A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lāo: An AutobiographyMcGilvary, Daniel
History
A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lāo: An Autobiography
McGilvary, Daniel
Lao (Tai people); Missions -- Lao (Tai people); Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. -- Missions
Of the friends found in those early days I must mention two. One was
Princess Būa Kam, the mother of the late and last Lāo Prince, Chao
Intanon. At our first acquaintance, she formed for us a warm friendship
that lasted till her death. Nor could I ever discover any other ground
for her friendship than the fact that we were religious teachers. She
was herself a devout Buddhist, and continued to the last her offerings
in the monasteries. I believe that the Gospel plan of salvation struck a
chord in her heart which her own religion never did. From Buddha she got
no assurance of pardon. The assurance that pardon is possible in itself
seemed to give her hope, though by what process a logical mind could
hardly see, so long as she held on to a system which, as she confessed,
did not and could not give pardon. She was always pleased to hear the
story of the incarnation, the birth, life, and miracles of Christ. She
was deeply touched by the recital of His sufferings, persecutions, and
death. Illustrations of the substitutionary efficacy of His sufferings
she readily understood. She acknowledged her god to be a man who, by the
well-nigh endless road to nirvāna, had ceased to suffer by ceasing to
exist. The only claim he had to warrant his pointing out the way to
others was the fact that he had passed over it himself. There was one
ground, however, on which she felt that she might claim the comfort both
of the doctrines which she still held and of ours, too. A favourite
theory of hers—and of many others—was that, after all, we worship the
same God under different names. She called hers Buddha, and we call ours
Jehovah-Jesus.
She had by nature a woman’s tender heart. Benevolence had doubtless been
developed in her by her religion, till it had become a second nature.
The gifts she loved to make were also a means of laying up a store of
merit for the future. She was most liberal in sending us tokens of
remembrance. These were not of much value. A quart of white rice, a few
oranges, cucumbers, or cocoanuts on a silver tray, were so customary a
sight that, if ever any length of time elapsed without them, we wondered
if the Princess were ill. And, on the other hand, if for any cause my
calls were far apart, she would be sure to send to enquire if I were
ill. The “cup of cold water” which she thus so often pressed to our
lips, I am sure, was given for the Master’s sake.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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