The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “If anyone comes to great enlightening beings asking for their internal organs, they give all, like Good Giver, Demon-Conquering Sovereign, and countless other great enlightening beings. When practicing this giving, they are glad to see people come begging and look upon them lovingly; in the quest for enlightenment they give as they are asked, without any regret in their hearts. They observe that this body has no permanence or stability, and reflect that they should give this body away and get an indestructible body. They also are mindful that this body will eventually decay, disgusting to all who see, and will be eaten by animals, that this body is impermanent, eventually to be abandoned and eaten by others, without awareness or cognition. When enlightening beings make these observations, they know that the body is transient and the height of impurity; understanding the teaching, they become very joyful. With a respectful mind, they see those who come ask of them as good friends who have come to protect them, and generously give them whatever they ask, substituting the enduring body for the unstable one.

  “When great enlightening beings give in this way, they dedicate all the roots of goodness, that all sentient beings may attain the body of the treasury of knowledge, inwardly and outwardly pure; that all sentient beings may attain the body of the treasury of virtue, able to preserve the vow for omniscience; that all sentient beings may attain a supremely wonderful body, inwardly full of sublime fragrance, outwardly radiating light; that all sentient beings may attain a body without a protruding belly, upper and lower body straight, limbs and joints well coordinated; that all sentient beings may attain the body of knowledge and wisdom, filled with joy, enriched and nourished by the savor of the Buddha teaching; that all sentient beings attain an inexhaustible body and cultivate peaceful abiding in the most profound nature of truth; that all sentient beings may attain the body of the pure treasury of concentration spell formulae, and elucidate all truths with marvelous eloquence; that all sentient beings may attain the body of purity, body and mind both inwardly and outwardly clean; that all sentient beings may attain the body of practice of deep contemplation with knowledge of realization of thusness, filled with wisdom, showering the rain of truth; that all sentient beings may attain a body that is inwardly tranquil while outwardly being a supreme representation of knowledge for sentient beings, emanating great light universally illuminating everything. This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving internal organs, to cause sentient beings to be inwardly and outwardly pure and to all achieve stability in unobstructed knowledge.

  “Great enlightening beings give those who ask for them their limbs, joints, and bones, like Treasury of Truth, King of Light, and innumerable other great enlightening beings. When they give their limbs, joints, and bones, upon seeing people come begging, they give rise to love, joy, pure faith, peace of mind, courage, kindness, an unobstructed mind, a pure mind, a mind to give whatever they are asked. When the great enlightening beings give their limbs and bones, they dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings attain phantomlike bodies, and receive bone, flesh, and blood bodies no more; may all sentient beings attain indestructible, invincible bodies; may all sentient beings attain the body of reality, replete with all knowledge, born in the realm where there are no bounds, no attachments, no fetters, may all sentient beings attain the body of powers of knowledge, all faculties complete, fully developed, uninterrupted and incorruptible; may all sentient beings attain the body of the power of truth, with independent power of knowledge reaching the other shore; may all sentient beings attain a healthy, enduring body, upright and true, never decaying; may all sentient beings attain a body able to respond to needs, to teach and civilize all beings; may all sentient beings attain a body perfumed by wisdom, with the great strength of limb of the mighty; may all sentient beings attain a permanent, enduring body, forever free from all fatigue, may all sentient beings attain a stable body of great strength, able to fulfill the great power of energy and effort; may all sentient beings attain the equally omnipresent body of reality and abide in the realm of immeasurable supreme knowledge; may all sentient beings attain the body of the power of virtue, beneficial to all who see it, removed from all evil; may all sentient beings attain an independent body, which rests on nothing, and all be endowed with nonreliant, unattached knowledge, may all sentient beings attain a body under the protection of the Buddhas; may all sentient beings attain a body beneficial to all living beings, able to enter into all realms of existence; may all sentient beings attain a body of universal manifestation, able to reflect all the Buddha teachings; may all sentient beings attain a body endowed with vigor, concentrating on and diligently cultivating the practice of the knowledge of the Great Vehicle; may all sentient beings attain a pure body free from pride and conceit, their knowledge always stable and not shaken by anything; may all sentient beings attain a body of firm action, accomplishing the work of universal knowledge of the Great Vehicle; may all sentient beings attain a body of firm action, accomplishing the work of universal knowledge of the Great Vehicle; may all sentient beings attain a body in the house of Buddhas, forever leaving all mundane birth and death.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving limbs and bones, to cause all sentient beings to attain omniscience and be eternally pure.

