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441. {444.} Bhallāṭakadāyaka

Tha-ap 446

A birch tree beside a still mountain lake, its reflection and morning mist.

Walt 4738-4739Spreading out a rug made of grass
for the Gold-Colored Sambuddha,
Bearing the Thirty-two Great Marks,
flying along the forest top,
like a regal sal tree in bloom,
I asked him, the Best of Buddhas:
“let the Buddha show me mercy;
I would like to give you alms food.” Verse 1-2

Walt 4740 Merciful, Compassionate One,
Atthadassi, Greatly Famed One,
discerning what I was thinking,
descended to my hermitage. Verse 3

Walt 4741 Descending, the Sambuddha then
sat down on that mat made of leaves.
Having taken some markingnut,
I gave it to the Best Buddha. Verse 4

Walt 4742 While I meditated on him,
the Victor then consumed that fruit.
Bringing pleasure to my heart there,
I then worshipped him, the Victor. Verse 5

Walt 4743 In the eighteen hundred aeons
since I gave him that fruit back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of giving fruit. Verse 6

Walt 4744 My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. Verse 7

Walt 4745 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 8

Walt 4746 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 9

Thus indeed Venerable Bhallāṭakadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Bhallāṭakadāyaka 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.