There were also countless kings of the heavens of great freedom, led by such as Sea of Subtle Flames, Light of the Name of Freedom, Eye of Pure Virtues, Enjoyable Great Intelligence, Freedom of Immutable Light, Eyes of Sublime Adornments, Light of Skillful Meditation, Delightful Great Knowledge, Universal Sound Array Banner, and Light of Fame of Extreme Exertion. All of them diligently contemplated the truth of formlessness, and their actions were all equanimous and impartial.
At that time the oceanic hosts at the Buddha’s site of enlightenment had assembled: the unlimited types and species were all around the Buddha, filling everywhere. Their forms and companies were each different. From wherever they came, they approached the World Honored One, wholeheartedly looking up to him. These assembled masses had already gotten rid of all afflictions and mental defilements as well as their residual habits. They had pulverized the mountains of multiple barriers, and perceived the Buddha without obstruction. They were like this because Vairocana Buddha in past times, over oceans of eons, cultivating the practices of enlightening beings, had received them and taken care of them with the four saving practices of generosity, kind words, beneficial action, and cooperation, and while planting roots of goodness in the company of each Buddha in those eons, had already taken good care of them and had taught and developed them by various means, establishing them on the path of omniscience, where they sowed innumerable virtues, gained great merits, and had all entered completely into the ocean of skill in liberative means and undertaking of vows. The actions they carried out were fully pure, and they had well embarked on the way to emancipation. They always saw the Buddha, clearly illumined, and by the power of supreme understanding entered into the ocean of the qualities of buddhahood. They found the doors of liberation of all Buddhas, and roamed freely in spiritual powers.
That is to say, Ocean of Subtle Flames, a king of a heaven of great freedom, found the door of liberation through the tranquility and practical power of the realm of space and the cosmos. The celestial king Light of the Name of Freedom gained the door of liberation through freely observing all things. The celestial king Eye of Pure Virtues found the door of liberation of effortless action knowing that all things are not born, do not perish, and do not come or go. The celestial king Enjoyable Great Intelligence found the door of liberation through the ocean of wisdom directly perceiving the real character of all things. The celestial king Freedom of Immutable Light found the door of liberation through the great practical concentration of bestowing boundless peace and happiness on living beings. The celestial king Eye of Sublime Adornments found the door of liberation through causing observation of the truth of nullity and annihilating all ignorance and fear. The celestial king Light of Skillful Meditation found the door of liberation through entering infinite realms without producing any activity of thought about existents. The celestial king Delightful Great Knowledge found the door of liberation by going everywhere in the ten directions to preach the truth, yet without moving and without relying on anything. The celestial king Universal Sound Array Banner found the gate of liberation by entry into the Buddhas’ realm of tranquility and everywhere manifesting great light. The celestial king Light of Fame of Extreme Exertion found the gate of liberation by abiding in his own enlightenment, yet having an infinitely broad perspective.
At that time the celestial king Ocean of Subtle Flames, imbued with the spiritual power of the Buddha, surveyed the whole host of celestial beings of the heavens of great freedom, and said in verse,
The buddha body extends throughout all the great assemblies:
It fills the cosmos, without end.
Quiescent, without essence, it cannot be grasped;
It appears just to save all beings.
The Buddha, King of the Teaching, appears in the world
Able to light the lamp of sublime truth which illumines the world;
His state is boundless and inexhaustible:
This is what Name of Freedom has realized.
The Buddha is inconceivable, beyond discrimination,
Comprehending forms everywhere as insubstantial.
For the sake of the world he opens wide the path of purity:
This is what Pure Eyes can see.
The Buddha’s wisdom is unbounded—
No one in the world can measure it.
It forever destroys beings’ ignorance and confusion:
Great Intelligence has entered this deeply and abides there in peace.
The Buddha’s virtues are inconceivable;
In beings who witness them afflictions die out.
They cause all worlds to find peace:
Immutable Freedom can see this.
Sentient beings, in the darkness of ignorance, are always deluded;
The Buddha expounds for them the teaching of dispassion and serenity.
This is the lamp of wisdom that illumines the world:
Sublime Eyes knows this technique.
The Buddha’s body of pure subtle form
Is manifest everywhere and has no compare;
This body has no essence and no resting place:
It is contemplated by Skillful Meditation.
The voice of the Buddha has no limit or obstruction;
All those capable of accepting the teaching hear it.
Yet the Buddha is quiescent and forever unmoving:
This is the liberation of Delightful Knowledge.
Serene, emancipated, master of the celestial and the human,
There is nowhere in the ten directions he does not appear.
The radiance of his light fills the world:
This is seen by Majestic Banner of Unimpeded Truth.
The Buddha sought enlightenment for the sake of all beings
Over boundless oceans of eons;
With various spiritual powers he teaches all:
Light of Fame has realized this truth.
