Tha Ap 153Bandhujīvaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

– Bandhujīvaka Chapter, the Sixteenth

151. Bandhujīvaka

Walt 1993-1994 I saw him, Stainless like the moon,

Pure and Bright, Unagitated,

his Delightful States Exhausted,

Crossed far beyond ties to the world,

making people reach nirvana,

Crossed, and helping others to cross,

meditating in the forest,

Tranquil and Fully Self-Controlled. Verse 1-2

Walt 1995 Then, threading bandhujīvaka

flowers along a piece of string,

I offered them to the Buddha,

Sikhi, the Kinsman of the World. Verse 3

Walt 1996 In the thirty-one aeons since

I did that good karma back then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

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

Walt 1997 In the seventh aeon ago

the lord of humans, greatly famed,

there was a strong wheel-turning king

who was named Samantacakkhu. Verse 5

Walt 1998 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Bandhujīvaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Bandhujīvaka Thera is finished.

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters .

Whitman College, 2017

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