“Is the Buddha pre-eminent?” - The Milindapanha
The king said:
“Is the Buddha, Venerable Nãgasena, pre-eminent?
“Yes, he is incomparable.”
“But Venerable Nãgasena, how do you know someone you have never seen is pre-eminent?”
“Now, what do you think, O king? Could those who have never seen the ocean know that it is so mighty, deep, immeasurable, and unfathomable as well as into it flow the five great rivers - the Ganga, the Yamunā, the Aciravati, the Sarabhū, and the Mahī, and yet neither its emptiness nor its fullness is affected thereby?”
“Yes, they would know that.”
“Just so, O King, countless disciples of the Buddha, especially holy ones from the stage of Stream-enter to Arahantship, have attained the virtues of morality, concentration, and wisdom, and they are highly revered beings. Through them, it is seen that the Buddha is the Supreme Jewel.”
“Very good, Venerable Nãgasena!”
The Milindapanha: The Questions of King Milinda. Book 3, Chapter 5, Part 2: Is the Buddha pre-eminent?
