139. Sālapupphadāyaka

I was the king of beasts back then,
a wild lion who was fearless.
While hunting in a mountain crag,
I saw the Leader of the World.

“This one would be the Great Hero;
he will liberate many folks.
Well then oughtn’t I approach the
God of Gods, the Bull among Men?”

Breaking a branch of a sal tree
I carried it, flowers and buds.
Having approached the Sambuddha,
I gave him those superb flowers.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I offered those flowers to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of flower-pūjā.

And in the ninth aeon ago
there were three different kings back then
known by the name Virocana,
wheel-turning monarchs with great strength.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Sālapupphadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.