The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  Thus by means of the light beams emanated from the circle of hair between the eyebrows of Shakyamuni Buddha, those worlds and those circles of buddhas and the bodies and sitting places of their enlightening beings were clearly illumined. By the lights emanated by those other buddhas, this world system, the circle of Shakyamuni Buddha, and the body and sitting place of Diamond Matrix were seen clearly illumined.

  Then, from the great tower of webs of clouds of light, by the power of the Buddha, this sound emerged:

  By those with the ten powers, peerless, equal to space, with boundless virtues,

  By the teachings of Shakyamuni, by those beyond all men and gods, is this miraculous display made.

  By the power of the buddhas, open the storehouse of the Kings of Truth

  And reveal the supreme practice and stages of knowledge distinctly.

  Those who hear this supreme teaching will also be

  Empowered and supported by the buddhas and enlightening beings,

  Who will cause them to attain buddhahood once they attain the ten powers,

  After having gradually fulfilled the undefiled ten stages.

  Even sunk in the ocean or thrown into the holocaust,

  They will be able to hear this teaching, without doubt.

  But those stuck to folly, suspicious and unreceptive,

  Will never get to hear it.

  The path of knowledge of the stages, supreme, from entry, station, and attainment,

  Please explain in order, including the practice and sphere of action.

  Then Diamond Matrix, looking over the ten directions, in order to increase the purity of this assembly, at this juncture spoke these verses:

  Subtle and hard to know is the path of the great sages,

  Nonconceptual, beyond conception, most difficult to contact.

  It is pure, known only to the wise,

  Its nature is quiescent, without extinction or origination.

  Inherently empty, utterly tranquil, nondual, inexhaustible,

  Liberated from all states, impartially reaching nirvana,

  Without extremes or mean, not expressed by words,

  Outside of time, like the sky,

  Quiescent, ultimately silent, realized by the enlightened,

  Most difficult to express by any manner of speaking:

  Such are the stages and their practice—

  Most difficult to speak of, more difficult to hear.

  Beyond thought and the path of mind,

  Elicited by knowledge, realized by the highest sages,

  Not revealed by the elements of matter and sense,

  Unattainable by mind, intellectually inconceivable:

  Just as the tracks of a bird in the sky

  Cannot be described or seen even by the enlightened,

  In the same way all the stages

  Cannot be told of, much less heard.

  I will tell just the beginning, then,

  Out of kindness, compassion, commitment:

  I will tell of them in order; yet not by spheres of thought

  But by knowledge are they to be fulfilled as one wishes.

  Such a realm is hard to see, impossible to tell of—

  It just rests in one’s own mind;

  But I will speak out by the power of Buddha—

  It should be heard with concentration and respect.

  This entry of knowledge, being as such,

  Cannot be explained even in eons:

  I will now give a summary,

  According to the meaning of the teaching as it is.

  Attend respectfully, blessed ones;

  I will speak by the power of Buddha.

  I will utter the voice of the highest teaching,

  In appropriate words, with examples.

  Though it is difficult to express in speech,

  Yet mine is the power to do so,

  By the immeasurable power of Buddha and the power of the body of light

  That have entered into me.

  “Now then, in beings who have well-developed roots of goodness, who have done their tasks well, who have accumulated provisions for the Path, who have attended buddhas in the world, who have consolidated pure practices, who are in the care of spiritual friends, who have thoroughly purified their intentions, who have great determination, who are endowed with supreme zeal, and who actualize pity and compassion, the aspiration for enlightenment is aroused, for the quest of enlightened knowledge, for the attainment of the ten powers, for the atttainment of great expertise, for the attainment of the enlightened quality of impartiality, for the salvation of all beings, for the purification of great mercy and compassion, for the attainment of knowledge of all in the ten directions, for the unobstructed purification of all buddha-lands, for awareness of past, present, and future in a single instant, and for expertise in turning the wheel of the great Teaching.

  “This intention of enlightening beings, furthermore, is aroused and guided by great compassion, controlled by wisdom and knowledge, sustained by skill in means, stabilized by will and determination, immeasurable as the power of buddhas, clearly distinguishing the power of sentient beings and the power of Buddha, focused on unfragmented knowledge, in accord with spontaneous knowledge, completely receptive to the guidance of wisdom and knowledge of all Buddha teachings; it is as ultimate as the cosmos, as enduring as space, abiding forever.

  “With this arousing of the mind the enlightening being is beyond the stage of mundane beings, has entered the rank of enlightening beings, is born in the family of the enlightened, cannot be slandered by any racial slur, has left all mundane paths and has entered the transmundane Path, is stationed in the reality of enlightened beings, is properly established in the abode of enlightening beings, has attained equanimity, is established in the lineage of buddhas of past, present, and future, certain to become perfectly enlightened. Established in these things, the enlightening being is established in the first stage of enlightening beings, that of Extreme Joy, by attainment of imperturbability.

  “Here, standing on the stage of Extreme Joy of enlightening beings, one is filled with extreme joy, filled with calm, filled with happiness, filled with ebullience, filled with exaltation, filled with delight, greatly invigorated, most uncontentious, most harmless, and free from anger.

