Tha Ap 338Pabhaṅkara

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

333. {336.} Pabhaṅkara

Walt 2984 In deep forest which was crowded

with wild beasts there was a stupa

of Blessed Padumuttara,

the World’s Best One, the Neutral One. Verse 1

Walt 2985 Nobody dared to travel there

to pay homage to the stupa.

The stupa was broken, in ruins ,

covered in grasses, sticks and vines. Verse 2

Walt 2986 I was then a forest-worker,

as were father and grandfathers.

I saw that stupa in the woods,

broken, tangled in grass and vines. Verse 3

Walt 2987-2988 Having seen the Buddha’s stupa,

I served it with a reverent heart:

“the Best Buddha’s stupa, broken,

is abandoned in the forest.

It’s not meet, not appropriate

for one who can tell right from wrong.

But I engage in other work,

not cleaning the Buddha’s stupa.” Verse 4-5

Walt 2989 Cleaning off the grasses and sticks

and vines growing on the stupa,

after worshipping it eight times,

still bent over I then went off. Verse 6

Walt 2990 Due to that karma done very well,

with intention and firm resolve,

discarding my human body,

I went to Tāvatiṁsa then . Verse 7

Walt 2991 There my well-constructed mansion

was made of gold, brightly shining.

It rose up sixty leagues in height

and it was thirty leagues in width. Verse 8

Walt 2992 And thirty different times did I

exercise rule over the gods.

And five and twenty times was I

a wheel-turning king with great strength . Verse 9

Walt 2993 Transmigrating from birth to birth,

I’m receiving great possessions.

Possessions never lack for me:

that’s the fruit of cleaning stupas . Verse 10

Walt 2994 When I’m going in the forest,

seated on an elephant’s back,

whichever direction I go,

the forest provides me refuge. Verse 11

Walt 2995 I do not see with my two eyes

any tree- stump or thorn at all.

In accordance with my karma,

it gets removed all by itself. Verse 12

Walt 2996 I do not get the itch, ringworm,

rashes, abscesses, leprosy,

epilepsy and scabies too :

that’s the fruit of cleaning stupas . Verse 13

Walt 2997 Another miracle for me:

after I had cleaned the stupa,

I was not conscious of pimples

or spots produced on my body. Verse 14

Walt 2998 Another miracle for me:

after I had cleaned the stupa,

I transmigrate in just two states:

that of a god, or of a man. Verse 15

Walt 2999 Another miracle for me:

after I had cleaned the stupa,

every place where I am living

is gold-colored and very bright. Verse 16

Walt 3000 Another miracle for me:

after I had cleaned the stupa,

displeasing things are avoided,

and things which are pleasing appear. Verse 17

Walt 3001 Another miracle for me:

after I had cleaned the stupa,

my mind is always very pure,

one-pointed, very attentive. Verse 18

Walt 3002 Another miracle for me:

after I had cleaned the stupa,

seated in a single sitting,

I achieved the arahant-state. Verse 19

Walt 3003 In the hundred thousand aeons

since I did that good karma then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that’s the fruit of cleaning stupas . Verse 20

Walt 3004 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 21

Thus indeed Venerable Pabhaṅkara Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Pabhaṅkara 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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