48. Cankamadāyaka (THA-AP50)

Having heaped up the ground with bricks,
I had a walkway constructed
for Atthadassi, the Great Sage,
the World’s Best One, the Neutral One.

That walkway was very well made
with the five gemstones piled up high.
It was a hundred hands in length
and pleasant for meditation.

The Blessed One accepted it—
Atthadassi, the Best of Men—
and with his hand sifting some sand,
he uttered these verses aloud:

“Because of this gift of some sand
and of this walkway, so well made,
this one is going to enjoy sand
and will possess the seven gems.

For three aeons among the gods
he will exercise divine rule.
Surrounded by celestial nymphs
he will enjoy great happiness.

Having come to the human realm
he’ll be the king of a country,
and three times as a wheel-turner
he will reside on the great earth.”

In the eighteen hundred aeons
since I did that good karma then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of a walkway.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Cankamadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Cankamadāyaka 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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