350 



THE SINGHALESE CHRONICLES. 



[PART III. 



Buddhism. Fa Hian, in the fourth century, was assured 

 -fay f^e p eO pl e O f Ceylon that at that period the priests 

 numbered between fifty and sixty thousand, of whom two 

 thousand were attached to one wihara at Anarajapoora, 

 and three thousand to another. 1 



As the vow which devotes the priests of Buddha to 

 religion binds them at the same time to a life of poverty 

 and mendicancy, the extension of the faith entailed in 

 great part on the crown the duty of supporting the vast 

 crowds who withdrew themselves from industry to em- 

 brace devotion and indigence. They were provided with 

 food by the royal bounty, and hence the historical books 

 make perpetual reference to the priests "going to the 

 king's house to eat," 2 when the monarch himself set the 

 example to his subjects of " serving them with rice 

 broth, cakes, and dressed rice." 3 Eice in all its varieties 

 is the diet described in the Mahawanso as being pro- 

 vided for the priesthood by the munificence of the 

 kings ; " rice prepared with sugar and honey, rice with 

 clarified butter, and rice in its ordinary form." 4 In 

 addition to the enjoyment of a life of idleness, another 

 powerful incentive conspired to swell the numbers of 

 these devotees. The followers and successors of Wijayo 



1 FA HlAN, Foe-kow-ki, ch. 

 xxxviii. p. 336, 350. At the present 

 day the numher in the whole island 

 does not probably exceed 2500 

 (HARDY'S Eastern Monachism, p. 57, 

 309). But this is far below the pro- 

 portion of the Buddhist priesthood 

 in other countries ; in Siam nearly 

 every adult male becomes a priest 

 for a certain portion of his life; a 

 similar practice prevails in Ava ; and 

 in Burmah so common is it to assume 

 the yellow robe, that the popular 

 expedient for effecting divorce is for 

 the parties to make a profession of 

 the priesthood, the ceremonial of 

 which is sufficient to dissolve the 

 marriage vow, and after an interval of 

 a few months, the individual can 



throw off the yellow robe and is 

 then at liberty to marry again. 



3 Rajavali,i>.189. HiouenThsang, 

 the Chinese pilgrim, describing Ana- 

 rajapoora in the seventh century, 

 says : " A cot6 du palais du roi, on 

 a construit une vaste cuisine ou 1'on 

 prepare chaque jour des aliments 

 pour dix-huit mille religieux. A 

 1'heure de repas, les religieux vien- 

 nent, un pot a la main, pour recevoir 

 leur nourriture. Apres 1'avoir ob- 

 tenue ils s'en retournent chacun dans 

 leur chambre." HIOTJETT THSANG, 

 Transl. M. JULIEN, lib. xi. torn. ii. 

 p. 143. 



3 Mahawanso, ch. xiv. p. 82. 



4 Mahawanso, ch. xxxii. ; Raja- 

 ratnacari, ch. i. p. 37, ch. ii. p. 56, 

 60, 62. 



