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506. {509.} Tālaphaliya

Tha-ap 511

A tide advances and retreats across grey sand beside a smooth pebble.

Walt 5442 The Blessed One, Hundred-Rayed One,
the Self-Become, Unconquered One,
rising up from his solitude,
went forth in order to seek food. Verse 1

Walt 5443 Holding fruit in my hand, I saw
the Bull of Men who had approached.
Happy, with pleasure in my heart,
I gave him a palmyra fruit. Verse 2

Walt 5444 In the ninety-four aeons since
I gave him that fruit at that time,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of giving fruit. Verse 3

Walt 5445 My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. Verse 4

Walt 5446 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 5447 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Tālaphaliya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Tālaphaliya Thera is finished.

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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.