The Flower Ornament Scripture
Page 19
He teaches without end.
Those boundless great techniques
Respond to all the lands;
Those who meet the Buddha’s light
All see the Buddha-body.
Having served all the Buddhas,
Many as atoms in a billion lands,
His virtue is as vast as space,
Looked up to by all.
His mystical power is impartial,
Appearing in all lands;
While sitting at rest in the sublime enlightenment site
He appears before all sentient beings.
Blazing clouds illumining all
With various spheres of light
Extending throughout the universe,
Showing where the Buddha acts.
Furthermore, the enlightening being Universally Good entered into the ocean of techniques of inconceivable doors of liberation, and entered into the ocean of virtues of the Buddha. That is to say, there was a door of liberation called purifying all buddha-lands, pacifying the sentient beings and causing them all to be ultimately emancipated. There was a door of liberation called going to all realms of complete virtues cultivated by all the Buddhas. There was a door of liberation called the great ocean of vows defining the stages of all enlightening beings. There was a door of liberation called everywhere manifesting infinite bodies, numerous as atoms in the cosmos. There was a door of liberation called explaining an inconceivable number of different names throughout all lands. There was a door of liberation called showing all the boundless realms of enlightening beings’ psychic powers in all atoms. There was a door of liberation named showing the events of the formation and decay of the ages of past, present, and future, in the space of an instant. There was a door of liberation named showing the oceans of faculties of all enlightening beings, each entering their own spheres. There was a door of liberation named ability to make various bodies appear by mystic powers all throughout the boundless cosmos. There was a door of liberation called showing the processes of all enlightening beings’ practices, entering into the great techniques of universal knowledge.
At that time, the enlightening being Universally Good, by virtue of his own accomplishment, and also receiving the spiritual power of the Buddha, having looked over the ocean of all the assemblies, spoke these verses,
The immense, vast fields adorned by the Buddha
Are equal in number to all atoms;
Pure children of Buddha fill them all,
Raining the inconceivable, most sublime teaching.
As in this assembly we see the Buddha sitting,
So it is also in every atom;
The Buddha-body has no coming or going,
And clearly appears in all the lands there are.
Demonstrating the practices cultivated by enlightening beings,
The various techniques of innumerable approaches to their stages,
Expounding as well the inconceivable truth,
He causes the Buddha-children to enter the realm of reality.
Producing phantom buddhas numerous as atoms,
Corresponding to the inclinations of all beings’ minds,
The expedient doors into the profound realm of truth,
Boundlessly vast, all he expounds.
The Buddha’s names are equal to the worlds,
Filling all lands in the ten directions;
None of his methods are employed in vain:
He tames sentient beings and purifies all.
The Buddha, in every atom,
Displays infinite great mystic powers—
Sitting in each on the enlightenment site,
He speaks of past Buddhas’ enlightening deeds.
All immense eons of past, present, and future,
Buddha reveals in every instant—
All the events of their formation and decay
His inconceivable knowledge comprehends.
The congregation of Buddha’s children is endlessly vast;
But though they try together to fathom Buddha’s state,
The teachings of the Buddhas have no bounds—
To thoroughly know them all is most difficult.
Buddhas like space, without discrimination,
Equal to the real cosmos, with no resting place,
Phantom manifestations circulate everywhere,
All sitting on enlightenment sites attaining true awareness.
Buddha teaches widely, with wonderful voice—
All stages of enlightenment are thoroughly clear.
Appearing before each sentient being,
He gives all the Buddha’s equal truth.
Furthermore, the enlightening being Sublime Light of Pure Virtue, the great spiritual hero, found the door of liberation going to all assemblies of enlightening beings in the ten directions and adorning the sites of enlightenment. The enlightening being Light of the Supreme Lamp of Universal Virtue found the door of liberation in a single instant showing endless entrances to attainment of true awakening, teaching and developing inconceivable worlds of sentient beings. The enlightening being Lion Banner of Universal Light found the door of liberation cultivating the enlightening beings’ adornments of blessings and virtue, producing all buddha-lands. The enlightening being Subtle Light of Flames of Universal Jewels found the door of liberation observing the realms of the Buddha’s mystic powers, without confusion. The enlightening being Banner of Oceans of Qualities of Universal Sounds found the door of liberation showing the adornments of all buddha-fields in one congregation at a site of enlightenment. The enlightening being Light of Universal Knowledge Illumining the Realm of Buddha-hood found the door of liberation following the Buddha investigating the most profound and enormously vast matrix of the cosmos. The enlightening being Light of Inexhaustible Virtue of Universal Purity found the door of liberation entering into all mundane activities and producing the boundless practices of enlightening beings. The enlightening being Universal Supreme Light found the door of liberation able to manifest the spheres of all Buddhas within the formless realm of truth.
