53. Sayanadāyaka (THA-AP55)

Padumuttara the Buddha
had pity on the whole world.
I donated a bed to him,
with a mind that was very clear.

Because of that gift of a bed,
food would then just appear to me,
like a seed’s yield in a good field:
that’s the fruit of giving that bed.

I make my bed up in the sky;
I am carrying the whole earth;
I have lordship over creatures:
that is the fruit of a bed-gift.

Then five thousand aeons ago,
there were eight named Mahāvara;
thirty-four hundred aeons hence,
there were four kings with great strength.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Sayanadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sayanadāyaka 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.

For more information, visit apadanatranslation.org

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.