Power of Karma

Author(s): Alexander Cannon
Publisher: Rider and Co

Page 50

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THE POWER OF KARMA expected Boddhisatva had reappeared. It is said that on such an occasion the heads of all infants born at the appointed time are examined for certain distinctive marks which indicate the presence of the exalted spiritual being who will eventually assume the title “Patron of the Angels and all living things”.
In addition to the Dalai Lama, the great explorer Sven Hedin gives an account of an even holier personage known as the Tashi Lama, who is recognized in Tibet as a reincarnation of the Buddha himself.
That the belief in reincarnation has a profound influence on the Tibetan's attitude to wealth is evident from his indifference to the purchasing power of the gold in which his country abounds. To those concerned with the issues of this life in its bearing on lives to come the possession of a hoard of metal is of little consequence. The concept by which the Buddhists regulate their lives is one with that held by Pythagoras. It rests on the ancient belief in the cycle of time which at every turn of the wheel brings back to earth fresh souls from the past, "souls ascending and descending the ladder” according as they do well or ill, some mounting, some falling—“Just and sure is the wheel, swerving not a hair.”