uera des billets de tombola."
The ordinary Buddhism of Camboja at the present day resembles that of
Siam and is not mixed with Brahmanic observances. Monasteries are
numerous: the monks enjoy general respect and their conduct is said to
be beyond reproach. They act as schoolmasters and, as in Siam and
Burma, all young men spend some time in a monastery. A monastery
generally contains from thirty to fifty monks and consists of a number
of wooden houses raised on piles and arranged round a square. Each
monk has a room and often a house to himself. Besides the dwelling
houses there are also stores and two halls called Sala and Vihear
(vihara). In both the Buddha is represented by a single gigantic
sitting image, before which are set flowers and incense. As a rule
there are no other images but the walls are often ornamented with
frescoes of Jataka stories or the early life of Gotama. Meals are
taken in the Sala at about 7 and 11 a.m.,[321] and prayers are recited
there on ordinary days in the morning and evening. The eleven o'clock
meal is followed by a rather long grace. The prayers consist mostly of
Pali formulae, such as the Three Refuges, but they are sometimes in
Cambojan and contain definite petitions or at least wishes formulated
before the image of the Buddha. Thus I have heard prayers for peace
and against war. The more solemn ceremonies, such as the Uposatha and
ordinations, are performed in the Vihear. The recitation of the
Patimokkha is regularly performed and I have several times witnessed
it. All but ordained monks have to withdraw outside the Sima stones
during the service. The ceremony begins about 6 p.m.: the Bhikkhus
kneel down in pairs face to face and rubbing their foreheads in the
dust ask for mutual forgiveness if they have inadvertently offended.
This ceremony is also performed on other occasions. It is followed
by singing or intoning lauds, after which comes the recitation of the
Patimokkha itself which is marked by great solemnity. The reader sits
in a large chair on the arms of which are fixed many lighted tapers.
He repeats the text by heart but near him sits a prompter with a
palm-leaf manuscript who, if necessary, corrects the words recited. I
have never seen a monk confess in public, and I believe that the usual
practice is for sinful brethren to abstain from attending the ceremony
and then to confess privately to the Abbot, who assigns them a
penance. As soon as the Patimokkha is concluded al
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