The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-27
BURMA, THE STRONG < HOLD OF BUDDHISM
foontinued from Page 1s)

 the west coast of India, do not know. A writer for one of the Rangoon news papers naively describes the annexation 3f Burma by the English as necessary, ana this necessity" has deprived the Buddhist buildings of the government al patronage which they. formerly en- joyed.
 About six miles above Mandalay, near the Trrawaddy, stands the foundation of a pagoda which its builder intended should be the largest in the world In was begun by King Bodopaya in 179O. after an unsuccessful campaign against Siam. In his disappointment his mind turned to religion and he hoped to ''ac- q0ire merit" as the Buddhists say, by tho erection of this temple
 The structure begins with four gal leries; the first is 500 feet square, and each succeeding one is little higher, but fifty feet less in diameter. Then the base of the pagoda proper, about ZoO feet square, rises to a height of 160 feet. The entire building as planned would have reached to a height of b00 feet but the labor expended had become so great that the people complained and he was compelled to abandon his enter prise He was warned by the experi- ence of a former king, whose extrava- gance gave rise to the proverb. The pagoda is finished and the country Is ruined" King Bodopaya is not the only captain of industry" who has at tempted to acquire merit" by con structine monumental buildings with the labor of others, but he was not so successful as some of our trust mag mates have been.
 To match this great pagoda bell was cast, weighing ninety tons. said to be the largest bell in the world. The great bell of Moscow is larger. but IS cracked. The Mingoon bell, as this one near Mandalay is called. Is eighteen feet in diameter at the base, nine feet at the ton. and thirty-one feet in height to the top of the shackle. It was form erIv supported on immense teak wood beams. but the foundation of one Of these gave way, and for years one side of the bell rested on the ground Lord Curzon, while Viceroy of India, caused the bell to be suspended from iron beams and put a roof over It.
 The Buddhist priests seem to have made Mandalay their Mecca, for of the 57O0O in Burma, more than t,OOO re- side there The Buddhist priesthood IS the greatest mendicant order Tn the world the members of 1t being pleogeo 70 live by begging. Having occasion tc ride out early one morning we saw lOC or more, hareheaded, barefooted' then only garb a yellow robe, carrying theiI rice bowls from door to door, They cannot ask for food by word of mouth they simply hold out the bowl and il food is denied they move silently to another house. They are permitted to own no property except robe, oowl a leather mat, a razor, needle, ran and filter cup. They must live under a tree unless some one furnishes them a house. and must live on roots and herbs unless better food is given them They have no parishes or congregations but are expected to spend their lives in meditation. free from all worldly cares, except when engaged in expound- ing Buddhistic writing or in teaching the young. They live, es a rule. in monasteries, built for them by pious Buddhists, and from what we saw of these buildings no one would accuse them of being surrounded by luxury These monasteries rest upon posts some distance above the ground and each room has an outside door about large enough for one to enter upon his hands and knees.
 I visited one of these monasteries at