The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-06
NEW HAVEN MORNING JOURNAL COURIER FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19o7

HAL ANU GUUnlEn, FhlUA ! food or clothing does not concern the powers that be.
 Theoretically all the priests are on terms of perfect equality but actual ly their material condition marks them off into sharply defined classes. The poor priest is the servant of his brethren who were born to better for tune.
 He wears their castoff clothing and accepts their gratuitles. He may beg outside the walls if he desires. Fichner mentions a number of their menial pursuits, among which is the eollec- ton and drying of horse manure to sell as fuel in nearby town.
 Unless they rise by unusual gifts of or character they are always the underlings. They sit in the class es with the more fortunate ones, the shadow of the holy tree or of the golden roofed temple falls on them and they use the prayer wheels and the othre machinery of the Buddhist ceremonial; but their images of Budd- ha and their prayer wheels are fash toned of wood or bones of mussel shells, while the rich have these ob- iects in gold, silver or coral and some of them are adorned with pearls and other precious stones,
 In the residence quarter are many small temples and private chapels in which the altars and images or pict- ures of Buddha are the center of in- terest These are only small editions of the many temples, the study halls and tn other buildings that help to make the monastery famous, some of which are costly and beautiful also, from an Oriental point of view. Filchner says that the general air of the priests is that of indolence that not a few of them look like outlaws and criminals and that others have the bearing of dudes But an enorm- ous amount of labor must be perform ed by these 4,O0O priests
 They are dirty in their persons, but 1t is their charge that the streets and the temples and other public buildings are kept immaculate. The altar ser- vice requires the attendance of hun dreds of men. The butter lamps must glisten and the melted butter in which the floating wicks are ever blazing must never run short
 Then there are the elaborate cere- monials in the temples, the private devotions, the prayer wheels always turning at every corner and in every living room, the police service manned by priests who lay their eudgels well on the backs of lettering crowds, the great fete days when ev- erybody must be in the procession, the manufacture of prayer wheels and the
 other instruments, ornaments and
 trappings of worship, to say nothing
 of the constant struggle of the ma
 jority to keep soul and body together
 and the time spent in the study halls there would seem to be plenty ot
 work for all from the presiding lama
 to the humblest priest
 The chief articles of food are the
 root of the plant Polentilla anserina
 L., butter, sealded sour milk, tea, rice
 barley and wheat flour and SUI
 gar. The eating of flesh is strictly for
 bidden, but some of the higher lamas
 eat flesh, drink intoxicating liquors
 and marry though these practices
 come within the ban.
 There is almost no end of the rule. of religion and conduct that are en.
 joined upon all, A priest Is not ordain.
 ed until he is 15, but he enters the monastery when mere child and the chief rules imposed upon him in tht
 preparatory stage are that he mus not lie or steal, drink anything intoxi
 eating or kill anything that has life
 There are many minor rules that for, bid him, for example to eat after mid
 day to sing or dance, to make music
 on any instrument, to use perfumerS or adorn himself with ribbons or flow CTS.
 If the novice fails in his studies O. does not live up to the rules he i turned back into the laity, but if h, stands the test he is ordained and be gins to perform the minor duties O the priesthood. Whether he ma, wear the priestly robe after his twen tieth year depends upon his conduc
 and achievement, but if his record i good the final 253 rules of conduc and religion are imposed upon hin and he remains monk till he is 45 when he is free to retire from the sa cred service. A great many with ! draw, but many other, especiall, those who have developed aptitude fo the work and won distinction in ii
 remain monks to the end of thei days The violation of many rules may b forgiven, but woe to the monk who Icaught stealing. He is led througl the cloister in white robe, the em blem of mourning, and outside tn walls is beaten with sticks and turn ed away, Q priest no longer.
 Filchners "Das Kloster Kumbum il Tibet" is almost unique in it's content and valuable contribution to ou ] knowledge of the remarkable institu ' tion of lamaism among the Tibetal Buddhlsts.--New York Sun. ----------
 Way to Treat Christian Science. ! We are not able at all to accept tn y teachings of Christian Science, but "