Tha Ap 154Tambapupphiya

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

152. Tambapupphiya

Walt 1999 Employed in others’ transport work,

I committed a crime back then .

I was exiled to the forest;

filled with fear, I was terrified. Verse 1

Walt 2000 Having seen a tree in flower

with tiny, well-fashioned clusters,

picking a copper-colored bloom,

I scattered it on the Bodhi. Verse 2

Walt 2001 Having swept around that Bodhi,

the ultimate pāṭali tree,

getting into lotus posture,

I stayed at the Bodhi tree ’s roots. Verse 3

Walt 2002 Searching for the road I’d gone on,

they then came into my presence.

And having seen them, then and there

I recalled the superb Bodhi. Verse 4

Walt 2003 Having worshipped the Bodhi tree

with a mind that was very clear,

I obtained varied tal trees then

inside a frightful mountain crag. Verse 5

Walt 2004 In the ninety-one aeons since

I offered that flower to him ,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that’s the fruit of Buddha- pūjā . Verse 6

Walt 2005 In the thirtieth aeon hence

there was a king, Samphusita,

a wheel-turner with great power,

possessor of the seven gems. Verse 7

Walt 2006 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 8

Thus indeed Venerable Tambapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Tambapupphiya 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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