293. Chattadāyaka (THA-AP295)

My son was a renouncer then,
wearing a saffron-colored robe.
He had realized Buddhahood
and nirvana, Lamp of the World.

Finding out about my own son,
afterwards I went to that place,
I went to the funeral pyre
of the Great One who’d passed away.

Pressing my hands together there,
I worshipped the funeral pyre,
and taking a white umbrella
I raised it up there at that time.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I offered that white umbrella,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of giving umbrellas.

In the twenty-fifth aeon hence
there were seven lords of people
whose names all were Mahārahā,
wheel-turning monarchs with great strength.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Chattadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Chattadāyaka 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.