Ernest Young

Name: Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples
Author: Ernest Young

Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

Summary

“Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples”, published in 1908, is a work by Ernest Young. It explores elements such as Buddha, temple and Nirvana.

Quotes from Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (Ernest Young)

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ Buddha taught that when we die our souls pass into other bodies. If we have been very wicked in this life, we may be reborn as cats, or toads, or beetles. If we have been very good, we may reappear as nobles or princes, or perhaps live in another world as angels. The man who has lived the perfect life, who has neither thought, said, nor done anything wrong, goes to Nirvana, where there is everlasting peace, and where no trouble, sorrow, or sickness of any kind is ever known. When Nirvana is reached, the soul rests for ever, and is not born again, either in the heavens or on the earth. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ A temple is not a place to worship in; for, strictly speaking, there is no one to worship, Buddha does not ask for people to kneel to him. He was a man, not a god, and he became holy because he lived a sinless life. Any other man who lived a life like his would become a Buddha too. And a temple is not built to pray in, because there is no one to whom to pray. Every man must save himself by his own deeds, and Buddha does not pretend to hear and answer prayers. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ Some actions only make a little merit; others make a great deal of merit. One of the best ways of getting a big figure on the right side of the account is, according to the priests, to build a temple. Hence, when a man is rich enough, he builds a house for the Buddha, where his image may be seen, his lessons learned, and his praises sung. But once the temple is built, the matter is finished, and there is no need to repair it. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ Trees, shrubs, and creepers have grown over it, and it is not at first easy to believe that the hill is the work of man. On the top is a snow-white spire, and under the spire, in a gilded shrine, there is a glass model of one of Buddha's teeth. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ For three days every year the people come in thousands to worship this tooth. They buy a bit of gold-leaf or a few wax flowers, and then they mount to the top of the hill. There they stick the gold leaf on the iron railings round the shrine, light the candles, throw the wax flowers into a big bonfire, and bang a few drums. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ The Temples There are temples everywhere in Siam, some not much bigger than barns; others, great buildings with high roofs and stately surroundings. Some are quite new, gay in all their glory of gold and varied colour; others are old, dirty, and crumbling to dust. Temples are not usually repaired ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ When a person dies, all the good and all the evil he has done are added up, and a kind of balance is struck. The happiness or misery of the person in his next life depends on whether he has a good or a bad balance. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ In connexion with the temple there are one or more salas, or rest-houses. To build a sala is another way of making merit, and as it costs less to put up one of these wooden rest-houses than to build a temple, there are thousands of them in the country. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Ernest Young, Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (1908)

“ He pays no rent, gets no comforts, and is often interfered with by the local lunatic, the casual traveller, or a crowd of merry, inquisitive children. He may not complain, for the slender platform is free to all comers. ”

Ernest Young

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Quotes from Peeps at Many Lands: Siam — Chapter 9 The temples (Ernest Young)

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