[233. Sālapupphiya1]
In Aruṇavatī city
I was a cake-maker2 back then.
I saw Sikhi [Buddha], Victor,
traveling3 through a gate4 of mine. (1) [2432]
Having taken the Buddha’s bowl
with a mind which was very clear,
I gave a sal flower [to him],
Buddha, Highest-Point-Attainer. (2) [2433]
In the thirty-one aeons since
I donated sweet-meats5 to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of a sal flower. (3) [2434]
In the fourteenth aeon ago
I was [named] Amitañjala,6
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. (4) [2435]
The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (5) [2436]
Thus indeed Venerable Sālapupphiya Thera spoke these verses.
The legend of Sālapupphiya Thera is finished.
“Sal-Flower-er” Sal, Pāli sāla, is shorea robusta↩
taking pūvika from pūva, cake (Sinh. kawum, oil cakes made of sugar and rice flour)↩
lit., “going”↩
or “door,” dvārena↩
khajja, edible solid food, sweets. This is what one would expect the donation from a cake-maker to be, even though the previous verse — and his name — emphasize sal flowers.↩
“Unlimited Salutation,” taking °añjala from añjalī, pressing the hands together in reverence.↩