CHAPTER XLVII

　　During my stay in Urga I tried to find an explanation of thislegend about the King of the World. Of course, the Living Buddhacould tell me most of all and so I endeavored to get the story fromhim. In a conversation with him I mentioned the name of the Kingof the World. The old Pontiff sharply turned his head toward meand fixed² upon me his immobile, blind eyes. Unwillingly³ I becamesilent. Our silence was a long one and after it the Pontiffcontinued the conversation in such a way that I understood he didnot wish to accept the suggestion of my reference. On the faces ofthe others present I noticed expressions of astonishment⁴ and fearproduced by my words, and especially was this true of the custodianof the library of the Bogdo Khan. One can readily understand thatall this only made me the more anxious to press the pursuit.

As I was leaving the study of the Bogdo Hutuktu, I met thelibrarian who had stepped out ahead of me and asked him if he wouldshow me the library of the Living Buddha¹ and used a very simple,sly trick with him.

"Do you know, my dear Lama," I said, "once I rode in the plain atthe hour when the King of the World spoke⁵ with God and I felt theimpressive majesty⁶ of this moment."To my astonishment the old Lama very quietly answered me: "It isnot right that the Buddhist⁷ and our Yellow Faith should conceal⁸ it.

The acknowledgment of the existence of the most holy and mostpowerful man, of the blissful kingdom, of the great temple ofsacred science is such a consolation⁹ to our sinful hearts and ourcorrupt lives that to conceal it from humankind is a sin. . . .

Well, listen," he continued, "throughout the whole year the King ofthe World guides the work of the Panditas and Goros of Agharti.

Only at times he goes to the temple cave where the embalmed¹⁰ body ofhis predecessor¹¹ lies in a black stone coffin¹². This cave is alwaysdark, but when the King of the World enters it the walls arestriped with fire and from the lid of the coffin appear tongues offlame. The eldest¹³ Goro stands before him with covered head andface and with hands folded across his chest. This Goro neverremoves the covering from his face, for his head is a nude¹⁴ skullwith living eyes and a tongue that speaks. He is in communion withthe souls of all who have gone before.

"The King of the World prays for a long time and afterwardsapproaches the coffin and stretches out his hand. The flamesthereon burn brighter; the stripes of fire on the walls disappearand revive, interlace and form mysterious signs from the alphabetvatannan. From the coffin transparent¹⁵ bands of scarcely noticeablelight begin to flow forth¹⁶. These are the thoughts of hispredecessor. Soon the King of the World stands surrounded by anauriole of this light and fiery¹⁷ letters write and write upon thewalls the wishes and orders of God. At this moment the King of theWorld is in contact with the thoughts of all the men who influencethe lot and life of all humankind: with Kings, Czars, Khans,warlike leaders, High Priests, scientists and other strong men. Herealizes all their thoughts and plans. If these be pleasing beforeGod, the King of the World will invisibly help them; if they areunpleasant in the sight of God, the King will bring them todestruction. This power is given to Agharti by the mysteriousscience of 'Om,' with which we begin all our prayers. 'Om' is thename of an ancient Holyman, the first Goro, who lived three hundredthirty thousand years ago. He was the first man to know God andwho taught humankind to believe, hope and struggle with Evil. ThenGod gave him power over all forces ruling the visible world.

"After his conversation with his predecessor the King of the Worldassembles the 'Great Council of God,' judges the actions andthoughts of great men, helps them or destroys them. Mahytma andMahynga find the place for these actions and thoughts in the causesruling the world. Afterwards the King of the World enters thegreat temple and prays in solitude¹⁸. Fire appears on the altar,gradually spreading to all the altars near, and through the burningflame gradually appears the face of God. The King of the Worldreverently announces to God the decisions and awards of the'Council of God' and receives in turn the Divine orders of theAlmighty. As he comes forth from the temple, the King of the Worldradiates with Divine Light."

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 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

4 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

7 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

8 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

10 embalmed   

adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气

参考例句：

• Many fine sentiments are embalmed in poetry. 许多微妙的情感保存于诗歌中。 来自辞典例句
• In books, are embalmed the greatest thoughts of all ages. 伟大思想古今有，载入书中成不朽。 来自互联网

11 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

12 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

13 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

14 nude   

adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品

参考例句：

• It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。
• She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

15 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

17 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

18 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。