CHAPTER XLIII

　　The Living Buddha¹ does not die. His soul sometimes passes intothat of a child born on the day of his death and sometimestransfers itself to another being during the life of the Buddha.

This new mortal dwelling² of the sacred spirit of the Buddha almostalways appears in the yurta of some poor Tibetan or Mongol family.

There is a reason of policy for this. If the Buddha appears in thefamily of a rich prince, it could result in the elevation³ of afamily that would not yield obedience⁴ to the clergy⁵ (and such hashappened in the past), while on the other hand any poor, unknownfamily that becomes the heritor of the throne of Jenghiz Khanacquires riches and is readily submissive to the Lamas. Only threeor four Living Buddhas⁶ were of purely⁷ Mongolian origin; theremainder were Tibetans.

One of the Councillors of the Living Buddha, Lama-Khan Jassaktu,told me the following:

"In the monasteries⁸ at Lhasa and Tashi Lumpo they are keptconstantly informed through letters from Urga about the health ofthe Living Buddha. When his human body becomes old and the Spiritof Buddha strives to extricate⁹ itself, special solemn servicesbegin in the Tibetan temples together with the telling of fortunesby astrology. These rites¹⁰ indicate the specially¹¹ pious¹² Lamas whomust discover where the Spirit of the Buddha will be re-incarnated.

For this purpose they travel throughout the whole land and observe.

Often God himself gives them signs and indications. Sometimes thewhite wolf appears near the yurta of a poor shepherd or a lamb withtwo heads is born or a meteor falls from the sky. Some Lamas takefish from the sacred lake Tangri Nor and read on the scales thereofthe name of the new Bogdo Khan; others pick out stones whose cracksindicate to them where they must search and whom they must find;while others secrete¹³ themselves in narrow mountain ravines tolisten to the voices of the spirits of the mountains, pronouncingthe name of the new choice of the Gods. When he is found, all thepossible information about his family is secretly collected andpresented to the Most Learned Tashi Lama, having the name ofErdeni, "The Great Gem¹⁴ of Learning," who, according to the runes ofRama, verifies the selection. If he is in agreement with it, hesends a secret letter to the Dalai Lama, who holds a specialsacrifice in the Temple of the "Spirit of the Mountains" andconfirms the election by putting his great seal on this letter ofthe Tashi Lama.

If the old Living Buddha be still alive, the name of his successoris kept a deep secret; if the Spirit of Buddha has already gone outfrom the body of Bogdo Khan, a special legation appears from Tibetwith the new Living Buddha. The same process accompanies theelection of the Gheghen and Hutuktus in all the Lamaite monasteriesin Mongolia; but confirmation¹⁵ of the election resides with theLiving Buddha and is only announced to Lhasa after the event.

1 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

2 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

3 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

4 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

5 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

6 Buddhas   

n.佛，佛陀，佛像( Buddha的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She called on spirits and Buddhas and made innumerable vows, all to no avail. 她把一切的神佛都喊到了，并且许下多少誓愿，都没有用。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Tibetans identification with the political role of Living Buddhas is declining. 藏新政权的政治舞台中活佛的政治角色处于边缘。 来自互联网

7 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。

9 extricate   

v.拯救，救出；解脱

参考例句：

• How can we extricate the firm from this trouble?我们该如何承救公司脱离困境呢？
• She found it impossible to extricate herself from the relationship.她发现不可能把自己从这种关系中解脱出来。

10 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 secrete   

vt.分泌；隐匿，使隐秘

参考例句：

• The pores of your body secrete sweat.身上的毛孔分泌汗液。
• Squirrels secrete a supply of nuts for winter.松鼠为准备过冬而藏坚果。

14 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

15 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。