aroundworldortra00peebiala-1

162 AROUND THE WOELD.
however, by the more ignorant of Buddhist worshipers.
Passing the gates of this temple, we saw on our right a
number of pigs wallowing in the choicest food. An inscription
upon the block by the inclosure read, " Save Vfe^ All
life, in the eyes of Buddhists, is sacred ; one of their chief
commandments being, " Thou shalt not take life." And
yet travelers, — and among them a member of the " American
Expedition to China and Japan," — after describing what
they term their " sacred pigs," spealc of the worship paid
this " sanctified pork." Saying nothing of the injustice
done, such a blunder is almost unpardonable. The Rev. Dr.
Eitel, a German clergyman of Hong Kong, in
to
publishing a
correction of this mistake, adds, " There is not a trace of
porcine-worship to be found among Buddhists." Modern
Buddhism, bearing but little relation to its ancient grandeur,
exists to-day in a degenerate and dying state.
This missionary,
the Rev. Dr. Eitel, treating of ancient Buddhism in his
"Three Lectures" delivered and published in Hong Kong,
says (p. 37) —
:
" Ancient Buddhism knows of no sin-atoning power. It holds out to
the troubled, guilty conscience no chance of obtaining forgiveness. A
Buddha is not a Saviour. The only thing he can do for others is to show
them the way of doing good and overcoming evil ; to point out the path
to Nirvana by his example ; and to encourage others, by means of teaching
and exhortation and warning, to follow his footsteps. Do rpod,
and you will be saved : this is the long and short of the Buddhist
religion."
CHINAMEN AS EMIGRANTS.
The written language of this vast empire, understood by
tiie learned of Japan, Loo-Choo, Corea, Manchuria, and
Cochin China, reaches and may influence more of the human
race than any other in the world. The genius of emigration
has touched, and become a kind of inspiration with, a portion
of these Asiatics. Ubiquitous by nature, these Chinese are
literally the Yankees of the East. For a long period, ingress