Page:Ossendowski - Beasts, Men and Gods.djvu/311

 CHAPTER XLV

THE VISION OF THE LIVING BUDDHA OF MAY 17, 1921

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 hardly moved. From the north a rider appeared in white robes and mounted on a white horse. He approached the Lama and said to him:

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

"The Lama handed his heavy burden up to him but the rider could not raise it to his saddle so that the old Lama had to place it back on his shoulder and continue on his way, bent under its heavy weight. Then from the north came another rider in black robes and on a black horse, who also approached the Lama and said:

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

"With these words he pushed the Lama over with the breast of his horse and scattered the stones about the ground. When the stones touched the earth, they became diamonds. All three rushed to raise them but not one of them could break them loose from the ground. Then the old Lama exclaimed: