English Original
Once upon a time, a man dropped a silver bowl into the sea while crossing it.
He pondered, "I'll make a mark on the water here. I must continue my journey now, but I'll return for it later."
After two months of travel, during which he visited Ceylon and other lands, he came upon a river. Seeing the water, he immediately jumped in to search for his lost bowl.
"What are you doing?" people asked.
"I lost my bowl," he replied. "I wish to retrieve it."
"Where did you lose it?"
"While crossing the sea," he answered.
"How long ago?"
"Two months ago."
"If you lost it in the sea two months ago," they questioned, "why are you looking for it here in this river?"
The man explained, "I made a mark on the water where I dropped it. This water looks identical. There's no difference, so I'm searching here."
The people responded, "Though all water may look identical, you lost it in a different place. How can you hope to find it here?" Everyone jeered at his foolishness.
中文翻译
从前，有个人乘船渡海时，不慎将一只银盆掉入了海中。
他思忖道：“我就在这水面上做个记号。现在我得继续赶路，但日后定会回来寻找。”
经过两个月的旅行，他游历了锡兰等国，后来遇到一条河。一见到水，他立刻跳进去寻找之前丢失的银盆。
“你在做什么？”人们问道。
“我丢了一只盆，”他回答，“我想把它找回来。”
“你在哪儿丢的？”
“在渡海的时候。”他答道。
“多久以前？”
“两个月前。”
“既然你是两个月前在海里丢的，”他们追问，“为何要在这条河里寻找呢？”
那人解释道：“我在掉落银盆的水面做了记号。这里的水看起来一模一样，毫无区别，所以我在此寻找。”
众人说道：“水看起来或许相同，但你丢失东西的地方在别处。你怎能指望在这里找到呢？”大家都嘲笑他的愚昧。