“This is called the technical knowledge of the great enlightening beings’ eighth great concentration, the concentration of the differentiated bodies of all beings.
“What is great enlightening beings’ great concentration of freedom in the elemental cosmos? Here the great enlightening beings enter concentration in the medium of their own eyes, in the mediums of their other senses, including the medium of their own minds—this is called freedom in the elemental cosmos.
“Enlightening beings enter this concentration in each pore of their bodies. They are spontaneously able to know all worldly beings, all worldly phenomena, and all worlds; they know ten quintillion worlds, they know incalculable numbers of worlds, they know as many worlds as atoms in untold buddha-lands. They see in all worlds when buddhas emerge, congregations of enlightening beings filling them all, their radiant light clear, purely good, unalloyed, with great arrays of all kinds of treasures adorning them. Therein the enlightening beings ceaselessly cultivate enlightening practices, for an eon or a hundred eons, or a thousand eons, or a million eons, or a billion eons, or countless eons, or untold eons, or for as many eons as atoms in untold numbers of buddha-lands.
“Also, they remain in this concentration through these immeasurable eons, also entering, also emerging, also perfecting worlds, also pacifying beings, also comprehending the elemental cosmos, also knowing all times, also expounding all truths, also manifesting all kinds of techniques of great spiritual powers, without attachment or obstruction.
“Because they have attained freedom in the elemental cosmos, they ably analyze the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and intellect—they ably analyze all manner of such distinctions, to their furthest extent.
“Once enlightening beings ably know and see in this way, they are able to produce illumination of principles in a trillion concentration formulae, accomplish a trillion purifying practices, acquire a trillion eyes, fulfill a trillion mystic powers, enter a trillion trances, perfect a trillion psychic forces, nurture a trillion powers, fulfill a trillion aspirations, operate a trillion empowerments, demonstrate a trillion mystic metamorphoses, acquire a trillion freedoms of enlightening beings, fulfill a trillion aids to the path of enlightening beings, accumulate a trillion treasuries of enlightening beings, illumine a trillion methods of enlightening beings, expound a trillion doctrines, accomplish a trillion vows, produce a trillion dedications, purify a trillion proper states of enlightening beings, comprehend a trillion teachings, reveal a trillion explanations, and cultivate a trillion purities of enlightening beings.
“These great enlightening beings also have innumerable virtues, measureless virtues, boundless virtues, incomparable virtues, uncountable virtues, incalculable virtues, unthinkable virtues, immeasurable virtues, unspeakable virtues, inexhaustible virtues. These enlightening beings have already prepared these virtues, accumulated them, arrayed them, purified them, clarified them, embodied them—they can produce them all, all are worthy of praise; they can make them endure, they have perfected them all.
“When great enlightening beings dwell in this concentration, they are under the care of buddhas of the east, whose names are as numerous as atoms in ten thousand incalculable numbers of buddha-lands, each name also applying to as many other buddhas as there are atoms in ten thousand incalculable numbers of buddha-lands, each different—and the same is true of the buddhas of the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, and the zenith and nadir. Those buddhas all appear before the enlightening beings and show them the pure lands of the buddhas, tell them about the infinite bodies of the buddhas, about the inconceivable eye of the buddhas, the infinite ear of the buddhas, the pure nose of the buddhas, the pure tongue of the buddhas, the nondwelling mind of the buddhas, and the unsurpassed spiritual powers of the buddhas, causing them to cultivate the unexcelled enlightenment of buddhas, to acquire the pure, clear voice of buddhas; they reveal the nonregressive teaching of the buddhas and the boundless congregations of the buddhas, causing them to enter the infinite mystery of the buddhas; they laud all the bases of goodness of the buddhas and cause them to realize the equality of all buddhas; they explain the lineage of buddhas of past, present, and future, display the boundless forms of buddhas, preach the teaching guarded by the buddhas, utter the buddhas’ subtle voice of truth, clearly discern the worlds of all buddhas, extol the meditation of all the buddhas, show the order of the assemblies of the buddhas’ audiences, preserve the buddhas’ inconceivable teaching, explain that all things are like magical productions, elucidate the inertness of the essence of all phenomena, teach the highest principles, praise the infinite virtues of the enlightened, and cause the enlightening beings to enter the clouds of all concentrations and know their minds are like illusions, like emanations, boundless and inexhaustible.
“When great enlightening beings abide in this concentration of cosmic freedom, those buddhas by names as numerous as atoms in ten thousand incalculable numbers of buddha-lands from each of the ten directions, with as many buddhas as atoms in ten thousand incalculable numbers of buddha-lands in each name, simultaneously watch over the enlightening beings and enable them to acquire boundless bodies, enable them to attain unobstructed minds, enable them to attain unfailing recollection of all truths, enable them to attain certain comprehension of all truths, enable them to increase in intelligence and absorb all truths, enable them to clearly understand all truths, enable them to attain skill in spiritual capacities, with power and keenness of all faculties, cause their sphere to be boundless, extending through the cosmos unceasingly, enable them to attain unhindered knowledge, ultimately pure, and enable them to manifest attainment of buddhahood in all worlds by mystical power.
