The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “Buddhas have ten kinds of abode, abiding therein in all things. What are they? All buddhas abide in awareness of all realms of reality. All buddhas abide in compassionate speech. All buddhas abide in the fundamental great vow. All buddhas abide in persistence in civilizing sentient beings. All buddhas abide in the principle of absence of selfhood. All buddhas abide in impartial salvation. All buddhas abide in recollection of truth. All buddhas abide in the unobstructed mind. All buddhas abide in the constantly rightly concentrated mind. All buddhas abide in equal comprehension of all things without violating the character of ultimate reality.

  “All buddhas have ten exhaustive knowledges. What are they? They know all things of the past exhaustively. They know all things of the future exhaustively. They know all things of the present exhaustively. They know all principles of language exhaustively. The know all sentient beings’ minds exhaustively. They know all the various ranks, high, middling, and low, of the roots of goodness of enlightening beings. They know all buddhas’ complete knowledge and virtues do not increase or decrease. They know all phenomena come from interdependent origination. They know all world systems exhaustively. They know all the different phenomena in all worlds, interrelated in Indra’s net.

  “Buddhas have ten kinds of might with enormous power, supreme power, measureless power, grandiose, awesome power, power difficult to acquire, undiminishing power, stable power, indestructible power, power inconceivable to any worldlings, power that all living beings cannot shake. What are they? All buddhas have indestructible bodies and life that cannot be cut off—no worldly poisons can affect them; the floods, fires, and gales of all worlds cannot harm the buddhas’ body. Even if all demons, gods, sprites, goblins, angels, titans, and sundry other creatures were to rain thunderbolts as big as mountains with all their strength, hurling them down all at once throughout the universe, they could not cause the buddhas’ mind to be startled or frightened and could not even move a single hair of the buddhas. Walking, standing still, sitting, or reclining, the buddhas never change. That rain cannot fall where the buddhas are unless they let it, and even if they do not prevent it, and let it rain, it does not harm them. If there are any beings sustained by the buddhas or in the service of the buddhas, that rain of thunderbolts cannot even harm them, much less the buddhas. This is the buddhas’ first mighty quality.

  “All buddhas put the mountains, oceans, forests, and buildings in all worlds in all universes into a single pore for all future ages, yet the sentient beings are not aware, do not know, unless they are empowered by the Buddha. Then the buddhas, holding all those worlds in a pore throughout the ages to come, whether walking, standing still, sitting, or reclining, do not conceive a single thought of fatigue. Just as space holds all the worlds in the cosmos without fatigue, so do all buddhas hold all worlds in a single pore. This is buddhas’ second mighty quality.

  “All buddhas can take as many steps as atoms in untold worlds in a single moment, passing as many lands as atoms in untold buddha-lands with each step, and travel thus for as many eons as atoms in all worlds: if there were a great adamantine mountain equal in measure to all those buddha-lands, the buddhas could place as many such mountains as atoms in untold buddha-lands in a single pore; the pores on a buddha’s body being equal in number to all beings in the cosmos, they place the same number of great adamantine mountains in each pore, and, holding all those mountains, walk in the ten directions, entering all worlds in space, from the past throughout the future, through all ages, without resting—yet the buddhas’ bodies are not injured and they do not get tired; their minds are always in concentration, without distraction. This is the buddhas’ third mighty quality.

  “Buddhas, after a meal, sit in the lotus posture through the untold eons of past and future, and enter the inconceivable bliss experienced by buddhas; their bodies remain stable, still and unmoving, yet they do not abandon the work of teaching sentient beings. Suppose someone measured each world throughout space one after another with a hairtip; the buddhas are able to sit cross-legged forever on a point the size of the hairtip, and likewise on all points. Suppose the size and weight of each being in all worlds in the ten directions were equal to those of worlds as numerous as atoms in untold buddha-lands; the buddhas could put all those beings on a fingertip forever and could do the same with all their fingertips, and enter each world in all of space carrying all those beings, exhausting the whole cosmos, yet the buddhas would never be weary in body or mind. This is buddhas’ fourth mighty quality.

