Texts from the Buddhist canon : commonly known as Dhammapada

. SECTIOIir
( 50 )
IV.
SIMPLE FAITH.
I. In the days of old, to the south-east of Sr§,vasti, there
was a great Eiver, very deep and wide, on the banks of
which there was a hamlet, consisting of some 500 houses,
th6 inhabitants of which had not yet heard the news of
Salvation, and were consequently immersed entirely in
worldliness and selfish pursuits.
The Honoured of the world, ever thinking on the salva-
tion of men, resolved to go to this village and preach to
the people. Accordingly, he came to the riyer-side, and
sat down beneath a tree. The village people, seeing the
glory of his appearance, approached with reverence to
worship him. After they had so done, Buddha began to
preach to them, but they believed him not. On this
Buddha caused the appearance of a man coming from the
south side of the river, where the water was very deep and
the current strong, walking on the surface of it ; and so
coming,, he approached Buddha, and, bowing down, wor-
shipped him.
All the people, seeing this appearance, asked the man in
astonishment, whence he had come, "for we never in all
our lives have seen such a sight as this, a man walking on
the surface of the water. TeU us, then, by what artifice
has this been done, and how it was you were not engulphed
in the stream." Op which the man replied : " I reside on
the southern bank of the river, and had ever lived in
ignorance and folly till I heard that Buddha was here
teaching the way of deliverance, on which, coming to the
bank of the river, and not having time to wait to be carried