the worship is individual. The worshipper kneeling
before the pagoda lights the tapers he has brought,
and holding his offering of flowers in his joined hands,
prays, repeating in adoration the excellencies of the
Buddha. Strange prayers, as to a being who hears and
can help, for the
things that are dear
to men, go up from
these unbelievers
in a personal god.
The man and his
wife kneeling together
pray that
they may see the
Buddha Arimad-
deya wh e n he
comes again as the
saviour of mankind;
and that thus they
may attain neik-
ban. T i l l then
they beg that ^ they the basb of a „ tag6n.da1ng»
may live again as
husband and wife. Others solicit with great earnestness
at the feet of Thakiamuni the' favour of becoming
at some time a Buddha, like himself, and
wish, like King Laukatara, “ that they may be born
in the same country of the same parents ; that they
may ride the same horses, and be attended by the
same companions ” as of old. Lovers come here and
