过去有人，痴无智慧，极渴须水，见热时炎谓为是水，即便逐走至辛头河，既至河所对视不饮。
In the past, there was a person, ignorant without wisdom. Extremely thirsty needing water, seeing ‘flames’ when hot [i.e. mirage], regarding them as water, he immediately raced to reach the Sindhu River. Already having reached that river, eye to eye seeing it, he did not drink from it.
傍人语言：「汝患渴逐水，今至水所何故不饮？」
A bystander spoke these words, ‘You, suffering from thirst chasing water, now having reached that water, for what reason are you not drinking it?’
愚人答言：「若可饮尽，我当饮之，此水极多俱不可尽，是故不饮。」
The foolish person replied, saying, ‘If I can drink it completely, I will drink it. As this water is extremely much together, and cannot be drunk completely, therefore am I not drinking it.’
尔时众人闻其此语，皆大嗤笑。
At that time, all people who heard these words of his, all greatly sneered at him.
譬如外道僻取其理，以己不能具持佛戒，遂便不受，致使将来无得道分、流转生死，若彼愚人见水不饮为时所笑，亦复如是。
For example, those of external paths, who go out of the way to obtain these principles, with themselves not able to completely uphold the Buddha’s precepts, immediately do not receive them, causing their future to be without attainment of the path’s part, flowing and transforming [i.e. reborn] in the cycle of birth and death, are like that foolish person seeing water but not drinking it, by those then laughed at, they are likewise thus.
[Note: As we all have to start somewhere, we should not be intimidated by the vast and great scope of the Dharma, such that we refuse to learn or practise any aspect of it at all. As life is short and unpredictable, with the Dharma being able to resolve many of life’s problems, there should not be trying to or waiting to fully understand all principles of the Dharma before putting some of the Dharma into practice.
To the extent that the Dharma is well practised, it is the extent that the Dharma will benefit. Also, it is through having adequate practice that more and eventually all principles will be realised. This is so as all Dharma principles are interconnected to one another, and are meant to be actualised to be fully understood.]
全百喻
All Hundred Parables:
https://purelanders.com/baiyu
