297. Desakittiya

Tha-ap 299

Low morning mist above a wide quiet river.

Walt 2701-2702Back then I was a brahmin man
whose name was Upasālaka.
Seeing the World’s Best One, Man-Bull,
Getting the World’s Sacrifices,
plunged into the woods, the forest,
I worshipped the Buddha’s feet there.
Discerning my mental pleasure,
the Buddha disappeared right there. Verse 1-2

Walt 2703 Having come out of the forest,
I called to mind the Best Buddha.
Proclaiming that to the region,
I joyed an aeon in heaven. Verse 3

Walt 2704 In the ninety-two aeons since
I proclaimed that to the region,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of proclaiming. Verse 4

Walt 2705 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Desakittiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Desakittiya 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.