Document 7

. . . The Buddha is reported to have exhorted [urged] his monks to “go and travel around for the

welfare of the multitudes, for the happiness of the multitudes, out of sympathy for the world, for

the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans. No two should go in the same

direction.” Although this last admonition [caution] seems not to have been heeded [obeyed], it

is true that Buddhist “missions” were not large and well-organized movements, and instead often

took the form of itinerant monks (or groups of monks) traveling by land and sea in the company

of traders and royal emissaries. According to traditional accounts, the first foreign mission was to

the island of Sri Lanka, and was led by the son of Asoka. . . .

Source: Donald S. Lopez, Jr., “Buddhism in Practice,” Asian Religions in Practice, Princeton University Press, 1999

According to this excerpt from “Buddhism in Practice,” how did Buddhism spread from its place of origin

in ancient India to other parts of Asia?