278. Āluvadāyaka (THA-AP280)

On a Himalayan mountain
flows the great Indus, beautiful.
There I saw the Passionless One,
the Radiant One, Beautiful.

Amazed after I had seen him,
Engaged in the Ultimate Calm,
I gave some bulbous roots to him,
feeling well-pleased by my own hands.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I gave those bulbous roots back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of bulbous-root-gifts.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Āluvadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Āluvadāyaka 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.

For more information, visit apadanatranslation.org

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.