[325] He was dwelling at Sāvatthī … There the Blessed One … "Bhikkhus, suppose the great ocean were to come to destruction and exhaustion, except for two or three drops of water. What do you think, bhikkhus: which is more — the water in the great ocean that has been destroyed and exhausted, or the two or three drops of water that remain?"
"That itself is more, venerable sir: the water in the great ocean that has been destroyed and exhausted; trifling are the two or three drops of water that remain. Compared with the water in the great ocean that has been destroyed and exhausted, the two or three drops of water that remain do not amount to a hundredth part, do not amount to a thousandth part, do not amount to a hundred-thousandth part."
#1 M. Yu. read: mahāsamuddato.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.