162. Kaṇaverapupphiya (THA-AP164)

The Blessed One named Siddhattha,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
Honored by the monks’ Assembly,
entered into the city then.

In the king’s inner-chambers there
I lived as the trusted watchman.
When I was inside the palace,
I saw the Buddha, World-Leader.

Taking a kaṇavera flower,
I scattered it among the monks.
Then I scattered some more of them
for him, the Buddha, separately.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I did that flower-offering,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of flower-offering.

In the eighty-seventh aeon
there were four named Mahiddhika,
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 Kaṇaverapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kaṇaverapupphiya 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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