hierarchy of the order.

it is somewhat surprising to find in the middle of half-civilised nations, such as the burmese, siamese, cingalese, and thibetans, a religious order, with a distinct and well-marked hierarchy, constitutions and regulations, providing for the admission of members, determining their occupations, duties, obligations, and their mode of life, and forming, as it were, a compact, solid, and perfect body, that has subsisted, almost without change, during several centuries, and survived the destruction of kingdoms, the fall of royal dynasties, and all the confusion and agitation produced by political commotions and revolutions. it is in thibet that the order is found existing in the greatest perfection, under the fostering care of the grand lama, or high priest, who combines in his own person the regal as well as the sacerdotal dignity and power. in the city of lassa, a pontifical court, an elective sacerdotal chief, and a college of superior lamas impart to the order dignity, decency, respectability, and stability, which insure its continued existence, and more or less extend its influence over its members living in distant countries. the period of the introduction of buddhism from india into thibet is very uncertain, if not quite unknown. buddhist annals mention that after the holding of the third council, 236 years after gaudama’s death, some missionaries were deputed by the president of that assembly to go and preach religion in some parts of the himalayan range. we may suppose that this had reference to the southern slopes of the mountains. be that as it may, it appears certain that the establishment of a pontifical chief or sovereign, with royal prerogatives, was set up by one of the grandsons of the great tartar warrior gengis in or about the middle of the thirteenth century. in other countries, where the order[262] has no connection whatever with the civil power, we can scarcely expect to see it surrounded with an equal splendour, or subsisting in the same state of splendour and regularity. though this is the case in burmah, it is impossible not to acknowledge the fact that the regulations of the wini are more carefully attended to in this country than in thibet. the conduct of the monks here is incomparably more regular. the public could not bear an open dereliction of the duties imposed by the vows of poverty and chastity. but, if credit be given to the narratives of travellers, the thibetan monks do not scruple to forsake occasionally those duties, without appearing to fear the rising of a popular cry of indignation, on account of their misbehaviour in points considered of such vast importance. extraordinary, indeed, would be its vital energies, were the remotest parts of this great and far-spread body to receive the same impulse and exhibit the same symptoms of vitality as those nearest to the heart or principle of life. having never met with any detailed particulars regarding the thibetan monks, we must remain satisfied with laying before the reader an account of all that relates to the constituent parts of the order, such as they are found existing in burmah and developed in the sacred writings.

the whole fraternity is composed, 1st, of young men who have put on the talapoinic dress without being considered professed members of the fraternity, or having hitherto passed through a certain ordeal somewhat resembling an ordinary; they are called shyins; 2d, of those who, having lived for a while in the community in a probationary state, are admitted professed members with the ceremonies usually observed on such occasions, whereby the title and character of phongyie are solemnly conferred; they are denominated patzins; 3d, of the heads of each house or community, who have the power to control all the inmates of the house; 4th, of a provincial, whose jurisdiction extends over all the communities spread in the[263] towns and villages of the province or district; 5th, of a superior general, residing in the capital or its suburbs, called tsaia-dau, or great master, having the general management and direction of all the affairs of the order throughout the empire. he is emphatically called by the name of tha-thana-paing, which means that he has the power over religion. let us say something upon each of these five degrees of the buddhistic hierarchy.

it is an almost universal custom among the burmese and siamese to cause boys who have attained the age of puberty, or even before that time, to enter for a year or two one of the many talapoinic houses, to put on the yellow dress, for the double purpose of learning to read and write, and of acquiring merits for future existences. on the occasion of the death of certain persons, it happens sometimes that a member of the family will enter the community for six months or a year. when a young lad is to make his first entrance into a house of the order, he is led thereto, riding on a richly caparisoned pony, or sitting in a fine palanquin carried on the shoulders of four or more men. he is allowed to use one or several gold umbrellas, which are held opened over his head. during the triumphal march he is preceded by a long line of men and women, attired in their richest dresses, carrying a large quantity of presents destined for the use of the inmates of the kiaong (such is the general name given to all the houses of the brotherhood in burmah) which the young postulant is to reside in. in this stately order the procession, attended with a band playing on various musical instruments, moves on slowly and circuitously through the principal streets of the town towards the monastery that has been fixed upon. this display of an ostentatious pomp is, on the part of the parents and relatives, an honour paid to the postulant who generously consecrates himself to so exalted a calling, and on the part of the youth a last farewell to worldly vanities. he has no sooner descended from his splendid conveyance and crossed[264] the threshold of the kiaong than he is delivered by his parents into the hands of the superior, and placed under his care. his head is instantly shaved; he is stripped of his fine secular dress, and habited in the plain and humble yellow garb; he must lay aside every sort of ornament, and remain contented with the unassuming simplicity becoming his new position. the kiaong is to become his home, and its inmates are substituted in the room of his father and mother, brothers and sisters.

