[80] Having plunged deep into a sāla grove, my hermitage well built and thatched over with sāla flowers, I dwelt then in the woodland.
But the Blessed One Piyadassī, the Self-Become One, the foremost of persons, the Fully Awakened One desiring seclusion, came to the sāla grove.
Departing from my hermitage, I went into the woodland; searching for roots and fruits, I was wandering in the forest at that time.
There I saw the Fully Awakened One Piyadassī, of great fame, well seated, absorbed in attainment, shining forth in the great forest.
Setting up four posts, I made a well-wrought pavilion above the Buddha and covered it with sāla flowers.
For seven days I maintained the pavilion thatched with sāla flowers; having made my mind (citta) confident there, I venerated the supreme Buddha.
At that time the Blessed One, the supreme among men, rose from concentration (samādhi) and sat looking just a yoke's length before him.
A disciple of the Teacher Piyadassī, Varuṇa by name, together with a hundred thousand possessed of mastery, approached the Guide.
And the Blessed One Piyadassī, eldest of the world, bull among men, the Victor, seated amid the Saṅgha of bhikkhus, displayed a smile.
Anuruddha, the attendant of the Teacher Piyadassī, arranging his robe over one shoulder, asked the Great Sage:
"What indeed, Blessed One, is the cause of the Teacher's smiling? For it is when a reason exists that the Teacher displays a smile."
"The young man who for seven days held a canopy of flowers over me — recollecting his deed, I displayed the smile.
"I see no place without opportunity where that merit (puñña) might ripen; whether in the deva world or among humans, the opportunity itself never fails.
"While he dwells in the deva world, endowed with his meritorious deed, as far as his assembly extends it will be covered over with sāla flowers.
"There, with divine dances, songs, and instrumental music, he will delight always, possessed of his meritorious deed.
"As far as his assembly extends, it will be fragrant with perfume, and at that very moment a rain of sāla blossoms will pour down.
"Passing away from there, this human being will come to the human state; here too a canopy of sāla flowers will be held over him at all times.
"Here dance and song, joined with cymbals and gongs, will surround him constantly: this is the fruit of veneration of the Buddha (buddhapūjā).
"And as the sun rises, a rain of sāla flowers pours down; conjoined with his meritorious deed, it rains at all times.
"Eighteen hundred aeons hence, one arisen in the lineage of Okkāka, Gotama by name, will be the Teacher in the world.
"He will be an heir in his Dhamma, a true-born son fashioned by the Dhamma; having fully understood all taints (āsava), he will attain Nibbāna free from taints.
"As he penetrates the Dhamma, there will be a canopy of sāla flowers; and when he burns upon the pyre, there will be a canopy there."
Having proclaimed the result (vipāka), Piyadassī the Great Sage taught the Dhamma to the assembly, satisfying them with the rain of the Dhamma.
For thirty aeons I wielded divine kingship among the devas, and sixty-seven times I was a universal monarch (cakkavatti).
Coming here from the deva world, I obtain abundant happiness; here too there is a canopy of sāla flowers: this is the fruit of the pavilion.
This is my last; my final existence now proceeds. Here too there will be a canopy of sāla flowers at all times.
Having gladdened the Great Sage Gotama, bull of the Sakyans, having abandoned victory and defeat, I have attained the immovable state.
In the eighteen hundred aeons since I venerated the Buddha, I have known no bad destination: this is the fruit of veneration of the Buddha.
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.
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 these eight liberations (vimokkha), and the six superknowledges (abhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed the Venerable Elder Sālamaṇḍapiya spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Sālamaṇḍapiya is concluded.
Summary (uddāna):
Paṃsukūla, Buddhasaññī, Bhisada, Ñāṇakittaka, Candanī and Dhātupūjī, and Puḷinuppādaka besides, Taraṇa, Dhammarucika, and likewise Sālamaṇḍapiya: the verses number two hundred and nineteen.
The Paṃsukūla Chapter, the Forty-ninth.
_______________________
Chapter Fifty: The Kiṅkaṇipuppha Chapter
First: The Apadāna of the Elder Tīṇikiṅkaṇipupphiya (491)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.