314. Sattapadumiya

I was a brahmin, Nesāda,
dwelling on a riverbank then.
I swept out the hermitage there,
with lotus flowers as my broom.

Seeing the Golden Sambuddha,
Siddhattha, Leader of the World,
traveling through the forest once
I felt a feeling of delight.

Going to meet the Sambuddha,
Siddhattha, Leader of the World,
I brought him to the hermitage
and spread lotuses and lilies.

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

In the seventh aeon ago
there were four Pādapāvaras,
wheel-turning monarchs with great strength,
possessors 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 Sattapadumiya Thera spoke these verses.