Tha Ap 84Gatasaññaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

82. Gatasaññaka

Walt 1506 I went forth into homelessness

being only seven years old .

With a mind that was very clear

I then worshipped the Teacher’s feet. Verse 1

Walt 1507 Then I tossed up into the air

seven nagaliki flowers

for the sake of Tissa Buddha,

the Boundless Ocean of Virtues. Verse 2

Walt 1508 Happy-minded, I did pūjā

on the road the Well-Gone-One trod,

then I pressed my hands together

feeling well- pleased by my own hands. Verse 3

Walt 1509 In the ninety-two aeons since

I did that good karma back then,

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:

that’s the fruit of Buddha- pūjā . Verse 4

Walt 1510 In the eighth aeon after that

there were three named Aggisikha.

They were wheel-turners with great strength,

possessors of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 1511 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Gatasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Gatasaññaka 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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