257. Mañjaripūjaka

Tha-ap 259

Slender bamboo culms and delicate leaves in soft morning shade.

Walt 2521 Fashioning a bunch of flowers,
I went out onto the highway.
I saw the Monk, Bettered by None,
Honored by the Monks’ Assembly. Verse 1

Walt 2522 Happy, with pleasure in my heart,
and filled with supreme joyfulness,
taking it with both of my hands
I offered Buddha that bouquet. Verse 2

Walt 2523 In the ninety-two aeons since
I did pūjā with that flower,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. Verse 3

Walt 2524 In the seventy-third aeon
there was one ruler of the earth,
known by the name of Jotiya,
a wheel-turning king with great strength. Verse 4

Walt 2525 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Mañjaripūjaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Mañjaripūjaka 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.