voice and removes the sorrow.' Her appellation is 'Taking-away-fear
Buddha,' If in the midst of the fire the name of Kuan Yin is called,
the fire cannot burn; if tossed by mountain billows, call her name,
and shallow waters will be reached. If merchants go across the sea
seeking gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, and a storm comes
up and threatens to carry the crew to the evil devil's kingdom,
if one on board calls on the name of Kuan Yin, the ship will be
saved. If one goes into a conflict and calls on the name of Kuan
Yin, the sword and spear of the enemy fall harmless. If the three
thousand great kingdoms are visited by demons, call on her name,
and these demons cannot with an evil eye look on a man. If, within,
you have evil thoughts, only call on Kuan Yin, and your heart will
be purified, Anger and wrath may be dispelled by calling on the name
of Kuan Yin. A lunatic who prays to Kuan Yin will become sane. Kuan
Yin gives sons to mothers, and if the mother asks for a daughter she
will be beautiful. Two men--one chanting the names of the 6,200,000
Buddhas, in number like the sands of the Ganges, and the other simply
calling on Kuan Yin--have equal merit. Kuan Yin may take the form of
a Buddha, a prince, a priest, a nun, a scholar, any form or shape,
go to any kingdom, and preach the law throughout the earth."

Miao Chuang desires an Heir

In the twenty-first year of the reign of Ta Hao, the Great Great
One, of the Golden Heavenly Dynasty, a man named P'o Chia, whose
first name was Lo Yue, an enterprising kinglet of Hsi Yii, seized the
throne for twenty years, after carrying on a war for a space of three
years. His kingdom was known as Hsing Lin, and the title of his reign
as Miao Chuang.

The kingdom of Hsing Lin was, so says the Chinese writer, situated
between India on the west, the kingdom of T'ien Cheng on the south,
and the kingdom of Siam on the north, and was 3000 _li_ in length. The
boundaries differ according to different authors. Of this kingdom
the two pillars of State were the Grand Minister Chao Chen and the
General Ch'u Chieh. The Queen Pao Te, whose maiden name was Po Ya, and
the King Miao Chuang had lived nearly half a century without having
any male issue to succeed to the throne. This was a source of great
grief to them. Po Ya suggested to the King that the God of Hua Shan,
the sacred mountain in the west, had the reputation of being always
willing to help; and that if he prayed to him