Strange Stories From a Chinese Studio, volume 1

<h2><SPAN name="chapter-47"><abbr title="Forty-Seven">XLVII.</abbr> <br/> FOREIGN</SPAN> PRIESTS.</h2> <p><span class="smallcaps">The</span> Buddhist priest, T'i-k'ung, relates that when he was at Ch'ing-chou he saw two foreign priests of very extraordinary appearance. They wore rings in their ears, were dressed in yellow cloth, and had curly hair and beards. They said they had come from the countries of the west; and hearing that the Governor of the district was a devoted follower of Buddha, they went to visit him. The Governor sent a couple of servants to escort them to the monastery of the place, where the abbot, Ling-p'ei, did not receive them very cordially; but the secular manager, seeing that they were not ordinary individuals, entertained them and kept them there for the night. Some one asked if there were many strange men in the west, and what magical arts were practised by the Lohans; whereupon one of them laughed, and putting forth his hand from his sleeve, showed a small pagoda, fully a foot in height, and beautifully <span class="pagenum" title="344"><SPAN name="Page_344"></SPAN></span> carved, standing upon the palm. Now very high up in the wall there was a niche; and the priest threw the pagoda up to it, when lo! it stood there firm and straight. After a few moments the pagoda began to incline to one side, and a glory, as from a relic of some saint, was diffused throughout the room. The other priest then bared his arms, and stretched out his left until it was five or six feet in length, at the same time shortening his right arm until it dwindled to nothing. He then stretched out the latter until it was as long as his left arm.</p> <p class="pagenum-h-p"><span class="pagenum" title="345"><SPAN name="Page_345"></SPAN></span></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />