I found some really interesting texts in the Thera-apadana. These are some of my favorites.
On Candabhāgā River’s bank,
I dwelt in a hermitage then.
I saw a golden-colored deer,
which was wandering through the woods.
Having pleased my heart in that deer,
I recalled the World’s Best Buddha.
With that same pleasure in my heart,
I recalled the other Buddhas:
“Those Buddhas who have passed away,
Thus-Gone-Ones, while they were living,
in this very same way shined forth,
like golden deer-kings for the heart.”
In the ninety-four aeons since
I obtained that perception then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of perceiving Buddhas.
In the twenty-seventh aeon
hence there was one lord of the earth,
who was named Araññasatta,
a wheel-turning king with great strength.
The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!
I obtained perception of the
Mindful One, seeing a Buddha
gone beneath an Aśvattha tree,
full-grown and brightly shining green.
In the thirty-one aeons since
I obtained that perception then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of perceiving Buddha.
In the thirtieth aeon hence
lived the monarch named Dhanittha,
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!
I saw the Teacher’s ragged robe
stuck up in the top of a tree.
Pressing my hands together then
I worshipped that robe made of rags.In the ninety-two aeons since
I did that good karma back then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of perceiving Buddha.In the fourth aeon after that
the Kṣhatriyan Dumasāra
was a wheel-turner with great strength,
victorious on all four sides.The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!Thus indeed Venerable Saññaka Thera spoke these verses.
Honored and revered were the monks
of Vipassi, the Blessed One.
Calamity’d befallen me;
there was a family rift at home.Entering renunciation
in order to allay my grief,
I spent a week there blissfully,
desiring the Teacher’s teaching.In the ninety-one aeons since
I went forth a renouncer then,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of renunciation.In the sixty-seventh aeon
hence, there were seven lords of earth
who were all called Sunikkhama,
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 Sattāhapabbajita Thera spoke these verses.
“Who is not pleased after seeing
the Bull, the Best One, the Hero,
the Sage So Great, Victorious One,
the Golden-Colored Sambuddha?Who is not pleased after seeing
the Buddha’s meditative states,
boundless as the Himalayas,
as hard to cross as the ocean?Who is not pleased after seeing
the Buddha’s moral discipline,
as boundless as the earth itself,
diverse wreath of forest-flowers?Who is not pleased after seeing
the knowledge Buddha possesses,
unagitated like the sky,
as unfathomable as space?”Having extolled the Best Buddha,
Siddhattha, the Unconquered One,
with these four verses when I was
the brahmin whose name was Yena,I was reborn in no ill-state
for four and ninety aeons thence;
I enjoyed no small quantity
of happiness in good rebirths.In the ninety-four aeons since
I praised the Leader of the World,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of praising him.In the fourteenth aeon ago
there were four men named Uggata,
wheel-turning kings with great power,
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 Parappasādaka Thera spoke these verses.
I saw the Ultimate Biped,
shining like a dinner-plate tree,
blazing forth like a tree of lamps,
glittering as though made of gold.Putting aside my water-pot,
my robes of bark and my ewer,
placing deer-hide on one shoulder,
I then praised him, the Best Buddha:“Great Sage, shedding the knowledge-light,
which dispels confusion-darkness
produced by the delusion-web,
you’re the One who has Crossed Over.O Unexcelled One, you lift up
this world in its entirety;
there is not in its whole extent
a simile for your knowledge.Due to that knowledge, the Buddha
is known as “the Omniscient One.”
Great Hero, I’m worshipping him,
the Unobstructed, All-Knower.”In the hundred thousand aeons
since I praised the Best of Buddhas,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of praising knowledge.My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
I have done what the Buddha taught!The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!Thus indeed Venerable Ñāṇathavika Thera spoke these verses.
“Who is not pleased after seeing
the God of Gods, the Bull of Men,
shining like a dinner-plate tree,
when he’s going along the road?Who is not pleased after seeing
him shining the light of knowledge,
driving away all the darkness,
ferrying many folks across?Who is not pleased after seeing
the Leader of the World going
with one hundred thousand masters,
and lifting up many beings?Who is not pleased after seeing
him beat the drum of the Teaching,
sounding the roar of a lion,
crushing groups of ford-worshippers?Who is not pleased after seeing
all the gods including Brahmā
come all the way from Brahmā’s world,
asking Buddha subtle questions?Who is not pleased after seeing
the world with its gods imploring,
both hands pressed together for him,
enjoying merit due to that?Who is not pleased after seeing
all the people come together,
attending on the Eyeful One?
Invited, he does not waver.Who is not pleased after seeing
numerous drums bellowing, and
rutting elephants trumpeting,
when he’s entering the city?Who is not pleased after seeing
the All-Bright One always shining,
and raised spots becoming level,
when he is going on the road?Who is not pleased after seeing
him instructing every being,
being heard throughout the cosmos,
when the Blessed One is speaking?”In the hundred thousand aeons
since I praised the Buddha like that,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of praising him.My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
I have done what the Buddha taught!The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!Thus indeed Venerable Sayampaṭibhāṇiya Thera spoke these verses.