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← Therāpadāna

553. Gayā-Kassapa

Tha-ap 555

A coastal tree and tawny grasses beside the sea.

Walt 6365 I was dressed in deer-leather then,
wearing a heavy shoulder-yoke.
Carrying a khāri load, I
brought jujubes to the ashram.

Walt 6366 The Blessed One in that era
was alone with nobody else.
He then approached my hermitage,
shining brightly all of the time.

Walt 6367 Bringing pleasure to my own heart,
worshipping the Compliant One,
taking them with both of my hands
I gave the Buddha jujubes.

Walt 6368 In the thirty-one aeons since
I gave that fruit to him back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of giving jujubes.

Walt 6369 My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.

Walt 6370 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!

Walt 6371 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!

Thus indeed Venerable Gayā-Kassapa Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Gayā-Kassapa Thera, the third.

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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.