Tha Ap 184Bandhujīvaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

182. Bandhujīvaka

Walt 2157 The Sambuddha named Siddhattha,

Self-Become, praised by good people,

having entered concentration,

sat down upon a mountain then . Verse 1

Walt 2158 Searching in a natural lake

for a superb lotus flower,

I saw bandhujīvaka blooms

in the nearby vicinity. Verse 2

Walt 2159 Picking them up with both my hands,

I then approached the Sage So Great.

Happy, with pleasure in my heart,

I offered them to Siddhattha. Verse 3

Walt 2160 In the ninety-four aeons since

I offered those flower s to him ,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

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

Walt 2161 In the fourteenth aeon ago,

there was one ruler of people

whose name was Samuddakappa,

a wheel-turning king with great power. Verse 5

Walt 2162 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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