Dhammapada · 6.10

Appakā te manussesu, ye janā pāragāmino;Athāyaṃ itarā pajā, tīramevānudhāvati.

Appaka te manussesu, ye jana paragamino; Athayam itara paja, tiramevanudhavati.

Few among people are those who reach the further shore. The rest of the throng merely runs up and down this near bank.

— Dhammapada 6.10

Source: Pali text from the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon (oldest extant Buddhist scripture, compiled c. 3rd century BCE). Public-domain English readings drawn from F. Max Müller's translation in Sacred Books of the East, Vol X (1881) and the Buddhist Publication Society's freely-licensed Acharya Buddharakkhita rendering.