118. Maggasaññaka

Tha-ap 120

Ripe pears and soft green leaves on an old orchard tree.

Walt 1742 Padumuttara Buddha’s own
followers, who were forest-monks,
were lost in a giant forest,
wandering there like they were blind. Verse 1

Walt 1743 Calling to mind the Sambuddha,
Padumuttara, the Leader,
and they who were that Sage’s sons,
lost in the great forest by then, Verse 2

Walt 1744 descending from my residence
I went to where the monks were then
and having shown the road to them
I also gave them food to eat. Verse 3

Walt 1745 Due to that deed for the Biped-Lord,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
being only seven years old,
I attained my arahantship. Verse 4

Walt 1746 In the five hundredth aeon hence,
there were twelve wheel-turning monarchs
known by the name of Sacakkhu
possessors of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 1747 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Maggasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Maggasaññaka 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.