At that time the enlightening being Sublime Light of Pure Virtue, the spiritual hero, empowered by the Buddha, looked over the ocean of liberation doors of all the enlightening beings and said in verse,
All lands there be in the ten directions
Are beautified and purified, all in an instant,
By the sublime voice turning the wheel of truth
Throughout the world, without an equal.
The realm of the Buddha has no bounds—
In an instant the cosmos is filled;
In every atom he sets up an enlightenment site,
Proving enlightenment in all, creating mystic displays.
Buddha cultivated practices in the past
Extending through countless eons
Adorning all buddha-fields,
Appearing unhindered, like space.
The Buddha’s spiritual powers are unlimited,
Filling the boundless reaches of all time—
Even if one spent countless eons constantly
Observing, one would never be wearied or jaded.
Observe the realms of Buddha’s mystic power—
All lands in all quarters are beautifully pure:
He appears therein, in every one,
Instantaneously changing, in infinite forms.
If you observe the Buddha for countless ages
You won’t apprehend even the extent of one hair—
The Buddha’s boundless doors of techniques
Illumine inconceivably many fields.
Buddha, in past ages in the world,
Served an infinite ocean of Buddhas;
Therefore all beings are like river rapids
Coming to make offerings to the World Honored One.
The Buddha appears everywhere,
In infinite lands in each atom,
The realms therein being all infinite too;
In all he abides for endless eons.
Buddha of yore for the sake of all beings
Cultivated an ocean of boundless compassion,
Entering birth and death along with all beings,
Teaching the masses, making them pure.
Buddhas abide in the matrix of the cosmos of real thusness—
Signless, formless, free from all taints.
When beings observe Buddha’s various bodies,
All their troubles and pains then dissolve.
Furthermore, the enlightening being Great Brilliance of the Moon Reflected in the Ocean, the great spiritual hero, found the door of liberation producing the means of transcendence pertaining to each stage of enlightenment, thereby edifying sentient beings and purifying all buddha-lands. The enlightening being Undefiled Treasury of Light of Oceans of Cloudlike Sounds found the door of liberation in every instant of awareness entering into the various distinctions of all objective realms. The enlightening being Topknot Born of Wisdom found the door of liberation revealing pure great virtues to all sentient beings when they first arrive at the site of enlightenment. The enlightening being Brave Lotus Topknot found the door of liberation revealing all the Buddha teachings to sentient beings in accord with their infinite faculties and understandings. The enlightening being Sun Banner of Clouds of Universal Knowledge found the door of liberation developing the knowledge of buddhahood, abiding forever. The enlightening being Greatly Persevering with Indestructible Courage found the door of liberation of power to enter into all the boundless symbols of the teachings. The enlightening being Banner of Light of Fragrant Flames found the door of liberation showing how all the present Buddhas first began enlightening practice, and on through to their final consummation of the body of knowledge and wisdom. The enlightening being Deep Beautiful Sound of Great Enlightened Virtue found the door of liberation peacefully abiding in the ocean of all the great vows of Vairocana, the Illuminator. The enlightening being Born of Wisdom with the Light of Great Virtue found the door of liberation revealing the most profound realm of the Buddha, which pervades the cosmos.
At that time the enlightening being Great Brilliance of the Moon Reflected in the Ocean, empowered by the Buddha, observed the ocean of arrays of all the hosts of enlightening beings and said in verse,
The transcendent means and the stages of enlightenment,
Vast, inconceivable, are all fulfilled:
Infinite sentient beings subdued and harmonized,
All buddha-lands are pure.
As Buddha teaches in the worlds of beings,
All lands in the ten directions are filled:
In an instant of thought he turns the wheel of truth,
Accommodating it to all states of mind.
Buddha, over countless vast eons,
Has appeared everywhere before sentient beings;
According to his past cultivation,
He shows his purified realm of action.
I see everywhere in all directions
And see the Buddhas showing mystic powers,
All sitting in sanctuaries realizing enlightenment,
Surrounded by listening crowds.
The immense radiance of Buddha’s reality body
Can appear in the world through expedient means,
According with the inclinations of all beings’ minds,
Raining the teachings to suit their faculties.
The impartial, signless body of true suchness,
The pure reality-body of untainted light;
With knowledge and calm, with innumerable bodies,
He preaches the truth, adapting to all.
The powers of the King of Truth are all pure,
His knowledge and wisdom like space, unbounded;
He reveals all without any concealment,
Causing all beings to be enlightened.
In accord with what Buddha cultivated
Up to his perfection of all knowledge,
Now he radiates light through the cosmos
Showing it all therein.
Buddha shows mystic powers through his original vow,
Illuminating all in the ten directions;
What the Buddha practiced of yore,
All is expounded in these networks of light.
There is no end of worlds in all directions—
No equals, no bounds, each one distinct.
Buddha’s unhindered power emits a great light
Clearly revealing all of those lands.