the duty of the young shyin is to minister to the wants of the elders of the house, to bring and place before them at fixed times the usual supply of water, the betel-box, and the daily food; to attend them on some pious errand through the town or the country. a portion of his time is devoted to acquiring the art of reading and writing, and occasionally the elements of arithmetic. there are five general precepts obligatory on all men; but the shyin is bound to the observance of five additional ones, making ten altogether, by which he is forbidden—1st, to kill animals; 2d, to steal; 3d, to give himself up to carnal pleasures; 4th, to tell lies; 5th, to drink wine or other intoxicating liquors; 6th, to eat after mid-day; 7th, to dance, sing, or play on any musical instrument; 8th, to colour his face; 9th, to stand on elevated places, not proper for him; 10th, to touch or handle gold or silver.[54][265] the trespassing of the five first precepts is visited with expulsion from the kiaong; but that of the five last may be expiated by a proper penance.

the young shyins, as before observed, do not remain in the kiaong beyond the period of one or two years; they generally leave it and return to a secular life. there are, however, some of them, who, fond of the easy and quiet life of talapoins, or actuated by other motives, prefer remaining longer in those places of retirement. they betake themselves to the study of the duties, rules, and obligations of the professed members of the society; they pay more attention to the reading of religious books, and endeavour to obtain the required qualifications. being sufficiently instructed on all these points, and having attained the age of twenty years, they are solemnly admitted among the professed members of the brotherhood under the name of patzin. the interesting ceremonies observed on the occasion will hereafter be fully described. the state of patzin is, therefore, properly speaking, that of phongyie, though that name is sometimes reserved for him who is the head of a monastery. every other step or promotion in the hierarchy is purely honorary, in so far that it does not impose upon him who[266] is so promoted any new duty or obligation different from what is obligatory on every professed member; but it confers a power or jurisdiction for commanding, controlling, and governing all the brethren under his care. in virtue of such distinctions, a superior, how high soever his rank may be, is bound to the observance of the same rules, duties, and obligations as the last patzin; his sacred character is not enlarged or altered; he is only entrusted with a certain amount of jurisdiction over some of his brethren.

the talapoin is bound to his community, so that in every kiaong or house of the order there are ordinarily to be met several patzins and a good number of shyins. each kiaong has a chief who presides over the community, under the appellation of tsaya, or, as is more often the case, under that of phongyie. he is, in most instances, the nominee of the individual who has built the monastery, and who is vested with a kind of right of patronage to appoint whom he likes to be the head of the house he has erected. he who is the head of the house has power over all the inmates, and every one acknowledges him as his immediate superior. he has the management of all the little affairs of the community, enforces the regular observance of the rules and duties of the profession, corrects abuses, rebukes the trespassers, spurs the lazy, excites the lukewarm, keeps peace and maintains good understanding amongst his subordinates. he receives, in his official character, the pious visitors who resort to his monastery, either for the sake of making voluntary offerings in token of their respect for and admiration of his eminent sanctity, or for conversing with him on some religious subjects, which, let it be said quietly, out of deference to human frailty, sometimes make room for those of a worldly character. if the alms-givers or advice-seekers belong, as often happens, to the fair and devout sex, they must remain at a distance of six or twelve cubits, as the place may allow, from their pious adviser.[267] it is supposed that a nearer proximity might endanger the virtue of the holy recluse.

