The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  There is not a single place where there is no Buddha;

  Thus are the buddha-lands all pure.

  In a pore they see buddha-lands

  And also see all sentient beings:

  The three times and six dispositions are not the same—

  Day and night, month and hour, bondage and freedom.

  Thus do enlightening beings of great knowledge

  Single-mindedly head for the sovereignty of truth.

  Meditating on the abode of the Enlightened,

  They obtain boundless great joy.

  Enlightening beings multiply their bodies into countless billions

  To make offerings to all the enlightened ones;

  The manifestations of their spiritual powers are supreme, incomparable—

  They can abide in all the spheres of action of the Buddhas.

  They praise and look up to all the countless Buddhas

  And deeply savor the treasuries of all their teachings.

  Seeing the Buddhas, hearing their teachings, they diligently practice them,

  Their hearts joyful, as if they were drinking ambrosial elixir of immortality.

  Having attained the supreme concentration of the enlightened,

  They delve into all truths and their knowledge grows.

  Their faith is unshakable as a great mountain,

  Being a treasury of virtues for all living beings.

  Their compassion is great, extending to all living creatures:

  All they hope will soon develop universal knowledge.

  Yet they are always without attachment or dependence;

  Shedding afflictions, they’ve attained freedom.

  Vast in knowledge, with pity for sentient beings,

  They embrace all as the same as themselves.

  With awareness of emptiness, signlessness, and unreality,

  Yet they act, their minds unflagging.

  The virtues of enlightening beings’ determination for enlightenment

  Could not be exhaustively told even in a billion eons,

  Because it produces all the Enlightened Ones,

  And the bliss of the self-enlightened and Buddhas’ disciples.

  To give peace for countless eons

  To all the beings of the lands of the ten directions,

  Urging them to keep the five precepts and ten virtues,

  The four meditations, four equipoises, and such concentrations,

  And also giving them bliss for many eons,

  Causing them to cut off delusions and become saints,

  Amasses virtue which may be immeasurable,

  But cannot compare to the virtue of the will for enlightenment.

  Also, to cause millions to achieve individual awakening

  And attain the subtle path of noncontentious action,

  Does not amount to anything much at all

  Compared to the determination for enlightenment.

  If one could pass billions of lands in an instant

  And did so for immeasurable eons,

  The number of these lands might be assessed,

  But the virtues of the will for enlightenment cannot be known.

  The number of eons past, future, and present

  Is boundless, yet still might be known;

  But the virtue of rousing the mind to enlightenment

  Cannot be measured by anyone.

  This is because the determination for enlightenment extends everywhere,

  Knowing all discernments that exist,

  Comprehending past, present, and future in an instant,

  Benefiting innumerable sentient beings.

  The desires, understandings, means, and mental patterns

  Of the sentient beings of the worlds of the ten directions,

  As well as the bounds of space, might be measured,

  But the virtues of the aspirations for enlightenment cannot be assessed.

  Enlightening beings’ aspiration is equal to the ten directions;

  Their kindness universally nourishes all living beings,

  Causing all to cultivate the virtues of buddhahood:

  That’s why their power has no bounds.

  Sentient beings’ desires, understandings, inclinations,

  Faculties, devices, and practices are all different;

  Enlightening beings know them all instantly,

  Same as the mind of omniscience.

  The deluded actions of living beings

  Continue through time without interruption,

  Yet their bounds still might be known;

  But the virtues of will for enlightenment are inconceivable.

  Will for enlightenment can divorce afflictions of action

  And provide offerings to all the Enlightened:

  Once habitual delusions are divorced, their continuity’s broken,

  And liberation is attained for all time.

  If one gives offerings to boundless Buddhas in an instant,

  And also gives to countless sentient beings,

  Fragrant flowers and garlands,

  Precious banners, canopies, and raiment,

  Fine food, excellent seats, and places to walk around,

  Various palaces, all finely adorned,

  Luminous, wonderful pearls,

  Wish-fulfilling jewels, radiating light,

  And brings such offerings moment after moment

  Over countless eons, beyond the power of speech,

  Though such a person’s accumulation of merit would be great,

  It does not equal the magnitude of the virtue of aspiring to enlightenment.

  None of the various examples told

  Can match the determination for enlightenment,

  Because the most honorable people of all times

  Have all been born from this aspiration.

  The will for enlightenment is unhindered, unlimited:

  No measure can be found for it.

  Vowing to fulfill omniscience,

  To forever deliver all beings,

  That aspiration is vast as space,

  Producing virtues equal to the cosmos.

  Their share of action extending everywhere, as though there were no difference,

  Forever leaving all attachments, equal to the Buddhas,

  Entering all gates of truth,

  Able to travel to all lands,

  Arriving at all spheres of knowledge,

  Perfecting all virtues,

  Able to relinquish everything, always consistent,

  Purifying behavior, free from attachment,

  Fulfilling unsurpassed virtues,

  Always persevering without regression,

  Entering deep concentration, always meditating,

  Uniting with vastly great knowledge and wisdom:

  This is the supreme stage of enlightening beings,

  Producing the path of all the Universally Good.

