continued to ring the bell furiously,-- caring nothing whatever for the
protests of the priests. So the ringing became an affliction; and the
priests could not endure it; and they got rid of the bell by rolling it
down the hill into a swamp. The swamp was deep, and swallowed it up,-- and
that was the end of the bell. Only its legend remains; and in that legend
it is called the Mugen-Kane, or Bell of Mugen.

* * *



Now there are queer old Japanese beliefs in the magical efficacy of a
certain mental operation implied, though not described, by the verb
nazoraeru. The word itself cannot be adequately rendered by any English
word; for it is used in relation to many kinds of mimetic magic, as well as
in relation to the performance of many religious acts of faith. Common
meanings of nazoraeru, according to dictionaries, are "to imitate," "to
compare," "to liken;" but the esoteric meaning is to substitute, in
imagination, one object or action for another, so as to bring about some
magical or miraculous result.


For example:-- you cannot afford to build a Buddhist temple; but you can
easily lay a pebble before the image of the Buddha, with the same pious
feeling that would prompt you to build a temple if you were rich enough to
build one. The merit of so offering the pebble becomes equal, or almost
equal, to the merit of erecting a temple... You cannot read the six
thousand seven hundred and seventy-one volumes of the Buddhist texts; but
you can make a revolving library, containing them, turn round, by pushing
it like a windlass. and if you push with an earnest wish that you could