  “When great enlightening beings see people come to them with knives and ask for their skin, their hearts become joyful, their senses delighted, just like someone who has been done a great favor; they welcome them, invite them in, set out a seat for them, and bow to them respectfully, thinking, ‘These seekers are most rare; they come seeking aid from me, working to fulfill my vow for omniscience.’ Joyfully, with a mild countenance, they say to them, ‘This body of mine I relinquish entirely—take as much of my skin as you need,’ just like Treasury of Purity, Golden-sided Deer King, and countless other great enlightening beings of the past. At that time, the enlightening beings dedicate these roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings have fine skin, like that of the Buddha, its color pure and clear, so that people never tire of seeing it; may all sentient beings have unbreakable skin, like diamond, which nothing can break; may all sentient beings have golden skin, like the finest real gold, pure and clear; may all sentient beings have clear, lustrous skin, endowed with the softness and purity of the ascetic, characteristic of the Buddha; may all sentient beings attain skin of the finest color, inherently pure, its color and features incomparable; may all sentient beings develop the pure-colored skin of Buddha, adorned with the marks and embellishments of greatness; may all sentient beings have skin of exquisite color, radiating great light, illuminating everything; may all sentient beings have skin like luminous mesh, like the lofty banner of the world, radiating unspeakably many spheres of light; may all sentient beings have lustrous skin, its color and features all pure.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving their skin, to cause all sentient beings to reach all pure adorned buddha-fields and be endowed with the great virtues of Buddha.

  “Great enlightening beings give their fingers and toes to those who ask for them, like Persevering, Sovereign King of Jambudvipa, and countless other great enlightening beings. At that time the countenance of the enlightening beings is peaceful and happy, their minds are stable and healthy, without any delusion. Riding the Great Vehicle, they do not seek satisfaction of sensual desires, nor do they prize name and fame; they only conceive the great determination of enlightening beings, getting rid of all defilements of greed and jealousy, turning wholeheartedly to the supremely wonderful teaching of the enlightened ones.

  “When great enlightening beings give in this way, they concentrate the roots of goodness and dedicate them thus: ‘May all sentient beings have slender, long fingers, no different from Buddha; may all sentient beings have fingers of even circumference, the upper and lower parts in proportion; may all sentient beings have fingers with ruddy copper nails, the nails rounded and shiny; may all sent
ient beings have the fingers of the omniscient supreme human, able to hold all truths, may all sentient beings have fingers with the refinements of Buddhas’ fingers, and be adorned with the ten powers; may all sentient beings have the fingers of a great human, slender and even; may all sentient beings have fingers marked with lotus gammadions, adorned with marks and embellishments resulting from the working of the ten powers; may all sentient beings have fingers that are mines of light, radiating great light beams illumining unspeakably many buddha-worlds; may all sentient beings have well-proportioned fingers, adorned with the characteristics of Buddhas’ fingers.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness in giving fingers and toes, to cause all sentient beings to attain purity of mind.

  “When great enlightening beings are seeking the teaching, if someone says, ‘If you can give me your fingernails, I’ll give you the teaching,’ the enlightening beings reply, ‘Just give me the teaching, and you may take and use my fingernails as you wish,’ as did Sovereign King Seeking Truth, Inexhaustible, and countless other great enlightening beings. In their search for the true teaching, and because of their desire to expound the true teaching for the benefit of sentient beings, to cause all of them to be fulfilled, they give their fingernails away to those who ask for them. At that time the enlightening beings dedicate these roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings have the ruddy copper nails that are a mark of the Buddha; may all sentient beings have glossy nails, adorned with embellishments; may all sentient beings have shiny clean nails, clear as mirrors, finest of all; may all sentient beings have the nails of the omniscient, and be endowed with the marks of great human beings; may all sentient beings have peerless nails, not defiled by or attached to any world; may all sentient beings have nails with marvelous adornments, with light illumining all worlds; may all sentient beings have unbreakable nails, pure, clean, and complete; may all sentient beings have nails marked by entry into the techniques of all Buddha-teachings, vast knowledge and wisdom thoroughly pure; may all sentient beings have well-formed nails, the fruit of enlightening actions, all sublimely pure; may all sentient beings have the nails of the great omniscient guide, radiating treasuries of beautiful lights of infinite hues.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving their nails in their quest for the teaching, to cause sentient beings to be endowed with the unobstructed power of nails of omniscience of all Buddhas.

  “Great enlightening beings seek the treasury of Buddha teachings with reverence and respect, considering it difficult to find. If someone who can expound it comes to them and says, ‘If you can throw yourself into a pit of fire seventy feet deep I will give you the teaching,’ the enlightening beings, hearing this, jump for joy and reflect, ‘I would stay forever even in miserable places like uninterrupted hell and experience immeasurable suffering for the sake of the truth; how much the more readily would I jump into the fire of the human world to hear the teaching. How wonderful it is that the true teaching is so easy to obtain; without suffering the infinite tortures of hell one gets to hear it merely by entering a pit of fire. Just explain to me and I’ll go into the pit of fire,’ and like the enlightening beings King in Quest of the Good Teaching and Adamantine Meditation, they enter the pit of fire in quest of the teaching.

