Afoot and afloat in Burma . orld, and urged all mento follow him in this. The Burman, though,seeks to make of every circumstance of lifean occasion for fun. Births, naming cere-monies, the entering of the monastery byyoung boys, marriage, and even death itself,provide him with fresh excuses for an enter-tainment; while the regular round of pagodafestivals insures a steady series of jollifi-cations should the other events be too fewand far between. Gautama Buddha was right in warningmen to avoid the allurements of this worlds Making Merry 121 pleasures; but he was wrong in teaching thathumankin
Afoot and afloat in Burma . orld, and urged all mento follow him in this. The Burman, though,seeks to make of every circumstance of lifean occasion for fun. Births, naming cere-monies, the entering of the monastery byyoung boys, marriage, and even death itself,provide him with fresh excuses for an enter-tainment; while the regular round of pagodafestivals insures a steady series of jollifi-cations should the other events be too fewand far between. Gautama Buddha was right in warningmen to avoid the allurements of this worlds Making Merry 121 pleasures; but he was wrong in teaching thathumankind always was sinful and doomedto sorrow, and that we exist apart from anygod; for thereby he has robbed his follow-ers of all belief in the wisdom and power ofGod, who, having worked to create His per-fect universe, is still working to uphold it,and to re-create man and this world freefrom sin and sorrow. So the Burman seekshis solace in a life of pleasure; but the onlyhope for him lies in the gospel of Christ. -- •,i/^^\. By Bullock Cart in Burma Ox-carts are terribly slow conveyances, according to ourWestern notions. BY CANOE AND BULLOCK CARTTHROUGH THE FLOODS Making a Canoe — Water Spirits — Getting Wet —Orchids and Ferns — Dak Bungalows Sunshine or rain — which are we go-ing to have? Our interest in the weather was not un-natural, for it was the rainy season, and wehad ahead of us a three days journey in acanoe. When we left Rangoon on this tripto find a place along the banks of the Sal-win for a Karen mission station, we hadintended to take a large covered boat fromShwegon, the point at which the steamlaunch stopped; but we found that no suchboat was available just then, and that wewould either have to go back, or make thebest of it in a small open canoe. So whenthe sky looked clear as we were ready tostart, we felt much relieved. The canoe that we hired was mannedby three Burmans, including the steersman;and by the time our bedding and food sup- 124 Afoot and
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