139. Sālapupphadāyaka (THA-AP141)

I was the king of beasts back then,
a wild lion who was fearless.
While hunting in a mountain crag,
I saw the Leader of the World.

“This one would be the Great Hero;
he will liberate many folks.
Well then oughtn’t I approach the
God of Gods, the Bull among Men?”

Breaking a branch of a sal tree
I carried it, flowers and buds.
Having approached the Sambuddha,
I gave him those superb flowers.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I offered those flowers to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of flower-pūjā.

And in the ninth aeon ago
there were three different kings back then
known by the name Virocana,
wheel-turning monarchs with great strength.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Sālapupphadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sālapupphadāyaka 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.