234. Kilañjadāyaka (THA-AP236)

In Tivarā, lovely city,
I was a basket-maker then.
The multitude took pleasure there
in Siddhattha, Lamp of the World.

For the sake of worshipping the
World’s Lord, one is seeking a mat.
Being asked I gave a mat to
those conducting Buddha-pūjā.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I did that good karma back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of mat-giving.

In the seventy-seventh aeon
there was a king, Jutindhara,
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 Kilañjadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kilañjadāyaka 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.