Skip to reading
← Therāpadāna

319. Kandalīpupphiya

Tha-ap 321

A weathered pine on a quiet rocky hillside.

Walt 2814 I was a farmer at that time
on the banks of River Indus.
Bound in service to another,
I looked not for that other’s rice. Verse 1

Walt 2815 Wandering along the Indus,
I saw Siddhattha, the Victor,
sitting down in meditation
like a lotus flower in bloom. Verse 2

Walt 2816 I having cut off all the stems
of seven plantain flowers then,
did spread them out upon the head
of Buddha, Kinsman of the Sun. Verse 3

Walt 2817-2818Attentive to the protocol,
back then after I had approached
the Golden-Colored Sambuddha,
Wise One, With Senses Well-Controlled,
-- Hard to Approach like a tusker,
a mātaṇga in three-fold rut—
having pressed my hands together
I worshipped Buddha, the Teacher. Verse 4-5

Walt 2819 In the ninety-four aeons since
I did pūjā with that flower,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. Verse 6

Walt 2820 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 7

Thus indeed Venerable Kandalīpupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kandalīpupphiya Thera is finished.

Connections

Collection & context

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.