191. Tamālapupphiya

Tha-ap 193

Amber leaves floating along a clear woodland stream over smooth stones.

Walt 2214 My magically-made mansion,
with eighty-four lakhs of pillars,
was a lovely golden color,
the equal of a divine tree. Verse 1

Walt 2215 Plucking a tamāla flower
with a mind which was very clear,
I offered it to the Buddha
Sikhi, the Kinsman of the World. Verse 2

Walt 2216 in the thirty-one aeons since
I did that good karma then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. Verse 3

Walt 2217 In the twentieth aeon ago
there was one named Candatitta,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 4

Walt 2218 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Tamālapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Tamālapupphiya 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.