499. {502.} Ekapattadāyaka (THA-AP504)

In the city, Haṁsavatī,
I was a potter at that time.
I saw the Buddha, Stainless One,
the Flood-Crosser, Undefiled One.

I gave to him, the Best Buddha,
a well-fashioned bowl made of clay.
Giving that bowl to the Buddha,
the Honest One, the Neutral One,

being reborn in existence,
I’m receiving plates made of gold,
and flat bowls made of silver, gold,
and also some made out of gems;

I’m enjoying all these dishes:
that is the fruit of good karma.
I am the owner of bowls made
for the famous and the wealthy.

As with a seed which is planted,
in a field which is bountiful:
when it rains, with proper support,
fruit pleases the cultivator;
so too is this bowl-donation,
well-planted in the Buddha-field:
when it rains the joy-bringing rain,
the fruit will be pleasing to me.

As far as merit-fields exist—
even the Assemblies and groups—
the Buddha-field has no equal,
giving great happiness to all.

Praise to you, O Well-Bred Person!
Praise to you, Ultimate Person!
After giving a single bowl,
I’ve attained the unshaking state.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I gave him that bowl at that time,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā.

My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.

Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
I have done what the Buddha taught!

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

Thus indeed Venerable Ekapattadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ekapattadāyaka Thera is finished.

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters.

Whitman College, 2017

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