153. Vīthisammajjaka (THA-AP155)

I saw the World-Chief setting out
like the rising hundred-rayed sun,
like the mid-day yellow-rayed sun,
like the moon on the fifteenth day.

There were sixty-eight thousand monks,
who’d all destroyed the defilements,
surrounding the Sambuddha then,
the Biped-Lord, the Bull of Men.

After I had swept that road for
the World-Leader, the Charioteer,
I then raised up a banner there,
with a mind that was very clear.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I offered that banner to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of giving banners.

In the fourth aeon after that
I was a king with great power,
who was famous as Sudhaja
and was endowed with every sign.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Vīthisammajjaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Vīthisammajjaka 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.

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