At that time the Buddha’s lion seat, its round platform of exquisite flowers of many jewels, its base, steps, doors, and all its embellishments, each produced as many great enlightening beings as there are atoms in a buddha-land. Their names were Oceanic Wisdom, Sovereign King of Occult Powers; Thunder Shaking All; Topknot of Lights of Many Jewels; Bold Intelligence of the Sun of Knowledge; Seal of Knowledge Made of Jewels of Inconceivable Qualities; Hundred Eye Lotus Topknot; Light Spheres of Golden Flames; Universal Sound of the Cosmos; Cloud Sound Pure Moon; Banner of Light of Benevolent Courage: these were the leaders, and there were as many of them as atoms in many buddha-lands.
At the same time as they appeared, these enlightening beings each produced clouds of various offerings: for example, clouds of flowers of all jewels, clouds of all subtle fragrances of lotus blossoms, clouds of orbs of jewel lights, clouds of fragrant flames of boundless realms, clouds of jewel-like light spheres from the treasury of the sun, clouds of all pleasing musical sounds, clouds of flames of light from all jewel lamps, with boundless colors and forms, clouds of branches, flowers, and fruits from trees of many jewels, clouds of regal jewels with inexhaustible pure radiance, clouds of all the finest decorative gems; there were as many such clouds of various offerings as there are atoms in a buddha-world. Each of those enlightening beings produced such clouds of offerings unceasingly, raining on the oceanic assemblies at all enlightenment sites.
Having manifested these clouds, they circled the Buddha to the right, circling him countless hundreds and thousands of times. In whatever direction they came from, there, not far from the Buddha, they magically produced innumerable lotus lion seats of various jewels, and each sat crosslegged thereon.
The spheres of actions of these enlightening beings were pure and vast as the sea. They had attained the state of universality of illumination of knowledge and wisdom. Following the Buddhas, they were unhindered in their actions. They were able to enter the ocean of all principles of discernment and elucidation, and had mastered the teaching of inconceivable liberation. They dwelt in the state of all-sidedness of the Buddhas. They had already mastered all techniques of concentration formulae, and were able to contain the ocean of all the teachings. They dwelt in the stage of equanimous knowledge of past, present, and future. They had attained the immense joy of profound faith. Their boundless stores of blessings were most pure. They observed everywhere in space throughout the cosmos. They diligently made offerings to all Buddhas appearing in any land in all worlds.
At that time, the enlightening being Oceanic Wisdom, Sovereign King of Occult Powers, the great spiritual hero, empowered by the Buddha, surveyed the oceans of masses at the scene of enlightenment and said in verse,
Buddha knows what all Buddhas have realized—
Unhindered as space, he illumines all,
His light pervading countless lands everywhere.
He sits amidst the hosts, all magnificently pure.
The Buddha’s virtues cannot be measured;
They fill all the cosmos in every direction.
Sitting under every enlightenment tree,
All the great powers assemble like clouds.
Buddha has such spiritual powers,
Manifesting infinite forms at once.
The Buddha’s sphere is beyond bounds—
Individuals see according to their liberation.
Buddha passed oceans of eons
Working in all realms of being
Teaching creatures by various means,
Having them accept and practice enligh
tening ways.
Vairocana, replete with magnificent refinements,
Sits on a lotus-bank lion seat.
All the assembled hosts are pure;
Silently all gaze in respect.
The banks of jewels radiate light,
Emitting boundless clouds of fragrant flames;
Countless flower garlands are draped around:
On such a seat does the Buddha sit.
Various adornments decorate its glorious facades;
Constantly emitting lamp-light clouds of fragrant flames,
Immensely vast, blazing, illumining all:
The Sage sits upon supreme embellishments.
Beautiful windows of various jewels,
Draped with lotuses of exquisite gems,
Always producing sublime sounds delighting all hearers:
Thereon Buddha sits, most radiant of all.
A jewel crescent supports the seat, shaped like a half-moon;
Diamond is its pedestal, its color blazing bright;
Enlightening beings constantly circle it:
Buddha is most radiant among them.
His various mystic displays fill the ten directions,
Expounding the far-reaching vows of the Enlightened One:
All reflected images appear therein;
It is on such a seat the Buddha calmly sits.
At that time the great enlightening being Thunder Shaking All, empowered by the Buddha, looked over all the assembled hosts and said,
Buddha accumulated enlightenment practices,
Making offerings to infinite Buddhas everywhere.
Sustained by the power of the Enlightened One,
None do not see him on his seat.
Jewels of fragrant flames, fulfilling all wishes,
Encrust the Buddha’s flower lion throne;
Various adornments, all appearing as reflections,
Are clearly seen by all the hosts.
Buddha’s throne displays magnificent forms;
Instant to instant their colors and types each differ.
According to the differences in beings’ understandings
Each sees the Buddha thereupon.
Jewel branches hanging down, webs of lotus flowers,
As the flowers open, enlightening beings emerge,
Each producing sublime, pleasing voices
Praising the Buddha on his throne.
Buddha’s virtues are extensive as space—
All adornments are born from them.