  “Buddhas can cause to appear on one body as many heads as atoms in untold buddha-lands, manifesting as many tongues in each head as atoms in untold buddha-lands, each tongue producing as many different voices as atoms in untold buddha-lands, which all beings in the cosmos hear, each voice delivering as many troves of discourses as atoms in untold buddha-lands, each trove of discourses expounding as many principles as atoms in untold buddha-lands, each principle having as many terms, statements, and meanings as atoms in untold buddha-lands. They preach this way for as many eons as atoms in untold buddha-lands, and when they finish these eons, they again preach for as many eons as atoms in untold buddha-lands, going on like this successively until they exhaust eons as numerous as atoms in all worlds, as numerous as the thoughts of all living beings. The eons of the future may be exhausted, but the cycles of teaching operated by the emanated bodies of buddhas have no end. This means the cycle of teaching expounded by knowledge, the cycle of teaching cutting off doubts, the cycle of teaching illumining all things, the cycle of teaching opening the treasury of nonobstruction, the cycle of teaching causing sentient beings to be joyful and docile, the cycle of teaching revealing all the practices of enlightening beings, the cycle of teaching of the high-rising, perfectly round sun of knowledge, the cycle of teaching of the bright lamp of wisdom illumining all the world, the cycle of teaching of various adornments of intellectual powers and confidence: just as one buddha-body, by spiritual power, operates different cycles of teaching such as these, to which no comparison in the world may be drawn, in the same way throughout space, in every single point, there are as many worlds as atoms in untold buddha-lands, and in each world the buddhas manifest in each mental instant as many emanation bodies as atoms in untold buddha-lands, each emanation body also producing voices and teachings like these, each filling all realms, so all beings therein can understand—yet the voice of the buddhas does not change or die out; it is inexhaustible. This is the fifth mighty quality of buddhas.

  “All buddhas adorn their chests with the sign of virtue, indestructible as adamant, and sit at the foot of a tree of enlightenment: hordes of demons, boundless in number, with various forms so terrifying that all sentient beings who see them become crazed with fear or even drop dead—such hordes of demons fill the sky, but when the buddhas see them, they are not frightened, they do not pale, not even one hair stands on end, they are not moved or disturbed, they do not think of anything—aloof from emotions, they are tranquil and clear, abiding m the abode of buddhas, imbued with the power of love and compassion, their senses under control, their hearts without fear, impossible for the hordes of demons to upset. In fact, it is they who can subdue the demons, cause them to change their minds and take refuge in the buddhas, after which the buddhas teach them by means of correct diagnosis, prescription, and mystic influence, so that all now develop the aspiration for unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment, never to regress. This is the sixth mighty quality of buddhas.

  “All buddhas have unobstructed voices that pervade all worlds in the ten directions, and all sentient beings who hear them spontaneously become docile. The sounds of the voices of the buddhas cannot be blocked by any mountains, any habitations of any creatures, or any sounds of any world, no matter how loud. According to the ways in which they need to be influenced, all sentient beings hear articulated statements and doctrines and all attain understanding. This is the seventh mighty quality of buddhas.

  “All buddhas’ minds are unobstructed, et
ernally pure; all buddhas of past, future, and present are of the same one essence, unpolluted, unblinkered, without egoism or possessiveness, either internally or externally; they realize objects are void, they do not conceive arbitrary ideas, do not depend on anything, do not fabricate anything, do not dwell on appearances, forever end false imaginings, give up all thoughts clinging to objects, are pure in their fundamental nature, are forever free from conflict while in the midst of all things, abiding in ultimate reality, free from desire, thoroughly pure; entering the cosmos of reality, their teaching is inexhaustible, beyond all illusory ideas of assessment and wrong assessment, totally beyond all talk of the compounded and the uncompounded. Having comprehended untold, boundless realms of objects, with unimpeded, inexhaustible knowledge and method they accomplish the ten powers, and their embellishments of all virtues are thoroughly pure. They expound innumerable various principles, all without contradicting the character of reality, impartial with respect to the phenomena of past, present, and future of the cosmos, without variance, ultimately free, entering into the supreme treasury of all truths, correctly remembering all facets of truth without confusion, abiding unperturbed in the fields of all buddhas in the ten directions. Attaining unbroken knowledge, they know all things ultimately, without exception; putting an end to contamination, their minds are liberated and their intellects are liberated. Abiding in ultimate reality, their perceptivity is unimpeded, and their minds are always correctly stabilized. In a single thought they comprehend the things of past, present, and future as well as the mental activities of all sentient beings, without any hindrance. This is the eighth mighty quality of buddhas.

