[12]The large gatherings of the Buddhist brotherhoods everywhere spoken
of in the writings can only be accounted for on the supposition, which
is more than a supposition, that they came to him in the rainy season,
when they could do but little in their missions; and the substantial
unity of the Buddhist faith can only be accounted for on the
supposition that his instructions were constantly renewed at these
gatherings and their errors corrected.
BOOK VIII.
Northward the noble Purna took his way
Till India's fields and plains were lost to view,
Then through the rugged foot-hills upward climbed,
And up a gorge by rocky ramparts walled,
Through which a mighty torrent thundered down,
Their treacherous way along the torrent's brink,
Or up the giddy cliffs where one false step
Would plunge them headlong in the raging stream,
Passing from cliff to cliff, their bridge of ropes
Swung high above the dashing, roaring waves.
At length they cross the frozen mountain-pass,
O'er wastes of snow by furious tempests swept,
And cross a desert where no bird or beast
Is ever seen, and where their way is marked
By bleaching bones strewn thick along their track.[1]
Some perished by the way, and some turned back,
While some of his companions persevered,
Cheered on by Purna's never-flagging zeal,
And by the master's words from Purna's lips,
Until they reached the outmost wandering tribes
Of that great race that he had come to save.
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