[487. {490.}1 Sālamaṇḍapiya2]
Plunged into a sal [tree] forest,
I had a well-made hermitage,
which was covered with sal flowers;
I live in the woods at that time. (1) [5219]
The Blessed One, Piyadassi,
Self-Become One, the Chief Person,
Seclusion-Lover, Sambuddha,
came into the sal-forest then. (2) [5220]
Departing from the hermitage,
I went into the forest [then].
Searching for roots and fruit [to eat],
I’m roaming in the forest then. (3) [5221]
There I saw [him], the Sambuddha,
Piyadassi, Greatly Famed One,
well-seated, attaining [the goal],
shining [light] in the great forest. (4) [5222]
Having placed four sticks of wood [there],
building a well-made pavilion
above the Buddha [at that time,]
I covered [it] with sal flowers. (5) [5223]
For seven days I held up [that]
sal-flower-covered pavilion.
Bringing pleasure to [my] heart there,
I worshipped [him], the Best Buddha. (6) [5224]
At that time the Blessed One [then]
rose up from [his] meditation.3
Looking but a plough’s length ahead,4
the Ultimate Person sat down. (7) [5225]
Named Varuṇa, the follower
of Piyadassi, the Teacher,
with one hundred thousand masters,5
then approached the Guide, [the Buddha]. (8) [5226]
Piyadassi, the Blessed One,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
seated in the monks’ Assembly,
the Victor then displayed a smile.6 (9) [5227]
Anuruddha, the attendant,
of Piyadassi, the Teacher,
placed his robe on one shoulder,
[then] asked [this] of [him], the Great Sage: (10) [5228]
“What is the cause, O Blessed One,
of the smiling of the Teacher?
When what reason was being known
did you display that, O Teacher?” (11) [5229]
“This young man who held for me a
floral canopy for a week:
having remembered his karma,
I displayed [that] smile [at that time]. (12) [5230]
“I do not see [sufficient] space
for that good karma7 to ripen.
In the world of gods or men
there is not [found] sufficient space. (13) [5231]
When [this] good-karma8 possessor
is living in the world of gods,
as far as his [whole] retinue,
there will be a sal canopy. (14) [5232]
As befits [this one’s] good karma,9
being [there] he’ll be delighted
by dances which are [all] divine,
and by songs [and] speeches [as well]. (15) [5233]
As far as his [whole] retinue,
there will be many10 [fine] perfumes,
and a rain [made of] sal flowers
will be raining all the time [there]. (16) [5234]
When this man has fallen from there,
he will go to the human state.
Here too a floral canopy
will be carried all of the time. (17) [5235]
And here [too] dance as well as song,
well-accompanied by cymbals,11
will attend on him constantly:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. (18) [5236]
Also, when the sun is rising,
a downpour of sal will rain forth.
Connected with [his] good karma,12
[that rain] will rain all of the time. (19) [5237]
[After] eighteen hundred aeons,
arising in Okkāka’s clan,
the one whose name is Gotama
will be the Teacher in the world. (20) [5238]
Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma,
Dhamma’s legitimate offspring,
knowing well all the defilements,
he’ll reach nirvana, undefiled. (21) [5239]
There will be a sal canopy
for this one who grasps the Teaching,
[and] that [sal] canopy will be there
for him being burnt on a pyre." (22) [5240]
Detailing the result [for me],
Piyadassi [Buddha], Great Sage,
preached Dharma to [my] retinue,
refreshing [them] with Dharma-rain. (23) [5241]
For thirty aeons among the
gods, I exercised divine rule,
and sixty plus four times I was
a king who turns the wheel [of law]. (24) [5242]
Coming here from the world of gods,
I’m receiving huge happiness.
Here too [there’s] a sal canopy:
that’s the fruit of a canopy.13 (25) [5243]
This is the final time for me;
[my] last rebirth is proceeding.14
Even here a sal canopy
exists [for me] all of the time. (26) 15
Having pleased [him], the Sage So Great,
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,
I’ve attained the unshaking state,
beyond [all] conquest and defeat. (27) [5244]
In the eighteen hundred aeons
since I worshipped16 the Buddha [then],
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. (28) [5245]
My defilements are [now] burnt up;
all [new] existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. (29) [5246]
Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (30) [5247]
The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (31) [5248]
Thus indeed Venerable Sālamaṇḍapiya Thera spoke these verses.
The legend of Sālamaṇḍapiya Thera is finished.
The Summary:
Naḷamālī, Maṇidada,
Ukkāsatika, Vījanī,
Kummāsa and Kusaṭṭha [too],
also Giripunnāgiya,
Vallikāra,17 Pānadhida
[and] then Pulīnacchaṅkama:
five and ninety are the verses
that are counted by those who know.
The Paŋsukūla Chapter, the Forty-Ninth
Apadāna numbers provided in {fancy brackets} correspond to the BJTS edition, which contains more individual poems than does the PTS edition dictating the main numbering of this translation.↩
“Sal-Pavilion-er”↩
lit., “from samādhi”↩
yugamattañ pekkhamāno, lit., “looking ahead the extent of a plough,” i.e., just a little, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him↩
i.e., arahants↩
sitaŋ pātukarī jino↩
puñña, lit., “merit”↩
puññakamma°, lit., “meritorious-karma”↩
puññakamma°, lit., “meritorious karma”↩
gandhagandhī, taking the repetition as intensifying, but this could also be translated “perfumes and incense” or “scents and incense”↩
reading sammatāḷa° (BJTS) for samatāḷa° (PTS).↩
lit., “his meritorious karma”↩
BJTS reads hessati sabbakālikaŋ (“it will be all the time” “exists [for me] all the time”), a foot which PTS includes in the following verse, absent from BJTS↩
ccharimo vattate bhavo↩
This verse does not appear in BJTS↩
lit., “did pūjā”↩
PTS reads valliṅkara, I follow BJTS here↩