Tha Ap 17Pilindavaccha

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

15. Pilindavaccha

Walt 728 When the World-Leader Sumedha,

the Best Person, reached nirvana,

with a pleased heart and happy mind

I did pūjā to his stupa. Verse 1

Walt 729 Gathering together there those

whose defilements had been destroyed,

special knowledges, superpowers,

I gave the monks’ Assembly a meal. Verse 2

Walt 730 At that time I also waited

on Sumedha the Blessed One.

He who was known as Sumedha

then provided his thanks to me . Verse 3

Walt 731 Due to the pleasure in my heart

I‘m born in a divine mansion.

Eight-six thousand divine nymphs

delighted me in that mansion . Verse 4

Walt 732 They submitted only to me,

with every pleasure constantly.

I surpassed all the other gods;

that is the fruit of good karma. Verse 5

Walt 733 In the twenty-fifth aeon thence

I was the king named Varuṇa.

I was then a wheel-turning king

endowed with extra special food. Verse 6

Walt 734 They did not have to plant the seed

nor did they need to yoke the plough;

all the folks were able to feed

on rice uncooked with firewood. Verse 7

Walt 735 After reigning there in that way

I went back to the divine state.

Then too in that same way for me

success in food came into being. Verse 8

Walt 736 No living being, friend or foe

is doing any harm to me.

I am beloved of them all;

that is the fruit of good karma. Verse 9

Walt 737 In the thirty thousand aeons

since I provided that gift then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth;

that’s the fruit of scented ointment. Verse 10

Walt 738 In this present lucky aeon

one time I was the lord of men.

I was a wheel-turning king then

of great majesty and power. Verse 11

Walt 739 I established many people

in the five moral precepts then

and made them achieve good rebirths;

I was beloved of the gods. Verse 12

Walt 740 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 13

Thus indeed Venerable Pilindavaccha Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Pilindavaccha 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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