How much the more does the demon-quelling Lamp that Lights the World
Have awesome mystic powers at his command.
When the gods and the titans warred
King Indra’s magic power was inconceivable—
However many the troops of titans were,
Indra manifested as many bodies to oppose them.
The titans had the idea
“Indra is coming at us
And will surely capture and bind us,”
So they were all anxious and scared.
Indra manifested a body with a thousand eyes,
Holding thunderbolts, throwing flames,
Armored, armed, and awesomely majestic;
The titans, seeing this, all retreated.
Indra, with the power of a little virtue
Still could defeat a great enemy—
How much more is the savior of all
Replete with virtues, all at his command.
In the heaven of happiness is a celestial drum
Produced as a consequence of deeds of the gods;
It knows when the gods are indulging themselves,
And spontaneously produces this sound in the sky:
“All objects of desire are transient,
Like bubbles, foam—empty, unreal;
All existents are like dreams, like mirages,
Like floating clouds, the moon in the water.
Indulgence is an enemy, a torment and a pain—
It’s not the immortal way, but the path of birth and death.
Any who act indulgently
Will enter the mouth of the shark of death.
As the root of all the miseries in the world,
All wise people shun it.
The qualities of objects of desire are perishable—
You should take pleasure in what’s real and true.”
When the gods of the thirty-three heavens hear this sound,
They all go up into the hall of good teaching
And Indra preaches for them the subtle teaching,
Making them docile and tranquil, removing greed and craving.
That sound is formless and cannot be seen,
Yet it can benefit the celestial beings—
How much the more, manifesting bodies adapting to inclinations,
Can enlightening beings rescue and liberate the living.
When the gods and titans warred,
By the superior power of the gods’ virtue
The celestial drum sounded, telling the hosts,
“You should not worry or fear,”
And the gods, hearing this declaration,
Were rid of fear and increased in strength.
Then the titans’ hearts trembled with fright
And their troops all retreated and fled.
The wonderful ambrosial concentration is like that heavenly drum:
It always produces the sound of dispassion, conquering demons;
Great compassion mercifully rescues all,
Causing all beings to end their afflictions.
Indra has intercourse with all the goddesses,
Ninety-two trillion in number,
Causing each to think to herself
That the king is amusing her alone.
As he responds to all the goddesses’ bodies,
So it is in the hall of good teaching—
He can instantly manifest supernatural powers
And go to everyone to preach to them.
Indra, who has greed, anger, and ignorance,
Can cause all in his retinue to be happy—
How much the more is skillful spiritual power
Able to cause all to rejoice.
The king of the heaven of access to others’ enjoyments
Has sovereignty in the realm of desire;
With habitual confusion for a snare,
He captures and binds all ordinary folk.
He has greed, anger, and ignorance,
Yet has mastery over sentient beings—
How much the more is the possessor of the ten independent powers
Able to cause beings to act in accord.
The great brahma king of the billion world galaxy
Can appear in all the abodes
Of the brahma gods and sit with them,
Speaking in the subtle, pure brahma voice.
He abides in the worldly brahma path,
Yet still commands concentration and supernatural powers—
How much the more so does the transcender of the world, unexcelled,
Have mastery of meditation and liberation.
The god Maheshavara’s knowledge is sovereign:
When the dragons of the sea shower rain,
He can count distinctly every drop,
Discerning them all in a single instant:
If one has diligently practiced and learned for countless eons
And attained the supreme knowledge of enlightenment,
How would such a one not be able
To instantly know the minds of all beings?
The consequences of sentient beings’ actions are inconceivably many,
Being as a great wind power, producing the worlds:
Vast oceans, mountains, celestial palaces,
Radiance of jewels, and all sorts of things;
They also can produce clouds and bring rain,
And can disperse and dissolve all cloudiness,
And can ripen all grains,
And comfort the living.
The wind cannot learn transcendent wisdom,
Or learn the qualities of buddhahood,
Yet still can perform inconceivable deeds—
How much the more so one who fulfills all vows.
The various voices of men and women,
The calls of birds and beasts,
The sounds of oceans, rivers, and thunder,
Can all delight sentient beings’ minds—
How much the more one who knows the nature of sound is like echoes,
Who attains to unhindered, wonderful eloquence,
And teaches the truth as appropriate to each,
Is able to bring joy to the creatures of the world.
The ocean has a special extraordinary quality—
It can be an equal reflector of all;
Sentient beings, precious things, rivers and streams—
All it contains, prohibiting none.