  “All buddhas have the same one reality-body, a body of infinite range, a body of boundless qualities, a body with no limit in the world, a body undefiled by the realms of desire, form, or formlessness, a body manifested at will, an impartial, pure body that is neither real nor unreal, an indestructible body with no coming or going, no compounding, a body of the inherent essence of phenomena, of one form which is formless, an omnipresent body without position or location, a body of boundless forms produced by free psychic transformations, a body of all kinds of manifestations entering universally into everything, a body of skillful employment of subtle truth, a body of a treasury of knowledge illumining everywhere, a body showing the equality of phenomena, a body pervading the cosmos, a body of eternal purity without movement or discrimination, neither existent nor nonexistent, a body manifest in accord with the various interests and understandings of all beings capable of being edified, which is not an expedient yet not inexpedient, neither perishes nor does not perish, a body born of the treasury of all virtues, a body of True Thusness, containing all the teachings of the buddhas, a body free from obstruction, its fundamental nature absolutely still, a body in which all qualities of nonobstruction are developed, a body omnipresent in all realms of pure principle, a body omnipresent in all worlds in multiple forms, a body of universal comprehension, free from clinging to objects, free from regression, forever liberated, imbued with omniscience. This is the ninth mighty quality of buddhas.

  “All buddhas equally understand all the teachings of buddhas and equally cultivate all the practices of enlightening beings; whether undertakings or knowledge, they are purely impartial, like the great ocean, all reaching fulfillment. Their power of action is supreme, and they never shrink back. Abiding in the measureless realms of the various concentrations, they show all paths, encourage good, and warn against evil. Their power of knowledge is foremost; they expound the truth without fear and are able to answer any question well. Their knowledge, wisdom, and teaching are equally pure; their physical, verbal, and mental actions are all unalloyed. They abide in the abode of buddhahood, the family of buddhas, doing buddha-work by means of enlightened knowledge and wisdom. Abiding in omniscience, they explain innumerable things as having no basis and no boundaries. Their psychic powers and knowledge are inconceivable, incomprehensible to any worldlings. Their knowledge profoundly penetrating, they see all things. The subtle, far-reaching, measureless, boundless gates of truth of past, present, and future, they thoroughly comprehend. In all worlds they are able to awaken understanding by means of transmundane knowledge. In all worlds they perform untold buddha-works of all kinds, attain unregressing knowledge, and enter the ranks of the buddhas. Though they have already realized untold truths that are beyond verbal expression, yet they can explain all verbal expressions. By means of Universally Good knowledge, they accumulate good qualities. Achieving instantaneous subtle knowledge, they comprehend all things and give out teachings to beings in accord with whatever courses of action are appropriate for them as individuals. All things, all worlds, all sentient beings, all times in the cosmos, the range of these phenomena unlimited, they are able to know and see by means of unobstructed knowledge. All buddhas appear in the world in the time of a single thought, according to the possibilities for enlightening, abide in a pure land, attain true awakening, manifest spiritual powers, and open up and enlighten the mind, intellect, and consciousness of all sentient beings of past, present, and future, according to appropriate timing. Sentient beings are boundless, worlds are boundless, realms of natural law are boundless, past, present, and future are boundless, and the supremacy of the buddhas is also boundless; they appear in the midst of them all, attain true awareness, and skillfully enlighten them by means of buddha-knowledge, never ceasing. All buddhas manifest the most wondrous incarnation by means of spiritual power, abide in boundlessness, with great compassion and skill in means, their minds without obstruction, at all times explaining the wondrous teaching for the benefit of all living beings. This is the tenth mighty quality of buddhas. These mighty qualities of all buddhas are infinite, boundless, inconceivable, incomprehensible to any sentient beings or followers of individual liberation in any time, unless spiritually empowered by Buddha.

