78. Pāṭalipupphiya (THA-AP80)

Back then I was a rich man’s son,
delicate, living in comfort.
Putting a trumpet flower in
my lap I then took it to him,
the Gold-Colored One, Sambuddha,
traveling through the market-place,
bearing the marks of a Great Man,
like a festoon work made of gold.

Happy, and with a happy heart,
with the flower I performed pūjā
to Tissa, the World-Knower, Lord,
having worshipped the God of Men.

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

Sixty-three aeons ago the
king known as Abhisammata
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 Pāṭalipupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Pāṭalipupphiya 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.

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