  All the Enlightened Ones of past, present, and future

  Protect the initial aspiration,

  Adorning it with spiritual powers and mystic transfiguration,

  With concentrations and spells.

  The living beings of the ten directions are infinite,

  As are the worlds and space:

  But the infinity of the enlightenment aspiration surpasses these:

  Hence it can give birth to all Buddhas.

  The will for enlightenment is the basis of the ten powers

  As well as the four special knowledges and fearlessnesses.

  The same is true of the eighteen unique qualities:

  All of them are attained from the aspiration for enlightenment.

  The Buddhas’ physically adorned bodies,

  As well as their equal body of reality,

  Their knowledge, wisdom, and nonattachment, worthy of honor,

  All can exist because of the determination for enlightenment.

  All the vehicles of individual illuminates and Buddhist disciples,

  The pleasures of the meditation st
ates of the realm of form,

  As well as the trances of the formless realm,

  All have the will for enlightenment as their basis.

  The free pleasures of humans and gods,

  As well as the various pleasures of the other states of being,

  And the pleasures of progress, concentration, religious faculties and powers, and so on,

  All depend on the first aspiration to enlightenment.

  Based on the production of this far-reaching determination

  Can one practice the six ways of transcendence:

  Urging sentient beings to carry out right practice,

  Experiencing peace and happiness in the three realms,

  Abiding in the Buddhas’ unhindered true knowledge,

  Revealing all the wonderful actions there are,

  Able to cause countless living beings

  To cut off deluded actions and turn to nirvana,

  Making vows of boundless virtues

  To give happiness to all living beings,

  Carrying out these vows forever and ever,

  Always working so as to liberate beings,

  The infinite great vows inconceivable,

  Vowing to purify all living beings—

  Though empty, signless, wishless, without reliance,

  By the power of will, enlightening beings can reveal them.

  Understanding the inherent nature of things is like space;

  That all are quiescent, all equal,

  The gates of the teaching, countless, unspeakable,

  They expound to beings, without attachment.

  All Enlightened Ones of the worlds of the ten directions

  All praise the first aspiration for enlightenment;

  This inspired mind is adorned by infinite virtues

  And can arrive at the other shore, same as the Buddhas.

  Were those virtues to be expounded for as many eons

  As there are living beings, they could not be all told.

  Because this mind dwells in the vast house of the Enlightened,

  Nothing of the world can compare it or explain it.

  If you want to know all the truths of the Buddhas,

  You should quickly develop the determination for enlightenment.

  This determination is the most excellent of virtues,

  Assuring attainment of the unhindered knowledge of the enlightened.

  The mental activities of living beings might be counted,

  And so might the number of atoms in a land;

  The extent of space might be assessed,

  But the virtues of the will for enlightenment cannot be measured:

  It produces all the Buddhas of all times,

  And perfects happiness in all worlds,

  Increases all excellent virtues,

  Extirpates all confusion,

  Reveals all wondrous realms,

  Eliminates all obstacles,

  Develops all pure lands,

  Produces all enlightened knowledge.

  If you want to see all the Buddhas of the ten directions,

  And want to disburse from the inexhaustible treasury of virtue,

  If you want to extinguish the afflictions of beings,

  Quickly arouse the will for enlightenment.

  1. That is, “eon” is a division that is ultimately arbitrary.

  BOOK EIGHTEEN

  Clarifying Method

  THEN THE ENLIGHTENING BEING Vigorous Wisdom said to the enlightening being Truth Wisdom: “O Child of Buddha: when great enlightening beings first arouse the mind to seek all-knowledge, they fulfill such infinite virtues, are replete with great adornments, climb up into the vehicle of omniscience, enter the correct state of enlightening beings, give up all worldly things and attain the transmundane truths of the Buddhas, are taken into the company of all the Buddhas of past, present, and future, and will certainly reach the ultimate point of unexcelled enlightenment: how should those enlightening beings practice the Buddha-teachings so as to cause all the Enlightened Ones joy, enter the abode of all enlightening beings, attain purity of all great actions, fulfill all great vows, obtain the vast treasuries of enlightening beings, always teach according to necessity and potential for edification without ever giving up the transcending practices, cause all sentient beings under their care to attain deliverance, and continue the lineage of the three treasures unbroken, that their good roots and adaptive skills not be wasted? O Child of Buddha, by what techniques can they cause these things to be fulfilled? Please extend your compassion to explain for us—everyone in this assembly wants to hear.

