Tha Ap 44Koliyavessa

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

42. Koliyavessa

Walt 1140 I had a walkway constructed

for the Sage, Anomadassi,

the World’s Best One, the Neutral One

by having it smeared with plaster. Verse 1

Walt 1141 Then I spread upon that walkway

flowers of various colors.

Making an awning in the sky

I fed the Buddha, Supreme One. Verse 2

Walt 1142 Having pressed my hands together,

worshipping the One With Good Vows,

at that time I dedicated

a long hall to the Blessed One. Verse 3

Walt 1143 Discerning what I was thinking,

the Teacher, Best One in the World,

the Blessed One, the Eyeful One

accepted it, pitying me . Verse 4

Walt 1144 Accepting it, the Sambuddha,

Best Recipient in the World

seated in the monks’ Assembly

spoke these verses about me then : Verse 5

Walt 1145 “I shall relate details of him,

who now with such a happy heart

donated this long hall to me;

all of you listen to my words: Verse 6

Walt 1146 When it is the time of death for

this one endowed with good karma,

a chariot will then appear,

a thousand horses yoked to it . Verse 7

Walt 1147 By that conveyance then this man

will go up to the world of gods.

The gods are going to all rejoice

when that wholesome birth occurs there . Verse 8

Walt 1148 He’ll inhabit a mansion there ,

the best mansion, very costly,

smeared with clay that’s full of gemstones

and supplied with fine gabled cells. Verse 9

Walt 1149 He will then delight in heaven

for full thirty thousand aeons.

He will be the king of the gods

for those thirty thousand aeons. Verse 10

Walt 1150 Seventy seven times he’ll be

a king who turns the wheel of law .

They all will have a single name,

“Yasodhara,” and be the same. Verse 11

Walt 1151 Experiencing the two-fold bliss,

heaping up a heap of merit,

he will be a wheel-turning king

in the twenty-eighth aeon hence . Verse 12

Walt 1152 And he’ll have a superb mansion,

constructed by Vissakamma.

Even when alone he’ll hear the

ten sounds, living in that city. Verse 13

Walt 1153 Uncountable aeons later

he’ll be the king of a country,

king of the earth with great power;

his name will then be Okkāka. Verse 14

Walt 1154 And she who is most excellent

of his sixteen thousand women

will give birth to nine sons of his,

Kṣatriyan princes of good birth. Verse 15

Walt 1155 That Kṣatriyan woman will die

after her nine sons have been born.

Then he will take as his chief queen

a young and beloved maiden. Verse 16

Walt 1156 Satisfying King Okkāka,

that maiden will receive a boon.

As the boon that she receives she’ll

have the nine sons go forth from there . Verse 17

Walt 1157 After going forth they all will

go into the Himalayas.

Scared of dividing the clan they

will all cohabit with sisters. Verse 18

Walt 1158 And one among those girls will be

afflicted with bad diseases.

Saying, ‘don’t ruin our family,’

the Kṣatriyans will bury her . Verse 19

Walt 1159 A king, having carried her off

will afterwards live well with her.

And from that time there’ll be the group,

“arising in Okkāka’s clan”. Verse 20

Walt 1160 The progeny of them will be

those known as “Koḷiya” at birth.

There they will magically produce

vast quantities of human food. Verse 21

Walt 1161 Having fallen from that body

this one will go up to heaven.

There he’ll gain a superb mansion

which is delightful to the mind. Verse 22

Walt 1162 Having fallen down from heaven,

incited by his wholesome roots,

having gone to a human state

he will be known as Soṇa then . Verse 23

Walt 1163 Resolved, with strenuous effort

in the Teacher’s dispensation,

knowing well all the defilements,

he’ll reach nirvana, undefiled. Verse 24

Walt 1164 The Blessed One, Boundless Vision,

Gotama the Bull of the Śākyas,

Privileged Knower, the Great Hero,

will place him in a foremost place.” Verse 25

Walt 1165 hiatus?

Tamed in the ultimate taming,

my heart is now well-directed,

and my burden has been laid down:

I’ve reached nirvana, undefiled. Verse 26

Walt 1166 Shiny-Bodied, Great Elephant,

Unfrightened like a lion -king ,

seated in the monks’ Assembly,

he placed me in the foremost place. Verse 27

Walt 1167 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 28

Thus indeed Venerable Soṇa Koḷiyavessa Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Koḷiyavessa Thera is finished.

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters .

Whitman College, 2017

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