The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

Buddhas’ wheel of teaching has no turning;

  It has no arising and no attainment at any time.

  Just as writing is never exhausted,

  So is the teaching-wheel of the Ten-Powered.

  Just as writing enters everywhere, yet with no arrival,

  Such is the teaching-wheel of the Enlightened,

  Entering all speech without entering aught,

  Able to make all beings rejoice.

  Buddhas have a concentration called ultimate;

  They preach after entering this concentration,

  Speaking to enlighten all beings,

  Boundless though they be.

  In each utterance they also utter

  Countless sayings, each different,

  Free in the world, without discrimination,

  Causing all to hear according to inclination.

  Words do not come from inside or outside,

  Are neither lost nor accumulate;

  Yet for sentient beings buddhas turn the teaching-wheel—

  This freedom is most extraordinary.

  “How should great enlightening beings know Buddha’s ultimate nirvana? If great enlightening beings want to know the greate nirvana of buddhas, they should know its fundamental essence. As is the nirvana of ultimate reality, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of space, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of the nature of things, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of detachment from desire, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of formlessness, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of selfhood, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of the ultimate essence of all things, so is the nirvana of Buddha; as is the nirvana of ultimate True Thusness, so is the nirvana of Buddha. Why? Because nirvana has no birth and no emergence; if something has no birth and no emergence, then it has no extinction.

  “Buddha does not tell enlightening beings about the ultimate nirvana of buddhas and does not show it to them. Why? Because Buddha wants to cause them to see all buddhas always present before them, to see in one moment all the buddhas of past and future, in their full splendor, just as if they were actually present, yet without entertaining any notions of duality or nonduality. Why? Because great enlightening beings permanently abandon all conceptual clinging.

  “Buddhas appear in the world in order to provoke inspiration in seṅtient beings and manifest nirvana in order to provoke longing in sentient beings: in reality the buddhas have no appearance in the world and no nirvana either. Why? Buddha always abides in the pure realm of reality, manifesting nirvana according to the minds of sentient beings.

  “For example, when the sun comes out and illumines the world, its image is reflected in all clean vessels of water, being in all places without coming or going. If one vessel breaks, then the reflection of the sun does not appear in it. Do you think it is the fault of the sun that its reflection does not appear there?”

  “No—it is just because the vessel is broken; it’s no fault of the sun.”

  “The knowledge of realization of Thusness, buddha-knowledge, is also like this, appearing throughout the cosmos, without before or after: Buddha appears in the clean mind-vessels of all sentient beings. If the mind-vessel is always clean, the embodiment of Buddha is always seen; if the mind is polluted, the vessel breaks and the Buddha cannot be seen.

  “If there are any sentient beings who can be liberated by nirvana, Buddha then manifests nirvana for them; but really Buddha has no birth, no death, no crossing over into extinction.

  “It is like, for example, the element fire, which can make fires in all worlds. Sometimes in one place the fire will go out, but do you think the fire in all worlds is extinguished?”

  “No.”

  “Similarly Buddha performs the tasks of buddhahood in all worlds; if what can be done in one world is finished, a buddha manifests entry into nirvana, but the buddhas in all worlds do not all pass away into extinction. Great enlightening beings should know the great nirvana of the truly enlightened thus.

  “Again, suppose, for example, a magician well versed in magical arts, by the power of the techniques of illusion, manifests phantom bodies in all cities, towns, and villages in all lands in a billion-world universe, and sustains them there by magical power for an eon, while in other places, the magic performance being finished, the bodies disappear. Do you think that when that great magician disappears in one place, he disappears in all places?”

  “No.”

  “In a similar way Buddha, the Truly Enlightened, knowing the various magical arts of infinite wisdom and means, manifests in all universes, sustaining that permanently, throughout the future. If in one place, according to the minds of beings, what is to be done is finished, Buddha manifests nirvana; but can you say because Buddha has appeared to enter nirvana in one place that Buddha becomes extinct everywhere? Great enlightening beings should know the great ultimate nirvana of Buddha in this way.

  “Furthermore, Buddha, when manifesting nirvana, enters immovable concentration, and having entered this concentration, emanates from each body infinite trillions of great light beams, each light beam producing countless lotus blossoms, each lotus blossom having untold petals of exquisite jewels, with a lion throne on each petal and a buddha sitting cross-legged on each throne. The number of those buddhas is exactly equal to the number of sentient beings; all are fully adorned with the most sublime virtues, produced by the power of past vows. If there are any sentient beings with mature roots of goodness who see the buddha-incarnations, they will all receive the teaching; those buddha-bodies remain forever, teaching and liberating sentient beings according to the situation, without losing an opportunity. The bodies of buddhas have no locus, are not real or unreal; only by the power of the past vows of the buddhas, and the capacity of sentient beings to be liberated, do they appear. Great enlightening beings should know the great nirvana of Buddha in this way. Buddha abides in the infinite, unobstructed, ultimate realm of reality, in the realm of space, in the essence of True Thusness, without birth or death, and in ultimate truth, appearing to sentient beings according to the time, sustained by past vows, without ever ceasing, not abandoning all beings, all lands, all phenomena.”

