275. Ekañjaliya (THA-AP277)

I gave an open dwelling place
to the Recluse, the Greatest Sage,
dwelling in the shade of a fig
on a well-prepared mat of leaves.

Raising my hands pressed together,
I spread out a mat of flowers
for Tissa, the Best of Bipeds,
Lord of the World, the Neutral One.

In the ninety-two aeons since
I fashioned that mat of flowers,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of giving a mat.

In the fourteenth aeon ago
I was a ruler of people,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
known as Eka-añjalika.

The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!

Thus indeed Venerable Ekañjaliya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ekañjaliya 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.