________________
JI, 1, 10.
FAITH.
55
when he was on the other side the monarch might give command to his attendants, saying : “Bring some water, my good men. I would fain drink." Now suppose the monarch had a water-clearing gem, and those men, in obedience to the order, were to throw the jewel into the water; then at once all the mud would precipitate itself, and the sandy atoms of shell and bits of water-plants would disappear, and the water would become clear, transparent, and serene, and they would then bring some of it to the monarch to drink. The water is the heart; the royal servants are the recluse; the mud, the sandy atoms, and the bits of water-plants are evil dispositions; and the water-cleansing gem is faith.'
And how is aspiration the mark of faith ?'
In as much as the recluse, on perceiving how the hearts of others have been set free, aspires to enter as it were by a leap upon the fruit of the first stage, or of the second, or of the third in the Excellent Way, or to gain Arahatship itself, and thus applies himself to the attainment of what he has not reached, to the experience of what he has not yet felt, to the realisation of what he has not yet realised,—therefore is it that aspiration is the mark of faith.'
Give me an illustration.'
Just, o king, as if a mighty storm [36] were to break upon a mountain top and pour out rain, the water would flow down according to the levels, and after filling up the crevices and chasms and gullies
i Udakappasâdako mani. Doubtless a magic gem is meant : with allusion particularly to the Wondrous Gem (the Mani-ratana) of the mythical King of Glory (see my 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 256).
Diglized by Google
