224. Ārakkhadāyaka (THA-AP226)

I caused an altar to be made
for Siddhattha, the Blessed One,
and I also gave protection
to the Well-Gone One, the Great Sage.

As the remainder of that deed,
fear and terror I do not see.
Wherever I have been reborn,
no fright is ever known by me.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I caused that altar to be made,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of an altar-gift.

And in the sixth aeon ago
lived one known as Apassena,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
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 Ārakkhadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ārakkhadāyaka 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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Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.