  “Thus is the enlightening being extremely joyful when stationed in the enlightening beings’ stage of joy; one becomes extremely joyful thinking of the buddhas, of the Buddha teachings, of the enlightening beings, of the practices of enlightening beings, of the purification of the transcendent ways, of the eminence of the stages of enlightening beings, of the indestructibility of enlightening beings, of the teachings of the buddhas, and of the ability to benefit beings; and, thinking of the means of entry into the knowledge of all buddhas, the enlightening being is imbued with extreme joy. ‘Detached am I from all mundane objects; I have entered the vicinity of buddhahood; I have left behind the stage of infantile ignorance and drawn near to the stage of knowledge; I am cut off from all evil and states of misery; I am a refuge for all beings; I am near to the vision of all buddhas; I am born in the realm of all buddhas; I have reached equality to all enlightening beings; gone from me are all fears and terrors’—thus thinking, the enlightening being gives rise to extreme joy. Why? Because that is what happens to all fears with the enlightening being’s attainment of the stage of joy—fears such as fear of not surviving, fear of ill repute, fear of death, fear of states of misery fear of intimidation by groups—all these fears leave. Why is that? Inasmuch as the very concept of self is gone, there is no self-love, much less any love for material things; therefore there is no fear of not surviving. One does not seek any honor from anyone, but rather thinks one should provide others with sufficient means of subsistence, therefore there is no fear of ill repute. And because one has no view of self, one has no concept of self and therefore no fear of dying. Thinking that when one is dead, one will certainly not be separated from the buddhas and enlightening beings, one th
erefore has no fear of states of misery. Thinking that there is no aspiration in any world equal to, much less greater than, one’s own aspiration for enlightenment, there is no fear of intimidation by groups. Thus all fears and terrors are removed.

  “Furthermore, the enlightening being, due to having made great compassion foremost, strives all the more with an indestructible, extraordinary will, for the fulfillment of all roots of goodness, by mastery of perfect faith, by purity of intention, by wealth of true understanding, by having developed mercy and compassion, by having attained great kindness, by indefatigability of mind, by adornment with conscience, by attainment of joy in tolerance, by honor and respect for the teachings of the completely enlightened, by tireless collection of roots of goodness night and day, by service to good spiritual friends, by enjoyment of true teaching, by insatiable search for learning, by correct contemplation of the teachings as they are heard, by mental nonattachment, by absence of craving for gain, honor, or fame, by absence of desire for goods, by tireless production of a jewel-like mind, by seeking the stage of omniscience, by concentration on the powers, expertise, and unique buddha-qualities of all enlightened ones, by unattached seeking of the transcendent ways, by abandonment of all deception and dishonesty, by acting in accord with one’s words, by constant preservation of truthful speech, by not allowing the family of the enlightened to die out, by not abandoning the teachings of enlightening beings, by mountainlike imperturbability of mind, by discerning knowledge of all mundane doings, by attainment of the transmundane path of relinquishment, by constant seeking of the supreme ultimate.

