307. Ārāmadāyaka (THA-AP309)

A garden was planted by me
for Siddhattha, the Blessed One.
When birds were roosting in the trees
and they’d come to produce thick shade,
I saw the Buddha, Stainless One,
Sacrificial Recipient.
I brought the Best One in the World,
the Bull among Men, to the garden.

Happy, and with a happy heart,
I gave fruits and flowers to him,
and with the pleasure born of that,
I made the formal donation.

That which I gave to the Buddha,
with a mind that was very clear,
was reborn as great fruit for me while
I was reborn in existence.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I gave him that gift at that time,
I’ve come to no know bad rebirth:
the fruit of giving a garden.

In the thirty-seventh aeon
were seven Mudusītalas,
wheel-turning monarchs with great strength,
possessors 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 Ārāmadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ārāmadāyaka 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.