maiorit1
have been informed that .the evil dav
not nigh" j. id. ConHrIIx
l4h