79Pahanapa

Panaha was a low caste from Sandhonagara who made a living by making boots. On day, he saw a yogin with great mystical powers begging for alms. He immediately took faith in the yogin and followed the yogin into a quiet cemetery.

The guru then asked why Panaha had followed him to the cemetery, in reply, the bootmaker requested for the teachings of Dharma. So the yogin preached the misery of samsara and the benefits of liberation. When the bootmaker asked for a method of liberation from samsara, the yogin gave the initiation which transfers blessings, and gave instructions to take desirable objectives as the path.

Panaha understood his guru’s instructions and started meditating on it. 9 years passed, and he the stains which obstruct the path of sight, then attained siddhi. He became a famous teacher of the path through narrating his experiences. After working for the benefit of living being for 800 years, he went to the realm of the Dakas with 800 disciples.

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