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See more Tibetan photos at boston.com
It's said before they tell a story native Americans say, "I don't know if it happened this way but I know that its true."
Legend has it that Saint Michael Coleman, founder of Ireland's first monastery in the 6thC, prayed so long with outstretched arms and open hands that a blackbird came and built a nest twig by twig in his hand, then layed an egg and in time the egg hatched and a baby bird emerged.
Legend has it in Tibet that a Buddhist prayed in the same spot so long that impressions of the person's feet were made in the wood floor.