96. Tipupphiya (THA-AP98)

In the past, in a forest grove,
I was a man who hunted deer.
Seeing Buddha’s green pāṭali
I scattered three flowers on it.

Then picking up the fallen leaves
I threw them all away outside.
Worshipping the pāṭali tree,
pure inside and pure outside too,
as though facing the Sambuddha,
Vipassi, Leader of the World,
well-liberated, undefiled,
I passed away right on the spot.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I performed that Bodhi-pūjā,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Bodhi-pūjā.

In the thirtieth aeons hence
there were thirteen kings who were all
named Samantapāsādika,
wheel-turning monarchs 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 Tipupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Tipupphiya 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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