71. Nāgasamāla (THA-AP73)

I paid reverence at the stupa
of Sikhi, Kinsman of the World,
with a trumpet flower that had been
thrown away on the great highway.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I did that good karma back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of stupa-pūjā.

In the fifteenth aeon ago
the Kṣatriyan named Bhūmiya
was a wheel-turner with great strength,
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 Nāgasamāla Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nāgasamāla 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.