法苑珠林 64.10

64.10

Furthermore, the Avadāna Sūtra states: In the Southern Sea, surging waves suddenly flooded the land, and three large fish were swept into shallow water. They said to one another: 'We are in distress here; while the floodwaters have not yet receded, we should swim upstream and return to the great ocean.' But they were obstructed by a water boat and could not cross over. The first fish leaped over the boat with all its might and succeeded in crossing. The next fish then relied on grass and succeeded in crossing over. The third fish was utterly exhausted in strength and was captured by a hunter. Seeing this, the Buddha spoke a verse: