Page:The Chinese Repository - Volume 01.djvu/32

 unsteady; their attachment to the gospel, as the word of eternal life, has never been very sincere; neither could we fully succeed in fixing their minds on the Saviour. Though all religions are tolerated in Siam, yet Budhism is the religion of the state, and all the public institutions are for the promotion of this superstition. A system of the grossest lies, which can find champions only in the biased minds of some scholars in Europe, engrosses, theoretically, as well as practically, the minds of its votaries, and renders every step towards improvement most difficult. We were allowed to preach in the temples of Budha; and the numerous priests were anxious to engage with us in conversation, yet their hearts were, generally, steeled against divine truth.

Budhism is atheism, according to the creed which one of the Siamese high-priests gave me; the highest degree of happiness consists in annihilation; the greatest enjoyment is in indolence; and their sole hope is founded upon endless transmigration. We may very easily conclude what an effect these doctrines must have upon the morals of both priests and laymen, especially, if we keep in mind that they are duly inculcated, and almost every male in Siam, for a certain time, becomes a priest, in order to study them. From the king to the meanest of his subjects, self-sufficiency is characteristic; the former prides himself on account of having acquired so high a dignity for his virtuous deeds in a former life; the latter is firmly assured, that by degrees, in the course of some thousands of years, he will come to the same honor. I regret not to have found one honest man; many have the reputation of being such, but upon nearer inspection they are equally void of this standard virtue. Sordid oppression, priestcraft, allied to wretchedness and filth, are every where to be met. Notwithstanding, the Siamese are superior in morality, to the Malays. They are neither sanguinary nor bigoted, and are not entirely shut against persuasion.