158. Nāgapupphiya (THA-AP160)

There was a man named Suvaccha
a brahmin master of mantras,
placed in front by his own students,
residing upon a mountain.

The Victor, Padumuttara,
Sacrificial Recipient,
with a wish for my upliftment
did come into my presence then.

He walked back and forth in the sky,
like he was smoking and burning,
and after he had made me smile,
he departed facing the east.

And having seen that miracle,
marvel making hair stand on end,
taking an ironwood flower,
I scattered it in his pathway.

In the hundred thousand aeons
since I scattered that flower then,
due to the pleasure in my heart,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth.

In the thirty-first aeon hence
I was the king, Mahāratha,
a wheel-turner with great power,
possessor 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 Nāgapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nāgapupphiya 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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