Tha Ap 54Sataraṁsika

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

52. Sataraṁsika

Walt 1265 Ascending a rock outcropping,

the Ultimate Man sat down there .

I , a brahmin mantra-master

in the region of that mountain, Verse 1

Walt 1266 having pressed my hands together

kindly praised him , the World-Leader,

the God of Gods, the Bull of Men,

the Great Hero who had arrived: Verse 2

Walt 1267 “This is the Buddha, Great Hero,

the Preacher of the Best Teaching,

like a blazing column of fire,

Honored by the monks’ Assembly. Verse 3

Walt 1268 Imperturbable as the sea,

hard to cross as is the ocean,

fearless as the king of the beasts,

the Eyeful One preaches Dhamma .” Verse 4

Walt 1269 Discerning what I was thinking,

the Buddha named for the lotus,

standing in the monks’ Assembly,

the Teacher spoke these verses then : Verse 5

Walt 1270 “This one who’s pressed hands together

and has praised me , the Best Buddha,

for thirty thousand aeons hence

he will exercise divine rule. Verse 6

Walt 1271 In one hundred thousand aeons

the one named for Angirasa,

the Sambuddha, with Blinders Off,

will come into existence then. Verse 7

Walt 1272 Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma ,

Dhamma ’s legitimate offspring,

the one known as Sataraṁsi

will become an arahant then .” Verse 8

Walt 1273 Being only seven years old,

I went forth into homelessness.

I am known as Sataraṁsi;

my light purifies the whole world . Verse 9

Walt 1274 On a stage or beneath a tree

meditator, trance-lover,

I am bearing my last body

in the Supreme Buddha’s teaching. Verse 10

Walt 1275 Sixty thousand aeons ago

there were four men known as Roma.

They were wheel-turners with great strength

possessors of the seven gems. Verse 11

Walt 1276 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 12

Thus indeed Venerable Sataraṁsiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sataraṁsika 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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