The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “What is the reason for that? As soon as the enlightening being sits on this great jewel lotus, from the soles of the enlightening being’s feet emerge countless millions of light rays, which illumine the uninterrupted great hells in the ten directions and extinguish the torments of the beings in the hells. From the circles on the knees of the enlightening being emerge countless millions of light rays which illumine all the animal realms in the ten directions and extinguish the sufferings of all the animals. From the sphere of the navel emerge countless millions of rays of light which illumine all the ghost realms in the ten directions and extinguish all the pains of all the beings in the ghost realms. From the left and right sides of the enlightening being emerge countless millions of rays of light which illumine the humans in the ten directions and extinguish human sufferings. From both hands emerge countless millions of light rays which illumine the abodes of celestials and titans, extinguishing their pains. From the shoulders emerge countless millions of rays of light which illumine all those in the vehicle of listeners, followers of the elementary teachings in the ten directions, and present to them a way of entry into the light of the Teaching. From the back of the neck emerge countless millions of rays of light which illumine all the individually awakened ones in the ten directions and present to them a method for quiescent concentration. From the face emerge countless millions of light rays which illumine all the enlightening beings in the ten directions, from those who have just been inspired for the first time up to those who have reached the ninth stage, and present to them the principle of wisdom and skill in means. From the circle of hair between the brows of the enlightening being emerge countless millions of rays of light which shine on the abodes of demons in the ten directions and eclipse them, and then illumine the enlightening beings who have reached the stage of coronation and disappear into their bodies. From the top of the head emerge as many rays of light as atoms in countless millions of billion-world universes, illumining the sites of congregation of all buddhas throughout the reaches of the space of the cosmos, then circling the world to the right in ten ways, then stopping in the sky and forming a great circular network of lights, and then proceeding to make a great offering called ‘blazing light’ to all buddhas. That offering is such that the offerings of all enlightening beings from the first inspiration up to the ninth stage cannot compare even to the smallest fraction of it.

  “Furthermore, from that great circular network of lights there rain, in all universes in the ten directions, manifestations of flowers, incenses, garlands, perfumes, aromatic powders, robes, parasols, banners, pennants, clothing, ornaments, jewels, and more, all beyond the scope of all worlds, produced by the influence of stores of transmundane roots of goodness, complete in all their features and qualities, sustained by the inconceivable power of nirvana—rains of various arrays of great riches pour as from a great cloud on the places of assembly of each and every buddha. And whoever perceives those offerings becomes assured of perfect enlightenment.

  “Then the lights, having made these offerings, again illumine the circles of assembly of all buddhas, then circle the world to the right in ten ways, and disappear into the soles of the feet of those buddhas. Thence it is known to those buddhas and those enlightening beings that in this world, this realm, this place, the enlightening being following such a practice has reached the time of coronation. Then, from incalculable lands in the ten directions, enlightening beings up to the ninth stage come to that enlightening being, encircle the enlightening being, make great offerings, and, while gazing on that enlightening being, enter a million concentrations.

  “From the gloriously adorned thunderbolt symbols of well-being on the bodies of enlightening beings who have attained the stage of coronation emerges a great light ray called demon-conqueror, each ray accompanied by countless millions of light rays; having illumined the ten directions and shown countless miracles, the light rays again disappear into the enlightening beings’ thunderbolt symbols of well-being. As soon as those light rays of a hundred thousand higher qualities disappear, there appears an increase in the power and strength of the enlightening being.

  “Then there emerges from the circle of hair between the eyebrows of the buddhas beams of light called possessors of omniscient superknowledge, accompanied by countless light beams; illumining all worlds in the ten directions, circling the worlds in ten ways to the right, inspiring many hundreds of quadrillions of enlightening beings, causing all buddha-lands to quake in six ways, stopping all death and rebirth in bad conditions, eclipsing all abodes of demons, showing the settings of enlightenment of all buddhas, and illuminating all worlds throughout the cosmos to the furthest reaches of space, then returning again, circling all assemblies of enlightening beings to the right and manifesting an immense array, those beams of light disappear into the top of the enlightening being’s head. The accompanying light beams in the same way enter into the heads of the enlightening beings assembled around that enlightening being who has reached the tenth stage, whereupon they attain a million concentrations that they have never attained before.

