The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-09-29


Next, he crosses his arms upon his breast,
with the outstretched fingers almost touching
the opposite shoulders, and SO bows three
times. Then he returns to the first position
and bows three times more in the original
way After that he may, or may not, 40
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
tho priests, many of them said to be far
more ancient than the Christian religion.
Here is 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:
ooh, God! accept my love. Forgive my
misdeeds. Of the body and the thought.
Bless me, and my family, and my ancestors,
and those love- and all who love thee
Bless those who love thee not, ana bless
those who know thee not Give unto me
happy future and call me as thy child
when all things are past. And bring about
the time when thou shalt be with u.s. Amen"
And here is one of their little prayers that
conveys the ideas Of reincarnation and
karma:
"Oh! Lord, thank thee that I have grown
through so many lives to be a man and
thence to be myself. l pray thee that my
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:
"Ohl LORD, now / Law me down to sleep.
Keep away from me all diseases and all
dragons, and so fill my soul with thy good
ness that when | awake l 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, il 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 be 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 TIE slender bamboo strips de-
taches itself from the mass and with steady
movement. as if it really meant 1t, rises
higher and higher, until it is ready to fall to
the ground, and doubtless would do so if tho
shaking were continued. Tho theory is that
a magnetism from the soul of the earnest in
quirer, especially when he has just been puri-
fled by prayer, acts upon the bits Of bamboo
and causes them to be receptive of tho
spiritual power that selects the particu-
lar one that points out a truthful
answer to the question that is domi-
nant in the mind of him who
holds the vase Each Of the strips bears q
number and that number is affixed to SEN
tence in the Book of Fate-a volume that lies
upon table at the farther end of the room
from the shrine. A priest generally takes
the strip, hunts ND the sentence it indicates
and reads it to the worshiper. 1t is supposed
that those sentences reply, in all possible
ways, to all serious questions concerning
life that can be asked, and, taking into con-
sideration the oracularly ambiguous con-
struction of some of them, they probably
do-more or less.
Chiname have an immense deal Of faith
IN this mes nod of divination, and q majority
have been informed that 1.-THE evil day u
not nigh" j. II. Connolly.