Furthermore, the celestial king Banner of the Delightful Light of Truth found the door of liberation in observing the faculties of all beings, expounding the truth for them, and cutting off their doubts. The celestial king Ocean of Pure Adornments found the door of liberation causing vision of Buddha whenever brought to mind. The celestial king Light of Supreme Wisdom found the door of liberation realizing the body of adornments that have no basis and are equal in terms of phenomenal nature. The celestial king Banner of Independent Wisdom found the door of liberation of comprehending all mundane things and in a single instant setting up oceans of inconceivable adornments. The celestial king Delight in Tranquility found the door of liberation of manifesting inconceivable buddha-lands in a single pore without hindrance. The celestial king Eye of Universal Knowledge found the door of liberation of all-sided observation of the universe. The celestial king Delight in Use of Intellect found the door of liberation producing all kinds of displays for the benefit of all beings, always appearing eternally. The celestial king Light of Intellect Sown with Virtue found the door of liberation observing all objects in the world and entering into the truth of inconceivability. The celestial king Undefiled Tranquil Light found the door of liberation showing all beings the essential ways of emancipation. The celestial king Vast Pure Light found the door of liberation of observing all teachable beings and guiding them into the way of enlightenment.
At that time the celestial king Banner of the Delightful Light of Truth, imbued with the Buddha’s power, surveyed all the hosts of the heavens of minor vastness, infinite vastness, and vast results, and said in verse,
The realm of the Buddhas is inconceivable:
No sentient being can fathom it.
The Buddhas cause their minds to develop faith and resolution
And great enjoyment without end.
If any beings can accept the teaching,
The Buddha, with spiritual powers, will guide them,
Causing them to always see the Buddha before them:
Ocean of Adornments sees in this way.
The nature of all things has no resting plac
e—
The Buddhas’ appearance in the world is the same way—
They have no resting place in any state of being:
Supreme Wisdom can contemplate the meaning of this.
Whatever be the heart’s desire of sentient beings,
The Buddhas’ spiritual powers can manifest.
Each different, they are inconceivable:
This is Wisdom Banner’s ocean of liberation.
All lands existing in the past
They can show in a single pore:
This is the great spiritual power of the Buddhas:
Delight in Tranquility can expound this.
The inexhaustible ocean of all teachings
Is assembled in the sanctuary of one teaching.
Such is the nature of truth explained by the Buddhas:
Eye of Knowledge can understand this technique.
In all lands in all quarters
Expounding the truth in each in every one,
The Buddha’s body has no coming or going:
This is the realm of Delight in Use of Intellect.
The Buddha sees things of the worlds as like reflections of light;
He enters into their most recondite mysteries
And explains that the nature of all things is always quiescent:
Intellect Sown with Virtue can see this.
The Buddha knows all phenomena
And rains the rain of truth according to beings’ faculties
In order to open the inconceivable gate of emancipation:
Tranquil Serenity can understand this.
The World Honored One always, with great kindness and compassion,
Appears in order to benefit sentient beings,
Equally showering the rain of truth to the fill of their capacities:
Pure Light can expound this.
Furthermore, the celestial king Repute of Pure Wisdom found the door of liberation comprehending the ways and means of emancipation of all sentient beings. The celestial king Supreme Vision found the door of liberation of shadowlike demonstration according to the wishes of all celestial beings. The celestial king Virtue of Tranquility found the door of liberation of great skill in means adorning the realms of all Buddhas. The celestial king Sound of the Polar Mountain found the door of liberation of following all sentient beings into the eternally flowing cycle of birth and death. The celestial king Eye of Pure Mindfulness found the door of liberation remembering the Buddhas’ ways of taming and pacifying sentient beings. The celestial king Delightful Universal Illumination found the door of liberation that flowed forth from the ocean of universal memory and concentration power. The celestial king Sovereign Lord of the World found the door of liberation of ability to cause sentient beings to meet the Buddha and produce the treasury of faith. The celestial king Light Flame Sovereign found the door of liberation of ability to cause all beings to hear the truth, to believe and rejoice, and become emancipated. The celestial king Enjoyer of Meditating on the Truth and Creating Demonstrations found the door of liberation entering into the civilizing activities of all enlightening beings, boundless and inexhaustible as space. The celestial king Banner of Miraculous Displays found the door of liberation observing the infinite afflictions of sentient beings with universal compassion and wisdom.
At that time the celestial king Repute of Pure Wisdom, imbued with the power of the Buddha, surveyed the hosts of celestial beings of the heavens of little purity, boundless purity, and ubiquitous purity, and said in verse,
He who realizes that the nature of things is without solidity
Appears in all the boundless lands of the ten directions:
Expounding the inconceivability of the realm of buddhahood,
He causes all to return to the ocean of liberation.
The Buddha is in the world without a resting place—
Like a shadow or reflection he appears in all lands.
