62. Āvopupphiya

Tha-ap 64

Gentle river ripples interrupt the reflection of bare branches.

Walt 1355 Departing the monastery
he came forward on the walkway
declaring the Four Noble Truths,
preaching the state of deathlessness. Verse 1

Walt 1356 Discerning the words of Sikhi,
the Best Buddha, the Neutral One,
picking up various flowers
I threw them up into the sky. Verse 2

Walt 1357 Through that karma for the Buddha,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
I’ve attained the unshaking state
beyond all conquest and defeat. Verse 3

Walt 1358 In the thirty-one aeons since
I honored him with flowers then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of flower-pūjā. Verse 4

Walt 1359 Twenty aeons ago I was
Sumedha the Kṣatriyan,
a wheel-turner with great power,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 1360 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Āvopupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Āvopupphiya 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

Teachings named in the text

Four noble truths

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.