  “Furthermore, if great enlightening beings always diligently practice, to annihilate all the darkness of ignorance, conquer demons and enemies and control heretics, forever wash away all afflictions defiling the mind, they will all be able to perfect all roots of goodness, forever escape the difficulties of all miserable realms of being, purify all spheres of great knowledge, accomplish all the stages of enlightenment and their pure virtues—the transcending practices, mnemonic mastery, concentration, the six superknowledges, and the four fearlessnesses—adorning all Buddha-lands; their physical refinements as well, their bodily, verbal, and mental actions will all be perfectly complete. They will know well all the powers, fearlessnesses, unique qualities, omniscience, and spheres of action of all the Enlightened Ones, the Buddhas. In order to develop and mature all living beings according to their mentalities, they will take appropriate buddha-lands and expound the truth as necessary in accord with beings’ faculties and in accord with the time and situation. They will fulfill various immeasurable great Buddha-works, as well as innumerable other virtuous things, various practices, paths, and realms, and soon be equal to the enlightened ones. They can maintain and protect all the treasuries of truths assembled by the perfectly enlightened ones over their hundreds and thousands of immeasurable eons of cultivating enlightening practices, and can expound them unhindered and undisrupted by demons or heretics. They will hold the true teaching forever, and in all worlds when they teach they will be protected by celestial beings, yaksha kings, gandharva kings, titan kings, garuda kings, kinnara kings, mahoraga kings, human kings, Brahma kings, and enlightened kings of truth. All worlds will respect and support them, alike crowning them. They will always be under the care of the Buddhas, and will also be loved and respected by all enlightening beings. Attaining the power of roots of goodness, they will increase virtuous ways, expound the treasury of profound teachings of the Enlightened, and hold the true teaching, wherewith they will adorn themselves. Please expound the process of enlightening beings’ practices.”

  Then the enlightening being Vigorous Wisdom, wanting to reiterate his intention, spoke these verses:

  O famous one, well do you expound

  The virtues accomplished by enlightening beings,

  Deeply entering boundless great action

  Fulfilling pure teacherless knowledge.

  If enlightening beings, at their first inspiration,

  Accomplish the practice of virtue and wisdom,

  Enter the rank of freedom from birth, transcending the world,

  Universally attaining the principle of true enlightenment,

  Then how should they, in the Buddha-teaching,

  Stably and strongly practice with diligence, to progress further,

  To cause all the Enlightened Ones to rejoice,

  To be able to quickly enter the state of the Buddhas,

  Fulfill all the pure vows they carry out,

  And attain the vast treasury of knowledge and wisdom,

  And also be able to teach the truth to liberate beings

  Without their minds relying on or attached to anything,

  Fulfill all the transcendent ways of enlightening beings,

  Rescue and liberate all beings under their care,

  Forever maintain the lineage of Buddhas unbroken,

  So all they do is sure and not in vain,

  And they accomplish all tasks and win emancip
ation.

  Please explain this pure path,

  In accord with what all the Victors practice,

  To forever destroy the darkness of ignorance,

  Overthrow all demons and heretics,

  Wash away all defilements,

  To be able to approach the great knowledge and wisdom of the Enlightened

  And forever leave the dangers of the evil ways,

  To purify the extraordinary spheres of great knowledge,

  Attain the powers of the sublime way, next to the Supreme Honored One,

  To fulfill all virtues,

  Realize the supreme knowledge of the Enlightened,

  Live in innumerable lands

  And expound the truth according to the mentalities of the beings there,

  And perform the various great deeds of Buddhas.

  How can they attain the wonderful paths

  And expound the treasury of true teachings of the Enlightened,

  Always able to accept and hold the Buddha-teachings,

  Unsurpassable and incomparable?

  How can they be fearless like lions,

  Their acts pure as the full moon?

  How can they cultivate the Buddhas’ virtues,

  Like lotuses to which water does not adhere?

  Then the enlightening being Truth Wisdom said to the enlightening being Vigorious Wisdom, “Very good, Child of Buddha; you have asked about the pure practice cultivated by enlightening beings, out of compassion for the world, because you wish that many be aided and comforted, that many be benefited. Child of Buddha, you abide by the truth, you activate great vigor, increasing without recession; having already attained liberation, you are able to pose this question, the same as an enlightened one. Listen clearly, think well upon this; now, by the spiritual power of Buddha, I will explain a little of it for you.

  “Child of Buddha, once enlightening beings have developed the determination for omniscience, they should leave the darkness of ignorance and diligently guard themselves from indulgence and laxity. If enlightening beings abide by ten things, that is called nonindulgence: one is to keep the behavioral precepts; second is to abandon folly and purify the will for enlightenment; third is to like straightforwardness and reject flattery and deception; fourth is to earnestly cultivate virtues without regressing; fifth is to continually reflect on one’s aspiration; sixth is not to enjoy association with ordinary people, whether they be householders or monks; seventh is to do good deeds without hoping for worldly rewards; eighth is to forever leave lesser vehicles and practice the path of enlightening beings; ninth is to gladly practice what is good, not letting goodness be cut off; tenth is to always examine one’s own power of perseverance. If enlightening beings practice these ten things, this is called abiding in nonindulgence.