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The Flower Ornament Scripture

Page 118

by Thomas Cleary


  Turning untold cycles of true teaching,

  In each cycle of teaching

  Expounding unspeakably many scriptures,

  In each scripture

  Defining unspeakably many doctrines,

  In each of those doctrines

  Explaining unspeakably many principles,

  With each of those principles

  Taming untold sentient beings.

  Then again, on a single point

  Buddhas may dwell for untold eons,

  And as on one point, so on all points,

  For the same number of eons,

  The nonobstruction of their minds unspeakable,

  Emanating unspeakably many buddhas,

  Each emanation buddha

  Also manifesting untold emanations.

  The reality bodies of those buddhas are unspeakably many,

  The emanated bodies of those buddhas are unspeakably many,

  Their adornments are unspeakably measureless.

  They travel infinitely through the ten directions,

  Coursing through untold lands,

  Observing untold sentient beings,

  Purifying untold sentient beings,

  Taming untold sentient beings.

  Their embellishments are unspeakable,

  Their masteries are unspeakable,

  Their mystic transformations are unspeakable,

  Their spiritual powers are unspeakable,

  Their spheres are unspeakable,

  Their empowerments are unspeakable,

  The worlds they live in are unspeakable,

  Their pure characteristics of reality are unspeakable.

  They deliver untold discourses,

  In each and every discourse

  Expounding untold doctrines,

  In each and every doctrine

  Explaining untold principles,

  Each and every principle

  Containing untold definitions,

  Each and every definition

  Conquering untold beings.

  Unspeakable homogeneous principles, unspeakable homogeneous minds,

  Unspeakable heterogeneous principles, unspeakable heterogeneous minds,

  Unspeakable heterogeneous faculties,

  Unspeakable heterogeneous languages—

  In every mental moment, wherever they go,

  They tame unspeakable numbers of beings.

  Their occult projections are unspeakable,

  Their miraculous displays are unspeakable;

  The times and ages therein are unspeakable,

  The differentiations therein are unspeakable.

  Enlightening beings can explain them in particular,

  While mathematicians cannot comprehend them;

  The great and small lands on a point,

  Polluted, pure, gross, and subtle,

  All of them unspeakably many,

  Enlightening beings comprehend and can distinguish.

  Reducing a land to atoms,

  Those atoms are measureless, untold;

  Boundless lands, as many as these atoms,

  Are gathered on a single hairtip.

  These lands, unspeakable,

  Are together on a hairtip without crowding;

  Without causing the hairtip to expand,

  Those lands all gather there.

  The lands therein

  Retain their original form, without mixup;

  Just as one land does not disorder the others,

  The same is true of all lands.

  The realms in space, without bound,

  All are arrayed on a hairtip;

  These lands on a hairtip

  Enlightening beings can tell of in an instant.

  Into a minute pore

  Untold lands enter in succession;

  The pore can admit those lands,

  But those lands cannot fill the pore.

  The number of eons of their entry is unspeakable,

  The number of eons of their admission is unspeakable;

  The durations of their procession, array, and abiding

  Are all unspeakable eons.

  Thus having taken in and settled these lands,

  Enlightening beings’ spheres are unspeakable;

  Their devices during entry are unspeakable,

  Their deeds after entry are unspeakable.

  The clear comprehensions of their cognitive faculties are unspeakable,

  Their journeys in all directions are unspeakable,

  Their vigorous endeavors are unspeakable,

  Their autonomous mystic transfigurations are unspeakable.

  Their meditations are unspeakable.

  Their great vows are unspeakable,

  Their spheres of action are unspeakable,

  All their attainments are unspeakable.

  The purities of their physical actions are unspeakable,

  The purities of their verbal actions are unspeakable,

  The purities of their mental actions are unspeakable,

  The purities of their resolutions are unspeakable.

  The purities of their subtle knowledge are unspeakable,

  The purities of their sublime wisdom are unspeakable,

  Their perceptions of reality are unspeakable,

  Their cessations of doubts are unspeakable.

  Their escapes from birth and death are unspeakable,

  Their ascents to the absolute state are unspeakable,

  Their deep concentrations are unspeakable,

  Their total comprehensions are unspeakable.

  All sentient beings are unspeakable,

  All buddha-lands are unspeakable,

  Knowledge of sentient beings’ forms is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their dispositions is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their deeds and the results is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their intellects is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their embodiments is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their types is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their species is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their birthplaces is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of when they are born is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their having been born is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their understandings is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their tendencies is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their languages is unspeakable,

  Knowledge of their works is unspeakable,

  Enlightening beings with great compassion

  Benefit all worldly beings,

  Manifesting untold bodies everywhere,

  Entering untold buddha-lands,

  Seeing untold enlightening beings,

  Developing untold knowledges,

  Seeking untold teachings,

  Broadcasting untold lessons of buddhas.