  “Imbued with these ways of purifying the stages, enlightening beings are well established in the stage of Extreme Joy. Once established in this stage, enlightening beings undertake great vows, great resolutions, great undertakings such as the following: They undertake a first great vow to make offerings to each and every buddha, in the best of forms, with the highest purity of faith, as extensively as the cosmos, to the furthest reaches of space, throughout all time. They undertake a second great vow to maintain the eye of the teachings spoken by all buddhas, to associate with all buddhas and enlightening beings, to preserve the teachings of all complete buddhas, to take in all truths, to the extent of the cosmos, to the furthest reaches of space, throughout all time, without ceasing, in all eons for as many buddhas as appear in the world. They undertake a third great vow to go to all places in all worlds where buddhas appear—from their existence in the heaven of satisfaction, descending into the human world, entry into the womb, abiding in the womb, birth, youthful enjoyments, married life, renunciation, practice of austerities, conquering demons, enlightenment, being requested to teach, setting the wheel of the great teaching in motion, and entry into great absolute nirvana—to go to all places at once, taking the lead in making offerings, receiving the teaching, and applying it in practice, to the extent of the cosmos, to the farthest reaches of space, throughout all time, without ceasing in all eons for as many buddhas as appear in the world, until the attainment of great absolute nirvana. They undertake a fourth vow to bring forth the determination to disseminate instruction in the accomplishment of means of purification of the ways of transcendence, accurate explanation of the path of the stages, the practices of all enlightening beings, bringing forth their total and particular aspects, with consideration of their common and distinctive features, as they are formed and dissolved, the many extensive immeasurable holistic practices of all buddhas and enlightening beings contained in the ways of transcendence, purifying all the stages of enlightening beings, vowing to call forth this aspiration to the extent of the cosmos, to the furthest reaches of space, throughout all time. They undertake a fifth great vow to fully develop all beings, corporeal or immaterial, thinking, nonthinking, or neither, born of eggs, wombs, moisture, or spontaneously, in all realms contained in the worlds of desire, forms, and formlessness, bound to the six paths of mundane existence in all places of birth, caught up in names and forms—to develop them to lead them into the Buddha teaching, to free them from all mundane groupings, to establish them in omniscience, to develop and mature all beings forever, to the extent of the cosmos, throughout the reaches of space, for all time, for as many eons and beings as there be. They undertake a sixth great vow for direct knowledge of the innumerable distinctions in all the worlds of the ten directions, variously reflecting one another, subtle and gross, upside-down, inverted, and upright, their appearance and consolidation—they vow to comprehend the distinctions of worlds, to the extent of the cosmos, throughout the reaches of space, for all time. They undertake a seventh great vow, to show all beings the purification of all lands in one land and one land in all lands, the adornment of innumerable buddha-lands with arrays of light, entering into the supreme realm of buddhas from which all afflictions are removed, completely purified and filled with wise beings, showing this to all beings to please them in accord with their mentalities, vowing to thoroughly purify all buddha-lands, to the extent of the cosmos, to the farthest reaches of space, throughout all time, unceasing for as many eons and buddha-lands as there may be. They undertake an eighth great vow, to work with the same one determination as all enlightening beings, to build up roots of goodness without opposition, to be equally focused on the same one object as all enlightening beings, to be in concert with all enlightening beings, to manifest appearances of Buddha as desired, to attain the knowledge of the powers of the Enlightened at will, to attain ever-present mystic knowledge, to travel to all worlds, to appear in the circles of all buddhas, to adapt to all situations, to attain realization of the inconceivable great vehicle, to continue to carry out the practices of enlightening beings, vowing to enter the great vehicle, to the extent of the cosmos, to the furthest reaches of space, throughout all time, unceasing for as many eons and practices as there may be. They undertake a ninth great vow to carry out the practice of enlightening beings, riding on the wheel that never rolls backward, by means of fruitful words, thoughts, and deeds, so that those who see them will surely realize buddhahood, those who hear what they say will attain knowledge, and so that those who have pure faith will be freed from afflictions—they vow to attain a state like a master physician, to attain embodiment of magical fulfillment of aspirations, to carry out the practices of enlightening beings as extensively as the cosmos, to the farthest reaches of space, throughout all time, unceasing for as many eons and as many practices as there be, that their deeds not be in vain. They undertake a tenth great vow, to awaken completely to unexcelled perfect enlightenment in all worlds, to show at every point—without leaving one place—birth, leaving home, transfiguration, austere practice, conquering demons, sitting at the pinnacle of enlightenment, turning the wheel of the teaching, and final absolute nirvana, to attain the knowledge of power of the vast realm of buddhahood and in each instant show all sentient beings the emergence of a buddha in accordance with their mentalities so that they may attain enlightenment and perfect peace, to universally realize the nirvana of all phenomena by one pefect enlightenment, to please all beings according to their mentalities with a single utterance, to show great ultimate nirvana without cutting off the power of practice, to show the construction of all teachings of the stages of great knowledge, to pervade all worlds by the mystic power of the knowledge of truth and the mystic knowledge of illusoriness, vowing to bring forth great knowledge to the extent of the cosmos, to the farthest reaches of space, throughout all time, never ceasing for all eons, for all true enlightenments.

  “Thus, having brought to the fore such great aspirations, great purposes, great undertakings, through ten great vows, enlightening beings stationed in the stage of Extreme Joy undertake countless consummate vows, which they undertake in ten ultimate terms: that is, to the ultimate extent of living beings, to the ultimate extent of worlds, to the ultimate extent of space, to the ultimate extent of the cosmos, to the ultimate extent of the realm of nirvana, to the ultimate extent of the emergence of buddhas, to the ultimate extent of enlightened knowledg
e, to the ultimate extent of realms of mental objects, to the ultimate extent of entries of knowledge into the sphere of buddhas, to the ultimate extent of the courses of worlds, the courses of teachings, and the courses of knowledge. Enlightening beings vow that their undertakings shall be coterminous with living beings, worlds, space, the cosmos, nirvana, the emergence of buddhas, enlightened knowledge, mental objects, entries of knowledge into the sphere of buddhas, the courses of worlds, the courses of teachings, and the courses of knowledge; and that just as all of these are endless, so shall the enlightening beings’ roots of goodness be endless.

  “In those who have taken such vows upon themselves, the workable mind and the gentle mind are incorruptibly pure. The enlightening beings have faith in the perfectly enlightened buddhas’ attainments of past practices, their realization of the transcendent ways, their consummate attainment of the stages, their consummate attainment of the powers, their complete fulfillment of expertise, the indestructibility of unique qualities of buddhahood, the inconceivability of buddhahood, the attainment of the sphere of buddhas, which is infinitely various, the attainment of immeasurable knowledge, the complete entry into the realm of those who arrive at Thusness. Enlightening beings believe in the consummation of the fruits; in sum, they believe in the practice of enlightening beings, including all that upon which is based the teaching of the stage of knowledge of enlightened ones.

  “Furthermore, it occurs to the enlightening beings that these qualities of buddhahood are so profound, so detached, so peaceful, so empty, so signless, so desireless, so undefiled, so vast, so immeasurable, so supreme, so hard to approach.