One with inexhaustible meditation, concentration, and liberation,
Can also be a seal of equanimity, equally reflecting, like this;
The wonderful practices of virtue and knowledge
This one cultivates all without tiring.
When the dragon kings of the ocean roam about,
They are free wherever they may be,
Producing clouds covering the earth,
Those clouds of various decorative colors:
In the sixth heaven, of access to others’ enjoyments,
The clouds are the color of gold;
In the heaven of enjoyment of emanations they’re the color of ruddy pearls;
In the heaven of happiness, they’re the color of frost and snow;
In the heaven of timely portion they’re the color of lapis lazuli;
In the heaven of thirty-three celestial realms they’re opal colored;
In the heaven of the four kings they’re crystal colored;
Over the oceans, they’re diamond colored;
Among kinnaras they’re incense colored;
In the dragons’ abodes they’re lotus colored;
Where yakshas live, the color of white geese;
Among titans, the color of mountain rocks;
In the region of Uttara, the color of golden flames;
In Jambudvipa, the color of sapphire;
In the other continents, their adornments are mixed—
These are given according to the likes of the creatures.
Also in the heaven of access to others’ enjoyments
Lightning in
the clouds shines like sunlight;
In the heaven of enjoyment of emanations, it’s like moonlight;
In the heaven of happiness, like rose gold;
In the timely portion heaven, it’s the color of jadelike snow;
In the thirty-threefold heaven, the color of golden flames;
In the four kings’ heaven, the color of all jewels;
In the ocean, the color of red pearls;
In the realm of the kinnaras, the color of lapis lazuli;
In the abode of dragons, the colors of a mine of jewels;
Where the yakshas live, the color of crystal;
Among the titans, the color of onyx;
In the realm of Uttara, the color of fiery pearls;
In Jambudvipa, the color of sapphires;
In the other continents, the embellishments are mixed—
As are the colors of the clouds, so is the lightning.
In the heaven of access to others’ enjoyments, thunder is like the voice of Brahma;
In the heaven of enjoyment of emanations, it’s like the sound of great drums;
In the heaven of happiness it’s like the sound of singing;
In the heaven of timely portion it’s like the voices of goddesses;
In the heaven of thirty-three celestial regions
It’s like the various sounds of kinnaras;
In the heaven of the four world-guarding kings
It’s like the sounds produced by grandharvas;
In the ocean it sounds like mountains crashing together;
Among the kinnaras, it’s the sound of pipes,
In the castles of the dragons, it sounds like the call of kalavinka birds;
In the yakshas’ abode it’s like the voices of dragon maidens;
Among the titans, it sounds like a celestial drum;
Among humans, it’s like the sound of the surf.
In the heaven of free access to others’ enjoyments rain perfumes
With various mixed flowers as embellishments;
In the heaven of enjoyment of emanations rain cotton flowers,
Mandarava flowers, and rich perfumes;
In the heaven of happiness rain crystals
Complete with adornments of various jewels;
The jewels in the topknots there are like moonlight,
The exquisite clothes worn there are the color of gold;
In the heaven of time rain banners and canopies,
Garlands, perfumes, and beautiful decorations,
As well as excellent raiment the color of pearl
And various kinds of music;
In the heaven of thirty-three realms rain wish-fulfilling jewels,
Solid black aloes and sandalwood fragrance,
Various perfumes of heavenly flowers
Raining down intermingled with each other;
In the citadels of the world guardians rain delicacies
With color, aroma, and flavor with strengthening power;
It also rains inconceivable beautiful jewels,
All made by the dragon kings.
Also in the oceans
It rains increasingly, like a whirl,
And rains inexhaustible treasuries of jewels,
And rains various jewel ornaments as well.
In the world of kinnaras it rains necklaces,
Lotuses of many colors, robes, and jewels,
Flowers that grow in the rains, and golden colored flowers,
With various kinds of music all included therein.
In the castles of the dragon kings rain ruddy pearls;
Among the titans it rains weapons
Conquering all enemies.
In the continent Uttara it rains necklaces
And also rains innumerable exquisite flowers;
In the continents Purvavideha and Aparagodaniya
It rains various ornamental articles;
In the continent Jambudvipa it rains pure water,
Fine, refreshing, always at appropriate times,
Nourishing flowers, fruits, and herbs,
Ripening all the crops.