  They manifest untold various bodies,

  Traveling to untold lands,

  Showing untold spiritual powers,

  Pervading untold regions,

  Emanating untold bodies in each place,

  Approaching untold buddhas,

  Making untold offerings

  Of untold infinite varieties,

  Untold pure clear jewels,

  Untold beautiful lotus blossoms,

  Untold garlands of the finest scent,

  Offering them to untold enlightened ones,

  Their pure faith untold,

  Supreme resolution untold,

  Powerful aspiration untold,

  Honoring untold buddhas.

  They practice untold generosity.

  Their minds in the untold past

  Giving to all who seek, untold,

  Giving all, untold times.

  The purities of their self-control are untold;

  The purities of their minds are untold;

  They eulogize untold buddhas,

  Delight in untold truths.

  They accomplish untold forbearances,

  Their acceptance of
nonorigination untold;

  They embody untold tranquillities,

  Dwelling in untold states of peace.

  They exude untold energy,

  Their past determinations untold,

  Their irreversible aspiration untold,

  Their immutable wills untold.

  Their treasuries of all concentrations are untold;

  They examine untold phenomena and principles,

  Stilled in untold concentrations,

  Mastering untold meditations.

  Their attainments of wisdom are untold,

  Their freedoms in concentration are untold,

  Their comprehensions of things are untold,

  Their clear visions of buddhas are untold.

  They cultivate measureless, untold practices,

  Undertake untold far-reaching vows;

  Their profound spheres are untold,

  Their pure means of teaching are untold.

  The power of enlightening beings’ ways is unspeakable,

  The stations of enlightening beings’ ways are unspeakable,

  Their right recollection is unspeakable,

  Their realms of principle and fact are unspeakable.

  They cultivate unspeakably many means of enlightenment,

  They study unspeakably many profound sciences;

  Their immeasurable wisdom is unspeakable,

  Their ultimate wisdom is unspeakable.

  Their knowledge of things is unspeakable,

  Their pure cycles of teaching are unspeakable,

  Their great clouds of teachings are unspeakable,

  Their great rain of teaching is unspeakable.

  Their spiritual powers are unspeakably many,

  Their techniques are unspeakably many,

  Their knowledge of empty quiescence is unspeakable,

  The continuity of mental instants is unspeakable.

  Their measureless practices are unspeakable,

  Their constancy instant to instant is unspeakable;

  The oceans of buddha-lands are untold,

  They can go to them all, unspeakably.

  The differences in the lands are untold,

  Their various purities are untold,

  Their different adornments are untold,

  Their boundless forms are untold.

  Their various arrays are untold,

  Their various refinements are untold;

  Pure buddha-lands are unspeakably many,

  Polluted buddha-lands are unspeakably many.

  Knowing sentient beings is unspeakable,

  Knowing their natures is unspeakable,

  Knowing their deeds and rewards is unspeakable,

  Knowing their mentalities is unspeakable.

  Knowing beings’ characters is unspeakable,

  Knowing their understandings and inclinations is unspeakable;

  Their defilement and purity are unspeakable,

  Observing and civilizing them are unspeakable.

  Transforming powers are unspeakable;

  Manifesting various bodies, untold,

  Cultivating untold energy,

  Enlightening beings liberate untold sentient beings.

  They manifest untold mystic transfigurations,

  Emanate untold great beams of light,

  With untold various forms,

  And purify untold sentient beings.

  Each of their pores, untold,

  Radiate webs of light, untold,

  The webs of light manifesting untold hues,

  Illumining untold buddha-lands.

  Their courage and fearlessness are untold,

  Their technical skills are untold,

  Taming untold sentient beings,

  Emancipating them from birth and death.

  Their pure deeds are untold,

  Their pure words are untold,

  Their boundless thoughts are untold,

  Their sublime practices are untold.

  They develop untold jewels of knowledge,

  And enter untold realms of reality.

  Enlightening beings’ mnemonic powers are unutterable,

  They are able to learn inexplicably.

  The voices of the wise are untold,

  The purity of their voices is unspeakable;

  Their accurate awareness of reality is untold,

  Their awakening of sentient beings is untold.

  They embody untold dignified bearing;

  Their pure actions are untold.

  They achieve untold expertise

  And educate untold worldlings.

  The offspring of buddhas are unspeakably many

  And so are their pure, excellent acts.

  They eulogize untold buddhas,

  Their praises inexhaustible, beyond telling.

