195. Aṅkolaka

Seeing an aṅkola in bloom
with excellent flowers and buds,
having plucked a flower from it,
I went to the Buddha’s presence.

In that period Siddhattha
was the Hidden One, the Great Sage.
Honoring him for a moment,
I tossed that bloom into the cave.

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

In the thirty-sixth aeon hence
I was one Devagajjita,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Aṅkolaka Thera spoke these verses.