Innumerable such beautiful adornments,
Various clouds, lightning, thunder, and rain,
The dragon kings can freely make
Without moving their bodies, without discrimination
In their world, the ocean, they dwell,
Yet can manifest this inconceivable power—
How much the more those who enter the ocean of truth and embody virtue
Can produce great mystical transformations.
The doors of liberation of the enlightening beings
Cannot be revealed by any similes,
But I have, with these metaphors,
Said something of their free power.
Foremost knowledge, vast wisdom,
True knowledge, boundless wisdom,
Extraordinary wisdom, supreme wisdom—
Such a teaching has now been explained.
This teaching is rare and most extraordinary;
If people who have heard it can accept,
Can believe, absorb, praise, and explain it,
This accomplishment is to be considered most difficult.
Of all the ordinary people in the world
It’s hard to find one with faith in this teaching.
If any diligently cultivate pure virtues,
By the power of past cause they can believe.
Among the creatures of all worlds
Are few who want to seek the vehicle of Buddha’s followers;
Those who seek solitary enlightenment are even fewer,
And those who aim for the Great Vehicle are very hard to find.
But striving for the Great Vehicle is still easy
Compared to the greater difficulty of believing this teaching.
Even more difficult it is to retain, recite, and explain it for others,
To practice according to the teaching and truly understand it.
To hold a galaxy on one’s head
Without moving, for one eon,
Is not to be considered difficult
Compared to believing this teaching.
To pick up ten buddha-lands in the hand
And stand in space through an eon
Is not to be considered hard
Compared to believing this teaching.
If one provides comforts for an eon
To the homes of beings numerous as atoms in ten lands,
His merit is not to be considered supreme—
One who believes this teaching is most excellent.
Even spending an eon serving
Buddhas as many as atoms in ten lands,
One’s merit will be greater, supreme,
If one can recite and hold this book.
When the enlightening being Chief in Goodness had spoken these verses, the worlds in the ten directions quaked in six ways, the palace of demons was shrouded, the realms of ill ceased; the Buddhas of the ten directions appeared before him and each patted him on the head with his right hand and praised him, saying, “Excellent! You incisively explain this teaching, and we all accordingly rejoice.”
End of the second assembly.
BOOK THIRTEEN
Ascent to the Peak of Mount Sumeru
THEN, BY THE SPIRITUAL POWER of the Enlightened One, in the Jambudvipa continent of all worlds in the ten directions there was seen the Enlightened One sitting under a tree, in each place with enlightening beings receiving the Buddha’s spiritual power and expounding the teaching, all thinking they were at all times facing the Buddha in person. At that time the Buddha, without leaving the foot of the enlightenment tree, ascended Mount Sumeru and headed for the palace of Indra; then Indra, king of gods, in front of the Hall of Surpassing Wonder, seeing Buddha coming from afar, adorned this palace by means of his supernatural power. He put in it a lion throne of banks of radiant lights, all made of exquisite jewels, with ten thousand levels of dazzling ornaments and ten thousand nets of gold cov
ering it, ten thousand kinds of curtains and ten thousand levels of canopies arrayed all around, with ten thousand embroidered silks as curtain sashes, ten thousand strings of pearls joined together, and ten thousand robes spread on the throne. Ten thousand godlings and ten thousand Brahma kings surrounded it in front and behind, while ten thousand light beams illumined it.
Then Indra, having set up this throne for the Enlightened One, bowed and joined his palms, reverently facing the Buddha, and said, “Welcome, World Honored One; welcome, Blissful One; welcome, Realized One, Perfectly Enlightened One: please be so compassionate as to sojourn in this palace.” Then the Buddha, accepting his invitation, entered the Hall of Surpassing Wonder. This also took place in the same way in all the worlds of the ten directions. Then, due to the Buddha’s spiritual power, all the music in the palaces spontaneously ceased, and Indra recalled to himself how he had planted roots of goodness with Buddhas of the past; he spoke in verse, saying,
Kashyapa Buddha had great compassion,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Kanakamuni’s vision was unobstructd,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Krakucchanda was like a mountain of gold,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Vishvabhu Buddha was undefiled,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Shikhin Buddha was free from discrimination,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Vipashin Buddha was like a full moon,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Pushya clearly realized the ultimate truth,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Tishya Buddha’s eloquence was unhindered,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Padma Buddha was utterly pure,
Supreme among the auspicious.
That Buddha has come into this palace,
Hence this place is most auspicious.
Dipankara Buddha was effulgent,
Supreme among the auspicious.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 45