“Enlightening beings in this concentration attain ten kinds of ocean: they attain the ocean of buddhas because they see them all; they attain the ocean of sentient beings because they pacify them all; they attain the ocean of truths because they can comprehend them all by wisdom; they attain the ocean of lands because they go to them all by psychic realization of essenceless, uncreated spiritual powers; they attain the ocean of virtues because they cultivate them all to perfection; they attain the ocean of spiritual powers because they are able to manifest them extensively to awaken enlightenment; they attain the ocean of faculties because they know all their various differences; they attain the ocean of minds because they know the infinite various different minds of sentient beings; they attain the ocean of practices because they can fulfill them all by willpower; they attain the ocean of vows because they cause them all to be fulfilled, eternally pure.
“Once great enlightening beings have attained to these ten oceans, they also attain ten kinds of excellence: they are foremost among all sentient beings; they are supremely outstanding among celestials; they are most powerful among Brahma-kings; they have no attachments in any world; no one in any world can overshadow them; no demons can disturb them; they can enter any state of being without hindrance; wherever they may be born, they know it is not permanent; they attain mastery of all Buddha teachings; they can manifest all spiritual powers.
“Once great enlightening beings have attained these ten kinds of excellence, they also attain ten kinds of power, cultivating practices in the realm of sentient beings: first is the power of courageous strength, because they tame worldlings; second is the power of energy, because they never backslide; third is the power of nonattachment, because they get rid of defiling obsessions; fourth is the power of silent calm, because they have no disputes about anything; fifth is the power to oppose or conform, because they are free in the midst of all things; sixth is the power of the nature of things, because they attain mastery of all truths; seventh is the power of nonobstruction, because their knowledge and wisdom is immensely vast; eighth is the power of fearlessness, because they can explain all truths; ninth is the power of intellect, because they can hold all truths; tenth is the power of revelation, because their knowledge and wisdom is boundless.
“These ten kinds of power are immense
powers, supreme powers, invincible powers, immeasurable powers, well-developed powers, immovable powers, enduring powers, powers of knowledge, powers of accomplishment, powers of supreme concentration, pure powers, extremely pure powers, powers of the body of reality, powers of the light of truth, powers of the lamp of the Teaching, powers of the methods of the Teaching, indestructible powers, powers of extreme strength, powers of great people, powers cultivated by good people, powers of attainment of true awareness, powers of roots of goodness accumulated in the past, powers stabilizing immeasurable roots of goodness, powers stabilizing the realization of Thusness, powers of meditation, powers enhancing the joy of enlightening beings, powers producing the pure faith of enlightening beings, powers increasing the heroism of enlightening beings, powers born of the aspiration for enlightenment, powers of enlightening beings’ pure resolve, powers of the enlightening beings’ supreme determination, powers of development of the roots of goodness of enlightening beings, powers of finding out the ultimate truth about all things, powers of the unobstructed body, powers of entry into the principles of skill in means of enlightenment, powers of the pure subtle truth, powers of stable force that cannot be upset, powers that all beings cannot overshadow.
“These great enlightening beings can produce these virtuous qualities, can perfect them, fulfill them, illumine them, fully embody them, embody them everywhere, expand them, solidify them, enhance them, purify them, and purify them in all ways.
“No one can tell the bounds of these enlightening beings’ virtues, knowledge, practice, teaching, freedom, austerities, accomplishments, purity, emancipation, or mastery of the Teaching. Even in unspeakably many eons no one could fully explain all the teachings that these enlightening beings have attained, have accomplished, have entered into, have actualized, have experienced, have contemplated, have realized, have purified, have comprehended, and have set up.
“Great enlightening beings in this concentration are able to thoroughly know all the infinite concentrations there are, and the sphere of each concentration, immeasurably vast, in each sphere clearly seeing entry, emergence, and abiding, with their characteristics, manifestations, realms of action, concurrent experiences, inherent natures, extinctions, and emancipations.
“They are like the palace of the great water spirit that negates the tormenting heat, from which flow four rivers that are free from turbidity and pollution and are clear as space itself. The lake there has on each of its four sides a mouth, from each of which flows a river. From the Elephant mouth flows the Ganges River; from the Lion mouth flows the Sita River; from the Ox mouth flows the Sindhu River; and from the Horse mouth flows the Vakshu River. When the four great rivers flow forth, from the mouth of the Ganges River flows silver sand; from the mouth of the Sita River flows diamond sand; from the mouth of the Sindhu River flows gold sand, and from the mouth of the Vakshu River flows lapis lazuli sand. The Ganges River mouth is silver color, the Sita River mouth is diamond color, the Sindhu River mouth is golden, and the Vakshu River mouth is the color of lapis lazuli. Each river mouth is a league wide. After emerging, each river circles the great lake seven times and then flows off in its own direction, racing like quicksilver flowing into the ocean. Between each turn of the rivers are red, blue, and white lotuses made of celestial jewels, of extraordinary fragrance and pure color, their petals, leaves, and calyxes all made of gems, spontaneously shining and reflecting each other and the Heatless Lake, fifty leagues around, its floor covered with beautiful jewel sands, adorned with all kinds of crystals, with innumerable exquisite jewels adorning its shores. The wonderful fragrance of sandalwood is everywhere; lotuses and other fine flowers fill the lake, and when the breeze stirs them, the breath of fragrance is carried afar, pervading everywhere. Flowery forests of jewel trees circle the lake, and when the sun comes out, they reflect everything in and outside the lake, joining the reflections and radiance into a network of light. Myriad things are like this—far and near, high and low, broad and narrow, coarse and fine, even down to the tiniest grain of sand and mote of dust, all being beautiful jewels, clearly mirroring lights, all reflected in the orb of the sun, and all reflecting and rereflecting each other; these reflections, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither merged nor separated, are clearly visible as though they were the original substance itself.
