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135. Rahosaññaka

Tha-ap 137

A single sharp thorn rises from a weathered twig against a soft woodland background.

Walt 1902 Close to the Himalayan range,
there is a mountain called Vasabha.
My ashram is made very well
there at the foot of that mountain. Verse 1

Walt 1903 For three thousand years that brahmin
uttered his teachings at that time.
Drawing the students together,
he dwelt there, sitting to one side. Verse 2

Walt 1904 The brahmin master of mantras,
while sitting there off to one side,
searching the Buddha’s knowledge,
pleased his heart over knowledge then. Verse 3

Walt 1905 After after pleasing my heart there,
I sat on a mat made of leaves;
getting into lotus posture,
I passed away right on the spot. Verse 4

Walt 1906 In the thirty-one aeons since
I obtained that perception then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of perceiving knowledge. Verse 5

Walt 1907 In the twenty-seventh aeon
there was a king, Siridhara,
a wheel-turner with great power,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 6

Walt 1908 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 7

Thus indeed Venerable Rahosaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Rahosaññaka Thera is finished.

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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.