82. Gatasaññaka (THA-AP84)

I went forth into homelessness
being only seven years old.
With a mind that was very clear
I then worshipped the Teacher’s feet.

Then I tossed up into the air
seven nagaliki flowers
for the sake of Tissa Buddha,
the Boundless Ocean of Virtues.

Happy-minded, I did pūjā
on the road the Well-Gone-One trod,
then I pressed my hands together
feeling well- pleased by my own hands.

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 Buddha-pūjā.

In the eighth aeon after that
there were three named Aggisikha.
They were wheel-turners with great strength,
possessors 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 Gatasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Gatasaññaka 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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