[23]
Not far from the Himavant stands a mountain named Nisabha;
there my hermitage was well made, my hall of leaves well built.
Kosiya I was by name, a matted-hair ascetic (jaṭila) of blazing austerity;
alone, without a second, I dwelt then upon Nisabha.
Fruit and root and leaf I did not eat at that time;
I subsisted then upon what had come about of itself and fallen of its own accord.
I did not violate my livelihood even at the cost of my life;
I satisfied my own mind (citta) and shunned wrong seeking (anesanā).
Whenever a mind bound up with lust arose in me,
I reflected upon it by myself; alone I tamed it:
"You are impassioned by what incites passion, angered by what incites anger,
and deluded by what incites delusion — depart, you, from the forest!
This is the dwelling of the pure, of stainless ascetics;
do not defile the pure — depart, you, from the forest!
Having become a householder, you will then obtain what is fitting;
do not fail in both — depart, you, from the forest!
Just as a brand from a corpse-pyre is a log that performs no service anywhere,
neither in village nor in forest, for it is not reckoned as timber,
even so are you like a corpse-pyre brand, neither a layman nor yet one restrained;
today you are cast off from both — depart, you, from the forest!
Could this indeed be yours? Who indeed would know this of you?
Will you swiftly bear my burden — you who abound in sloth?
The discerning will loathe you as a townsman loathes filth;
the seers will drag you forth and censure you forever.
The discerning will declare you one who has transgressed the teaching;
and, not obtaining co-residence, how will you live?
A mighty tusker, drawing near, drives out from the herd an elephant —
a mātaṅga of sixty years, with rut burst forth from three points;
expelled from the herd, he finds no happiness and comfort;
pained and dejected, brooding, he trembles.
Even so will the matted-hair ascetics drive you out, witless one;
expelled by them, you will not gain happiness and comfort.
By day or by night, transfixed by the dart of sorrow,
you will burn with fever, like the elephant expelled from the herd.
Just as a pot of gold goes nowhere at all,
so you, bereft of virtue, will go nowhere at all.
Even dwelling in a house, how will you live?
You have no stored-up wealth, maternal or paternal.
Doing your own work, letting the sweat stream from your limbs —
so would you live at home; and that good course does not please you."
Thus did I there restrain the mind that had gone over to defilement;
having discoursed on the Dhamma in various ways, I warded my mind from evil.
As I dwelt thus, abiding in heedfulness (appamāda),
thirty thousand years passed for me in the great forest.
Seeing me in my heedfulness, a seeker of the supreme goal,
the Sambuddha Padumuttara came into my presence.
Radiant with the hue of the timbarūsaka fruit, immeasurable, incomparable,
the Buddha, unequalled in form, walked [in meditation] in the sky at that time.
Like a royal sāla tree in full blossom, like lightning amid the massed clouds,
the Buddha, unequalled in knowledge (ñāṇa), walked [in meditation] in the sky at that time.
Unalarmed as the lion-king, in his pride as the elephant-king,
fearless as the tiger-king, he walked [in meditation] in the sky at that time.
Gleaming like siṅgī-nikkha gold, like embers of khadira wood,
like the radiant gem jotirasa, he walked [in meditation] in the sky at that time.
Resembling pure Kelāsa, like the moon on the full-moon night,
like the sun at midday, he walked [in meditation] in the sky at that time.
Seeing him walking in the firmament, I thought thus at that time:
"Is this being a deva, or is this a human?
A man such as this I have never heard of nor seen upon the earth;
perhaps there is a line of the sacred hymns: this one will be the Teacher."
Having thought thus, I made my own mind serene with confidence,
and I gathered together then various flowers and scents.
Having prepared a seat of flowers, finely adorned and delightful,
I spoke these words to the foremost of the charioteers of men:
"This seat of mine, O Hero, has been prepared as befits you;
gladdening my mind, be seated upon the seat of blossoms."
The Blessed One sat down there, unalarmed as a maned lion —
the Buddha, for seven nights and days, upon that excellent seat of blossoms.
Paying homage, I stood for seven nights and days;
having emerged from concentration (samādhi), the Teacher, unsurpassed in the world,
extolling my deed, spoke these words:
"Develop the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānussati), unsurpassed among meditative developments.
Having developed this mindfulness (sati), you will fulfill your heart's aspiration;
for thirty thousand aeons (kappa) you will delight in the world of the gods.
Eighty times, as lord of the devas, you will exercise rule over the gods;
a thousand times you will be a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti), a king in the realm.
Regional kingship, extensive, incalculable by reckoning —
you will enjoy it all: the fruit of the recollection of the Buddha.
Wandering on from existence to existence, you will gain great wealth;
there is no deficiency in possessions: the fruit of the recollection of the Buddha.
In a hundred thousand aeons, one arisen in the family of Okkāka,
Gotama by clan, will be the Teacher in the world.
Casting aside eighty koṭis [of treasure] and many slaves and workmen,
you will go forth in the teaching of the Blessed One Gotama.
Having gladdened the Sambuddha Gotama, the bull of the Sakyans,
you will be a disciple of the Teacher, Subhūti by name.
Seated amid the Saṅgha of bhikkhus, he will establish you as foremost in two:
in the company of those worthy of offerings (dakkhiṇeyya), and likewise in the abiding free from conflict (araṇavihāra)."
Having said this, the Sambuddha, the Leader supreme as the lotus,
rose up into the sky, the wise one, like a royal swan in the firmament.
Instructed by the Lord of the World, having paid homage to the Tathāgata,
glad at heart, I ever developed the supreme recollection of the Buddha.
By that deed well done, and by volition and aspiration,
on discarding the human body I went to Tāvatiṃsa.
Eighty times, as lord of the devas, I exercised rule over the gods;
and a thousand times I was a wheel-turning monarch.
Regional kingship, extensive, incalculable by reckoning —
I enjoy excellent prosperity: the fruit of the recollection of the Buddha.
Wandering on from existence to existence, I gain great wealth;
for me there is no deficiency in possessions: the fruit of the recollection of the Buddha.
It was a hundred thousand aeons ago that I did that deed;
I know of no bad destination since: the fruit of the recollection of the Buddha.
The four analytic insights (paṭisambhidā), and these eight liberations (vimokkha),
and the six superknowledges (abhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed did the Venerable Elder Subhūti speak these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Subhūti is concluded.
Second: the Apadāna of the Elder Upavāṇa (22)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.