  “At the same time as those light beams enter the enlightening being’s head, the enlightening being is said to be coronated; in the realm of perfectly completely enlightened ones, having fulfilled the ten powers, the enlightening being enters the ranks of the perfect buddhas. It is like the son of a universal ruler, the crown prince, borne by the principal wife, becoming imbued with the characteristics of a universal ruler: the universal ruler seats him on a magnificent golden elephant throne and, bringing water from the four seas, setting over the palace great arrays of flowers, incenses, lamps, garlands, perfumes, aromatic powders, cloths, parasols, banners, pennants, music and song, he takes the golden pitcher containing water from the four oceans and anoints the head of his son with the water, whereupon the son joins the ranks of the consecrated rulers. Then, when he has fulfilled the tenfold path of good action, he gains the name of universal ruler, the one who turns the wheel of the law. In the same way, as soon as the enlightening being is coronated by those blessed buddhas, the enlightening being is said to be anointed with great knowledge. And having fulfilled the ten powers by the anointment of complete buddhas, the enlightening being enters the ranks of the truly consummately enlightened ones. This is the enlightening being’s anointment, or coronation, with great knowledge, in quest of which the enlightening being undertakes many hundreds of thousands of difficult practices. Thus coronated, matured in immeasurable virtue and knowledge, the enlightening being is said to be established in the tenth stage, which is called Cloud of Teaching.

  “Enlightening beings in this stage have accurate knowledge of the totality of the realm of reality, the realm of desire, the realm of form, the formless realm, the realm of worlds, the realm of all beings, the realm of consciousness, the realms of the created and the uncreated, the realm of space, and the teaching of being and nonbeing; they have accurate knowledge of the totality of the realm of nirvana, and of afflictions created by views; they have accurate knowledge of the totality of the becoming and decay of worlds, of the practice of followers of the elementary Buddhist teachings, of the practice of individual illuminates, of the practice of enlightening beings, of the buddhas’ powers, expertises, unique qualities of buddhahood, and material and spiritual bodies, of omniscience in all its aspects, of demonstration of attainment of enlightenment and turning the wheel of teaching—in sum, they have accurate knowledge of accomplishment of all the different ways of access to truth. They also have accurate knowledge of the projection of the world, the projection of the cosmos, the projection of Buddhist followers, the projection of individual illuminates, the projection of enlightening beings, the projection of buddhas, and the feasibility or unfeasibility of all projections.

  “They also know the basis of all buddhas as it really is; they know, too, the basis of the Teaching, the basis of the Community, the basis of action, the basis of affliction, the basis of time, the basis of commitment, the basis of reverence,
the basis of conduct, the basis of ages, and the basis of knowledge, all as they truly are.

  “Also, all knowledge of the buddhas entering into subtleties—knowledge of details of practice, of death in heaven and rebirth on earth, of birth, of leaving home, of attaining enlightenment, of miracles, of setting the wheel of the Teaching in motion, of preaching the truth, of the full details of the Teaching, of the support of the life span, of the manifestation of the body of glorified form, of the orderly guidance of all beings, of manifestation in all worlds, of observing the mental behavior of all beings, of observing past, present, and future in a single instant, of the entire past and future, of the totality of mental actions of beings in all their variety, of the inconceivable powers, expertises, and special qualities of the enlightened, of the ultimate nirvana of the buddhas, of the lasting of the true Teaching based on instruction—beginning with these, they accurately know all the incalculable knowledges of buddhas entering into subtleties.

  “They know all the secret matters of the buddhas, such as the secret of the body, the secret of speech, the secret of mind, the secret of consideration of right and wrong timing, the secret of giving enlightening beings predictions of enlightenment, the secret of taking care of sentient beings, the secret of encouragement and censure as means of guidance, the secret of impartiality in timely admonition and instruction, the secret of establishing a variety of vehicles of liberation, the secret of distinction of beings’ conduct and faculties, the secret of penetrating beings’ acts and deeds, the secret of distinction of enlightening beings’ practices and faculties, the secret of enlightenment through practice and realization of inherent power, the secret of the basis of realization of intrinsic essence, the secret of manifestation and liberation, the secret of attraction and expulsion, the secret of showing the attitudes of standing, walking, sitting, and reclining, the secret of provision of food and physical necessities, the secret of showing speech, silence, meditation, liberation, concentration, and attainment; they know all such secret matters of the buddhas as they really are.

