142. Thambāropaka

Tha-ap 144

A mountain summit emerging above thinning cloud and an alpine meadow.

Walt 1945 When the World’s Lord reached nirvana,
Dhammadassi, the Bull of Men,
I placed a pillar with banners
at the Best Buddha’s stupa then. Verse 1

Walt 1946 After constructing a stairway
I climbed up that best stupa there.
Taking a white jasmine flower
I placed it on that pillar then. Verse 2

Walt 1947 O! the Buddha! O! the Teaching!
O! our Teacher’s great achievement!
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of stupa-pūjā. Verse 3

Walt 1948 In the ninety-fourth aeon hence
there were sixteen different monarchs
known by the name Thūpasikha,
wheel-turning kings with great power. Verse 4

Walt 1949 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Thambāropaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Thambāropaka 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.