________________
368
BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM.
of the Buddhists, however, includes the whole of the population of China, without adverting to their distribution as the followers of Confucius or Taï-sse, or, as we have lately learned, as the professors of a composite Christianity. · Numerous, however, as the Buddhists still are, the system seems to be on the decline, where it is not upheld by the policy of the local governments, or where the priesthood does not constitute a very large share of the population. The people in general do not seem to take much interest in the worship of the temples, nor to entertain any particular veneration for tlieir priests. The temples are always open, and service is regularly performed, usually three times a day, like the Sandhya of the Brahmans: on these occasions the priests assemble, usually seated in two divisions or semi-choirs, who chaunt passages from the sacred books, Tibetan, Páli, or Sanskrit, the two latter being utterly unintelligible to the people, and understood by very few of the priests. The chaunting is relieved by the accompaniment of bells, and cymbals, and drums, and the blowing of the conch shells or brass trumpets, or, in the eastern Himalaya, of trumpets made of human thigh bones; incense is burnt before the images of the Buddhas, and fruit and flowers, and dishes of food placed before them. The people take no part in this performance, and come in small numbers, at their own convenience, and make their offering and prostration, and then depart. The priests, again, are said to enjoy little personal consideration:
