Prevod

This, too, is a tale of long ago. At a place called the Kaburaki ferry in Echizen Province, a crowd had gathered to cross, and among them was a mountain ascetic, a monk named Keitō-bō. To say nothing of Kumano and Mount Mitake, he had visited Mount Hakusan, Mount Daisen in Hōki, and Wanibuchi in Izumo; scarcely a place of religious austerities remained that he had not visited. When he came to the Kaburaki ferry to cross, the people waiting for passage were as thick as clouds or mist, and the ferryman took payment from each before carrying them over. Keitō-bō called out to be taken aboard, but the ferryman paid him no heed and rowed away. “How can you treat me with such contempt?” the ascetic demanded, but the man would not listen and kept rowing. Keitō-bō clenched his teeth and rubbed his prayer beads furiously between his hands. The ferryman glanced back with a look that plainly showed he thought it all foolishness, and continued for three or four chō. Watching him go, Keitō-bō planted his feet in the sand until he sank halfway up his shins, glared with reddened eyes, and ground his beads together as though he would crush them. “Bring him back! Bring him back!” he shouted. When the boat still went on, he gathered up his priestly stole and prayer beads, stepped closer to the water’s edge, and cried, “Guardian spirit, bring him back! If you do not bring him back, I shall part forever from the Three Jewels!” He made as if to fling his stole into the sea. At this, those gathered there stood pale with fear. While he was shouting, though not a breath of wind was blowing, the ferryboat began to move back toward him. Seeing it, Keitō-bō cried, “It is coming! It is coming! Come forth at once! Come forth!” He spat as he spoke, and the onlookers’ faces changed color. Soon the boat had come within a chō of the shore. Then Keitō-bō shouted, “Now overturn it! Overturn it!” At this, all those watching cried out together, “What a reckless thing to ask! It would be a terrible sin! Leave it be, leave it be!” But Keitō-bō’s expression grew fiercer still, and he shouted, “Overturn it at once!” At that, the ferryboat, carrying more than twenty passengers, suddenly capsized. Keitō-bō wiped away his sweat. “Ah, you wretched knaves! Have you not learned your lesson yet?” he said, and turned and went away. Even in this latter age, the power of the Three Jewels was still present in the world, so the tale is told.