in every town a considerable number of kiaongs are found, either in the suburbs or within the walls, in a quarter reserved for the purpose. in every village the kiaong is to be met with, as the parson’s house in our villages of europe. the poorest place is not without a small and often very humble house for the phongyie who resides there, if not during the whole year, at least during the rainy season. one or several dzedis, a sort of flagstaff painted, and with some of its parts gilt, bearing the emblem of the sacred bird henza, or brahminical duck, at three-fourths of its height, from which hang down gracefully several streamers, amid a grove of fruit trees, indicate to the traveller the habitation—sometimes humble, sometimes stately—with its superposed three roofs, where the rahans dwell. the kiaong is also a place where the traveller is well received, and can stay for a day or two. during the dry season, when there are few boys remaining with the phongyies, it is a place much safer than the dzeats. the inmates are generally very glad to receive strangers, who by their conversation afford them some moments of pleasant diversion which relieve the habitual monotony of their life. these various communities are placed under the jurisdiction of a general superior, or a provincial named tsaia-dau, or great master; they form, under his authority, a province of the order; a division much similar to that of several religious orders in europe. he enjoys a large share of public respect and veneration. his kiaong outshines the others in splendour and decorations. the first and wealthiest inhabitants of the place are proud to call themselves his disciples and supporters, and to supply him liberally with all that he may require. his chief duty is to settle disputes that not unfrequently arise between rival communities. the demon of discord often haunts these abodes of peace and retirement. the authority of the provincial interferes to put down feuds[268] and contentions, which envy and jealousy, the two great enemies of devotees, not unfrequently excite. when a talapoin is accused of incontinence or other serious infringement of the vital rules of the profession, he is summoned to the tribunal of the tsaya-dau, who, assisted and advised by some elders, examines the case and pronounces the sentence. superior intellectual attainments do not appear to be the essential qualifications for obtaining this high dignity. the writer has met with two or three of these dignitaries who, in his opinion, were vastly inferior to many of their subordinates in talents and capacity. they were old and good-natured men, who had spent almost all their lives within the precincts of the monastery. their dress, manners, and habits were entirely similar to those of their brethren of inferior grade.

in the capital, or its suburbs, of the kingdom of ava, where is the key-stone of the talapoinic fabric, the superlatively great master resides. his jurisdiction extends over all the fraternity within the realm of his burmese majesty. his position near the seat of government, and his capacity of king’s master or teacher, must have at all times conferred upon him a very great degree of influence over all his subordinates. he is honoured with the eminent title of tha-thana-paing, meaning that he has power and control over all that appertains to religion. it does not appear that peculiarly shining qualifications or high attainments are required in him who is honoured with such a dignity. the mere accidental circumstance of having been the king’s instructor when he was as yet a youth is a sufficient, nay, the only necessary recommendation for the promotion to such a high position. hence it generally happens that each king, at his accession to the throne, confers the highest dignity of the order on his favourite phongyie. in that case the actual incumbent has to resign the place to his more influential brother, and becomes an ordinary member of the fraternity, unless he prefers leaving the society altogether, and re-entering the[269] lay condition. great indeed is the respect paid by the king to the head phongyie. when on certain days of worship he is invited to go to the palace and deliver some instructions to his majesty, the proud monarch quits the somewhat elevated place he occupies, and takes one almost on a level with that of the courtiers, whilst the venerable personage goes to sit on the very same carpet just vacated by the king. when he happens to go out and visit some monasteries or places of worship, he is generally carried on a gilt litter, in great state, attended by a large number of his brethren and a considerable retinue of laymen. during the passage, marks of the greatest respect are given by the people. the monastery he lives in is on a scale of splendor truly surprising. its form and appearance are similar to that of other religious houses, but in variety and richness of decorations it surpasses them all. it is entirely gilt both inside and out; not only are the posts covered with gold leaves, but often they are inlaid with rubies, which i suppose are of the commonest description and of little value.

to confer an additional sacredness to his person and position, the tha-thana-paing lives by himself, with but one or two phongyies, whom we may consider as his secretaries or major-domos, who remain in an apartment near to the entrance, to receive visitors and usher them into the presence of the great personage. besides, there are lay guardians who take good care that not the least noise should ever disturb the silence of the place.

