140. Piyālaphaladāyaka (THA-AP142)

I was one who harmed others then,
a harmer of other beings.
I rested on a mountain slope
near the Teacher known as Sikhi.

In the evening and the morning
I saw the Buddha, the World-Chief.
But I had nothing to give to
the Biped-Lord, the Neutral One.

Taking a piyāla fruit, I
went into the Buddha’s presence.
The Blessed One accepted it,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men.

Thenceforth for the sake of others
I waited on Sikhi, the Guide,
and with that pleasure in my heart
I passed away right on the spot.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I gave that fruit to the Buddha,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of giving fruit.

In the fifteenth aeon ago
there were three men named Mālabhi,
wheel-turning kings with great power,
possessors of the seven gems.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Piyālaphaladāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Piyālaphaladāyaka Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Sobhī and Sudassana too,
Candana, Pupphachadana,
Raho and Campakapupphī
and with Atthasandassaka,
Ekadussī, Sāladada
and Phaladāyaka, the tenth.
By counting there are clearly here
seventy verses plus two more.

The Sobhita Chapter, the Fourteenth.

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.