107. Naḷamāliya (THA-AP109)

Taking up a garland of reeds
and binding it I then approached
Padumuttara, the Buddha,
the World’s Best One, the Neutral One,
the Tranquil One, the Neutral One,
who was seated in the grass then,
and there I fanned the Biped-Lord,
the Buddha, he, the Neutral One.

The Omniscient One received it,
then the World-Leader fanned himself.
Discerning what I was thinking,
he spoke this verse about me then:

“Just as this one cooled my body
he will not feel the scorch of hell;
just so your heart will be freed from
the three-fold fire of existence.”

All the gods gathered in a tree
whichever ones were then thinking,
“we’ll hear the words of the Buddha
which will cause the donor to laugh.”

Then, seated there, the Blessed One,
Honored by the Gods’ Assembly
bringing laughter to the donor
spoke these verses about me too:

“Because of this gift of fanning
and the resolve in his own heart,
he’ll become a wheel-turning king
known by the name of Subbata.

Through the remainder of that deed,
incited by his wholesome roots,
he’ll become a wheel-turning king
known by the name of Māluta.

Because of this gift of fanning
and his abundant honoring,
for one hundred thousand aeons
he’ll come to know no bad rebirth.”

In the thirty-thousandth aeon
there were eight kings named Subbata.
In the twenty-nine thousandth aeon
there were eight kings named Māluta.

The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!

Thus indeed Venerable Naḷamāliya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Naḷamāliya Thera is finished.

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters.

Whitman College, 2017

Legends of the Buddhist Saints (Apadāna) is released under the Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike license.

This is the first-ever complete translation of Apadāna into a Western language.

For more information, visit apadanatranslation.org

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.