Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c8.s1.2

c8.s1.2

WITH the history of the conversion of those two most prominent of his disciples, and the account of the soon-allayed discontent of the people at Râjagaha, the connected narrative of Buddha's career breaks off, again to unite but once more, where the memory had to be fastened on the last wanderings of the aged teacher, on his parting utterances and his death. For the long period which lies between that beginning and the end, a period, as we are told, of more than four decades, there is in our tradition, at least in that which deserves this name, nothing in the way of a continuous description, but merely collections of countless real or feigned addresses, dialogues, and sayings of Buddha, to which is annexed a short note regarding the external circumstances cf place and company, which led to these utterances.