“The great ocean of knowledge of Buddha similarly has four great jewels of knowledge, with infinite qualities of knowledge and virtue, whereby are produced all the jewels of knowledge of the stages of learning and beyond learning of ordinary people, Buddhist followers, and individual illuminates, and of enlightening beings. What are the four? They are the jewel of great knowledge of unattached skill in means; the jewel of great knowledge of skillfully distinguishing the conditioned and the unconditioned; the jewel of great knowledge analytically explaining countless things without violating the essential nature of things; and the jewel of great knowledge knowing appropriate and inappropriate timing without ever a miss. If these four jewels were not in the Buddha’s ocean of knowledge, not a single being would ever be able to enter the Great Vehicle of liberation. These four jewels of knowledge cannot be seen by unworthy beings. Why? Because they are kept in the deeply secret treasury of Buddha. These four jewels of knowledge are even, symmetrical, straight and true, immaculately beautiful, and able to universally benefit all enlightening beings, enabling them to attain the light of knowledge. This is the fourth characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Also, the ocean has four jewels of blazing light spread on its floor, which by nature are extremely, fiercely hot; they are able to drink up and shrink the immeasurable quantities of water poured in by all the rivers, so that the ocean neither increases nor decreases. What are these four? One is called solar matrix; the second is called removing moisture; the third is called flame light, the fourth is called thorough exhaustion. If these four jewels were not in the ocean, the whole world, up to the highest heaven of material existence, would all be flooded. The light of this great jewel solar matrix, when it shines on seawater, turns it to milk; the light of the great jewel removing moisture, when it shines on the milk, turns it to cream; the light of the great jewel flame light, when it shines on the cream, turns it to butter; the light of the great jewel thorough exhaustion, when it shines on the butter, turns it to ghee, blazing like fire, consuming it without remainder.
“Buddha’s ocean of great knowledge similarly has four kinds of jewels of great knowledge, with light of immeasurable power; when the light of these jewels of knowledge touches enlightening beings, it ultimately causes them to attain the great knowledge of Buddha. What are the four? They are the jewel of great knowledge stopping all the waves of scattered goodness; the jewel of great knowledge eliminating all emotional attachment to the teachings; the jewel of great knowledge of the universal illumination of the light of intelligence; the jewel of great knowledge of boundless effortlessness equal to Buddha.
“When enlightening beings practice the methods of fostering enlightenment, they rouse innumerable waves of scattered goodness, which all worldly beings, celestials, humans, or titans cannot destroy; when Buddha touches those enlightening beings with the light of the jewel of great knowledge of stopping all the waves of scattered good, it causes them to leave behind the waves of scattered good, keep their minds on one point, and dwell in concentration. Then, touching the enlightening beings with the light of the jewel of great knowledge, removing all emotional attachment to the teachings, causes them to give up clinging to the taste of concentration and awaken great spiritual powers. Then, touching the enlightening beings with the light of the jewel of great knowledge of the universal intelligence causes them to relinquish the occult powers they exercise and to engage in the active employment of great science. Then, touching the enlightening beings with the light of the jewel of great knowledge of boundless effortlessness equal to Buddha causes them to relinquish the active exercise of great science they have been engaged in so that they finally reach the equanimity of Buddhas and cease all effort completely. Without the contact of the great light of these four jewels of knowledge of Buddha it would be impossible for a single enlightening being to attain buddhahood. This is the fifth characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“The million lands from the sphere of water up to the heaven of neither perception nor nonperception, the abodes of sentient beings in the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm, all arise from space and rest in space. Why? Because space is everywhere. But though space contains all the realms of desire, form, and formlessness, yet it has no discrimination. The knowledge of Buddha is also like this: the knowledge of listeners, the knowledge of individual illuminates, the knowledge of enlightening beings, the knowledge of formulated practices, and the knowledge of unformulated practices, all arise from the knowledge of Buddha and rest in the knowledge of Buddha, because the knowledge of Buddha pervades all; though it contains innumerable knowledges, it has no discrimination. This is the sixth characteristic of the knowledge of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Atop the Snowy mountains there is an excellent medicinal tree called inexhaustible roots; the roots of that medicinal tree grow from 168,000 leagues, all the way down to the adamantine ground and the sphere of water. When that medicinal tree grows roots, it causes the roots of all trees on the continent to grow; when the medicinal tree grows a stem, it causes the stems of all trees on the continent to grow. The same is true of the branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits. The roots of the medicinal tree can grow stems, and the stems can grow roots the roots are inexhaustible, so it is called inexhaustible roots. That medicinal tree can foster growth everywhere, except for two places where it cannot perform the beneficial action of promotion of growth—that is, in the pits of hells and in the sphere of water; yet it has no aversion to them. The great tree of the supreme medicine of the knowledge of Buddha, likewise, by past development, fully perfects all good qualities of knowledge, shades all realms of sentient beings, and destroys all the miseries of bad states. Universal compassion and commitment form its roots; it is born from the seed of true knowledge of all buddhas. It is steadfast and immovable; skill in means is its trunk, the transcendent perfections of cosmic knowledge are its branches; meditations, liberations, and the great concentrations are its leaves; mental