368. {371.} Bodhivandaka (THA-AP373)

I saw a green pāṭali tree,
foot-drinker growing in the earth.
Resolutely pressing my hands,
I worshipped that pāṭali tree.

Having pressed hands together,
filling my mind with reverence,
purified both inside and out,
I worshipped that pāṭali tree
as though before the Sambuddha,
Well-Liberated, Undefiled,
Vipassi, Honored by the World,
Sea of Compassion and Knowledge.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I worshipped that Bodhi tree then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of worshipping.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Bodhivandaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Bodhivandaka 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.

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