A Burmese wonderland; a tale of travel in Lower and ... - Khamkoo

192 A BURMESE WONDERLAND.
simple philosophy as it left the lips of its founder m
parables. Otherwise it could not have fired the imagination
of the world. Something of its beauty, its
logic, its tenderness is still visible through a fog of
corruption.
In Burmese times the King, whatever his morals
(and they were usually shocldng), was Defender of the
Faith. His Majesty's patronage and generosity gave
Buddhism official support. The Vehicle of Rehgion
was the Sanga, or Priestly Order, whose members were
strictly supervised, and for whose discipline and correction
a proper machinery existed. The Phoongyis were,
as they still are sometimes, austere, good men, whose
renunciation of the world was complete and real. We
have now travelled far from those days. With
the collapse of the Burmese Government, the Sanga
was left without control. Its discipline and authority
declined, and with it the Religion of which it is the
organ.
Burma is now at one of those cross-roads whose
divergent paths lead to widely different ends. The
sign posts point to
'
Buddhism' and ' Materialism.'
It is important to take the high-way to happiness and
success, and not the apparently more inviting one
ending in rocks of disappointment and disillusionment.
There are always solfish, unscrupulous people whose
inexperience tempts them along the easy way : and
because they are clamorous and insistent, as well as
very foolish, their will is apt to prevail. Finally, they