268. Saḷalapupphiya

Tha-ap 270

Tiny fern shoots and water droplets beside a clear woodland spring.

Walt 2569 On Candabhāgā River’s bank
I was a kinnara back then.
I saw the Buddha, Vipassi,
Surrounded by a Net of Rays. Verse 1

Walt 2570 Happy, with pleasure in my heart,
and filled with supreme joyfulness,
taking a saḷala flower,
I strew it before Vipassi. Verse 2

Walt 2571 In the ninety-one 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 2572 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 4

Thus indeed Venerable Saḷalapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Saḷalapupphiya 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.