The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-22
IN CEYLON'S
SPICY ISLE
III.-THE SACRED SHRINE OF
HANDY.
BY Frederic j. Haskin.
BY Frederic j. Haskir

100 Buddhists Of the world. The sacred
shrine at Buddha-Gaya in India where
grew the DO tree under which Guatama
Buddha attained perfection, has been in
the hands of the Brahmins for centuries
and India knows Buddha only as an in
caTnat1On of one OF its own gods. At
Anuradhapura. the long-buried capital of
ancient and glorious CeylOn, still flour
| ishes a sacred DO tree which was grown
nom cutting of the very tree under
I which Buddha sat 1t is the oldest his
to-iCal tree in the world. and an object
of veneratiOn, but Anuradhapura does not
attract the pilgrims as does Handy.
For in Handy is the Temple of the
| Tooth. wherein is enSnrined what the de-
| vout believe to be one of the eye-teeth
of the great teacher, rescued from the
funeral pyT1 half a thousand years be-
fore Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The
fact that the tooth is over two inches
| long and nearly an inch in diameter,
and could not possibly be that Of hu-
man being, makes no difference with the
religious pilgrim. The further fact that
the original and genuine tooth was cap
! tured by the Portuguese and burned by
| the Archbishop of Goa with great cere-
mony in the year 1867 does not alter the
| generation Of the multitude of votaries-
| For centuries the original tooth was the
most highly-prized relic in India. 1t went
| with the hand of princess in interna-
| tiOnal marriage settlements. Wars We're
/ fought for its possession and blood was
/ spilled over IL through thousands of years,
/ II was brought to CeylOn in the hair OF
a fleeing princess, was re-taken by the
] Indians in war, Was again returned to
/ Ceylon and set up in q temple at the then
/ village of Randy. The Portuguese cap
/ tured and burned 1t, but IL was not long
! before the enshrined mOnstrOsity of to-
\ day was invented, The temple at Randy
1 was enlarged and beautified. and finally
/ Randy was made the royal capital of Sin
! halese kings. No one may see the tooth.
/ which is kept in seven locked boxes in
/ WindOwless temple room, the air of which
/ is sickeningly heavy with the perfume
/ Of flowers. Once a year il is carried in
procession on the back of q sacred ele-
/ plant and may be seen, at distance, by
| the devOut. At other times il is kept
/ in its cell. while Buddhist pilgrims from
all over the east bring presents of gold
and silver to the temple, and tourists
/ from the unbeleving Occident bring fees
/ to the priests and guides
Whatever one may think of the wisdom
or folly of the VeneratiOn of the tooth,
everyone must agree that the most sacred
shrine of Buddhist has been placed in
a spot of surprising beauty. High in the
mountains. seventy-five miles from Co
lOmbO. the little city of Handy keeps
alive the ancient spirit Of the Sinhalese.
Here the kings Of the ancient line for
titled themselves behind the natural fort
r2sses of the surrounding hills, and here
they successfully kept Arab. Portuguese
and Dutch invader at bay, only to FaI
into the hands Of the British in the same
year that the Battle of New Orleans
placed the final seal on the independence
of the great American republic.
Randy is built around an artificial lake
which is boTdered by a prOfusiOn of beau
tiful trees and flowers. High on one side
is the pavilion of the last king of Randy,
and just under that is the Temple of the
Tooth and the great agOba which also
enshriHes some bone relics Of Buddha.
Across the lake is 2 Buddhist monastery.
where the ancient religion is being taught
with some American theOsophical i'm
proVFments of method. The drives around
40 Ia n1uhnT hpnnhnC AT
the hills are not surpassed in the world
for beauty. Looking at Handy one might
ina gine that he was seeing miniature
japanese garden through a magnifying
glass of wondTous power.
Evangelical Christians who use the Eng
fish language have been singing for a
generation a hymn by Bishop Heber,
which says:
what though the spicy breezes
Blow soft DER CeylOn's isle
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile"
Surely the good bishop had not been /
to Randy or he would never have in /
GUIDED its reOple among those described |
in the last line. The people of Randy are /
to enjoy a good-natured brush with the |
visiting tourist, and they are always clean. |
They wear very few clothes. but much |
iewelry. Even the babies C'Kandy kids !
have bracelets and anklets and neck |
laces of silver and gold although they |
arc absolutely innocent of clothing.
Being high and cool, Handy is the so /
cial capital of the tea growing country, |
and its spacious hotels cater to the resi- |
dent EngliShman as well as to the tour |
ist. Yet the Englishman has not spoiled /
the beauty of the city. He has restored |
the odd cement walls erected by the Kan !
dyan kings. and when ne has built anew /
he has followed the ancient and native /
style Of architecture.
Within q days ride Of Kandv wild ele- /
plants still roam the jungle. In its very 4
suburbs there Is a herd of elephants at /
work piling timber for a sawmill. Still 1
nearer to the city is the herd of elephants /
which are kept sacred to the Temple of /
the Tooth. One day in each year they I
are used in the procession of the tooth. 4
and on all other days they do cunning
tricks and eat bananas from the hands /
Of timd tourists that their keepers may
get rich. comparatively speaking, from
tips.
Four miles away. back in the direction 4
of Colon DO are the Persdeniya gardens.
THE most beautiful in the world say
those who have seen them all Surely 4
Peradeniya should support the claim that I
Ceylon was the Garden Of Eden. Every 4
tree and plant and flower Of the tropical /
world has been gathered here.
Just before one enters the garden he I
sees a cultivated field in which tea. cot /
fee and chocolate are being grown In hap
py family fashion for the delectatiOn of 4
of the owner. Inside the garden one walks {
through a grove of nutmeg trees, from
which come nUtmegs and mace. to a gar
den. IN which cinnamon allspiCe. cloves,
csrdamOn and pepper all grow contented-
ly. Not far away is a garden with va
rious kinds OF sugar producing plants, so
that it may we'll be said that Peradeniya 4
is made Of sugar and spice and all that's
nice
Here is an orchid house in which is
collected the most beautiful of the spe-
Cies Of Towering parasites from all \
around the equator. as well as the com
mon varieties which grow wild in the
neighboring jungles. Here is d plant
which has leaves Ike bronze. and here
is one with an odd metallic sheen that
IS sometimes red, sometimes purple and
sometimes gray, as It is turned in the
light
One is driven through an avenue of no
bic TALBOT palms. and is almost tempted
To doubt his senses The TALBOT is the
giant of the palm family. Ii looks eX-
actiy as if an ordinary cabbage palmetto
Of the South Atlantic states of America
had suddenly grown to enormous proper
tons. Its fan-shaped leaves are more
than twelve feet in diameter, one of them
making a sufficient roof for native
house. On these leaves have been in
scribed the history and sacred lore OF /
Ceylon for thousands Of years The tall
pot has tragic life history. 1t con-