  “All buddhas have ten definite principles. What are they? All buddhas definitely come down from the heaven of happiness to be born on earth. All buddhas definitely appear to be born, spending ten lunar months in the womb. All buddhas definitely tire of social convention and gladly seek to leave the world. All buddhas definitely sit at the foot of the tree of enlightenment, achieve true awakening, and realize all elements of enlightenment. All buddhas definitely realize all truths instantly and manifest spiritual power in all worlds. All buddhas definitely can teach in accord with the time. All buddhas definitely can teach people at the appropriate times in accordance with the bases of goodness they have developed, and give them directions for enlightenment. All buddhas definitely can do buddha-work in accord with the time. All buddhas definitely predict the enlightenment of all fully developed enlightening beings. All buddhas definitely can answer all sentient beings’ questions in a single instant.

  “All buddhas have ten kinds of speed. What are they? Any who see any buddha are speedily able to avoid bad dispositions. Any who see any buddha are speedily able to fulfill superior virtues. Any who see any buddha are speedily able to develop extensive bases of goodness. Any who see any buddha speedily attain rebirth in an immaculate heaven. Any who see any buddha can speedily get rid of all doubts and confusion. Any who have already aroused the aspiration for enlightenment who see any buddha can soon develop immense resolve, never to turn back, and can be able to teach people according to their needs; if they have not yet aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, they will quickly be able to arouse the determination for unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment. Any who see any buddha before having entered the absolute state will speedily enter the absolute state. Any who see any buddha will speedily be able to purify all roots of goodness, mundane and supramundane. Any who see any buddha will speedily manage to destroy all obstruction. Any who see any buddha will speedily be able to acquire fearless intellectual powers.

  “All buddhas have ten kinds of pure things that should always be remembered. What are they? All buddhas’ past events should be always remembered by enlightening beings. All
buddhas’ pure superior actions should be always remembered by enlightening beings. All buddhas’ fulfillment of the ways of transcendence should be always remembered by enlightening beings. All buddhas’ accomplishment of great undertakings should always be remembered by enlightening beings. All buddhas’ accumulation of virtues should always be remembered by enlightening beings. All buddhas’ embodiment of spiritual practice should always be remembered by enlightening beings. All buddhas’ actualization of true enlightenment should always be remembered by enlightening beings. The infinity of all buddhas’ physical forms should always be remembered by enlightening beings. The infinity of all buddhas’ spiritual powers should always be remembered by enlightening beings. All buddhas’ ten powers and confidences should always be remembered by enlightening beings.

  “All buddhas have ten stations of omniscience. What are they? All buddhas instantly know the minds and mental patterns of all sentient beings of past, present, and future. All buddhas instantly know the acts and the resulting consequences of those acts amassed by all sentient beings in past, present, and future. All buddhas instantly know the needs of all sentient beings and teach and civilize them by means of correct diagnosis, prescription, and occult influence. All buddhas instantly know the mental characteristics of all sentient beings in the cosmos, manifest the emergence of Buddha in all places, and take those beings into their care by expedient means. All buddhas instantly manifest expositions of teaching according to the mental inclinations, desires, and understandings of all sentient beings in the cosmos, causing them to become civilized. All buddhas instantly know the inclinations of the minds of all sentient beings in the cosmos and manifest spiritual powers for them. All buddhas instantly manifest appearance in all places according to all the sentient beings who may be taught, and explain to them that the embodiment of Buddha is not graspable. All buddhas instantly reach all places in the cosmos, all sentient beings, and their particular paths. All buddhas instantly go in response to any beings who think of them, wherever they may be. All buddhas instantly know the understandings and desires of all sentient beings and manifest immeasurable physical forms for their benefit.