Tha Ap 219Tālavaṇṭadāyaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

217. Tālavaṇṭadāyaka

Walt 2349 I gave a palmyra-frond fan

to Tissa, Kinsman of the Sun,

to quench him in the summer heat,

and soothe the burning of the sun . Verse 1

Walt 2350 I am quenching the fire of lust,

and the fire of hatred as well;

I am quenching delusion’s fire:

that’s the fruit of giving a fan. Verse 2

Walt 2351 My defilements are all burnt up,

every existence is canceled.

I now possess my last body

in the Buddha’s dispensation. Verse 3

Walt 2352 In the ninety-two 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 2353 In the sixty-third aeon hence

there was one named Mahārāma,

a wheel-turning king with great strength,

possessor of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 2354 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Tālavaṇṭadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Tālavaṇṭadāyaka 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.

For more information, visit apadanatranslation.org