Om mane padme hum

And down the loaded air there comes

The thunder of Thibetan drums,

And droned - "Om mane padme hums" -

- A world's-width from Kamakura.
Yet Brahmans rule Benares still,

Buddh-Gaya's ruins pit the hill,

And beef-fed zealots threaten ill

- To Buddha and Kamakura.
A tourist-show, a legend told,

A rusting bulk of bronze and gold,

So much, and scarce so much, ye hold

- The meaning of Kamakura?
But when the morning prayer is prayed,

Think, ere ye pass to strife and trade,

Is God in human image made

- No nearer than Kamakura?

Rudyard Kipling, The Buddha at Kamakura