280. Taraṇiya (THA-AP282)

On a rough spot on the highway,
I caused a bridge to be fashioned
for the sake of the world’s crossing,
feeling well-pleased by my own hands.

In the ninety-one aeons since
that bridge got constructed by me,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of giving a bridge.

In the fifty-fifth aeon hence
there was one man, Samogadha,
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 Taraṇiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Taraṇiya Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Sovaṇṇa and Tilamuṭṭhi,
Caṅkot’, Abbhañjam, Añjali,
Potthaka, Citaka, Māla,
Ekapuṇḍari, Setuna:
when the verses are counted by
wise people there are forty-two.

The Suvaṇṇabimbohana Chapter, the Twenty-Eighth

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.