when the writer first visited that dignitary, he was much amused, on his approach to the place, to meet with those mute guardians, who by all sorts of signs and gestures were endeavouring to make him understand that he must walk slowly and noiselessly, and beware to speak aloud. when admitted to the presence of the tsaya-dau, he was not a little surprised to find a man exceedingly self-conceited, who thought that to him alone belonged the right of speaking. his language was that of a master[270] to whom no one was expected to presume to offer the least contradiction. he appeared quite offended when his visitor was compelled to dissent from him on certain points brought forward during the conversation. he was then about fifty years old. he was, for a burman, of a tall stature, with regular and handsome features. the face was a little emaciated, as becomes a monk. his spiritual pride cast a darkish and unpleasant appearance on his person. he spoke quickly and sententiously; appearing all the while scarcely to notice his interlocutor. admiration of self and vanity pierced through the thin veil which his affected humility spread over his countenance. the writer left him with an impression very different from that which a worthy english envoy, in the end of the last century, entertained of a similar personage, whose mild, benign, and pious exterior captivated him to such an extent as to elicit from him a request to be remembered in his prayers.

in our days, the power of the tha-thana-paing is merely nominal; the effects of his jurisdiction are scarcely felt beyond his own neighbourhood. such, however, was not the case in former times. spiritual commissioners were sent yearly by him, to examine into and report on the state of the communities throughout the provinces. they had to inquire particularly whether the rules were regularly observed or not, whether the professed members were really well qualified for their holy calling or not. they were empowered to repress abuses, and whenever some unworthy brother, or black sheep, was found within the enclosure of a monastery, he was forthwith degraded, stripped of the yellow garb, and compelled to resume a secular course of life. unfortunately for the welfare of the order, those salutary visits no more take place; the wholesome check is done away with. left without a superior control, the order has fallen into a low degree of abjectness and degradation. the situation of talapoins is often looked upon now as one fit for lazy, ignorant, and[271] idle people, who, being anxious to live well and do nothing, put on the sacred dress for a certain time, until, tired of the duties and obligations of their new profession, they retire and betake themselves anew to a secular life. this practice, as far as my observation goes, is pretty general, if not almost universal. there are, however, a few exceptions. though labouring under many serious disadvantages, the society continues to subsist with all its exterior characteristics; the various steps of its hierarchy are as well marked and defined now as they were before under more favourable circumstances. its framework remains entire, but the materials composing it are somewhat imperfect and unsound.

there is in that religious body a latent principle of vitality, that keeps it up and communicates to it an amount of strength and energy that have hitherto maintained it in the midst of wars, revolutions, and political convulsions of all descriptions. whether supported or not by the ruling power, it has remained always firm and unchanged. it is impossible to account satisfactorily for such a phenomenon, unless we find a clear and evident cause of such an extraordinary vitality; a cause independent of ordinary occurrences, time, and circumstances; a cause deeply rooted in the very soul of the populations, that exhibit before the observer this great and striking religious feature. that cause appears to be the strong religious sentiment, the firm faith that pervades the masses of buddhists. the laity admire and venerate the religious, and voluntarily and cheerfully contribute to their maintenance and welfare. from its ranks the religious body is constantly recruited. there is scarcely a man that has not been a member of the fraternity for a certain period of time.

surely such a general and continued impulse could not last long, unless it were maintained by a powerful religious conviction. the members of the order preserve, at least exteriorly, the decorum of their profession. the[272] rules and regulations are tolerably well observed; the grades of hierarchy are maintained with a scrupulous exactitude. the life of the religious is one of restraint and perpetual control. he is denied all sorts of pleasures and diversions. how could such system of self-denial be ever maintained, were it not for the belief which the rahans have in the merits that they amass, by following a course of life which, after all, is repugnant to nature? it cannot be denied that human motives often influence both the laity and the religious, but divested of faith and of the sentiments inspired by even a false belief, their action could not produce, in a lasting and persevering manner, the extraordinary and striking fact we witness in buddhistic countries.