Individual differences in teachings and in modes of bearing,
Dissimilarities of worlds, past and future times,
In accord with their conventional and ultimate realities,
All they know completely, leaving none out.
The skillful set-ups of kings of the teaching,
The doctrines they establish according to the situation,
The palaces of kings of teaching and their entries
As well as what is seen therein,
The laws of coronation of the kings of teaching,
Their spiritual capacities, empowerments, and fearlessnesses,
Their rooms of repose, as well as their praises—
With these they instruct the princes of the teaching,
Explaining all this for them, exhaustively,
And causing their minds to have no attachments;
As they comprehend this and cultivate right mindfulness,
All the Buddhas appear before them.
True Buddha-kings of the tenth abode of coronation
Fulfill the unexcelled, foremost teaching.
All the countless worlds in the ten directions
They can cause to quake, and illumine with their light,
Maintaining and traveling to all without exception,
Fully purifying and adorning them all.
They teach sentient beings without number,
Observing and knowing their faculties completely,
Inspiring and training boundless beings too,
Causing them all to turn to great enlightenment.
Observing all phenomenal realms,
They travel to all lands in the ten directions:
Their embodiments and physical actions there,
Their spiritual powers and metamorphoses, are unfathomable.
The realms of lands of the Buddhas of all times
Even the princes of the teaching cannot understand:
The knowledge of all times of the all-seeing,
Knowledge understanding all Buddhas’ teachings,
Unhindered, boundless knowledge of the realm of realities,
Knowledge filling all worlds,
Supporting knowledge illumining the world,
Knowledge comprehending the states of all beings,
And the boundless knowledge of true awakening
The Buddhas explain for them, so they will consummate them.
Thus the enlightening beings of the ten abodes
Are all born by transformation from the teachings of the enlightened;
Their practices according to the virtues they have
No humans or gods are able to fathom.
In past, future, and present worlds, boundless are those
Who set their minds to attain buddhahood;
They fill all lands in the ten directions,
All determined to become omniscient.
Boundless is the totality of all lands;
Boundless too are the states of worlds and beings,
Their delusions, actions, and inclinations each different:
Due to them enlightening beings aspire to enlightenment.
The very first thought to seek buddhahood
Worldlings, or even those
Of the two vehicles cannot know—
Much less the other virtuous practices.
If one can lift with a single hair
All the worlds in the ten directions,
One can know these Buddha-children’s
Progression toward the wisdom of the enlightened ones.
If one can drain by drops with a hair
The waters of all oceans in the ten directions,
One can know the virtuous deeds
Practiced by these Buddha-children in a single instant.
If one can reduce all worlds to dust
And know the specific number of each mote,
Such a person alone can see
The path traversed by these Buddha-children.
The Buddhas of all places and times,
All self-enlightened ones and Buddhas’ disciples,
All with various powers of elucidation
Illustrate the mind first bent on enlightenment.
The virtues of this aspiration cannot be measured:
If all the knowledges filling all realms of beings
Were to explain together, they could not exhaust it,
Much less the rest of the wondrous practices carried out.
BOOK SIXTEEN
Religious Practice
THEN THE GODLING Right Mindfulness said to the enlightening being Truth Wisdom, “In all worlds, enlightening beings, following the teaching of the Enlightened Ones, dye their clothing and leave home to become mendicants: how can they attain purity of religious practice, and from the state of enlightening reach the path of unexcelled enlightenment?”
