“Also, just as waters are all of one flavor, but according to the difference of the vessel water has distinctions, yet the water has no thought or discrimination, similarly the speech of Buddha is of one flavor only, the flavor of liberation, but has innumerable distinctions according to the differences in mental vessels of sentient beings, yet without thought or discrimination. This is the sixth characteristic of the voice of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Also, it is like the case of the water spirit Heatless producing great dense clouds covering the continent, showering sweet rain all over, so all the crops can grow and all the rivers, streams, springs, and lakes are full; this great rainwater does not come from the water spirit’s body or mind, yet can benefit sentient beings in various ways. Similarly, Buddha produces the cloud of great compassion covering all worlds in the ten directions, showering the rain of immortal truth, causing all sentient beings to become joyful, increase in goodness, and fulfill all vehicles of liberation. The voice of Buddha does not come from without and does not emerge from within, yet can benefit all sentient beings. This is the seventh characteristic of the voice of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Also it is like when the water spirit Thoughtful is going to shower rain, it does not do so immediately but first produces great clouds covering the sky, remaining still for seven days waiting for people to finish their work, because that water spirit is benevolent and compassionate and does not want to trouble them; after seven days it showers a fine rain, moistening the earth. Similarly, when Buddha is going to shower the rain of truth, he does not do so at once, but first produces great clouds of teaching in order to mature sentient beings so they will not be startled or frightened; after they are mature he showers on all the rain of immortal truth, expounding the most profound, subtle good teaching, gradually filling them with the flavor of the unexcelled teaching of omniscience of buddhas. This is the eighth characteristic of the voice of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“In the ocean is a great water spirit called Magnificent Array; when it showers rain on the ocean, it may shower rain in ten kinds of arrays, or a hundred, or a thousand, or rain in a hundred thousand kinds of arrays. The water has no discrimination; it is just the inconceivable power of the water spirit that causes its arrays to be infinitely different. Similarly, when Buddha teaches truth, it may be expressed in ten different tones, or a hundred, or a thousand, or a hundred thousand, or eighty-four thousand tones explaining eighty-four thousand practices, up to countless hundreds of thousands of millions of tones, each explaining the truth in particular ways to gladden all who hear. The voice of Buddha makes no discrimination; it is just that buddhas, complete and pure in the profound realm of truth, are able to make various utterances in accord with the needs of sentient beings, making them happy. This is the ninth characteristic of the voice of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“When the water spirit Ocean wants to manifest the controlling power of the water spirit for the benefit of sentient beings to make them happy, it raises a great network of clouds from the earth to the heaven of control of others’ emanations, covering all over: those clouds are of infinite different colors—some are the color of golden light, some are the color of lapis lazuli light, some are the color of silver light, some are the color of crystal light, some are the color of emerald light, some are the color of agate light, some are the color of red pearl light, some are the color of light of infinite fragrances, some are the color of light of spotless cloth, some are the color of light of pure water, some are the color of light of various ornaments. This network of clouds, having spread all over, emits lightning of various colors: the golden clouds emit lapis lazuli lightning; the lapis lazuli clouds emit golden lightning; the silver clouds emit crystal lightning; the crystal clouds emit silver lightning; the emerald clouds emit agate lightning; the agate clouds emit emerald lightning; the infinite-fragrance-colored clouds emit spotless-cloth-colored lightning; the spotless-cloth-colored clouds emit infinite-fragrance-colored lightning; the pure-water-colored clouds emit various-ornament-colored lightning; the various-ornament-colored clouds emit pure-water-colored lightning; multicolored clouds emit one-colored lightning; one-colored clouds emit multicolored lightning. There also issue from the clouds various sounds of thunder, according to the minds of sentient beings, making them all happy—sounds like goddesses singing, like celestial musicians playing, like water nymphs singing, like gandharva girls singing, like kinnara girls singing, like earthquakes, like the waves and tide of the ocean, like the king of beasts howling, like beautiful birds calling, as well as innumerable other kinds of sounds. When the thunder has sounded, there arises a cool breeze, delighting the mind of sentient beings. Finally it rains, various kinds of rain, benefiting and comforting infinite beings. In all places from the heavens to earth the rain is different: on the ocean it rains clear, cool water called endless; in the heaven of control of others’ emanations it rains various music such as pipes and flutes, named beautiful; in the heaven of enjoyment of emanation it rains jewels called radiating great light; in the heaven of happiness it rains great ornaments, called hanging crests; in the heaven of timely portion it rains large, beautiful flowers, called various adornments; in the thirty-three-fold heaven it rains many sublime fragrances, called pleasing; in the heaven of the four world guardians it rains precious celestial robes, called covering; in the palace of water spirits it rains red pearls, called flowing light; in the palace of the titans it rains weapons, called conquering enemies; in the northern region of earth it rains various flowers, called blooming; in the other regions of earth it also rains differently according to the place. Though the mind of the water spirit is