command, intellectual skills, and the elements of enlightenment are its flowers, and the ultimate unchanging liberation of buddhas is its fruit. Why may the medicinal tree of knowledge of Buddha be called ‘inexhaustible roots’? Because of ultimately never ceasing, because of not stopping enlightening activity. The practice of enlightening beings is the nature of Buddha, the nature of Buddha is the practice of enlightening beings. Therefore it can be called inexhaustible roots. When the roots of the medicinal tree of buddha-knowledge grow, it causes enlightening beings to grow the root of great love and compassion, which does not abandon sentient beings. When its trunk grows, it causes all sentient beings to grow the trunk of profound determination with steadfast vigor. When its branches grow, it causes all enlightening beings to grow the branches of all transcendent ways. When its leaves grow, it causes enlightening beings to grow the leaves of pure conduct, austerity, virtue, paucity of desire, and contentment. When its flowers grow, it causes all enlightening beings to be replete with the flowers of magnificent arrays of the marks and embellishments of virtues. When its fruit grows, it causes all enlightening beings to gain the fruits of acceptance of nonorigination up to acceptance of coronation by all buddhas. The supreme medicine tree of knowledge of Buddha cannot perform its beneficial growth-fostering function in two places only: in those in the two vehicles of individual salvation who have fallen into the abyss of nondoing, and in unsuitable sentient beings with rotten roots of goodness who are sunk in the floodwaters of erroneous views and craving—yet Buddha never has rejected these people. The knowledge of Buddha has no increase or decrease, because its roots are stable and grow ceaselessly. This is the seventh characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“When the eonic holocaust starts in the universe, it burns up all the plants and trees, and even the mountains, consuming all without leaving anything. Suppose someone picked up some dry
straw and threw it in that fire—do you think it could do aught but burn?”
“No.”
“It is more possible for that straw not to burn than for Buddha’s knowledge, analyzing all sentient beings, all lands, all ages, and all phenomena of all times, not to know something. Why? Because that knowledge impartially comprehends all clearly. This is the eighth characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“When a gale destroys the worlds, a great wind called destruction arises, able to pulverize the billion worlds of the universe, their iron mountains and so on, to smithereens. There is another wind, called blocker, circling the billion-world universe, blocking the gale of destruction so that it cannot reach the worlds in other places. Without this blocking wind, all the worlds in the ten directions would be completely destroyed. Buddha similarly has a great wind of knowledge, called extinguisher, which can extinguish the afflictions and habit energies of all great enlightening beings; and a great wind of knowledge called skillful sustaining, which skillfully sustains the enlightening beings whose faculties are not yet mature, not letting the extinguishing whirlwind totally eliminate all their afflictions and habit energies. Without Buddha’s skillfully sustaining wind of knowledge, countless enlightening beings would fall into the states of those content with individual salvation. By this knowl edge enlightening beings are enabled to transcend the stages of the two lesser vehicles of individual salvation and abide in the ultimate rank of Buddha. This is the ninth characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“There is nowhere the knowledge of Buddha does not reach. Why? There is not a single sentient being who is not fully endowed with the knowledge of Buddha; it is just that because of deluded notions, erroneous thinking, and attachments, they are unable to realize it. If they would get rid of deluded notions, then universal knowledge, spontaneous knowledge, and unobstructed knowledge would become manifest. It is as if there were a great scripture, equal in extent to a billion-world universe, in which are written all the things of the universe—there are written the things of the iron peripheral mountains, to an extent equal to those mountains; there are written the things on the land, to an extent equal to the land; there are written the things in the million-world galaxies, to an extent equal to the galaxies; there are written the things in the thousand-world systems, to an extent equal to the systems; there are written the things in the continents, to an extent equal to the continents, and so on; the things of the oceans, the polar mountains, the abodes of earth and sky, the celestial abodes in the sky of the desire realm, the abodes in the form realm, the abodes in the formless realm, are each written down to an equivalent extent. Though this scripture is equal in measure to a billion-world universe, yet it entirely rests in a single atom; and as this is so of one atom, it is also true of all atoms. Then suppose someone with clear and comprehensive knowledge, who has fully developed the celestial eye, sees these scriptures inside atoms, not benefiting sentient beings in the least, and, with this thought—‘I should, by energetic power, break open those atoms and release those scriptures so that they can benefit all sentient beings’—then employs appropriate means to break open the atoms and release the great scriptures, to enable all sentient beings to benefit greatly. Similarly, the knowledge of Buddha, infinite and unobstructed, universally able to benefit all, is fully inherent in the bodies of sentient beings; but the ignorant, because of clinging to deluded notions, do not know of it, are not aware of it, and so do not benefit from it. Then the Buddha, with the unimpeded, pure, clear eye of knowledge, observes all sentient beings in the cosmos and says, ‘How strange—how is it that these sentient beings have the knowledge of Buddha but in their folly and confusion do not know it or perceive it? I should teach them the way of sages and cause them forever to shed deluded notions and attachments, so they can see in their own bodies the vast knowledge of buddhas, no different from the buddhas.’ Then Buddha teaches them to practice the way of sages, so they get rid of deluded notions, after which they realize the infinite knowledge of Buddha and aid and comfort all living beings. This is the tenth characteristic of the mind of Buddha; great enlightening beings should know it thus.
