CHAPTER XLVIII

"Has anybody seen the King of the World?" I asked.

"Oh, yes!" answered the Lama. "During the solemn holidays of theancient Buddhism¹ in Siam and India the King of the World appearedfive times. He rode in a splendid car drawn² by white elephants andornamented with gold, precious stones and finest fabrics³; he wasrobed in a white mantle⁴ and red tiara with strings⁵ of diamondsmasking his face. He blessed the people with a golden apple withthe figure of a Lamb above it. The blind received their sight, thedumb spoke⁶, the deaf heard, the crippled freely moved and the deadarose, wherever the eyes of the King of the World rested. He alsoappeared five hundred and forty years ago in Erdeni Dzu, he was inthe ancient Sakkai Monastery⁷ and in the Narabanchi Kure.

"One of our Living Buddhas⁸ and one of the Tashi Lamas received amessage from him, written with unknown signs on golden tablets. Noone could read these signs. The Tashi Lama entered the temple,placed the golden tablet on his head and began to pray. With thisthe thoughts of the King of the World penetrated⁹ his brain and,without having read the enigmatical signs, he understood andaccomplished the message of the King.""How many persons have ever been to Agharti?" I questioned him.

"Very many," answered the Lama, "but all these people have keptsecret that which they saw there. When the Olets destroyed Lhasa,one of their detachments in the southwestern mountains penetratedto the outskirts¹⁰ of Agharti. Here they learned some of the lessermysterious sciences and brought them to the surface of our earth.

This is why the Olets and Kalmucks are artful sorcerers andprophets. Also from the eastern country some tribes of blackpeople penetrated to Agharti and lived there many centuries.

Afterwards they were thrust out from the kingdom and returned tothe earth, bringing with them the mystery of predictions accordingto cards, grasses and the lines of the palm. They are theGypsies. . . . Somewhere in the north of Asia a tribe existswhich is now dying and which came from the cave of Agharti,skilled in calling back the spirits of the dead as they floatthrough the air."The Lama was silent and afterwards, as though answering mythoughts, continued.

"In Agharti the learned Panditas write on tablets of stone all thescience of our planet and of the other worlds. The Chinese learnedBuddhists know this. Their science is the highest and purest.

Every century one hundred sages¹¹ of China collect in a secret placeon the shores of the sea, where from its depths come out onehundred eternally-living tortoises. On their shells the Chinesewrite all the developments of the divine science of the century."As I write I am involuntarily reminded of a tale of an old Chinesebonze in the Temple of Heaven at Peking. He told me that tortoiseslive more than three thousand years without food and air and thatthis is the reason why all the columns of the blue Temple of Heavenwere set on live tortoises to preserve the wood from decay.

"Several times the Pontiffs of Lhasa and Urga have sent envoys¹² tothe King of the World," said the Lama librarian, "but they couldnot find him. Only a certain Tibetan leader after a battle withthe Olets found the cave with the inscription¹³: 'This is the gateto Agharti.' From the cave a fine appearing man came forth,presented him with a gold tablet bearing the mysterious signs andsaid:

"'The King of the World will appear before all people when the timeshall have arrived for him to lead all the good people of the worldagainst all the bad; but this time has not yet come. The most evilamong mankind have not yet been born.

"Chiang Chun Baron¹⁴ Ungern sent the young Prince Pounzig to seek outthe King of the World but he returned with a letter from the DalaiLama from Lhasa. When the Baron sent him a second time, he did notcome back."

1 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

4 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

5 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

6 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。

7 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

8 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

9 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

10 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

11 sages   

n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料）

参考例句：

• Homage was paid to the great sages buried in the city. 向安葬在此城市的圣哲们表示敬意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Confucius is considered the greatest of the ancient Chinese sages. 孔子被认为是古代中国最伟大的圣人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

13 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

14 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。