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418. {421.} Sakiṁsammajjaka

Tha-ap 423

Clear woodland water flowing around stones and fern fronds.

Walt 4462 Having seen the chief of all trees,
the trumpet-flower Bodhi tree
of Vipassi, the Blessed One,
I brought pleasure to my heart there. Verse 1

Walt 4463 Having taken a broom with me,
I always swept that Bodhi tree.
After sweeping that Bodhi tree,
I worshipped the trumpet-flower. Verse 2

Walt 4464 Bringing pleasure to my heart there,
hands pressed together on my head,
praising that Bodhi tree I then,
crouched over, departed from there. Verse 3

Walt 4465 Going along a walking path,
remembering the supreme tree,
at that time a python crushed me,
of frightful form, extremely strong. Verse 4

Walt 4466 Due to the fruit of my karma,
being near death I was happy.
The python swallowed my body;
I delighted in the gods’ world. Verse 5

Walt 4467 My mind is always undisturbed,
well-purified and very clear.
I do not know arrows of grief,
nor any torment in my heart. Verse 6

Walt 4468 I do not get the itch, ringworm,
rashes, abscesses, leprosy,
epilepsy and scabies too:
that is the fruit of sweeping up. Verse 7

Walt 4469 Grief as well as lamentation
are not known in this heart of mine.
My mind’s upright and unattached:
that is the fruit of sweeping up. Verse 8

Walt 4470 My mind is pure, I do not cling
when in the meditative states.
Whichever of those states I want,
it always comes to be for me. Verse 9

Walt 4471 I’m not attached to lustful ways
and also not to hateful ones;
not bewildered in ignorance:
that is the fruit of sweeping up. Verse 10

Walt 4472 In the ninety-one aeons since
I did that karma at that time,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of sweeping up. Verse 11

Walt 4473 My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. Verse 12

Walt 4474 Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 13

Walt 4475 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 14

Thus indeed Venerable Sakiṁsammajjaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sakiṁsammajjaka Thera is finished.

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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.