62. Āvopupphiya (THA-AP64)

Departing the monastery
he came forward on the walkway
declaring the Four Noble Truths,
preaching the state of deathlessness.

Discerning the words of Sikhi,
the Best Buddha, the Neutral One,
picking up various flowers
I threw them up into the sky.

Through that karma for the Buddha,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
I’ve attained the unshaking state
beyond all conquest and defeat.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I honored him with flowers then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of flower-pūjā.

Twenty aeons ago I was
Sumedha the Kṣatriyan,
a wheel-turner with great power,
possessor of the seven gems.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Āvopupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Āvopupphiya 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.