Tha Ap 309Ārāmadāyaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

307. Ārāmadāyaka

Walt 2748-49 A garden was planted by me

for Siddhattha, the Blessed One.

When birds were roosting in the trees

and they’d come to produce thick shade,

I saw the Buddha, Stainless One,

Sacrificial Recipient.

I brought the Best One in the World,

the Bull among Men, to the garden. Verse 1-2

Walt 2750 Happy, and with a happy heart,

I gave fruits and flower s to him ,

and with the pleasure born of that,

I made the formal donation. Verse 3

Walt 2751 That which I gave to the Buddha,

with a mind that was very clear,

was reborn as great fruit for me while

I was reborn in existence. Verse 4

Walt 2752 In the ninety-four aeons since

I gave him that gift at that time,

I’ve come to no know bad rebirth:

the fruit of giving a garden. Verse 5

Walt 2753 In the thirty-seventh aeon

were seven Mudusītalas,

wheel-turning monarchs with great strength,

possessors of the seven gems. Verse 6

Walt 2754 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 7

Thus indeed Venerable Ārāmadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ārāmadāyaka 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