  The guides of the world are unspeakably many;

  So are their expositions and descriptions.

  Those enlightening beings are unspeakably many,

  Their pure virtues untold.

  Their spheres are unutterable,

  They can remain there indefinitely,

  Their knowledge therein untold;

  They live through all ages, which none can ever tell.

  They are gladdened by untold buddhas,

  Their wisdom and equanimity are beyond speech;

  They penetrate untold truths,

  With untold freedom from obstruction amid phenomena.

  Past, present, and future being like space, unspeakable,

  Their knowledge of all times is untold;

  Their comprehension of past, present, and future unutterable,

  They dwell in knowledge beyond speech.

  Their superlative actions are untold,

  Their measureless vows are untold,

  Their pure great vows are untold,

  They accomplish ineffable enlightenment.

  The enlightenment of the buddhas is inexpressible;

  They develop untold knowledge,

  Discern untold principles,

  Know all laws,

  Beautify untold buddha-lands,

  And cultivate untold powers.

  They cultivate practice for an unutterably long time,

  And are ineffably enlightened in a single instant.

  The buddhas’ freedoms are unspeakable,

  Their extensive explanations of truth cannot be recounted.

  Their various spiritual powers are inexplicable,

  They appear in untold worlds;

  Their cycles of pure teaching are ineffable,

  Their courageous ability to teach unspeakable,

  Their various expositions unutterable,

  Their compassion for the world cannot be told.

  Through all eons, unspeakably many,

  They praise untold merits and virtues;

  While unspeakable eons may end,

  Those untold virtues cannot be exhausted.

  Untold enlightened ones

  With untold tongues

  Praise the untold virtues of buddhas,

  Impossible to exhaust in untold eons.

  The living beings in the ten directions

  All attain enlightenment at once;

  Therein one buddha can manifest to all

  Untold embodiments,

  Each of these untold bodies

  Manifesting untold heads,

  Each of these untold heads

  Manifesting untold tongues,

  Each of the untold tongues

  Manifesting untold voices,

  Each of the untold voices

  Remaining for untold eons.

  As is one, so are all buddhas;

  As one body, so all bodies;

  As one head, so all heads;

  As one tongue, so all tongues;

  As one voice, so all voices,

  Ever praising the enlightened for untold eons;

  The untold eons may end,

  But praise of enlightened virtues cannot be exhausted.

  In a single atom there ca
n be

  Untold lotus worlds;

  In each lotus world

  Are untold Chief of Goodness Buddhas,

  Pervading the entire cosmos

  And every atom therein.

  Worlds, becoming, subsisting, and decaying,

  Are measureless, unspeakable in number;

  The point of a single atom is boundless,

  Containing measureless lands therein.

  The differentiations of the ten directions are unutterable,

  The arrays of the oceans of worlds cannot be all told of;

  In each land are buddhas

  With life spans of unspeakable eons.

  Those buddhas’ deeds cannot be recounted,

  Their profound teachings are unutterable,

  Their great spiritual powers are ineffable,

  Their unimpeded knowledge is inexpressible.

  They enter into a point,

  The events at that point untold;

  They achieve the ten powers, unspeakable,

  And awaken to ineffable enlightenment.

  Entering untold realms of pure principle,

  They gain untold treasuries of deep knowledge:

  Various numerical measurements, untold,

  They comprehend, all, as they are;

  Various physical measurements, untold,

  They completely master;

  Various concentrations, untold,

  They can pass eons in, each one.

  In the presence of untold buddhas,

  The purifications they practice are untold;

  They attain unutterable mental freedoms

  And journey in all directions, beyond the power of speech.

  The manifestations of their spiritual powers are untold,

  Their spheres of action are boundless, ineffable;

  They go to untold lands

  And understand untold buddhas.

  Their vigor and courage are unspeakable,

  Their knowledge and comprehension unutterable.

  They do not act on rules, nor do they not act on them,

  Their penetration of realms of objects is infinite.

  For unreckonable vast eons

  They travel constantly through the ten directions, infinitely.

  Their knowledge of enlightening means is infinite,

  Their knowledge of truth is infinite,

  Their knowledge of spiritual powers is infinite,

  Their miracles in each mental instant are infinite.

  They comprehend infinitely each one

  Of the infinite buddhas’ teachings;

  They can realize enlightenment at once

  Or can enter realization at various times.

  The buddha-lands on a hairtip are infinite,

  The buddha-lands in an atom are infinite;

  They can go to all these buddha-lands

  And see the infinite buddhas.

  They realize one truth infinitely,

  And enter the infinite line of buddhas.

  The buddhas’ lands are infinite—

  They can travel to all and attain enlightenment.

 

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