Truth Wisdom said, “Great enlightening beings, when performing religious practice, should attentively contemplate ten things objectively: the body, physical action, speech, verbal action, mind, mental action, Buddha, the Teaching, the religious community, and the precepts. They should contemplate in this way: Is the body religious practice? And so on, down to: Are precepts religious practice? If the body were religious practice, then religious practice would be not good, it would not be the true teaching, it would be defiled, it would be impure, it would be foul, it would be unclean, it would be disgusting, it would be intractable, it would be defined, it would be a corpse, it would be a mass of microbes. If physical action were religious practice, then religious practice would be walking, standing, sitting, lying down, looking around, up and down. If speech were religious practice, then religious practice would be sound and breath, chest, tongue, lips, exhalation and inhalation, constriction and relaxation, high and low, clear and unclear. If verbal activity were religious practice, then religious practice would be greetings, summary explanations, extensive explanations, metaphorical explanations, direct explanations, praise, criticism, definitions, explanations accommodated to conventions, clear explanations. If the mind were religious practice, then religious practice would be consideration and pondering, discrimination, various discriminations, conception, various conceptions, thought, various thoughts, acts of illusion and dreams. If mental activity were religious practice, then religious practice would be ideas, cold and heat, hunger and thirst, pain and pleasure, sorrow and joy. If Buddha is religious practice, is material form to be considered Buddha? Is sensation Buddha? Is conception Buddha? Is action Buddha? Are spiritual powers Buddha? Are works Buddha? Are resulting consequences Buddha? If the Teaching is religious practice, is extinction the Teaching? Is nirvana the Teaching? Is nonbirth the Teaching? Is nonorigination the Teaching? Is inexplicability the Teaching? Is nondiscrimination the Teaching? Is nonaction the Teaching? Is nonconjunction the Teaching? If the Community is religious practice, is heading for stream-entering the Community? Is the fruit of stream-entering the Community? Is heading for the state of once-returner the Community? Is the fruit of once-returner the Community? Is heading for the state of nonreturner the Community? Is the fruit of nonreturner the Community? Is heading for sainthood the Community? Is the fruit of sainthood the Community? Are those with the three super-knowledges the Community? Are those with the six paranormal powers the Community? If the precepts are religious practice, is the ordination altar the precepts? Is asking about purity the precepts? Is teaching proper manners the precepts? Is the threefold repetition the precepts? Is the instructor the precepts? Is the tutor the precepts? Is shaving off the hair the precepts? Is putting on the monastic garb the precepts? Is begging the precepts? Is right livelihood the precepts?
“Having contemplated thus, having no attachment to the body, no clinging to practice, no dwelling on doctrine, the past gone, the future not yet arrived, the present empty, there is no doer, no receiver of consequences; this time doesn’t move, another time doesn’t shift—what thing is therein to be called religious practice? Where does religious practice com
e from? Where is it? Who is the body? By whom is it performed? Does it exist? Does it not exist? Is it form? Is it not form? Is it sensation? Is it not sensation? Is it conception? Is it not conception? Is it action? Is it not action? Is it consciousness? Is it not consciousness? Contemplating in this way, because the reality of religious practice cannot be apprehended, because the things of past, present, and future are all empty, because the intellect has no attachment, because the mind has no obstruction, because the sphere of operation is nondual, because expedient means are free, because of acceptance of formless truth, because of contemplation of formless truth, because of knowing the Buddha’s teaching is equanimous, because of fulfilling all qualities of Buddhahood, is such practice called pure religious practice.
“Ten things should also be cultivated: knowledge of what is so and what is not; knowledge of past, present, and future consequences of actions; knowledge of all meditations, liberations, and concentrations; knowledge of superiority and inferiority of faculties; knowledge of all kinds of understandings; knowledge of all kinds of realms; knowledge of where all paths lead; unhindered clairvoyance; unhindered knowledge of past lives; knowledge of the eternal cancellation of habit energy. Contemplating each of these ten powers of the enlightened, in each power are innumerable meanings; one should ask about them, and after having heard about them should arouse a mind of great kindness and compassion and observe sentient beings without abandoning them, reflect on the teachings unceasingly, carry out superlative deeds without seeking rewards, comprehend that objects are like dreams, like illusions, like reflections, like echoes, and like magical productions. If enlightening beings can unite with such contemplations, they will not entertain a dualistic understanding of things and all enlightening teachings will become evident to them: at the time of their first determination they will immediately attain complete perfect enlightenment, will know all things are the mind’s own nature, and will perfect the body of wisdom and understand without relying on another.”
BOOK SEVENTEEN
The Merit of The Initial Determination for Enlightenment
THEN INDRA, king of gods, said to the enlightening being Truth Wisdom, “Son of Buddha, what is the extent of the merit attained when the enlightening being first determines to become enlightened?”
Truth Wisdom said, “The truth of this is extremely deep, difficult to explain, difficult to know, difficult to discern, difficult to believe, difficult to experience, difficult to practice, difficult to master, difficult to think of, difficult to assess, difficult to approach and enter. Even so, by the power of the Buddha I will explain for you.
