[405]
Not far from Himavant
stands the mountain named Asoka;
there too a hermitage had been fashioned for me,
created by Visukamma.
The Sambuddha named Sumedha,
the foremost, the compassionate one, the sage,
having robed himself in the forenoon,
approached me for alms.
When the great hero Sumedha,
the Leader of the World, had drawn near,
I took up the Sugata's bowl
and filled it with ghee and oil.
Having given to the best of Buddhas,
to Sumedha, the Leader of the World,
and raising my joined palms,
I aroused joy still more abundant.
Through this gift of ghee
and through my intentions and aspirations,
whether become a deva or a human being,
I obtain abundant happiness.
Shunning the downfall (vinipāta),
I transmigrate through existence after existence;
having directed my mind (citta) there,
I obtain the unshakable state.
A gain it is for you, well gained by you,
brahmin, in that you have seen me:
on account of the sight of me
he will attain arahantship.
Be at ease, do not fear;
having attained great glory —
for, having given ghee to me,
you will be released from birth (jāti).
Through this gift of ghee
and through my intentions and aspirations,
whether become a deva or a human being,
I obtain abundant happiness.
Through this service (adhikāra)
and through possession of a mind of loving-kindness (mettā-citta),
for eighteen hundred aeons (kappa)
he will delight in the deva world.
And eighteen times
he will be king of the devas;
extensive regional kingship [he will wield],
incalculable by reckoning.
And fifty-one times
he will be a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti),
conqueror of the four quarters,
lord of the circle of Jambu (Jambumaṇḍa).
As the great ocean is imperturbable,
as the earth is hard to uphold,
even so will my possessions
be beyond measure;
having given away sixty koṭis of gold,
I went forth.
Seeking what was wholesome,
I approached Bāvari.
There I studied the mantras,
the six-limbed lore (chaḷaṅga) and the marks (lakkhaṇa);
dispelling that darkness,
you arose, O great sage.
Desiring the sight of you,
I have come, O great sage;
having heard your Dhamma,
I have attained the unshakable state.
Thirty thousand aeons ago
I gave ghee to the Buddha;
within that interval I do not recall
ghee ever being asked for by me.
Knowing my intention,
it arises just as I wish;
with what is produced knowing my mind,
I satisfy one and all.
Oh, the Buddhas! Oh, the Dhammas!
Oh, the accomplishment of our Teacher!
Having given but a little ghee,
I obtain what is immeasurable.
The water in the great ocean,
as far as the flank of Neru:
set beside my ghee,
it will not amount to even a fractional part.
However vast the world-sphere (cakkavāḷa),
were one to pile them up in a heap,
that space would not suffice
for the cloths produced for me.
Himavā, the king of mountains,
though the most excellent mass of rock,
will not stand comparison
with the perfumes anointed upon me.
Cloth and perfume and ghee,
and whatever else pertains to this present life,
and the unconditioned Nibbāna:
this is the fruit of the gift of ghee.
The establishment of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna) is my bed,
concentration (samādhi) and jhāna my resort;
today I am one who brings forth the factors of awakening (bojjhaṅga):
this is the fruit of the gift of ghee.
My defilements (kilesa) have been burned away;
all existences have been extirpated;
like an elephant that has burst its bonds,
I dwell free of taints (āsava).
Welcome indeed was my coming
into the presence of my Buddha:
the three true knowledges (vijjā) have been attained;
the Buddha's teaching has been done.
The four analytic insights (paṭisambhidā),
and also these eight liberations (vimokkha),
and the six superknowledges (abhiññā) have been realized;
the Buddha's teaching has been done.
It was thus, indeed, that the Venerable Elder Mettagū spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Mettagū is concluded.
The Fourth: the Apadāna of the Elder Dhotaka (404)
[Variant notes printed in the Siam edition: for "visukammena," Ma. (Burmese ed.) reads "visakammena"; for "sugatapattaṃ," Yu. (European ed.) reads "subhakaṃ pattaṃ"; for "brāhmaṇa," Yu. "brāhmaṇo"; for "gamissati," Ma. "bhavissati," Yu. "bhavissasi"; for "adhikārena," Ma. "sappidānena"; for "ramissati," Ma. & Yu. "ramissasi"; for "bhavissati," Ma. & Yu. "bhavissasi" — and so likewise hereafter; for "datvāna," Ma. "cajitvā"; for "upanidhaṃ," Ma. "upanidhiṃ," Yu. "upaniyaṃ"; for "bojjhaṅgajanano," Ma. & Yu. "bojjhaṅgabhojano."]
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.