英文：
Once upon a time there was a man who dropped a silver bowl into the sea while crossing it. he pondered, "i'm going to make a mark on the water. i'm carrying on my journey now. but i'll come back for it later."
After two months' travel during which he visited ceylon and many other countries. on seeing a river, he jumped into the water looking for the bowl he had lost before.
"What are you doing there?" people asked.
He replied, "i have lost my bowl. now i would like to get it back."
People went on, "when did you lose it?"
He answered, "i lost it crossing the sea."
Again people asked, "how long ago did you lose it?"
He answered, "i lost it two months ago."
People asked, "since you lost it two months ago in the sea, why are you looking for it here in the river?"
He answered, "i made a mark on the water where i lost the bowl. this water looks the same as the other. there seems no difference. that's why i'm doing this."
People went on, "though all waters are identical, the place that you have lost it is there. how can you find it here?"
Everybody jeered at him.
The heretics, who do not practice the right religious belief, but a fallacious one, suffer from their useless mortification in seeking deliverance. those men are just like the stupid man who has lost his bowl in the sea and looked for it in the river.
古文：
昔有人乘船渡海，失一银釪，堕于水中。即便思念：“我今画水作记，舍之而去，后当取之。”
行经二月，到师子诸国，见一河水，便入其中，觅本失釪。
诸人问言：“欲何所作？”
答言：“我先失釪，今欲觅取。”
问言：“于何处失？”
答言：“初入海失。”
又复问言：“失经几时？”
言：“失来二月。”
问言：“失来二月，云何此觅？”
答言：“我失釪时，画水作记。本所画水，与此无异，是故觅之。”
又复问言：“水虽不别。汝昔失时，乃在于彼；今在此觅，何由可得？”
尔时众人，无不大笑。
亦如外道，不修正行，相似善中，横计苦因，以求解脱，状如愚人，失釪于彼，而于此觅。
译文：
从前有一乘船渡海的人，不慎把银制的器皿掉到海里。当时他想：“我现在就在水面上做个记号，以后再来打捞。”过了两个月，他到达师子国，看到一条河，就到水中寻找那只丢失的银盆。旁边的人问道：“想做什么呢？”他回答：“我以前丢失了一只银盆，现在想找回来。”旁人又问：“在什么地方丢的？”回答说：“在刚渡海的时候。”又接着问：“丢了多长时间？”回答说：“丢失了两个多月了。”又问：“丢失两个月了，为何在这里找呢？”他回答：“我丢失银盆时，在水面做了记号，原来在水面划的记号，与这里没有不同，所以在这里寻找。”旁人又接着再问：“水虽没有不同，但你以前丢失是在别处，现在却在这里寻找，怎么可以找到呢？”这时周围的人都对此大笑不止。
这就好比外道的修行者，不去参悟佛理，专门修习相似善法，刻意苦行，来求得解脱。就像愚蠢的人，在海中丢失银器，却在河中寻找。
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