“Great enlightening beings open up storehouses of myriad treasures and hundreds of billions of trillions of fine, rare jewels to all the countless sentient beings, giving whatever they wish unbegrudgingly. They dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings always see the treasure of the Buddha, give up folly and cultivate right mindfulness; may all sentient beings be fully endowed with the light of the treasure of the Teaching and preserve the treasury of teachings of all Buddhas; may all sentient beings be able to support the entire treasure of the community, tirelessly providing for its needs; may all sentient beings attain the highest treasure of mind, omniscience, and may their pure aspiration for enlightenment never recede; may all sentient beings attain the treasure of knowledge, entering into all things without doubt or confusion; may all sentient beings be endowed with the treasure of virtuous qualities of enlightening beings, reveal and expound immeasurable knowledge; may all sentient beings attain a treasure of immeasurable sublime qualities, cultivate and attain the knowledge of the ten powers of true awareness; may all sentient beings attain the treasure of the sixteen knowledges of refined meditation, and ultimately fulfill broad, great knowledge and wisdom; may all sentient beings develop the treasure of the supreme field of blessings, and awaken to the unexcelled knowledge and wisdom of the enlightened; may all sentient beings become masters of the most excellent treasure, and expound all truths with inexhaustible discernment.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving treasures, to cause all sentient beings to obtain the jewel of complete, supreme knowledge, the treasure of the unobstructed pure eye of the enlightened.
“Great enlightening beings may give various beautiful decorations—decorations for all bodies, causing the body to be beautiful and pleasing to all. Great enlightening beings regard all creatures in the world equally, like an only child, and want to cause them all to have adornments purifying their bodies, to attain supreme peace and comfort, to attain the bliss of enlightened knowledge, abide by the Buddha-teachings and benefit living beings. With innumerable, various exquisite jewel ornaments such as these they diligently practice giving, and when they are giving they dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings develop unexcelled, wonderful adornments and adorn humans and celestials with pure virtue and knowledge; may all sentient beings attain features of pure adornment, adorning themselves with pure felicitous virtues; may all sentient beings attain features of most sublime adornment, and array themselves with all marks of virtue; may all sentient beings attain features of unconfused adornments, adorning themselves with all marks of Buddhahood; may all sentient beings attain the features of adornment by good, pure speech, endowed with all kinds of unlimited intellectual powers; may all sentient beings attain the features of adornment by voices with all good qualities, their voices pure and clear, pleasing to all who hear; may all sentient beings attain the feature of adornment by the delightful speech of the Buddhas, causing living beings to hear the teaching, rejoice in it, and cultivate pure practice; may all sentient beings attain the features of adornment of mind, entering deep meditative concentration and seeing the Buddhas; may all sentient beings attain the features of adornment by total mental command, illumining the true teachings of all Buddhas; may all sentient beings attain the features of adornment by wisdom and knowledge, adorning their minds with the wisdom and knowledge of buddhahood.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when generously giving all kinds of ornaments, to cause sentient beings to be endowed with the adornments of the complete fulfillment of all the innumerable qualities of Buddhas, complete virtue and knowledge, and to forever shed all conceit and self-indulgence.
“Great enlightening beings give to all sentient beings the jeweled crowns and topknot jewels they received when crowned as independent kings, without regret in their hearts, always cultivating themselves diligently to be generous donors, learning the wisdom of giving, developing the faculty of relinquishment; with knowledge and skill in means, their minds broad and magnanimous, they give to all, and dedicate those roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings be crowned by the Buddha-teachings and achieve universal knowledge; may all sentient beings attain the foremost knowledge and reach the other shore; may all sentient beings save living beings with the treasure of sublime knowledge and cause them all to fulfill the summit of virtue; may all sentient beings attain completion of the precious crown of knowledge and wisdom and be worthy of the honor of the world; may all sentient beings’ heads be graced with the crown of knowledge and become autonomous monarchs and masters of the law; may all sentient beings tie the clear jewel of knowledge to their heads, invisible to all worldlings; may all sentient beings be worthy of the obeisance of the world, perfect the peak of wisdom, and illumine the Buddha-teachings; may all sentient beings be crowned with the crown adorned by the ten powers, filled with the purity of the ocean of jewels of knowledge and wisdom; may all sentient beings reach the summit of the great stages of enlightenment, attain omniscience, fulfill the ten powers, and destroy the bands of maniacs at the peak of the realm of desire; may all sentient beings manage to attain the highest summit of sovereignty, and attain the peak of radiance of omniscience, which cannot be outshone.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving jeweled crowns, to cause sentient beings to attain the realm of utmost purity of supreme knowledge, and the crown of jewels of wisdom.
