Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c8.s1.t1.8

c8.s1.t1.8

These were the surroundings in which Buddha passed a great part of his life, probably the portions of it richest in effective work. Here masses of the population, lay as well as monastic, flocked together to see him and to hear him preach. Hither came pilgrim monks from far countries, who have heard the fame of Buddha’s teaching and, when the rainy season is past, undertake a pilgrimage to see the master face to face. “It is customary,” runs an oft-recurring passage in our texts, “for monks, when they have passed the rainy season, to set out to see the Exalted One. It is the custom of the exalted Buddha to welcome monks who come from afar.” “Is it well with you, monks?” Buddha is accustomed to ask the arrivals. “Are you able to live? Have you passed the rains in peace and unity, and without discord, and have you experienced any want of support?”