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507. {510.} Nāḷikeradāyaka

Tha-ap 512

Delicate frost crystals line a dry grass stem in quiet morning light.

Walt 5448 In the city, Bandhumatī,
I worked in a hermitage then.
I saw the Spotless One, Buddha,
who was traveling through the sky. Verse 1

Walt 5449 Having taken a coconut,
I gave it to the Best Buddha.
Standing in the sky, the Calm One,
the Great Famed One accepted it. Verse 2

Walt 5450-5451 With a mind that was very clear,
having given Buddha that fruit,
productive of delight for me,
bringing happiness in this world,
I then came to possess great joy
and vast, ultimate happiness.
A gem was truly produced for
me, being reborn here and there. Verse 3-4

Walt 5452 In the ninety-one aeons since
I gave the Buddha fruit back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of giving fruit. Verse 5

Walt 5453 The divine eye is purified;
I’m skilled in meditative states.
Special knowledges perfected:
that is the fruit of giving fruit. Verse 6

Walt 5454 My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. Verse 7

Walt 5455 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 5456 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 9

Thus indeed Venerable Nāḷikeradāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nāḷikeradāyaka Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Kaṇikār’,and Ekapatta,
Kāsumārī, thus Āvaṭa,
Pāra and Mātuluṅga too,
Ajela, also Amora,
Tāla and thus Nāḷikera:
the verses that are counted here
number just one hundred verses,
avoiding any less or more.

The Kaṇikāra Chapter, the Fifty-First

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Collection & context

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.