Tha Ap 36Kāḷudāyi

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

34. Kāḷudāyi

Walt 1050-1051 Picking a flowering lotus,

and water lily and jasmine,

and taking some rice cooked in milk,

I gave it to the Teacher then ,

to Buddha Padumuttara

the World’s Best One, the Neutral One,

who had gone out upon the road,

wandering on journeys back then. Verse 1-2

Walt 1052 At that time the Great Hero ate

that milk-rice that’s so good to eat,

and taking up that lotus flower

he gave it to the people there . Verse 3

Walt 1053 “This superb lotus is pretty,

pleasant and much loved in the world.

He who gave this flower to me

has done a most difficult deed. Verse 4

Walt 1054 I shall relate details of him

who offered this flower to me

and gave me this rice cooked in milk;

all of you listen to my words: Verse 5

Walt 1055-1056 For ten and also eight more times

he will exercise divine rule.

As the result of his karma,

in the future there will be borne

a canopy built in the sky

of lily and of lotuses,

which in addition will contain

the white flowers known as jasmine. Verse 6-7

Walt 1057 Five and twenty times he will be

a king who turns the wheel of law .

He will reside upon the earth

and have five hundred earthly reigns. Verse 8

Walt 1058 In one hundred thousand aeons,

arising in Okkāka’s clan,

the one whose name is Gotama

will be the Teacher in the world. Verse 9

Walt 1059 Delighted by his own karma,

incited by his wholesome roots,

he will be the Buddha’s kinsman,

conveying joy to the Śākyans. Verse 10

Walt 1060 And he, having renounced the world,

incited by his wholesome roots,

knowing well all the defilements,

will reach nirvana, undefiled. Verse 11

Walt 1061 Then Gotama, the World’s Kinsman,

will place him in a foremost place

of achieving analysis,

and of doing what should be done. Verse 12

Walt 1062 Being one bent on exertion,

calmed, devoid of grounds for rebirth,

he’ll be the Teacher’s follower;

his name will be Udāyi then .” Verse 13

Walt 1063 Now my heart is liberated;

ill-will has fallen from the mind.

Knowing well all the defilements,

without defilements I now live. Verse 14

Walt 1064 An ardent striver, intelligent,

I satisfied the Sambuddha.

And the Sambuddha, with delight,

did place me in that foremost place. Verse 15

Walt 1065 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 16

Thus indeed Venerable Kāḷudāyi Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kāḷudāyi 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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