Hindu gods and the Buddha-meeting

Hindu gods and the Buddha-meeting

**of Note**

with holy men and women in various ashrams they stayed at along the way. Their knowledge of human religion and philosophy deepened, but they remembered Laughing Crane’s dictum that human spiritual truths were different than Garou truths. Humans had their own role to play in Gaia’s realm, separate but often similar to that of the Garou.

Eventually they reached Kathmandu in Nepal and there met with Stargazers of the Sept of the High Caves, whom they had been told about and who were expecting them. They had arrived at a very auspicious time, for the next week, in the afternoon of February 3 and for three days thereafter, a great conjunction of the planets, sun and moon was to occur.

Many of the local humans were afraid that it portended the end of the world, but the Stargazers saw in it a great opportunity to awaken a new generation around the world to Eastern wisdom.

Antonine and his fellow pupils were perfect symbols in flesh of what the Stargazers hoped the stars promised: a new wave of Eastern wisdom brought to the West.

The cubs were led to a hidden monastery in the high mountains, a system of caves that, on the outside, appeared to be the retreats of Buddhist monks or Hindu ascetics but led inside to a warren of cavems where the tribe held its rites and nourished a caem-a place of spiritual power where the Gauntlet between the worlds of spirit and flesh was thin.

From here, the monks opened a moon bridge to the Aetherial Realm, where they would join Stargazers from around the world for a great rite commemorating the planetary conjunction. Here also one of the three new students would be allowed to declare his or her commitment to the ways of the sept and remain afterward for years of study. Only one of the three cubs would be allowed to so commit; the other two would have to seek admittance elsewhere.

Meeting together that night, the three dishussed who would stay. It was soon clear that Catrida best loved what she saw here, and so Antonine and Wen agreed to allow her the honor. After the gredt rite, they would move on, seeking another sept for themselves. It was a night of bittersweet parting butljoyful exultation, celebrating Catrina’s newfound plsice for herself in the Stargazer world. n e great conjunction rite was confusing to Antonine. Although he had studied star lore with Laughing Crane, the powerful goings-on an-iongst the gathered Stargazers of revered rank were beyond his ken. After a time of frustration, he gave up trying to understand it all and just soaked in as puch as he could, hoping to one day remember enohgh to As the conjunction began, Antonine fr b ze in piece together what was happening. awe and wonder at his first sight of his triblal totem, Chimera. The lion-headed dragod had appeared before his tribe to bless the evenlt. As the dragon whirled over their heads, Antbnine thought he saw the great spirit looking ati him.

Later, Wen admitted the same. Perhaps tde toWhen it was over three days later, Ant b nine tem had examined all the newcomers. and Wen shouldered their backpacks and said their farewells to Catrina and the sept leaders. Thdy had been given directions to the Shigalu Monhstery over the mountains in Tibet, and so set off that way, joining a group of pilgrims-some of them