  “They also accurately realize all the buddhas’ knowledges of the interpenetration of ages, such as one age as containing incalculable ages, incalculable ages as containing one age, calculable ages as containing incalculable ages, incalculable ages as containing calculable ages, a moment of thought as containing ages, ages as containing moments of thought, ages as containing nonages, nonages as containing ages, ages with buddhas as containing ages without buddhas, ages without buddhas as containing ages with buddhas, past ages as containing future and present ages, present ages as containing past and future ages, future ages as containing past and present ages, long ages as containing short ages, short ages as containing long ages, the containment of what is made of preceptions in all ages, the containment of ages in all that is made of perceptions.

  “They also accurately know all the complete buddhas’ penetrating knowledges, such as knowledge penetrating a point the size of a hairtip, knowledge penetrating atomic particles, knowledge penetrating realization of enlightenment in the body and land of a buddha, knowledge penetrating realization of enlightenment with the body and mind of a sentient being, knowledge penetrating the realization of enlightenment in all places, knowledge penetrating demonstration of preposterous actions, knowledge penetrating demonstration of conformist behavior, knowledge penetrating demonstration of unconventional behavior, knowledge penetrating demonstration of conceivable and inconceivable acts, acts that can be recognized by the world and acts that cannot be recognized, knowledge penetrating demonstration of acts that can be understood by buddhas’ disciples, acts that can be understood by self-enlightened people, acts that can be understood by enlightening beings, and acts that can be understood by buddhas. Just as such vast extent of knowledge of the buddhas is immeasurable, so also the penetrating knowledge of enlightening beings in this stage is infinite.

  “Furthermore, the enlightening beings following this stage attain the liberation of enlightening beings that is called inconceivable, and the liberations called unobstructed, pure discernment, all-sided illumination, treasury of realization of thusness, following the unhindered wheel, comprehending past, present, and future, matrix of the cosmos, radiance of the circle of liberation, and attainment of the realm of totality. Beginning with these, enlightening beings in the tenth stage attain countless hundreds of thousands of doors of liberation, and in the same way they attain hundreds of thousands of concentrations, mental controls, super-knowledges, and spiritual powers; they attain hundreds of thousands of lights of knowledge, mystical transformations, accomplishments of analytic knowledge, masteries of means and wisdom, floods of great compassion, and entries into the controlling powers of enlightening beings.

  “By means of intellect in accord with such knowledge, they become imbued with infinite ability to recollect anything. They are able to receive, take in, and hold infinite great revelations, clarifications, and clouds of teachings from the buddhas of the ten directions in a single instant. Just as no place on earth except the ocean can bear, can receive, can take in, can hold the great mass of water showered by the clouds of the oceanic water spirit, in the same way the entries into the mysteries of the buddhas—great revelations, great clarifications, great clouds of teachings—cannot be born, received, taken in, or held by all sentient beings, listeners, or self-enlightened ones, or even by enlightening beings from the first to the ninth stages. It is the enlightening beings in the tenth stage, cloud of teaching, who bear, receive, take in, and hold it all. It is as the ocean bears, receives, takes in, and holds the great clouds of one water spirit, or two, or three, up to the innumerable great clouds of innumerable water spirits in a single moment, because of the immeasurable vast breadth of the ocean. In the same way, enlightening beings in this tenth stage, Cloud of Teaching, bear, receive, take in, and hold, in a single instant, immeasurable great revelations, clarifications, and clouds of great teachings from two, three, up to infinitely many buddhas. Thus this stage is called Cloud of Teaching.”

  The enlightening being Moon of Liberation said, “Is it possible to count how many buddhas the enlightening beings receive and hold the great revelations, clarifications, and clouds of teachings from in a single instant?”

