165. Kaṇikāracchadaniya (THA-AP167)

The Sambuddha named Vessabhu,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
the Sage entered a great forest
to take a rest one afternoon.

Having plucked dinner-plate flowers
I made him a canopy then.
Making that floral canopy,
I gifted it to the Buddha.

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

In the twentieth aeon hence
there were eight kings named Soṇṇābha,
wheel-turners who had 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 Kaṇikāracchadaniya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kaṇikāracchadaniya 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.

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