“Just as the great lake Heatless pours forth four rivers from four mouths into the ocean, so also do great enlightening beings pour forth various practices from the four powers of understanding, ultimately to enter the ocean of omniscience. Just as the great river Ganges streams silver sand from the silver Elephant mouth, so do great enlightening beings, by means of the power of understanding meanings, explain all the doctrines expounded by all the buddhas, producing all pure virtuous qualities, ultimately entering into the ocean of unobstructed knowledge. Just as the great river Sita streams diamond sands from the diamond-colored Lion mouth, so do great enlightening beings, by means of the power of understanding doctrines, explain for all beings the adamantine sayings of the Buddha and elicit adamantine knowledge, ultimately flowing into the ocean of unobstructed knowledge. Just as the great river Sindhu streams forth gold sand from the golden Ox mouth, so do great enlightening beings, by means of the power of understanding of expressions, open up the understanding of beings by conditionally produced techniques in accord with the world, causing all to rejoice, taming and maturing them, to ultimately enter the ocean of conditionally originated means. Just as the great river Vakshu streams forth lapis lazuli sands from the blue Horse mouth, so do great enlightening beings, by the power of understanding facilitating inexhaustible eloquence, shower countless teachings to refresh and enliven those who hear, ultimately to enter the ocean of the principles of buddhahood.
“Just as the four great rivers enter the oceans in four directions after having circled Heatless Lake, so do great enlightening beings, accomplishing harmonious deeds, words, and thoughts, and accomplishing deeds, words, and thoughts guided by knowledge, flow in the four directions and ultimately enter the ocean of omniscience. What is meant by the ‘four directions’ of enlightening beings? They are: seeing all buddhas and attaining enlightenment; hearing all enlightening teachings and absorbing and retaining them; fulfilling all the practices of the ways of transcendence; expounding the Teaching compassionately, satisfying sentient beings. Just as the four great rivers circle the great lake and therein blue, red, and white lotuses fill everywhere, in the same way great enlightening beings, in their determination for enlightenment, do not abandon sentient beings, but teach them in order to pacify them and enable them to fulfill incalculable concentrations and see the purity of arrays of the buddha-lands.
“Just as the great lake Heatless is circled by jewel trees, so also do great enlightening beings cause the rings of adornments of the buddha-lands to appear, inspiring sentient beings to seek enlightenment.
“Just as the great lake Heatless is fifty leagues in length and breadth and is clear and free from turbidity, so also is great enlightening beings’ determination for enlightenment infinite, boundless, filled with virtues, pure, clean, and without turbidity.
“Just as the shores of the great lake Heatless are arrayed with countless treasures and sandalwood incense is scattered everywhere, so also are the shores of great vows of the determination for enlightenment of great enlightening beings adorned with countless treasures of the tenfold knowledge and sprinkled with the wonderful fragrance of all virtues.
“Just as the floor of the great lake Heatless is spread with gold sand and arrayed with all kinds of pearls, similarly great enlightening beings’ subtle knowledge observing everywhere is arrayed with all kinds of metaphysical treasures of the inconceivable liberation of enlightening beings, attaining unobstructed illumination of all truths, abiding in the abode of all buddhas, entering into all the most profound liberative techniques of enlightening.
“Just as the chief water spirit Heatless is forever free from the torments of heat among the water spirit
s, in the same way great enlightening beings are forever free from the anxieties and vexations of all worlds—though they be born therein, they are not affected or attached.
“Just as the four great rivers water the whole continent and then enter the ocean, likewise do great enlightening beings refresh celestial and human beings, ascetics and priests, with four rivers of knowledge, causing them to enter the great ocean of knowledge of unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment, adorned with four kinds of power. What are the four? First is the river of the knowledge of vows, rescuing and pacifying all sentient beings, never ceasing; second is the river of knowledge of transcendent ways, cultivating enlightening practices for the benefit of sentient beings, continuing past, future, and present, without end, ultimately entering the ocean of knowledge of the buddhas; third is the river of knowledge of concentrations of enlightening beings, arrayed with countless concentrations, perceiving all buddhas, entering the ocean of buddhas; fourth is the river of knowledge of great compassion, with great universal compassion, autonomous, saving sentient beings everywhere, caring for them by appropriate means, ceaselessly, cultivating the way of esoteric virtues, ultimately entering the ocean of the ten powers.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 110