The nature of things is ultimately nonorigination:
This is the entry way of the king Supreme Vision.
Cultivating skill in means over countless ages,
Purifying all lands in the ten directions,
The suchness of the universe never moves:
This is the realization of Virtue of Tranquility.
Sentient beings are shrouded and veiled by ignorance;
Blind, in the dark, they remain always in birth-and-death.
The Buddha shows them the path of purity:
This is the liberation of Polar Mountain Sound.
The unexcelled path that the Buddhas traverse
Cannot be plumbed by any sentient being.
It is shown by various expedient methods:
Pure Eye, clearly observing, can comprehend them all.
The Buddha, by means of concentration formulae
Numerous as the atoms in oceans of lands
Teaches sentient beings, covering everything:
Universal Illumination can enter this.
The appearance of a Buddha is hard to encounter;
It may be met once in countless eons;
It is capable of inducing faith in sentient beings:
This is the realization of the celestial Sovereign.
The Buddha explains that the nature of things is natureless;
Profound, far-reaching, it is inconceivable.
He causes all beings to engender pure faith:
Light Flame can comprehend this.
The Buddhas of all times are replete with virtue;
They teach sentient beings inconceivably.
Contemplating this produces joy:
Enjoyer of Truth can teach in this way.
Sentient beings are sunk in the ocean of afflictions:
Their ignorance and pollution of views are much to be feared.
The great teacher pities them and frees them forever:
This is the realm of contemplation of Banner of Miracles.
The Buddha constantly emits great beams of light;
In each light beam are innumerable Buddhas.
Each makes displays of sentient beings’ affairs;
This is the entry way of Wonderful Sound.
Furthermore, the celestial king Pleasing Light found the door of liberation of always experiencing the bliss of tranquil serenity yet being able to appear in order to eliminate the sufferings of the world. The celestial king Pure Subtle Light found the door of liberation of the ocean of great compassion, the mine of joy and happiness of all sentient beings. The celestial king Sound of Freedom found the door of liberation manifesting in a single instant the power of virtue pf all sentient beings of boundless eons. The celestial king Supreme Awareness and Knowledge found the door of liberation causing all becoming, existing, and disintegrating worlds to be as pure as space. The celestial king Delightful Pure Subtle Sound found the door of liberation of joyfully believing and accepting the teachings of all sages. The celestial king Sound of Skillful Meditation found the door of liberation of ability to spend an eon expounding the meanings and methods of all stages of enlightenment. The celestial king Adornment Explaining Sound found the door of liberation of methods of making great offerings when all enlightening beings descend from the palace of the Tushita heaven to be born in the world. The celestial king Profound Light-Sound found the door of liberation of contemplation of the inexhaustible ocean of spiritual power and wisdom. The celestial king Great Fame found the door of liberation of techniques for appearing in the world, having fulfilled the ocean of virtues of all Buddhas. The celestial king Supreme Pure Light found the door of liberation of the mine of faith and delight produced by the power of the Buddha’s ancient vows.
Then the celestial king Pleasing Light, imbued with the power of the Buddha, surveyed all the celestial hosts from the heavens of little light, infinite light, and intense light, and said in verse,
I remember the past practice of the Buddha,
Serving and providing offerings for innumerable Buddhas:
His pure deeds, in accord with hi
s original faith,
Are now all visible, through the Buddha’s spiritual power.
The Buddha’s body is formless, free from all defilement;
Always abiding in compassion and pity,
He removes the distress of all worlds:
This is the liberation of Subtle Light.
The Buddha’s teaching is vast and boundless;
It is manifest in all fields,
According to their becoming and decay, each different:
This is the power of liberation of Sound of Freedom.
The Buddha’s spiritual power is incomparable;
It appears everywhere, in the vast fields of all directions,
And makes them all pure, always manifest:
This is the technique of liberation of Supreme Mindfulness.
Respectfully serving all the Buddhas,
Numerous as atoms in oceans of lands,
Hearing the teaching, getting rid of defilement, not acting in vain,
This is Subtle Sound’s application of the teaching.
The Buddhas have, for immeasurable eons,
Expounded the techniques of the stages, without peer.
What they have explained is boundless and inexhaustible:
Sound of Skillful Meditation knows the meaning of this.
The infinite scenes of the Buddha’s miraculous displays
Appear in all places in a single instant,
Great techniques for conquering spirits and attaining enlightenment:
This is the liberation of Adorning Sounds.
Sustained by awesome power, able to explain
And to demonstrate the deeds of spiritual powers of the Buddhas,
Purifying all according to their faculties:
This is the liberation door of Light-Sound.
The Buddha’s wisdom is boundless—
It has no equal in the world, it has no attachment;
Compassionately responding to beings, it manifests everywhere:
Great Fame has realized this path.
The Buddha, in the past, cultivated enlightening practices,
Made offerings to all the Buddhas of the ten directions—
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 11