Tha Ap 141Sālapupphadāyaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

139. Sālapupphadāyaka

Walt 1928 I was the king of beasts back then,

a wild lion who was fearless.

While hunting in a mountain crag,

I saw the Leader of the World. Verse 1

Walt 1929 “This one would be the Great Hero;

he will liberate many folks.

Well then oughtn’t I approach the

God of Gods, the Bull among Men?” Verse 2

Walt 1930 Breaking a branch of a sal tree

I carried it , flowers and buds.

Having approached the Sambuddha,

I gave him those superb flowers. Verse 3

Walt 1931 In the ninety-one aeons since

I offered those flowers to him ,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that’s the fruit of flower- pūjā . Verse 4

Walt 1932 And in the ninth aeon ago

there were three different kings back then

known by the name Virocana,

wheel-turning monarchs with great strength. Verse 5

Walt 1933 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Sālapupphadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sālapupphadāyaka 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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