“When great enlightening beings see sentient beings in prisons or dungeons, dark and dim, shackled and chained, unable to rise or sit in comfort, assailed by myriad pains, without relatives or friends, without refuge or salvation, naked, hungry, emaciated, suffering unbearable torture, the enlightening beings, having seen this, give what they have, all their wealth, their spouses, children, and households, and even their own bodies, to rescue those creatures in prison, like the enlightening being Great Compassion and the enlightening being King of Wondrous Eyes did; and, having rescued them, they give them whatever they need, relieving their suffering, enabling them to gain peace and comfort—after that, they give them the supreme treasure of the teaching, cause them to give up indulgence, firmly establish roots of goodness, and not shrink away or withdraw from the Buddhist teaching. When great enlightening beings rescue sentient beings from prison, they dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings be ultimately liberated from the bonds of covetousness and craving; may all sentient beings cut off the stream of birth and death and climb up onto the shore of wisdom; may all sentient beings do away with ignorance and folly, develop knowledge and wisdom, and shed the fetters of afflictions; may all sentient beings destroy the bonds of the worlds of desire, form, and formlessness, attain universal knowledge and be ultimately emancipated; may all sentient beings forever cut off all the bonds of afflictions and reach the other shore of knowledge and wisdom, the ground of nonobstruction, where there are no afflictions; may all sentient beings be free from stirring thoughts, musing, and vain discrimination, and enter the realm of equanimous, imperturbable knowledge; may all sentient beings shed the bonds of desires, forever leaving behind all mundane cravings, and have no attachments in the worlds of desire, form, or formlessness; may all sentient beings attain supreme aspiration and always have the Buddhas teach them; may all sentient beings attain liberated minds, with no attachments and no bondage, broad and vast as the cosmos, comprehensive as space; may all sentient beings attain the spiritual powers of enlightening beings, taming sentient beings in all worlds, causing them to detach from the mundane and abide in the Great Vehicle.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when saving sentient beings suffering in prison, to enable sentient beings to enter the realm of knowledge and wisdom of the enlightened.
“Great enlightening beings, seeing prisoners bound hand and foot, suffering all sorts of pain, beaten and oppressed by their jailers, on the brink of death, having given up all earthly comforts, forever
parted from their relatives and friends, laid out on butchering blocks to be dismembered, or impaled on wooden stakes, or doused with oil and set afire, the enlightening beings, having seen them oppressed by such tortures, give up their own bodies to take their places, as did the enlightening beings Invincible, King of Most Excellent Action, and other great enlightening beings who gave up their own lives to spare others, bearing cruel suffering in their stead. At that time the enlightening beings say to the wardens, ‘I wish to give up my body in exchange for their lives. You may apply those tortures to me. Just as you are doing to those people, you may do what you want, even more, to me—I will endure even incalculable times as much, so that they may be freed. If I see them about to be killed and do not give up my life to redeem them from their misery, then I cannot be said to be dwelling in the mind of an enlightening being. Why? Because I have made the determination for omniscient enlightenment for the purpose of saving all beings.’
“When great enlightening beings give up their own lives to save sentient beings, they dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings attain endless, ultimate life and be forever free from disaster, oppression, and affliction; may all sentient beings stay with the Buddhas, receive universal knowledge, fulfill the ten powers, and receive the prediction of enlightenment; may all sentient beings rescue conscious beings everywhere, cause them to be free from fear and to forever leave the states of woe; may all sentient beings attain total life and enter the realm of undying knowledge; may all sentient beings be forever free from hostility and enmity, have no calamities, and always be in the care of Buddhas and good teachers; may all sentient beings abandon all weapons and instruments of evil and suffering, and practice all kinds of pure, good action; may all sentient beings be free from all fears and crush the armies of demons at the tree of enlightenment; may all sentient beings be free from terrors, their hearts pure and fearless in regard to the highest teaching, and be able to make the supreme lion’s roar; may all sentient beings attain unobstructed lionic knowledge and wisdom and cultivate right action in all worlds; may all sentient beings reach the realm of fearlessness and always attend to the salvation and protection of suffering sentient beings.’ This is great enlightening beings; dedication of roots of goodness when giving up their own lives to save prisoners about to be executed, to cause sentient beings to be free from the pains of birth and death and to attain the sublime bliss of the enlightened.
“Great enlightening beings give the knot of flesh on their heads to beggars as did the enlightening beings Jewel Topknot King, Supremely Wonderful Body, and countless others. At such a time, seeing a beggar come, the enlightening beings’ hearts fill with joy and they say, ‘If you need a flesh topknot, take it from me—mine is the best in the land.’ And when they say this, their minds are undisturbed, they do not think of other actions; they relinquish the world and seek dispassionate serenity; ultimately pure, diligent, straightforward, they are bent on omniscience. They then take a sharp knife and cut off the topknot of flesh on their heads; with their right knee kneeling on the ground, they join their palms and give their topknots away with a concentrated mind, thinking of the practices of all Buddhas and enlightening beings of the past, present, and future, conceiving great joy, increasing in determination. Intellectually they skillfully analyze and understand phenomena, and do not grasp pain, knowing that the sense of pain has no signs and no origin, that all sensations occur relatively and none are permanent. Therefore they develop great blissful faith that they should practice great relinquishment like all enlightening beings of past, future, and present, seeking universal knowledge without retreating, without relying on others’ teaching or the power of a teacher.
