[173. Rattipupphiya1]
I was a deer-hunter back then,
within a grove in the forest.
I saw Vipassi Buddha [then],
the God of Gods, the Bull of Men. (1) [2116]
Having seen red [flowers] blooming
on a winter cherry2 tree [then],
having taken [them] with [their] stems,
I offered [them] to the Great Sage. (2) [2117]
In the ninety-one aeons since
I offered [those] flower[s] [to him],
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of giving flowers. (3) [2118]
And in the eighth aeon ago,
I was a monarch with great strength,
with the name of Suppasanna,3
possessor of the seven gems. (4) [2119]
The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (5) [2120]
Thus indeed Venerable Rattipupphiya Thera spoke these verses.
The legend of Rattipupphiya Thera is finished.
“Red Flower [Donor]”↩
kuṭaja, Wrightia zeylanica, Sinhala keḷinda. Bot. dict.: “a tree bearing a medicinal nut or seed used as a remedy for diarrhoea;” other names include Conessi bark, Tellicherri bark, for the astringent bark which is also used toward this medicinal end; arctic snow. However, as its name implies, it bears small white flowers, making rather miraculous the appearance of red flowers blooming on it.↩
“Very Pleased”↩