Now at that time the Sunîdhivassakâras followed the Blessed One, step by step, saying: “The gate by which the Samana Gotama this day departs, shall be called the Gotama gate, the ford by which he crosses the Ganga river, shall be called the Gotama ford.
And the gate, by which the Blessed One passed out was called the Gotama gate.
And the Blessed One came to where the river Ganga was. Now at that time, the river was full, up to the bank, so that a crow could have drunk from it. Some men, eager to cross, were in search of a boat, some in search of a raft, others were engaged in constructing a raft.
And the Blessed One, just as if a strong man should out-stretch his bent arm or bend back his out-stretched arm, even so he vanished from the hither bank of the river Ganga and stood upon the opposite bank with the Brethren.
And the Blessed One beheld those men, eager to cross, p. 125 some in search of a boat, some in search of a raft, and others engaged in constructing a raft.
And the Blessed One, in this connection, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance:
| “Those who cross the ocean, having built a bridge, forsaking the marshes– While the world is constructing rafts–these wise ones escape.”1 |