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82. Gatasaññaka

Tha-ap 84

A modest yellow wildflower grows from a crack in a weathered stone.

Walt 1506 I went forth into homelessness
being only seven years old.
With a mind that was very clear
I then worshipped the Teacher’s feet. Verse 1

Walt 1507 Then I tossed up into the air
seven nagaliki flowers
for the sake of Tissa Buddha,
the Boundless Ocean of Virtues. Verse 2

Walt 1508 Happy-minded, I did pūjā
on the road the Well-Gone-One trod,
then I pressed my hands together
feeling well- pleased by my own hands. Verse 3

Walt 1509 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 Buddha-pūjā. Verse 4

Walt 1510 In the eighth aeon after that
there were three named Aggisikha.
They were wheel-turners with great strength,
possessors of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 1511 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Gatasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Gatasaññaka 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.