“When great enlightening beings carry out this giving, they dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings attain the invisible crown and develop the pagodalike topknot of enlightening beings; may all sentient beings have hair like the Buddha, and be able to extinguish all afflictions of sentient beings; may all sentient beings have glossy hair, thick hair, hair which doesn’t grow on the forehead; may all sentient beings have hair like the Buddha and forever be free from all afflictions and binding habits; may all sentient beings have radiant hair, shining with light that illumines all worlds in the ten directions; may all sentient beings have undisturbed hair, clean like the Buddha’s; may all sentient beings develop the pagodalike hair of the saint, so that for all who see it it is like seeing the Buddha’s hair; may all sentient beings have hair like the Buddha, without stain, without attachment, forever rid of all obscuring dust and dirt.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving their flesh topknots, to cause sentient beings to be dispassionate and serene of mind, fulfill all concentration formulae, and consummate the enlightened one’s knowledge of all ways of liberation and its ten powers.
“Great enlightening beings give their eyes to those who come and ask for them, just as the enlightening beings Gladdening Practice, Moonlight King, and countless others gave theirs. When great enlightening beings give their eyes, they arouse a pure mind to give eyes; they arouse the mind of the eye of pure knowledge, arouse a mind resting on the light of truth; arouse the mind witnessing the unexcelled Buddha Way; awaken a mind dedicated to great knowledge; awaken a mind to give with equanimity equal to the enlightening beings of past, present, and future; awaken the unobstructed eye; arouse a mind of indestructible pure faith; arouse a mind of joyful acceptance in regard to those who ask. To consummate all spiritual powers, to produce the enlightened eye, to increase and broaden the great determination for enlightenment, to cultivate great compassion, and to master the senses, they set their minds on these things.
“When great enlightening beings give eyes, they conceive great love for those who ask, and establish charity for them, increasing the power of the teaching, giving up mundane emotional views and indulgence, cutting off the bonds of desire, cultivating enlightenment, and obligingly satisfying their requests with unperturbed minds, always in accord with the practice of nondualistic equanimity. These roots of goodness they dedicate thus: ‘May all sentient beings attain the supreme eye and guide everyone; may all sentient beings attain the unobstructed eye and open up the treasury of universal knowledge; may all sentient beings attain the pure physical eye, its light perceptively penetrating, impossible to block; may all sentient beings attain the pure celestial eye, seeing the births and deaths and fruits of actions of all sentient beings; may all sentient beings attain the pure objective eye and be able to enter the realm of those who realize thusness; may all sentient beings attain the eye of wisdom and abandon all conceptual grasping and attachment; may all sentient beings be endowed with the Buddha-eye, capable of total awareness and understanding of all things; may all sentient beings perfect the universal eye, comprehending all realms without hindrance; may all sentient beings attain the pure, unclouded eye, realizing the realm of sentient beings is empty and has no existence; may all sentient beings be fully endowed with the pure unobstructed eye and all be able to consummate the ten powers of the enlightened.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving eyes, to cause all sentient beings to attain the pure eye of universal knowledge.
“Great enlightening beings are able to give ears and noses to those who ask, as did King of Superlative Action, Invincible, and countless other enlightening beings. When they give, they hand them over personally to those who ask, single-mindedly cultivating the deeds of enlightening beings, endowed with the seed nature of buddhahood, born in the house of the enlightened. Recollecting the acts of giving practiced by the enlightening beings, they constantly strive to activate the pure faculties of enlightenment of Buddhas, their virtues and wisdom. Observing all realms of existence, they see that not one thing endures. They aspire to always be able to see the Buddhas and enlightening beings. They recollect all Buddha-teachings according to the situation. They know the body is illusory, empty, void of existence, with not
hing to cling to. Thus when enlightening beings give away ears and noses, their minds are always dispassionate and peaceful; they have tamed their senses. They save sentient beings from the dangers of perversity and evil, develop all knowledge and virtues, enter the ocean of great generosity, comprehend the meanings of the teachings, fully cultivate the ways they point out, acting in accord with knowledge and wisdom, attaining mastery of truth, and substitute an indestructible body for the perishable body.
“When great enlightening beings give ears, they dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings attain unobstructed ears and hear all sounds speaking the truth; may all sentient beings attain unblocked ears and be able to understand all sounds; may all sentient beings attain the ears of the enlightened and perceive all without hindrance; may all sentient beings attain pure ears, not producing false discriminations based on the medium of hearing; may all sentient beings attain ears without deafness, causing ignorant consciousness not to arise; may all sentient beings attain ears pervading the cosmos and know the voices of teachings of all Buddhas; may all sentient beings attain unobstructed ears and realize all ways of nonobstruction; may all sentient beings attain indestructible ears, that no one be able to break down the discourses of good teachers; may all sentient beings attain all-hearing ears, far-reaching and pure, supreme of all ears; may all sentient beings be endowed with the celestial ear and the enlightened ear.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving ears, to cause all sentient beings to attain pure ears.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 74