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20. Sumaṅgala

Tha-ap 22

Fallen pale blossoms rest on moss while fresh buds open above.

Walt 796 Wishing to make a sacrifice
I had a meal prepared back then
and stood in a large mālaka
venerating the brahmins there. Verse 1

Walt 797 And then I saw the Sambuddha,
Piyadassi, Greatly Famed One,
who was the Tamer of All Worlds,
the Self-Become, the Neutral One. Verse 2

Walt 798 Standing before his followers
that Blessed One, really shining,
was blazing forth just like the sun
when entering its chariot. Verse 3

Walt 799 Pressing my hands together then
and bringing my own heart pleasure,
I invited him with my mind:
“Let the Great Sage come to me now.” Verse 4

Walt 800 Discerning what I was thinking,
he who was Peerless in the World,
Teacher, with a thousand arahants
came right up to my doorway then. Verse 5

Walt 801 “Praise to you, O Well-Bred Person!
Praise to you, Ultimate Person!
Ascending into my palace
please sit upon the lion-throne.” Verse 6

Walt 802 The Tame One, with Tamed Retinue,
Crossed Over, the Best Ferryman
ascending into my palace
sat down upon that seat superb. Verse 7

Walt 803 Foodstuffs which had been presented
that still remained in my own house
I then gifted to the Buddha
feeling well- pleased by my own hands. Verse 8

Walt 804 With a pleased heart and happy mind,
joyful, with hands pressed together,
I worshipped the Best of Buddhas:
“O! The Buddha’s great eminence! Verse 9

Walt 805 Many arahants are among these
nobles being served and eating.
That is your majestic power;
I too go for refuge in you.” Verse 10

Walt 806 Piyadassi the Blessed One
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
sat down in the monks’ Assembly
and uttered these verses aloud: Verse 11

Walt 807 Of he who fed the Assembly
which is upright and attentive
and the Sambuddha, Thus-Gone-One,
all of you listen to my words: Verse 12

Walt 808 Twenty-seven times a god-king
he will exercise divine rule.
With pleasure in his own karma
he’ll delight in the world of gods. Verse 13

Walt 809 And also eighteen times he’ll be
a king who turns the wheel of law.
He will reside upon the earth
and have five hundred earthly reigns.” Verse 14

Walt 810 Plunged into the woods, the forest,
a tiger-frequented jungle,
having put forth great exertion
I destroyed all the defilements. Verse 15

Walt 811 In the eighteen hundred aeons
since I gave him that gift back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth;
that is the fruit of giving food. Verse 16

Walt 812 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 17

Thus indeed Venerable Sumaṅgala Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sumaṅgala Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Sīhāsani and Ekatthambhi,
Nanda and Culla-Panthaka,
Pilinda and also Rāhula,
Vangata, Raṭṭhapālaka,
Sopāka and also Maṅgala,
ten are in the second chapter
and a hundred and thirty-seven
verses are related here.

The Sīhāsani Chapter, the Second.

Connections

Collection & context

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.