One day, a famous sage asked a boatman to transport him from one bank of the river to the other.
Having boarded the boat, the sage looked at the boatman with an arrogant look and asked:
- Tell me, please, my dear, do you know ancient languages?
“No, I don’t know,” the boatman answered him.
– Oh, how unforgivably meager your knowledge is! - exclaimed the sage. - Tell me, dear, have you studied the Buddhist canons?
“No, I didn’t study it,” answered the boatman.
The sage shrugged his shoulders dismissively, but did not leave the boatman alone.
- Well, do you have any knowledge of mathematics?
“No,” came the boatman’s short answer.
- Oh, unfortunate one! You are a complete ignoramus! - the sage groaned.
At that very moment, a strong wave overwhelmed the boat, and the boat began to rapidly sink to the bottom. The boatman jumped into the water and easily reached the shore. And the sage, who could not swim, sank to the bottom.
Suddenly the boatman heard the sage’s pleas:
- My friend! Save me! I'm drowning! The surprised boatman shouted back:
- O sage! You have learned the essence of human wisdom. You have penetrated the depths of the Buddhist canons, can’t you really stay on the surface of the water!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru