Date: 08/02/2025 08/03/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Dharma Talk
Deep Faith in the Dharma Leads One Across the Sea of Suffering
During the time of the Buddha, in the southeastern region of the Kingdom of Śrāvastī, there was a great river—deep and wide. Along the banks of this river lived five hundred households. These people had never heard of moral values or the true principles of the Buddha’s teachings. Their natures were harsh and difficult to tame, unruly and lawless. They took pleasure in corruption and deceit, made a living through fraud, and found joy in violating rules and laws.
One day, the World-Honored One perceived that these five hundred households had, due to past karmic merit, ripened conditions and were now ready to be liberated. So the Buddha came to the riverside and sat beneath a large tree, preparing to guide them.
As the villagers passed by and saw the Buddha’s dignified appearance—adorned with the Thirty-Two Marks of a Great Man—they were awestruck, filled with admiration and joy. Many approached him with reverence, bowed, and respectfully inquired whether the Buddha had already taken his meal. Wishing to create a meritorious connection, they offered to provide alms.
The Buddha, with great compassion, invited everyone to sit on the ground, and then he began to expound the true Dharma. However, the people of the village, deeply rooted in their deceitful habits, were unable to give rise to right faith in the Buddha’s words.
At that moment, the Buddha manifested a miracle. He transformed into the appearance of a mendicant who, from the far bank of the river, walked calmly across the water to reach the near side. Upon reaching the shore, this ascetic approached the Buddha with sincere reverence, knelt down with palms joined, and requested to hear the Dharma.
Everyone was astonished. One man stepped forward and asked, “Practitioner, our family has lived by this river for many generations, and never have we seen anyone walk upon the water like you. Who are you? How do you have such powers? Please tell us.”
The mendicant replied, “I live in a village on the opposite bank. Because I deeply believe in the Dharma, I have long yearned to seek supreme wisdom. When I heard that the Buddha was teaching the Dharma on this side of the river, I immediately wished to cross over. But at that time, there was no ferry. So I asked someone on the riverbank, ‘How deep is this river?’ He replied, ‘The water only comes up to your ankles—you can walk right through.’ I did not doubt his words and simply walked across. I don’t have any special powers at all.”
The Buddha then praised him, saying, “Excellent! Excellent! When one can uphold faith in the Dharma, one can cross the sea of birth and death. What is so surprising about crossing a few miles of water when one has faith?” The World-Honored One then spoke this verse:
“Faith can carry one across the sea of suffering;
Discipline is the boatman that steers the way.
Diligence removes all afflictions,
And wisdom leads to the other shore.
One who has faith and practices truth
Is praised by the noble ones.
Loving the unconditioned,
They are freed from all fetters.
Through faith, one begins the path;
Through Dharma, one reaches Nirvana.
Hearing the teachings brings forth wisdom,
Illuminating all places it touches.
Faith and precepts enable wisdom’s path;
The valiant cross through the strength of insight,
And from that, they escape the ocean of suffering.”
Hearing this verse and witnessing with their own eyes the power of faith in the Dharma, the villagers all took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and received the Five Precepts. From that day forward, their faith deepened and never wavered. They joyfully practiced according to the Buddha’s teachings.
Thus, the Dharma spread throughout the village, transforming its people. They abandoned evil, embraced virtue, diligently cultivated good deeds, and the entire village was filled with prosperity, happiness, and joy.
