96. Tipupphiya

In the past, in a forest grove,
I was a man who hunted deer.
Seeing Buddha’s green pāṭali
I scattered three flowers on it.

Then picking up the fallen leaves
I threw them all away outside.
Worshipping the pāṭali tree,
pure inside and pure outside too,
as though facing the Sambuddha,
Vipassi, Leader of the World,
well-liberated, undefiled,
I passed away right on the spot.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I performed that Bodhi-pūjā,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Bodhi-pūjā.

In the thirtieth aeons hence
there were thirteen kings who were all
named Samantapāsādika,
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 Tipupphiya Thera spoke these verses.