145. Ummāpupphiya

Tha-ap 147

Two streams joining a wider river in a green valley.

Walt 1961 When Siddhattha, the Blessed One,
Sacrificial Recipient,
the World-Worshipped One passed away,
a stupa festival took place. Verse 1

Walt 1962 While the festival proceeded
for Siddhattha the Sage so Great,
taking a blue flax flower \[then
I placed it upon the stupa. Verse 2

Walt 1963 In the ninety-four aeons since
I offered that flower there then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of stupa-pūjā. Verse 3

Walt 1964 And in the ninth aeon ago
there were five and eighty monarchs.
All were known as Somadeva,
wheel-turning kings with great power. Verse 4

Walt 1965 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Ummāpupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ummāpupphiya 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.