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.The Blessed One, Piyadassi,
Self-Become One, the Chief Person,
Seclusion-Lover, Sambuddha,
came into the sal-forest then.Departing from the hermitage,
I went into the forest then.
Searching for roots and fruit to eat,
I’m roaming in the forest then.There I saw him, the Sambuddha,
Piyadassi, Greatly Famed One,
well-seated, attaining the goal,
shining light in the great forest.Having placed four sticks of wood there,
building a well-made pavilion
above the Buddha at that time,
I covered it with sal flowers.For seven days I held up that
sal-flower-covered pavilion.
Bringing pleasure to my heart there,
I worshipped him, the Best Buddha.At that time the Blessed One then
rose up from his meditation.
Looking but a plough’s length ahead,
the Ultimate Person sat down.Named Varuṇa, the follower
of Piyadassi, the Teacher,
with one hundred thousand masters,
then approached the Guide, the Buddha.Piyadassi, the Blessed One,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
seated in the monks’ Assembly,
the Victor then displayed a smile.Anuruddha, the attendant,
of Piyadassi, the Teacher,
placed his robe on one shoulder,
then asked this of him, the Great Sage:“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?”“This young man who held for me a
floral canopy for a week:
having remembered his karma,
I displayed that smile at that time.“I do not see sufficient space
for that good karma to ripen.
In the world of gods or men
there is not found sufficient space.When this good-karma possessor
is living in the world of gods,
as far as his whole retinue,
there will be a sal canopy.As befits this one’s good karma,
being there he’ll be delighted
by dances which are all divine,
and by songs and speeches as well.As far as his whole retinue,
there will be many fine perfumes,
and a rain made of sal flowers
will be raining all the time there.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.And here too dance as well as song,
well-accompanied by cymbals,
will attend on him constantly:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā.Also, when the sun is rising,
a downpour of sal will rain forth.
Connected with his good karma,
that rain will rain all of the time.After eighteen hundred aeons,
arising in Okkāka’s clan,
the one whose name is Gotama
will be the Teacher in the world.Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma,
Dhamma’s legitimate offspring,
knowing well all the defilements,
he’ll reach nirvana, undefiled.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."Detailing the result for me,
Piyadassi Buddha, Great Sage,
preached Dharma to my retinue,
refreshing them with Dharma-rain.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.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.This is the final time for me;
my last rebirth is proceeding.
Even here a sal canopy
exists for me all of the time.Having pleased him, the Sage So Great,
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,
I’ve attained the unshaking state,
beyond all conquest and defeat.In the eighteen hundred aeons
since I worshipped the Buddha then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā.My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.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!The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!
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, Pānadhida
and then Pulīnacaṅkama:
five and ninety are the verses
that are counted by those who know.
The Paṁsukūla Chapter, the Forty-Ninth