78. Pāṭalipupphiya

Tha-ap 80

Young and mature beech trees growing together on a mossy forest floor.

Walt 1458-1459Back then I was a rich man’s son,
delicate, living in comfort.
Putting a trumpet flower in
my lap I then took it to him,
the Gold-Colored One, Sambuddha,
traveling through the market-place,
bearing the marks of a Great Man,
like a festoon work made of gold. Verse 1-2

Walt 1460 Happy, and with a happy heart,
with the flower I performed pūjā
to Tissa, the World-Knower, Lord,
having worshipped the God of Men. Verse 3

Walt 1461 In the ninety-two aeons since
I did that good karma back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of flower-pūjā. Verse 4

Walt 1462 Sixty-three aeons ago the
king known as Abhisammata
was a wheel-turner with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 1463 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Pāṭalipupphiya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Pāṭalipupphiya 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

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.