Show efficacy of prayers measured by numbers the devout people of tibet and that Is almost the entire population spend much time and ingenuity in their prayers their prayers to the glorification of buddha seem to be a race to work off the greatest possible number of prayers and the one who has the largest number to his credit has prospects of the greatest reward one man has the supplication carved on a board which la Is secured to a long pole he spends hours every day dipping the board into the witter water every dip Is a prayer another has a whirling windmill which bich he holds aloft with the proper inscription upon it and every revolution Is a prayer women moving about in their ordinary pursuits carry little whirligigs which they keep in motion constantly every whirl Is a prayer the shoulder boulder fc blades of the yak present a broad sur face these are properly inscribed and hung in groups of a dozen from the branches of a tree overhanging a footpath travelers cannot get by without brushing them aside and this disturbance means several prayers sturdy ones climb to the mountain top and plant prayer flags at the summit |