[122]
In the hundred-thousandth aeon from this one
there arose the Leader,
of no inferior name, measureless,
Padumuttara by name.
His face bore the semblance of a lotus,
his fair skin stainless as the lotus;
unsmeared was he by the world,
as the lotus by the water.
Wise, his eyes like lotus-petals,
and lovely as a lotus,
his fragrance surpassing the lotus —
therefore was he Padumuttara.
Eldest of the world, free from conceit,
like eyes unto the blind,
of tranquil mien, a treasury of virtues,
an ocean of compassion and wisdom.
At one time that Great Hero,
honored by Brahmās, asuras, and devas,
supreme among men amid the multitude
thronged with devas and humans,
delighting the whole assembly
with his fragrant mouth and sweet utterance,
spoke in praise
of a disciple of his own:
"One resolved through faith (saddhādhimutta), of fine intellect,
yearning for the sight of me —
there is no other such
as this bhikkhu Vakkali."
At that time I was the son of a brahmin
in the city of Haṃsavatī;
and having heard that utterance,
I took delight in that station.
Inviting the stainless Tathāgata
together with his disciples,
I fed them for seven days
and then clothed them with cloths.
Prostrating my head before him,
plunged into the ocean of his infinite virtues,
filled full of rapture (pīti),
I spoke these words:
"That sage resolved through faith
whom you have here extolled,
the bhikkhu foremost of those with faith (saddhā) —
such may I be, O Great Sage!"
When this was said, the Great Hero,
whose vision knows no obstruction,
the Great Sage, uttered
this speech amid the assembly:
"Behold this young man,
clad in smooth yellow garments,
his limbs built up by sacrifice as though of gold,
captivating the people's eyes and minds.
In the time to come, this one
will be a disciple of Gotama,
the Great Seer — the foremost
of those resolved through faith.
Whether become a deva or a human,
exempt from all torment,
heaped about with every kind of wealth,
he will fare on in happiness.
In the hundred-thousandth aeon from now,
arising in the family of Okkāka,
the Teacher named Gotama
will appear in the world.
His heir in the Dhamma,
a true-born son formed by the Dhamma,
Vakkali by name he will be,
a disciple of the Teacher."
By that distinguished deed
and by my resolves of intent,
on relinquishing the human body
I went to Tāvatiṃsa.
Happy in every state, wandering on
from existence (bhava) to existence,
I was born in a certain family
in the city of Sāvatthī.
Delicate as fresh butter,
tender as a young shoot,
as I lay upon my back, my mother,
terrified by fear of demons,
downcast in mind, laid me
at the feet of the Great Seer:
"This child I give to you, O Protector;
be his refuge, O Leader!"
Then he received me — the Sage,
the refuge of the frightened —
with his soft and tender hand,
webbed and marked with wheels.
From that time forth I became one guarded
by him who needs no guarding;
released from every illness,
I dwelt on in comfort.
Parted from the Well-Farer (Sugata)
even for a moment, I would pine;
at seven years from birth
I went forth into homelessness.
Upon that excellent form, sprung from all
the perfections (pāramī), with its deep-blue eyes,
all strewn about with beauty,
I gazed and dwelt insatiate.
Knowing my delight in the Buddha's form,
the Victor (jina) then admonished me:
"Enough, Vakkali! Why do you delight
in the form in which fools delight?
For whoever sees the true Dhamma (saddhamma),
he, the wise one, sees me;
not seeing the true Dhamma,
though seeing me, he does not see.
Endless in danger is the body,
like unto a poison-tree,
the dwelling of all diseases,
a sheer heap of suffering (dukkha).
Therefore, grown disenchanted with form,
seeing the rise and fall
of the aggregates (khandha), with ease
you will go to the end of all defilements (kilesa)."
Thus instructed by him,
the Leader who sought my welfare,
I climbed Gijjhakūṭa
and meditated in a mountain grotto.
Standing at the mountain's foot,
the Great Sage, to give me heart —
"Vakkali!" the Victor called;
and hearing that, I rejoiced.
I flung myself down the rocky crag,
many hundreds of men's heights;
then, by the Buddha's power,
with ease I came to the ground.
Once more he taught the Dhamma,
the rise and fall of the aggregates;
having fully understood that Dhamma,
I attained arahantship.
Then, in the midst of a very great throng of men,
he who has reached the consummation of conduct (caraṇa),
the One of Great Wisdom, declared me
the foremost of those resolved through faith.
In the hundred-thousandth aeon from this one,
the deed that I then did —
no bad destination do I know:
this is the fruit of worship of the Buddha.
My defilements have been burned away;
all existences are extirpated;
like an elephant that has burst its bonds,
I dwell without taints (āsava).
Truly welcome 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 these eight liberations (vimokkha) too,
the six superknowledges (chaḷabhiññā) have been realized;
the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed the Venerable Vakkali the Elder spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of Vakkali the Elder is concluded.
Third: The Apadāna of Mahākappina the Elder (533)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.