impartial, without discrimination, simply because the roots of goodness of sentient beings are different, the rain has distinctions. Similarly, when Buddha, the truly enlightened, the supreme spiritual sovereign, wants to edify sentient beings with right teaching, first he spreads clouds of embodiments over the cosmos, appearing differently according to inclinations of beings. For some beings he manifests clouds of mortal bodies; for some, clouds of emanated bodies; for some, clouds of power-bodies; for some, clouds of form-bodies; for some, clouds of glorified bodies; for some, clouds of virtue-bodies; for some, clouds of knowledge-bodies; for some, clouds of bodies whose powers do not deteriorate; for some, clouds of bodies of fearlessness; for some, clouds of cosmic bodies. Buddha covers all worlds with infinite such body-clouds and manifests various kinds of lightning in accord with the individual differences in inclinations of sentient beings: for some beings he manifests lightning called reaching everywhere; for some, lightning called boundless light; for some, lightning called penetrating the secret teaching of Buddha; for some, lightning called reflected light; for some, lightning called illumination; for some, lightning called entering the door of endless mental command; for some, lightning called right mindfulness undisturbed; for some, lightning called ultimately incorruptible; for some, lightning called adaptively entering all states of being; for some, lightning called fulfilling all wishes and making everyone happy. Having manifested lightnings of infinite such lights, Buddha then produces infinite thunders of concentration, according to the inclinations of sentient beings: the thunder of the concentration of well-aware knowledge; the thunder of the concentration of the refulgent, undefiled ocean; the thunder of the concentration of mastery of all the teachings; the thunder of the adamantine wheel concentration; the thunder of the concentration symbolized by the polar mountain; the thunder of the ocean-seal concentration; the thunder of the solar lamp concentration; the thunder of the inexhaustible treasury concentration; the thunder of the concentration of the indestructible power of liberation. After the thunder of infinite different concentrations such as these have emerged from the clouds of embodiments of Buddha, when about to shower the rain of truth, first he manifests an auspicious sign to awaken sentient beings: from the mind of unhindered compassion he manifes
ts the atmosphere of great knowledge of Buddha, called able to cause all sentient beings to develop inconceivable happiness and well-being. Once this sign has appeared, the bodies and minds of all enlightening beings and sentient beings become clear and cool. After that, from the cloud of the great reality-body of Buddha, the cloud of great compassion, the cloud of great inconceivability, showers the inconceivable, far-flung rain of teaching, causing all beings’ bodies and minds to be pure: for enlightening beings sitting at the site of enlightenment there showers a great rain of teaching called nondifferentiation of the realm of reality; for enlightening beings in their final embodiment there showers a great rain of teaching called enlightening beings’ easy mastery of the esoteric teaching of Buddha; for enlightening beings to become fully enlightened in the next life there showers a great rain of teaching called pure universal light; for coronated enlightening beings there showers a great rain of teaching called adornment by the embellishments of buddhahood; for enlightening beings who have attained tolerance there showers a great rain of teaching called flowers of knowledge with jewels of virtue blooming, not ceasing the compassionate practices of enlightening beings; for enlightening beings in progress there showers a great rain of teaching called entering the profound method of manifestation of occult transformations and carrying on enlightening practice without stopping or wearying; for newly inspired enlightening beings there showers a great rain of teaching called producing the practice of great love and compassion of buddhas to save sentient beings; for those who seek the vehicle of individual enlightenment there showers a great rain of teaching called deeply knowing the principles of conditional origination, avoiding extremes, and attaining the nondecaying fruit of liberation; for those who seek the vehicle of listeners there showers a great rain of teaching called cutting down all obstructing afflictions with the sword of great knowledge and wisdom; for stabilized and unstabilized sentient beings who accumulate roots of goodness there showers a great rain of teaching called facilitating the accomplishment of various ways into the teaching, producing great happiness. The Buddha showers great rains of teaching like these in accordance with the mentalities of sentient beings, filling all worlds. A buddha, perfectly enlightened, is impartial in mind and does not begrudge the teaching; simply because the faculties and inclinations of sentient beings are not the same, the rains of teaching appear differently. This is the tenth characteristic of the voice of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“The voice of Buddha has ten kinds of infinity: it is as infinite as the realm of space because it extends to all places; it is as infinite as the cosmos because it pervades everywhere; it is as infinite as the realm of sentient beings because it gladdens all hearts; it is as infinite as all acts because it explains their results and consequences; it is as infinite as afflictions because it removes them all; it is as infinite as the speech of sentient beings because it enables them to hear according to their understanding; it is as infinite as the inclinations and understandings of sentient beings because it observes them all to rescue and liberate them; it is as infinite as past, present, and future because it has no boundaries; it is as infinite as knowledge because it distinguishes everything; it is as infinite as the realm of buddhahood because it enters the cosmos of reality of buddhahood. The voice of Buddha, the completely enlightened, comprises incalculable infinities such as these; great enlightening beings should know it thus.”