“Great enlightening beings should know the mind of Buddha who has realized Thusness and is completely awake, in terms of such infinite, unimpeded, inconceivably great characteristics.”
Then the great enlightening being Universally Good, in order to explain again what he meant, spoke in verse.
If you want to know the mind of buddhas,
Observe the buddhas’ knowledge.
Buddhas’ knowledge has no resting place,
Just as space rests on nothing.
Sentient beings’ various inclinations,
And knowledge of expedients,
All rest on buddhas knowledge,
While buddha’s knowledge rests on nothing.
The liberations of buddhas,
Disciples, and the self-enlightened,
All depend on the reality realm,
While reality has no increase or decrease.
Buddha’s knowledge, similarly,
Produces all knowledges,
Without increase or decrease,
Without beginning or end.
Just as water flows under the ground
So those who seek it find it,
Without thought, without end,
Its effective power all-pervasive,
Buddha knowledge is also like this,
Being in all creatures’ minds;
If any work on it with diligence,
They will soon find the light of knowledge.
Just as the water spirit has four jewels
Which produce all gems,
Hidden in a secret place
Where ordinary people cannot see,
So too do Buddha’s four knowledges
Produce all knowledge,
While no one can see them
Except great enlightening beings.
As in the ocean are four jewels
Which can drink up all waters
So that the ocean does not overflow
And does not increase or decrease,
Likewise does Buddha’s knowledge
Stop waves and remove attachment to teachings;
Boundlessly great and vast,
It produces enlightening beings and buddhas.
From the nadir to the summit of being,
The desire, form, and formless realms,
All rest in space,
While space does not discriminate:
The knowledge of enlightening beings,
Of disciples and the self-enlightened,
All rest in the knowledge of Buddha,
While buddha-knowledge has no discrimination.
On the Snowy mountains is a medicine
Called inexhaustible roots
Which can make all trees grow—
Their roots, trunks, leaves, flowers, and fruits.
Buddha’s knowledge too is like this,
Grown from the seed of enlightenment;
Once enlightenment is attained,
It also produces the practices of enlightening beings.
If someone puts a handful of straw
In the eonic fire,
Where even diamond blazes,
The straw could not but be burned:
The ages and lands of all times
And the sentient beings therein
Buddha completely knows
More surely than the burning of that straw.
There is a wind called destruction
Which can pulverize a universe;
If not stopped by another wind,
Destruction would reach infinite worlds.
The great wind of knowledge is also like this,
Extinguishing the delusions of enlightening beings;
There is another wind of skillfulness,
Enabling them to live, in the land of buddhahood.
&nb
sp; It is as there is a great scripture
Equal in extent to a universe
Existing inside one atom,
And in all atoms as well;
Someone with intelligence and wisdom
Sees all clearly with pure eyes
And breaks the atoms, releasing the scriptures
For the benefit of all beings.
Buddha-knowledge, likewise,
Is in all beings’ minds;
Wrapped up in deluded thoughts,
They are unaware, unknowing;
The buddhas’ great compassion
Causes them to get rid of deluded ideas
So knowledge can appear
And benefit enlightening beings.
“How should great enlightening beings know the sphere of Buddha, who has realized Thusness and is completely awake? Knowing the spheres of all worlds by means of unobstructed, unimpeded knowledge is the sphere of Buddha. Knowing the spheres of all times, all lands, all things, and all beings, the undifferentiated sphere of True Thusness, the unobstructed sphere of the reality realm, the boundless sphere of absolute truth, the unquantified sphere of space, and the objectless sphere, is the sphere of Buddha. Just as the spheres of all times, and so on, up to the objectless sphere, are all infinite, so is the sphere of Buddha infinite. Just as the objectless sphere has no existence in all places, so also does the sphere of Buddha have no existence in all places.
“Great enlightening beings should know the sphere of mind is the sphere of Buddha; just as the sphere of mind is measureless and boundless, without bondage or liberation, so too is the sphere of Buddha measureless and boundless, without bondage or liberation. Why? Because by such and such thoughts there are infinite such and such manifestations. It is like when the great water spirit showers rain according to will, the rain does not come from inside or outside; the sphere of Buddha is also like this—according to such and such thoughts, there are infinite such and such manifestations, yet they do not come from anywhere in the ten directions. Just as the water of the ocean all comes from the mental power of the king water spirit, so too does the water of the ocean of omniscience of all buddhas all come from the buddhas’ past vows.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 132