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PARABLES AND STORIES. LXII.

PARABLES.

ND the Blessed One thought: "I have taught the truth which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end; it is glorious in its spirit and glorious in its letter. But simple as it is, the people cannot understand it. I must speak to them in their own language. I must adapt my thoughts to their thoughts. They are like unto children, and love to hear tales. Therefore, I will tell them stories to explain the glory of the Dharma. If they cannot grasp the truth in the abstract arguments by which I have reached it, they may nevertheless come to understand it, if it is illustrated in parables.

LXIII.

THE WIDOW'S TWO MITES AND THE PARABLE OF THE THREE MERCHANTS.

There was once a lone widow who was very destitute, and having gone to the mountain she beheld hermits 179