102. Ñāṇasaññaka

Tha-ap 104

A willow branch touching the surface of still water.

Walt 1617 I saw the golden Sambuddha,
Bull of Men, like a thoroughbred,
the Great Sage, like an elephant,
a mātaṅga in triple rut, Verse 1

Walt 1618 shining forth in all directions
like the moon when it becomes full,
the World’s Best, the Ultimate Man,
who had gone out on the road then. Verse 2

Walt 1619 Pleasing my heart in his knowledge
I pressed both my hands together.
Happy, and with a happy heart,
I venerated Siddhattha. Verse 3

Walt 1620 In the ninety-four aeons since
I did that good karma back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of perceiving knowledge. Verse 4

Walt 1621 Three and seventy aeons hence
there were sixteen ultimate men,
wheel-turning kings with great power,
possessors of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 1622 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Ñāṇasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ñāṇasaññaka Thera is finished.

Connections

Collection & context

TherāpadānaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

About this edition

Translation by Jonathan S. Walters · SuttaCentral · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US

Noncommercial reuse with attribution and the same license. Original publication and digitization credits are preserved below.

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.

For more information, visit apadanatranslation.org

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.