  Then, to recapitulate, Universally Good said in verse,

  While the sun sheds light illumining the world,

  When a vessel breaks and water leaks out, the reflection disappears;

  So it is with the sun of supreme knowledge;

  Those without faith see it as extinct.

  Fire makes fires in the world,

  While in one city it goes out sometime:

  Likewise the Buddha pervades the cosmos

  And appears to pass away where the work of teaching is done.

  A magician makes bodies appear in all lands,

  Which disappear when their function is done:

  So does Buddha disappear when the teaching is done,

  While always seen in other lands.

  Buddha has a concentration, called unmoving,

  Which is entered after teaching beings:

  Instantly Buddha’s body emanates infinite lights,

  The lights produce lotuses, on which are buddhas:

  The buddha-bodies are countless as phenomena,

  Visible to those with virtue;

  Each of these countless bodies

  Has a full span of life and array of adornments.

  Like birthlessness is the emergence of Buddha,

  Like deathlessness the nirvana of Buddha:

  All words and similes end—

  All purposes are achieved, beyond compare.

  “How should great enlightening beings know the roots of goodness planted by seeing, hearing, and attending Buddha? They should know these roots of goodness are not fruitless, because they produce endless awareness, because they remove all obstacles, because they certainly reach the ultimate end, because they are free from falsehood, because all vows are fulfilled, because they do not end creative action while according wi
th knowledge of the uncreate, because they generate the knowledge of buddhas, because they go on throughout the future, because they accomplish all kinds of excellent practices, and because they reach the stage of effortless knowledge.

  “For example, if a man eats a little bit of diamond, it will never be digested, but must pass through the body. Why? Because diamond is incompatible with the impurities of the physical body. In the same way, planting a little bit of roots of goodness with Buddha must pass through the body of afflictions of all conditioning and reach the abode of unconditioned ultimate knowledge. Why? Because this little bit of root of goodness is incompatible with the afflictions of conditioning.

  “Even if one piled up dry straw as high as a mountain, if one tossed an ember of fire the size of a seed into it, it would all burn up for sure. Why? Because fire burns straw. Like this, planting a little bit of roots of goodness with Buddha surely can burn up all afflictions and ultimately enable one to attain nirvana without remainder, because the essence of this little bit of root of goodness is ultimate.

  “For example, in the Snowy mountains there is a tree of the finest medicine called good sight: if any see it, their eyes are purified; if any hear of it, their ears are purified; if any smell it, their noses are purified; if any taste it, their tongues are purified; if any touch it, their bodies are purified; if any take the earth it grows in, that can also perform the beneficial function of removing disease. The supreme medicine of Buddha similarly can perform all benefits for sentient beings. If any see the physical body of Buddha, their eyes are purified; if any hear the name of Buddha, their ears are purified; if any smell the fragrance of the morality of Buddha, their noses are purified; if any taste the flavor of the teaching of Buddha, their tongues are purified, they gain the universal tongue and understand the principles of language; if any come in contact with the light of Buddha, their bodies are purified and they ultimately attain the supreme body of reality; if any think of Buddha, they attain purity of Buddha-remembrance concentration. If any sentient beings honor the ground Buddha has crossed, or a tomb or shrine, they too will be endowed with roots of goodness, annihilate all afflictions, and attain the felicity of sages. I tell you, even if there are sentient beings who see and hear Buddha, but because of being veiled by obstructions due to their deeds do not become believers, if they still plant roots of goodness, none will be in vain—they will reach the ultimate end and enter nirvana. Great enlightening beings should thus know that the roots of goodness planted by seeing, hearing, and attending Buddha are free from all evil and imbued with good.

  “Buddha uses all kinds of similes to explain all kinds of things, but there is no simile that can explain this principle. Why? Because the road of intellectual knowledge ends, because it is inconceivable. The buddhas and enlightening beings just tell sentient beings similes according to their mentalities in order to gladden them, but this is not the ultimate. This gate of the teaching is called the secret point of the buddhas; it is called that which cannot be known by any worldlings; it is called entry into the seal of Buddha; it is called opening the door of great knowledge; it is called revealing the essence of Buddha; it is called perfecting all enlightening beings; it is called that which all worldlings cannot destroy; it is called wholly conforming to the realm of buddhas; it is called able to purify all realms of sentient beings; it is called expounding the ultimate inconceivable teaching of the real nature of Buddha. Buddha does not expound this teaching to anyone but enlightening beings intent on the Great Vehicle, only expounding it to enlightening beings riding the inconceivable vehicle of enlightenment. This gate of teaching does not come into the hands of anyone but great enlightening beings.