  “At this time, the enlightening beings dedicate these roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient beings abide in the teaching of universal knowledge, the abode of Buddhas, and never regress or retreat from unexcelled enlightenment; may all sentient beings be free from all perils and experience the peace and ease of buddhahood; may all sentient beings attain fearless minds and be free from all terrors; may all sentient beings always gladly seek truth, full of joy and bliss, adorned by the teachings; may all sentient beings leave the courses of evil and extinguish the raging fires of the three poisons; may all sentient beings always be in peace and happiness, full of the supremely refined pleasures of the enlightened; may all sentient beings attain the mind of enlightening beings and forever part from the fires of craving, anger, and delusion; may all sentient beings attain the pleasures of concentration of enlightening beings and see the Buddhas everywhere, their minds full of joy; may all sentient beings skillfully explain the true teaching, ultimately never forgetting its principles; may all sentient beings have the sublime bliss of spiritual powers of enlightening beings and ultimately abide in knowledge of all ways of enlightenment.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when plunging into a pit of fire in quest of the true teaching, for the purpose of causing sentient beings to give up hindering actions and all attain the full endowment of the fire of wisdom.

  “When great enlightening beings, in quest of the true teaching, analyze and expound the path of enlightening beings, point out the road of enlightenment, proceed toward highest knowledge, diligently cultivate the ten powers, extend the mind of universal knowledge, attain the state of unobstructed knowledge, purify sentient beings, abide in the sphere of action of enlightening beings, earnestly cultivate great knowledge, and preserve complete enlightenment, they experience immeasurable suffering and tribulation, as did Seeker of the Good Teaching, Brave King, and countless other great enlightening beings. To save even the most evil people, who repudiate the truth, are shrouded by evil deeds, are in the grip of delusion, the enlightening beings, for the sake of the truth, accept for those people all the torments they should suffer. These roots of goodness they dedicate in this way: ‘May all sentient beings be forever freed from all suffering and oppression, and attain peace and happiness, freedom and spiritual power; may all sentient beings be forever free from all miseries, and attain all happiness; may all sentient beings annihilate the body of accumulated suffering, attain the body of illumination, and always experience ease and bliss; may all sentient beings escape from the prison of suffering and perfect wise action; may all sentient beings see the path of peace and depart from all evil courses; may all sentient beings attain the joy and bliss of truth and forever end all misery; may all sentient beings extirpate all suffering, love one another, and have no malevolence; may all sentient beings attain the bliss of the Buddhas and leave the pains of birth and death; may all sentient beings attain pure, peerless peace and ease, impervious to all pains and vexations; may all sentient beings attain all supreme bliss, ultimately filled with the unobstructed bliss of buddha-hood.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when accepting suffering for the sake of the truth, because they want to rescue all beings and bring them to safety, free them from peril and difficulty and cause them to live in the realm of omniscient, unhindered liberation.

  “When great enlightening beings occupy the rank of ruler and seek true teaching, they consider even one sentence, one word, one phrase, one doctrine hard to obtain, and will give up everything within the seas, near or far—land, cities, towns, populace, storehouses, gardens, ponds, houses, forests, flowers, produce, including all rare and precious things, palaces, bowers, spouses, children, retinues, even rulership—they are able to give up all, seeking that which endures while in the midst of the transient; because they want to benefit all living beings, they earnestly seek the Buddhas’ path of unhindered liberation and ultimately pure universal knowledge, as did Great Moral Force, King of Supreme Virtue, and countless other great enlightening beings. They diligently seek true teaching, even a little bit; for every one word they prostrate themselves on the ground. Properly meditating on the teachings of all Buddhas of past, present, and future, they devotedly practice them, never greedy for fame or fortune. They abandon the independent rulership of all worldly realms to seek autonomous mastery of truth. They have no attachment to worldly pleasures, and nourish their minds with transmundane teachings, forever leaving behind all idle speculations and inanities of the world, abiding in the truth of the Buddhas, which is free from inanity.

  “At that time, enlightening beings dedicate the roots of goodness in this way: ‘May all sentient
beings always gladly give generously, relinquishing everything; may all sentient beings be able to give up whatever they have without regret; may all sentient beings always seek the truth without begrudging their lives or sustenance; may all sentient beings gain the benefit of the teaching and be able to stop everyone’s doubts and confusion; may all sentient beings be able to give up their lives and sovereignty in quest of the Buddha teaching, cultivating highest enlightenment with great determination; may all sentient beings honor and respect the true teaching with ever profound aspiration, not begrudging their bodily lives; may all sentient beings preserve the most difficult-to-find Buddha teaching, always practicing it diligently; may all sentient beings attain the Buddhas’ light of enlightenment, accomplishing the practice of enlightenment, awakening without relying on another for understanding; may all sentient beings always be able to analyze all Buddha teachings, pull out the arrow of doubt, and attain peace of mind.’ This is great enlightening beings’ dedication of roots of goodness when giving up their countries and cities in quest of the true teaching, in order to cause sentient beings’ knowledge and insight to be complete, and always to be able to remain in the path of peace.