261. Ākāsukkhipiya

Tha-ap 263

An opening in coastal fog reveals a crisp distant ridge.

Walt 2540 Taking two water-born flowers,
I approached the Bull Among Men,
Siddhattha, gold-colored Buddha,
traveling around the bazaar. Verse 1

Walt 2541 I placed one flower down at the
two feet of the Best of Buddhas.
And taking the other flower
I threw it up into the sky. Verse 2

Walt 2542 In the ninety-four aeons since
I offered that flower to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of giving flowers. Verse 3

Walt 2543 In the thirty-second aeon
ago lived one lord of the earth
known as Antalikkhacara,
a wheel-turning king with great strength. Verse 4

Walt 2544 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances;
six special knowledges mastered:
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Ākāsukkhipiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ākāsukkhipiya 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.