361. {364.} Kesarapupphiya

Tha-ap 366

Moonlight reflected in a still pool beside a flowering forest grove.

Walt 3191 I was a sorcerer back then,
on a Himalayan mountain.
I saw the Spotless One, Buddha,
Great Famed One, walking back and forth. Verse 1

Walt 3192 At that time I having placed
three kesara flowers on my head,
I approached him, the Sambuddha,
and did pūjā to Vessabhu. Verse 2

Walt 3193 In the thirty-one aeons since
I did that good karma back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. Verse 3

Walt 3194 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 4

Thus indeed Venerable Kesarapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kesarapupphiya 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.