Page:A Record of the Buddhist Religion as practised in India and the Malay Archipelago.djvu/104

 Then, breaking the wood, and bending it, rub the tongue. In addition to the tooth-wood, some toothpicks made of iron or copper may be used, or a small stick of bamboo or wood, flat as the surface of the little finger and sharpened at one end, may be used for cleaning the teeth and tongue; one must be careful not to hurt the mouth. When used, the wood must be washed and thrown away.

Whenever a tooth-wood is destroyed or water or saliva is spit out, it should be done after having made three fillips with the fingers, or after having coughed more than twice ; if not, one is faulty in throwing it away. A stick taken out of a large piece of wood, or from a small stem of a tree, or a branch of an elm, or a creeper, if in the forest; if in a field, of the paper mulberry, a peach, a sophora japonica ('Huai'), willow-tree, or anything at disposal, must be prepared sufficiently beforehand. The freshly-cut sticks (lit. wet ones) must be offered to others, while the dry ones are retained for one's own use.

The younger priest can chew as he likes, but the elders must have the stick hammered at one end and made soft; the best is one which is bitter astringent or pungent in taste, or one which becomes like cotton when chewed. The rough root of the Northern Burr-weed (Hu Tai) is the most excellent; this is otherwise called Tsăng-urh or Tsae-urh, and strikes the root about two inches in the ground. It hardens the teeth, scents the mouth, helps to digest food, or relieves heart-burning. If this kind of tooth-cleaner be used, the smell of the mouth will go off after a fortnight. A disease in the canine teeth or tooth- ache will be cured after a month. Be careful to chew fully and polish the teeth cleanly, and to let all the mouth-water come out; and then to rinse abundantly with water. That is the way. Take in the water from the nose once. This is the means of securing a long life