  Diamond Matrix said, “It is not possible to give a numerical account of how many buddhas enlightening beings receive teachings from in a single instant. I will, however, make a simile. Suppose that in each of the ten directions, in worlds as numerous as atoms in untold quintillions of buddha-lands, and all the realms of beings found therein, there were one being with the mental command to retain whatever he heard, an attendant of buddhas, a great disciple, foremost of the holders of learning, and that being were endowed with such power of skill in learning. Now suppose all the beings in all those worlds were similarly endowed, and what was learned by each one was not learned by another. What do you think—would the learning ability of all those beings be immeasurable?” Moon of Liberation said, “Great, immeasurable would be the learning ability of those beings.” Diamond Matrix said, “I tell you, in an instant the enlightening beings in this stage of Cloud of Teaching bear, receive, take in, and hold from a buddha a great cloud of lights of revelation of teaching called ‘treasury of past, present, and future of the cosmos’—the aforementioned ability in learning cannot compare to the minutest fraction of this ability to hold the cloud of light of revelation of the teaching. And just as they receive this from one buddha, so also do they receive and hold the cloud of lights of revelation of great teaching called ‘treasury of the past, present, and future of the cosmos’ from as many buddhas as atoms in all the worlds of the ten directions, and from yet more, from infinite buddhas, all in a single instant. Hence this stage is called Cloud of Teaching.

  “Furthermore, enlightening beings in this stage, by the power of their own vows, cause great clouds of compassion to arise, manifesting the thunder of the great Teaching, flashing the lightning of mystic knowledge, science, and expertise, whi
pping up a great wind of radiance, covering all with a dense cloud of virtue and knowledge, showing a dense swirl of various bodies, uttering the proclamation of the great Teaching, routing the horde of demons; and, in one instant, throughout as many quadrillions of worlds as atoms in the worlds in the ten directions mentioned above, and throughout yet more worlds, incalculable hundreds of quadrillions of worlds, they show great rains of goodness-bearing elixir of immortality and settle and extinguish all the dust and flames of afflictions of beings produced by ignorance. Hence this stage is called Cloud of Teaching.

  “Furthermore, the enlightening beings in this stage of Cloud of Teaching manifest all the works of buddhas in one world, beginning with abiding in the heaven of satisfaction, then descending to earth, abiding in the womb, birth, leaving home, attaining enlightenment, being requested to teach, setting in motion the wheel of the Teaching, and the stage of great ultimate nirvana, manifesting these to beings according to their dispositions and capacities for being guided. As they do this in one world, so also do they do the same in two worlds, up to unspeakable, untold numbers of worlds. Having attained such control of knowledge, with absolutely certain great knowledge and mystic knowledge, at will they show a defiled world as pure, show a pure world as defiled, show a narrow world as broad, show a broad world as narrow; in this way, by mystic power, they show magical transformations of all worlds—vast, measureless, minute, erroneous, deranged, inverted, upright, and so on. If they want they can put a whole world, including its peripheral mountains and seas, into a single atom, yet without expanding the atom or shrinking the world, displaying all functions therein. They put two, three, four, five, up to untold numbers of worlds into one atom, yet without expanding the atom, and still displaying all the functions in the worlds. At will they show in one world the arrays of two worlds or, as they wish, show the arrays of up to an untold number of worlds. As they wish, they show the array of one world in two worlds, or in up to an unspeakable number of worlds. As they wish they show in one world the beings in up to an unspeakable number of worlds yet without injuring or troubling those beings. As they wish they show the beings of one world in an unspeakable number of worlds, without injuring or disturbing the beings. As they wish they show the full array of a buddha-realm in a point the size of a hairtip; if they wish they show the full arrays of untold buddha-realms in one point. As they wish they instantly emanate as many bodies as atoms in untold worlds, manifest that many hands on each individual body, and make offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions with those hands; with each hand they sprinkle as many baskets of flowers on those buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, and do likewise with fragrances, garlands, perfumes, aromatic powders, robes, parasols, banners, and pennants. They also manifest that many heads on each body, and manifest that many tongues in each head, telling of the glory of the buddhas.