432. {435.} Ucchukaṇḍika

Tha-ap 437

A quiet mango grove opens toward soft light beyond the trees.

Walt 4673 In the city, Bandhumatī,
I was a gate-keeper back then.
I saw the Buddha, Stainless One,
who was Master of Everything. Verse 1

Walt 4674 Happy, with pleasure in my heart,
bringing a stalk of sugarcane,
I gave it to him, the Best Buddha,
the Great Sage known as Vipassi. Verse 2

Walt 4675 In the ninety-one aeons since
I gave the Buddha sugar-cane,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of a sugar-cane stalk. Verse 3

Walt 4676 My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. Verse 4

Walt 4677 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 5

Walt 4678 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Ucchukaṇḍika Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ucchukaṇḍika 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.