328. Sumanāveliya (THA-AP330)

All the people, come together,
were doing a great pūjā for
Vessabhu Buddha, Blessed One,
the World’s Best One, the Neutral One.

Making a ball of pure alms food
and, happy, a floral garland,
I then offered them in front of
the lion-throne of the Buddha.

All the people, come together,
are seeing that superb flower.
“By whom was this flower offered
to the Best Buddha, Neutral One?”

Because of that mental pleasure,
I was reborn in Nimmāna.
I experience own-karma,
done well in the past by myself.

In whichever womb I’m reborn,
whether it’s human or divine,
I am dear to all the people:
that’s the fruit of flower-pūjā.

I’ve come to know no reviling
of self-controlled ascetics done
by me by means of my body,
nor with my speech nor through my mind.

Because of that good behavior
and my mental resolution,
I am honored by all people:
that’s the fruit of not reviling.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I did that flower-pūjā then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā.

In the eleventh aeon hence
there was a king, Sahassāra,
wheel-turning monarch 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 Sumanāveliya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sumanāveliya 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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