Tha Ap 196Asokapūjaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

194. Asokapūjaka

Walt 2230 In lovely Tivarā City,

there was a royal garden then.

I was a royal attendant,

the warden of the garden there. Verse 1

Walt 2231 The Self-Become One, Full of Light,

named Paduma was Buddha then .

Sitting in a lotus’ shade

that Sage had not yet left the world . Verse 2

Walt 2232 Seeing an ashoka in bloom

heavy with clusters, beautiful,

I gave a bloom to the Buddha,

the excellent-lotus-named Sage. Verse 3

Walt 2233 In the ninety-four aeons since

I offered that flower to him,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

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

Walt 2234 In the seventieth aeon

were sixteen Aruṇañjahas,

wheel-turning monarchs with great strength,

possessors of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 2235 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Asokapūjaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Asokapūjaka 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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