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tha-ap.84 Thera Apadana

Gatasaññaka

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Thus indeed Venerable Gatasaññaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Gatasaññaka Thera is finished.

- Translator: Jonathan S. Walters

- Editor: Ayya Vimala