Page:Three Years in Tibet.djvu/109

Rh what was I to do then? I espied a declivity below me, which extended north-west in a gradual descent, far out of sight of the tents, and I saw that unless I took it, I should either come on those tents or have my progress barred by a succession of high mountains. With nothing else to help me to arrive at a decision, I then entered on what is termed 'Danjikwan sanmai'

TO A TENT OF NOMAD TIBETANS.

in Japanese-Buddhist terminology, a meditative process of making up one's mind, when neither logic nor accurate knowledge is present to draw upon for arriving at a conclusion. The process is, in short, one of abnegating self and then forming a judgment, a method which borders on divination, or an assertion of instinctive powers. The result was that I decided to take the