CHAPTER XLV

　　"I prayed and saw that which is hidden from the eyes of the people.

A vast plain was spread before me surrounded by distant mountains.

An old Lama carried a basket filled with heavy stones. He hardlymoved. From the north a rider appeared in white robes and mountedon a white horse. He approached the Lama and said to him:

"'Give me your basket. I shall help you to carry them to theKure.'

"The Lama handed his heavy burden up to him but the rider could notraise it to his saddle so that the old Lama had to place it back onhis shoulder and continue on his way, bent¹ under its heavy weight.

Then from the north came another rider in black robes and on ablack horse, who also approached the Lama and said:

"'Stupid! Why do you carry these stones when they are everywhereabout the ground?'

"With these words he pushed the Lama over with the breast of hishorse and scattered² the stones about the ground. When the stonestouched the earth, they became diamonds. All three rushed to raisethem but not one of them could break them loose from the ground.

Then the old Lama exclaimed:

"'Oh Gods! All my life I have carried this heavy burden and now,when there was left so little to go, I have lost it. Help me,great, good Gods!'

"Suddenly a tottering³ old man appeared. He collected all thediamonds into the basket without trouble, cleaned the dust fromthem, raised the burden to his shoulder and started out, speakingwith the Lama:

"'Rest a while, I have just carried my burden to the goal and I amglad to help you with yours.'

"They went on and were soon out of sight, while the riders began tofight. They fought one whole day and then the whole night and,when the sun rose over the plain, neither was there, either aliveor dead, and no trace of either remained. This I saw, BogdoHutuktu Khan, speaking with the Great and Wise Buddha⁴, surroundedby the good and bad demons⁵! Wise Lamas, Hutuktus, Kampos, Marambasand Holy Gheghens, give the answer to my vision!"This was written in my presence on May 17th, 1921, from the wordsof the Living Buddha just as he came out of his private shrine⁶ tohis study. I do not know what the Hutuktu and Gheghens, thefortune tellers⁷, sorcerers and clairvoyants⁸ replied to him; butdoes not the answer seem clear, if one realizes the presentsituation in Asia?

Awakened⁹ Asia is full of enigmas¹⁰ but it is also full of answers tothe questions set by the destiny of humankind. This greatcontinent of mysterious Pontiffs, Living Gods, Mahatmas and readersof the terrible book of Karma is awakening¹¹ and the ocean ofhundreds of millions of human lives is lashed¹² with monstrous¹³ waves.

1 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 tottering   

adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• the tottering walls of the castle 古城堡摇摇欲坠的墙壁
• With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe. 宜将剩勇追穷寇。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

5 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

7 tellers   

n.（银行）出纳员( teller的名词复数 )；（投票时的）计票员；讲故事等的人；讲述者

参考例句：

• The tellers were calculating the votes. 计票员正在统计票数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The use of automatic tellers is particularly used in large cities. 在大城市里，还特别投入了自动出纳机。 来自辞典例句

8 clairvoyants   

n.透视者，千里眼的人( clairvoyant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

9 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 enigmas   

n.难于理解的问题、人、物、情况等，奥秘( enigma的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The last words of Night Haunter stand as one of the great enigmas of Imperial history. 暗夜幽魂最后的临死前的话成为了帝国历史上的最大谜团之一。 来自互联网
• Heraclitus saith well in one of his enigmas, Dry light is ever the best. 赫拉克里塔斯在他的隐语之一中说得很好，“干光永远最佳”。 来自互联网

11 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

12 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！