233. Sālapupphiya

Tha-ap 235

A winding path through flowering trees above a misty green valley.

Walt 2432 In Aruṇavatī city
I was a cake-maker back then.
I saw Sikhi Buddha, Victor,
traveling through a gate of mine. Verse 1

Walt 2433 Having taken the Buddha’s bowl
with a mind which was very clear,
I gave a sal flower to him,
Buddha, Highest-Point-Attainer. Verse 2

Walt 2434 In the thirty-one aeons since
I donated sweet-meats to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of a sal flower. Verse 3

Walt 2435 In the fourteenth aeon ago
I was named Amitañjala,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 4

Walt 2436 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Sālapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sālapupphiya 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.