“O Child of Buddha, suppose someone were to provide all comforts for all the beings of incalculable worlds in the eastern direction for a whole eon, and after that teach them to keep the five precepts with purity, and were to do the same thing in the southern, western, and northern directions, the four intermediate directions, and the zenith and nadir as well—do you think this person’s merit would be much?”
Indra said, “Only a Buddha could know this person’s merit—no one else could be able to assess it.”
Truth Wisdom said, “This person’s merit, compared to the merit of an enlightening being who has just determined to realize enlightenment, does not amount even to a hundredth, not even a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, a millionth, a hundred millionth, a billionth, a hundred billionth, a trillionth, a hundred trillionth, a quadrillionth, a quintillionth—that merit does not amount to the smallest imaginable fraction of the merit of determination for enlightenment.
“Setting aside that example for the moment, suppose someone provided all the beings of ten infinities of worlds with medicines for a hundred eons, and then taught them to practice the path of ten virtues, serving them thus for a thousand eons; then teaching them to dwell in the four meditations for a hundred thousand eons, then teaching them to dwell in the four immeasurable states of mind for a hundred million eons, then teaching them to dwell in the four formless concentrations for ten billion eons, then teaching them to dwell in the state of stream-enterer for a hundred billion eons, then teaching them to dwell in the state of once-returner for ten trillion eons, then teaching them to dwell in the state of nonreturner for a quadrillion eons, then teaching them to dwell in sainthood for a quintillion eons, then teaching them to dwell in the path of the self-enlightened; do you think this person’s merit would be great?”
The king of gods said, “Only a Buddha could know the merit of such a person.”
Truth Wisdom said, “This person’s merit, compared to the merit of an enlightening being who has just determined to realize enlightenment, does not amount to a hundredth part, not even a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, or even the smallest imaginable fraction thereof. Why? Because when the Buddhas first set their minds on enlightenment, they do not do so just to provide the beings of innumerable worlds in all directions with all comforts for a hundred eons or a hundred thousand quadrillion eons. They do not set their minds on enlightenment just to teach that many beings to cultivate morality and goodness, just to teach them to abide in the four meditations, four immeasurable minds, and four formless concentrations, just to teach them to attain the states of stream-enterer, once-returner, nonreturner, saint, and independently enlightened one. Rather, they set their minds on enlightenment to cause the lineage of the enlightened ones not to die out, to pervade all worlds, to liberate the sentient beings of all worlds, to know the formation and disintegration of all worlds, to know the defilement and purity of beings in all worlds, to know the inherent purity of all worlds, to know the inclinations, afflictions, and mental habits of all sentient beings, to know where all sentient beings die and are born, to know expedient means appropriate to the faculties of all sentient beings, to know the mentalities of all sentient beings, to know all sentient beings’ knowledge of past, present, and future, and to know all realms of Buddhas are equal.
“Again, setting this example aside for the moment, suppose someone could, in a single instant, pass incalculably many worlds to the east, and did this instant after instant for an incalculable eon—no one could determine a limit to those worlds. Then suppose there were another person who could pass in a single instant all the worlds that the former person passed in an incalculable eon, and also went on thus for an incalculable eon. Then suppose there were yet another person, and another and another, up to ten, each of whom could pass in an instant all the worlds that the preceding one passed in an incalculable eon, and went on thus for an incalculable eon. Then suppose there were also such people in all the other nine directions. Thus in the ten directions there would be one hundred people, each successively passing in each and every instant of an eon as many worlds as the preceding passed in an eon: the limit of these worlds might be known, but the limit of the roots of goodness in the enlightening being’s initial determination on enlightenment cannot be known. Why? Because enlightening beings do not set their minds on enlightenment just to go to and gain knowledge of a limited number of worlds; they set their minds on enlightenment to know all worlds in the ten directions. That is to say, they want to know subtle worlds are gross worlds, gross worlds are subtle worlds, upward facing worlds are downward facing worlds, downward facing worlds are upward facing worlds, small worlds are large worlds, large worlds are small worlds, wide worlds are narrow worlds, narrow worlds are wide worlds, one world is unspeakably many worlds, unspeakably many worlds are one world, one world enters unspeakably many worlds, unspeakably many worlds enter one world, defiled worlds are pure worlds, pure worlds are defiled worlds; they want to know the differentiations of all worlds in a single hair, and the unity of a single hair in all worlds. They want to know the production of all worlds in a single world. They want to know the insubstantiality of all worlds. They want to be able to know all vast worlds in a single moment of thought without any hindrance. This is why they set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.
