Tha Ap 14Ekatthambhika

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

12. Ekatthambhika

Walt 686 The Blessed One named Siddhattha

had a large group of followers.

They had taken the lay refuge

with faith in the Thus-Gone Buddha. Verse 1

Walt 687 They all gathered and decided

to build a hut for the Teacher.

Still in need of one more pillar

they were searching the thick forest. Verse 2

Walt 688 Having seen them in the forest

I then went up to that group there .

Pressing both my hands together

I made inquiries of that group. Verse 3

Walt 689 Those morally-restrained layfolk

asked by me then gave their reply,

“we desire to build a māḷa

but we are still one pillar short.” Verse 4

Walt 690 “Give me the one pillar duty ;

I will give it to the Teacher.

I will take that pillar to him ,

all of you please now be at ease.” Verse 5

Walt 691 Pleased and with minds full of delight

they felled that pillar for me there ,

then having turned around to leave

they went back to their own houses. Verse 6

Walt 692 Not long after that big group left

I then did give him that pillar.

I was the first one to raise it,

happy, and with a happy heart. Verse 7

Walt 693 Because of the pleasure in my heart

I was born in a god’s mansion.

That lofty residence of mine

was one hundred stories in height. Verse 8

Walt 694 When the drums are being beaten,

I am then being entertained.

I was the king, Yasodhara,

in the fifty-fifth aeon thence . Verse 9

Walt 695 There too I had a residence

which was seven stories in height.

Appointed with fine gabled cells

there was one pillar, mind’s delight. Verse 10

Walt 696 In the twenty-first aeon thence

I was the king known as Udena.

There too I had a residence

which was a hundred stories tall. Verse 11

Walt 697 In whichever womb I’m reborn,

whether it’s human or divine,

I experience all of that;

that is the fruit of one pillar. Verse 12

Walt 698 In the ninety-four aeons since

I gave him that pillar back then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth;

that is the fruit of one pillar. Verse 13

Walt 699 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 14

Thus indeed Venerable Ekatthambhika Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ekatthambhika 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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