Then the enlightening being Universally Good, to again clarify what he meant, spoke these verses:
When a billion-world universe is about to dissolve,
The power of beings’ virtue announces that
The four meditations are peaceful and painless,
Causing them to leave desire when they have heard.
Ten-Powered Buddha, also like this,
Produces a sublime voice pervading the cosmos,
Explaining that conditioned states are painful and impermanent,
So beings may cross for good the sea of birth and death.
Just as a canyon deep in the mountains
Echoes any sound,
And though it accords with others’ voices
The echo has no discrimination,
So also is the speech of Buddha
Revealed according to the maturity of faculties,
Causing them to be controlled and happy,
Yet without self-consciousness of preaching.
As the celestial drum called awakener
Vibrates with the sound of the law in the sky,
Admonishing the self-indulgent celestials,
Causing them to give up attachments when they hear,
So too is the drum of Buddha’s teaching like this,
Producing various wonderful sounds,
Awakening all living beings
So they all realize enlightenment.
The lord god has a precious concubine
Who voices all kinds of music
Producing a hundred thousand sounds in one voice
With a hundred thousand tones in each sound.
The voice of Buddha is also like this,
Producing all tones in one voice,
Different according to beings’ characters and inclinations,
Causing each to end afflictions when they hear.
Just as king Brahma utters a sound
Which makes all Brahmas happy,
The voice reaching only Brahmas, no one else,
Each thinking he alone hears it,
So also does the Buddha utter a word
Which fills the cosmos,
Yet only reaches the faithful
Because the faithless cannot receive it.
Just as all waters are of one and the same essence,
With no difference in flavor,
But the land they are on and the vessels they are in are not the same,
So that causes them to be variously different,
The voice of Omniscience is similar to this;
The essence of truth has one flavor, undifferentiated,
Yet according to beings’ actions, which are not the same,
It causes them to hear in various different ways.
When the water spirit Heatless
Showers rain to moisten the land
Causing plants and trees to grow,
The rain does not come from its body or mind.
Likewise the wondrous voice of buddhas
Rains throughout the cosmos, filling all,
Fostering good and extinguishing evil,
But not coming from inside or outside.
Just as the water spirit Thoughtful
Raises clouds for seven days before raining,
Waiting for all people to finish their work
And then showering rain for their benefit,
The teaching of Buddha is likewise,
First civilizing beings and developing them,
And afterward expounding the profound truth,
So the hearers will not be frightened.
The water spirit Great Adornment in the ocean
Showers ten arrays of rain,
Or a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand;
Though the water is one flavor, the arrays are different.
The ultimate teacher likewise
Explains ten or twenty teachings,
Or a hundred, a thousand, up to infinity,
Without any notion of difference.
The supreme water spirit Ocean
Covers the earth with clouds;
The rain in each place is different,
But the spirit has no thought of distinction.
Likewise Buddha, sovereign of truth,
Extends clouds of great compassion in all directions,
Raining differently for each practitioner,
Yet without discriminating among them.
“How should great enlightening beings know the mind of Buddha, the truly awake? The mind, intellect, and consciousness of Buddha are ungraspable. One can know t
he mind of Buddha only in terms of the infinity of knowledge. Just as space is the resting place of all things, while space has no resting place, so also is the knowledge of Buddha the resting place of all mundane and transcendental knowledge, while the knowledge of Buddha has no resting place. This is the first characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Just as the realm of truth always produces the liberations of Buddhist followers, individual illuminates, and enlightening beings, while the realm of truth has no increase or decrease, in the same way the knowledge of Buddha always produces all kinds of worldly and transmundane knowledge without itself increasing or decreasing. This is the second characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Just as the ocean water flows under the continents and islands, so that all who drill for water find it, yet the ocean does not form any notion of itself giving out water, in the same way the water of the ocean of knowledge of Buddha flows into the minds of all sentient beings, so that if they examine things and practice ways of entering truth they will find knowledge, pure and clear, with lucid understanding—yet the knowledge of Buddha is equal, nondual, without discrimination; but according to the differences in sentient beings’ mental patterns, the knowledge they obtain is not the same. This is the third characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus,
“In the ocean there are four jewels imbued with infinite qualities that produce all the precious jewels in the ocean; if these jewels were not in the ocean, it would be impossible to find even one jewel. What are these four? One is called accumulation of treasures; another is called inexhaustible treasury; another is called removal of burning heat; the other is called replete with adornments. These jewels cannot be seen by any ordinary people or sea creatures. Why? The king water spirit Ocean, because the jewels are magnificent with perfect lines and proportions, keeps them in a deeply hidden place within the palace.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 131