Meant, but they have entered into
no particulars except in a reference by the former to Shien-sien, a
title of perfection affected by that sect, as the origin of Polo's term
Sensin. In the substance of this I think they are right. But I believe
that in the text this Chinese sect are, rightly or wrongly, identified
with the ancient Tibetan sect of Bon-po, and that part of the characters
assigned belong to each.
First with regard to the Taosse. These were evidently the Patarini of
the Buddhists in China at this time, and Polo was probably aware of the
persecution which the latter had stirred up Kublai to direct against them
in 1281 - persecution at least it is called, though it was but a mild
proceeding in comparison with the thing contemporaneously practised in
Christian Lombardy, for in heathen Cathay, books, and not human creatures,
were the subjects doomed to burn, and even that doom was not carried out.
["The Tao-sze," says M. Polo, "were looked upon as heretics by the other
sects; that is, of course; by the Lamas and Ho-shangs; in fact in his time
a passionate struggle was going on between Buddhists and Tao-sze, or
rather a persecution of the latter by the former; the Buddhists attributed
to the doctrine of the Tao-sze a pernicious tendency, and accused them of
deceit; and in support of these assertions they pointed to some of their
sacred books.
