Tha Ap 327Nimittasaññaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

325. Nimittasaññaka

Walt 2852 On Candabhāgā River’s bank,

I dwelt in a hermitage then .

I saw a golden-colored deer,

which was wandering through the woods. Verse 1

Walt 2853 Having pleased my heart in that deer,

I recalled the World’s Best Buddha .

With that same pleasure in my heart,

I recalled the other Buddhas: Verse 2

Walt 2854 “Those Buddhas who have passed away,

Thus-Gone-Ones, while they were living,

in this very same way shined forth,

like golden deer-kings for the heart.” Verse 3

Walt 2855 In the ninety-four aeons since

I obtained that perception then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

the fruit of perceiving Buddhas. Verse 4

Walt 2856 In the twenty-seventh aeon

hence there was one lord of the earth,

who was named Araññasatta,

a wheel-turning king with great strength. Verse 5

Walt 2857 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Nimittasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nimittasaññaka Thera is finished.

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters .

Whitman College, 2017

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