2. Mekhalādāyikā (THI-AP2)

I had a stupa constructed
for Siddhattha, the Blessed One.
I gifted my waist ornament
so the Teacher could be repaired.

When that great stupa was finished,
I gave another ornament
for the Sage, the Guide of the World,
feeling well-pleased by my own hands.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I gave that waist-ornament then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of building stupas.

My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.

Being in Best Buddha's presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
I have done what the Buddha taught!

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

Thus indeed Bhikkhunī Mekhalādāyikā Therī spoke these verses.

The legend of Mekhalādāyikā Therī 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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