[175] 7. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was traveling along the highroad among the Kosalans, with the Venerable Nāgasamāla as his attendant ascetic (pacchāsamaṇa). The Venerable Nāgasamāla saw a fork in the road along the way; on seeing it, he said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, Blessed One, this is the way; let us go by this one." When this was said, the Blessed One said to the Venerable Nāgasamāla: "This, Nāgasamāla, is the way; let us go by this one." A second time the Venerable Nāgasamāla said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, Blessed One, this is the way; let us go by this one." A second time the Blessed One said to the Venerable Nāgasamāla: "This, Nāgasamāla, is the way; let us go by this one." A third time the Venerable Nāgasamāla said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, Blessed One, this is the way; let us go by this one." A third time the Blessed One said to the Venerable Nāgasamāla: "This, Nāgasamāla, is the way; let us go by this one." Then the Venerable Nāgasamāla set the Blessed One's bowl and robe down right there on the ground and departed, saying: "Venerable sir, Blessed One, here are the bowl and robe." Then, as the Venerable Nāgasamāla was going along that way, robbers came out on the road and struck him with hands and with feet, broke his bowl, and tore his outer robe (saṅghāṭi). Then the Venerable Nāgasamāla, with his bowl broken and his outer robe torn, approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Nāgasamāla said this: "Here, venerable sir, as I was going along that way, robbers came out on the road and struck me with hands and with feet, broke my bowl, and tore my outer robe."
Then the Blessed One, having understood the meaning of this, on that occasion uttered this inspired utterance (udāna):
"Faring together, dwelling as one,
the one attained to knowledge (vedagū) is mingled with other people;
having known, he abandons the evil,
as the milk-drinking heron leaves the water."
The Seventh.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.