Tha Ap 299Desakittiya

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

297. Desakittiya

Walt 2701-2702 Back then I was a brahmin man

whose name was Upasālaka.

Seeing the World’s Best One, Man-Bull,

Getting the World’s Sacrifices,

plunged into the woods, the forest,

I worshipped the Buddha’s feet there .

Discerning my mental pleasure,

the Buddha disappeared right there . Verse 1-2

Walt 2703 Having come out of the forest,

I called to mind the Best Buddha.

Proclaiming that to the region,

I joyed an aeon in heaven. Verse 3

Walt 2704 In the ninety-two aeons since

I proclaimed that to the region,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that is the fruit of proclaiming. Verse 4

Walt 2705 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Desakittiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Desakittiya 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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