330. Saparivārachattadāyaka (THA-AP332)

Padumuttara, World-Knower,
Sacrificial Recipient,
was raining down the Dhamma-rain
like the rainwaters from the sky.

I saw him then, the Sambuddha,
preaching the path to deathlessness.
Bringing pleasure to my own heart,
I then went back to my own house.

Taking an adorned umbrella,
I approached the Ultimate Man.
Happy, and with a happy heart,
I lifted it up in the sky.

One of the foremost followers,
controlled like a well-built vehicle,
going up to the Sambuddha
then held it up over his head.

Full of Pity, Compassionate,
the Buddha, the World’s Chief Leader,
sitting in the monks’ Assembly,
then spoke these verses about me:

“He who gave me this umbrella,
adorned, delightful to the mind,
because of that mental pleasure
will not go to a bad rebirth.

And seven times among the gods
he will exercise divine rule,
and thirty-six times he will be
a powerful wheel-turning king.

In one hundred thousand aeons,
arising in Okkāka’s clan,
the one whose name is Gotama
will be the Teacher in the world.

Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma,
Dhamma’s legitimate offspring,
knowing well all the defilements
he’ll reach nirvana, undefiled.”

Understanding the Buddha’s speech,
those majestic words he uttered,
happy, with pleasure in my heart,
I gave rise to even more speech.

Abandoning the human womb,
I attained the womb of a god.
My superb heavenly mansion
rose up tall, delighting the mind.

When I go out from that mansion,
a white umbrella is carried.
I am getting that perception:
the fruit of previous karma.

Falling from the world of the gods
I came into the human state,
thirty-six times a wheel-turner,
seven hundred aeons ago.

After falling from that body,
I went on to the Thirty-Three.
Transmigrating I by and by
came back again to human life.

They carried a white umbrella
for me leaving my mother’s womb.
Then at the age of seven years,
I went forth into homelessness.

There was a man named Sunanda,
a brahmin master of mantras.
Bringing a crystal umbrella
, gifted the chief follower.

The great hero, the great speaker
Sāriputta expressed his thanks.
Hearing his expression of thanks,
I recalled my previous deed.

Pressing both my hands together,
I brought pleasure to my own heart.
Remembering my past karma,
I attained the arahant-state.

Then standing up from my seat, I—
hands pressed together on my head—
saluted him, the Sambuddha,
and uttered these words at that time:

“One hundred thousand aeons hence
Padumuttara the Buddha,
World Knower, Unmatched in the World,
Sacrificial Recipient,
the Self-Become One, Chief Person,
did take up in both of his hands
the umbrella given by me,
all-adorned and decorated.

O! the Buddha! O! the Teaching!
O! Our Teacher’s accomplishment!
Through the gift of one umbrella,
I was reborn in no bad state.

My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
knowing well all the defilements,
without defilements I now live.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Saparivārachattadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Saparivārachattadāyaka Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Ummāpupphi and Pulina,
Hāsa, Sañña, Nimittaka,
Saṁsāvaka and Nigguṇḍi,
Sumana, Pupphachattaka,
and Suparivāracchatta:
one hundred plus seven verses.

The Ummāpupphiya Chapter, the Thirty-Third

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.