Tha Ap 472Nimittavyākaraṇiya

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

467. {470.} Nimittavyākaraṇiya

Walt 4922 Plunged into the Himalayas,

I’m reciting mantras back the,

and fifty-four thousand students

attended on me in that place . Verse 1

Walt 4923 They all learned by heart, true knowers,

were masters of Vedic science;

having come of their own accord,

they dwelt in the Himalayas. Verse 2

Walt 4924 The Son of a God, Greatly Famed,

falling from Tusitā heaven ,

was reborn in a mother’s womb,

attentive and remembering. Verse 3

Walt 4925 When the Buddha was being born,

the ten-thousand world-system quaked,

and those who were blind obtained eyes,

when the Leader was being born. Verse 4

Walt 4926 This entire great bountiful earth

quaked in every manner.

Having heard the sound of shouting,

the populace was frightened then . Verse 5

Walt 4927 All the people came together,

and they came into my presence.

“The great bountiful earth has quaked,

what will this be the result of?” Verse 6

Walt 4928 I answered them, “Don’t be frightened;

there is nothing for you to fear.

Let all of you be confident;

this omen portends happiness. Verse 7

Walt 4929 This great bountiful earth quakes through

contact with one of eight causes.

Likewise this sign is also seen:

there’s a huge effulgence of light . Verse 8

Walt 4930 Without a doubt a Best Buddha,

an Eyeful One, will soon be born!”

Having thus informed the people,

I spoke about the five precepts. Verse 9

Walt 4931 Hearing of the five precepts, and

a Buddha’s birth, hard to obtain,

happy and full of excitement,

their hair stood on end in delight. Verse 10

Walt 4932 In the ninety-two aeons since

I explained the signs at that time ,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that is the fruit of explaining. Verse 11

Walt 4933 My defilements are now burnt up;

all new existence is destroyed.

Like elephants with broken chains,

I am living without constraint. Verse 12

Walt 4934 Being in Best Buddha’s presence

was a very good thing for me.

The three knowledges are attained;

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 13

Walt 4935 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 14

Thus indeed Venerable Nimittavyākaraṇiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nimittavyākaraṇiya Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Sālakusumiya Thera,

Pūjā and Nibbāpaka too ,

Setuda and Tālavaṇṭī,

Avaṇṭa, Labuja-ppada,

Pilakkha and Paṭibhāṇī,

brahmin Veyyakaraṇaka:

exactly two hundred verses

are counted here by those who know.

The Sālakusumiya Chapter, the Forty-Seventh

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters .

Whitman College, 2017

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