Tha Ap 50Cankamadāyaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

48. Cankamadāyaka

Walt 1207 Having heaped up the ground with bricks,

I had a walkway constructed

for Atthadassi, the Great Sage,

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

Walt 1208 That walkway was very well made

with the five gemstones piled up high .

It was a hundred hands in length

and pleasant for meditation. Verse 2

Walt 1209 The Blessed One accepted it —

Atthadassi, the Best of Men—

and with his hand sifting some sand,

he uttered these verses aloud : Verse 3

Walt 1210 “Because of this gift of some sand

and of this walkway, so well made,

this one is going to enjoy sand

and will possess the seven gems. Verse 4

Walt 1211 For three aeons among the gods

he will exercise divine rule.

Surrounded by celestial nymphs

he will enjoy great happiness. Verse 5

Walt 1212 Having come to the human realm

he’ll be the king of a country,

and three times as a wheel-turner

he will reside on the great earth.” Verse 6

Walt 1213 In the eighteen hundred aeons

since I did that good karma then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that is the fruit of a walkway. Verse 7

Walt 1214 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 8

Thus indeed Venerable Cankamadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Cankamadāyaka 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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