281. Paṇṇadāyaka

Tha-ap 283

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

Walt 2623-2624Sitting in a room made of leaves,
I am feeding on leaves as food.
Siddhattha Buddha, the World’s Torch,
the Physician for Every World,
the Greatest Sage then did approach
me seated in that room of leaves.
I gave leaves to him when he was
sitting on a mat made of leaves. Verse 1-2

Walt 2625 In the ninety-four aeons since
I gave those leaves to him back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of giving leaves. Verse 3

Walt 2626 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 4

Thus indeed Venerable Paṇṇadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Paṇṇadāyaka 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.