“Again, setting this example aside, suppose there is someone w
ho can in a single thought know the number of eons of becoming and decay of innumerable worlds in the eastern direction, and does this for an incalculable eon; no one can determine the bounds of those numbers of eons. Then suppose there is a second person who can know in a single thought all the numbers of eons known by the first person over an incalculable eon. Again, continue this up to ten persons, then extend it to all ten directions. The limit of the number of eons of becoming and decay of all these incalculable worlds of the ten directions may be known, but the limit of the virtues of the enlightening being setting the mind on perfect enlightenment cannot be known. Why? Because enlightening beings do not set the mind on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment just to know the number of eons of becoming and decay of a certain limited number of worlds. It is to completely know the eons of becoming and decay of all worlds that they set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment. That is, to know that long eons and short eons are equal; short eons and long eons are equal; one eon is equal to countless eons; countless eons are equal to one eon; eons with Buddhas are equal to eons without Buddhas; eons without Buddhas are equal to eons with Buddhas; in an eon with one Buddha there are unspeakably many Buddhas; in an eon with unspeakably many Buddhas there is one Buddha; finite eons are equal to infinite eons; infinite eons are equal to finite eons; eons that end are equal to endless eons; endless eons are equal to eons that end; unspeakably many eons are equal to one instant; one instant is equal to unspeakably many eons; all eons enter the noneon; the noneon enters all eons.1 They want to know instantly the eons of becoming and decay of all worlds of the entire past, present, and future—that is why they set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment. This is called the initial determination’s adornment of great vows, the spiritual knowledge of all eons.
“Again, setting aside this example, suppose someone could, in the time of a single instant, know the various different understandings of all the sentient beings in incalculably many worlds in the eastern direction, and went on like this instant after instant for a whole incalculable eon; now suppose a second person can know in a single instant all the differences in sentient beings’ understandings known by the first person in an incalculable eon, and also went on like this (knowing more and more each instant) for an incalculable eon. Now apply this pattern successively up to the tenth person, and also to the other nine directions: the limit of the various different understandings of these sentient beings in the ten directions may be known, but the limit of the virtues of the enlightening being’s first determination on enlightenment cannot be known by anyone. Why? Because enlightening beings do not set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment just: to know the understandings of a particular limited number of sentient beings. They set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment to know the various different understandings of all sentient beings in all worlds. That is, they want to know different understandings are boundless, and that one sentient being’s understanding is equal to countless sentient beings’ understandings; they want to attain the light of knowledge of liberative techniques appropriate to unspeakably many different understandings; they want to know all the individual different understandings in the ocean of sentient beings; they want to know all the infinite various understandings, good and bad, of past, present, and future; they want to know all understandings which resemble each other and those which don’t; they want to know all understandings are one understanding, one understanding is all understandings; they want to attain the enlightened ones’ power of understanding; they want to know the differences between understanding that can be surpassed and understanding that is unexcelled, understanding which has remainder and understanding without remainder, equal understandings and unequal understandings; they want to know the differences between dependent and independent understanding, common understanding and unique understanding, bounded understanding and boundless understanding, differentiated understanding and undifferentiated understanding, good understanding and bad understanding, mundane understanding and transmundane understanding; they want to attain the unhindered knowledge of liberation of the enlightened in respect to all subtle understanding, great understanding, infinite understanding, and understanding of the true state; they want to know, by means of infinite appropriate means, the pure understandings and defiled understandings, broad understandings and summary understandings, fine understandings and coarse understandings, of each and every sentient being in all realms of sentient beings in the ten directions; they want to know deeply secret understandings, expedient understandings, discriminating understandings, spontaneous understandings, understandings that arise according to causes, understandings that arise according to conditions, the networks of all understandings—to know these they set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 49