  “It is like, for example, the seven treasures of a universal ruler, by which universal rulership is shown; these treasures do not come into the hands of anyone but the crown prince born of the first wife who has developed the characteristics of a sage ruler. If the universal ruler does not have a son with many virtues, after the ruler’s life ends the treasures will disperse and perish in seven days. The treasure of this scripture is also like this: it does not come into the hands of anyone but the true offspring of the sovereign Buddha, born in the house of Buddha, who plant the roots of goodness characteristic of buddhas. If there are no true offspring of Buddha, this teaching will perish before long. Why? Because those in the two lesser vehicles of individual salvation do not hear this scripture, much less absorb and hold it, read, recite, or copy it, or analyze and explain it—only the great enlightening beings can do these things.

  “Therefore, great enlightening beings, hearing this teaching, shall rejoice and receive it with respect. Why? Because great enlightening beings appreciating this scripture will quickly attain unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment. Even if enlightening beings spend countless eons practicing the six ways of transcendence and cultivating the various elements of enlightenment, as long as they have not heard this teaching of the inconceivable great power of Buddha, or if they have heard it and do not believe or understand it, do not follow it, enter it, or attain it, they cannot be called true enlightening beings, because they cannot be born in the house of Buddha. If they get to hear this teaching of the immeasurable, inconceivable, unobstructed, unhindered knowledge of Buddha, and having heard it, take it to heart, follow it, and awaken to it, these people will be born in the house of Buddha, accord with the sphere of all buddhas, be endowed with all qualities of enlightening beings, detach from all mundane things, develop the conduct of all buddhas, realize the true nature of all enlightening beings, have no doubts about the power of Buddha, abide in the teacherless truth, and plunge deeply into the unimpeded realm of buddhahood.

  “After great enlightening beings have heard this teaching, then they can know infinite things by knowledge of equality; then they can part with arbitrary discriminations by means of a straightforward, honest mind; then they can see the buddhas before them by means of supreme devotion; then they can enter the impartial realm of space by means of the power of attention; then they can travel the boundless cosmos by means of free thought; then they can acquire all virtues by means of the power of knowledge and wisdom; then they can shed all worldly defilements by means of spontaneous knowledge; then they can enter the network of all ten directions by means of the will for enlightenment; then they can know the buddhas of all times are of one and the same essence, by means of great observation; then they can enter this teaching by the knowledge of dedication of roots of goodness, entering without entering, not clinging to a single thing, always observing things through one universal principle. Great enlightening beings, perfecting these accomplishments, attain teacherless, spontaneous knowledge with a minimum of effort.”

  Then Universally Good, to recapitulate, spoke these verses:

  Immeasurable are the virtues attained

  By seeing, hearing, and honoring buddhas;

  Ultimately endless in action,

  Needed to destroy afflictions and remove misery.

  As when a man ingests a little diamond

  It is not digested but must pass through,

  The virtues of honoring buddhas

  Destroy illusion and lead to adamantine knowledge.

  Just as straw piled high as a mountain

  A tiny ember of fire will burn up,

  The small virtue of honoring buddhas

  Will end affliction and lead to nirvana.

  In the Snowy mountains is an herb called good to see

  Which relieves all sickness when seen, heard of, smelled, or touched;

  If any see or hear of buddhas,

  They will gain excellent virtues and reach buddha-knowledge.

  Then, by the spiritual power of Buddha, and by natural law, untold hundreds of quintillions of worlds in each of the ten directions quaked in six ways: surging up in the east, sinking in the west; surging up in the west, sinking in the east; surging up in the south, sinking in the north; surging up in the north, sinking in the south; surging up on the periphery, sin
king in the middle; surging up in the middle, sinking on the periphery—moving in eighteen ways: trembling, trembling all over, trembling equally all over; rising, rising all over, rising equally all over; surging, surging all over, surging equally all over; quaking, quaking all over, quaking equally all over; roaring, roaring all over, roaring equally all over; crashing, crashing all over, crashing equally all over. There rained clouds of all kinds of flowers, parasols, banners, pennants, fragrances, garlands, perfumes, ornaments, and radiant jewels, all surpassing those of the heavens, as well as clouds of enlightening beings singing eulogies, clouds of different bodies of untold enlightening beings, clouds of true awakening, clouds of purifying inconceivable worlds, clouds raining the sounds of the words of the buddhas, filling boundless universes. As on this earth the power of Buddha manifested in this way, causing all enlightening beings to rejoice greatly, so did this transpire in all worlds throughout the ten directions.

  At that time, in each of the ten directions, past as many worlds as atoms in eighty unspeakable numbers of hundreds of septillions of buddha-lands, there were eighty unspeakable numbers of hundreds of septillions of buddhas, alike named Universally Good, who all appeared to the enlightening beings and said, “Bravo, Offspring of Buddha! You are able, imbued with the power of the enlightened, conforming to the nature of reality, to expound the teaching of the manifestation of Buddha. We buddhas of the same name, eighty unspeakable numbers of hundreds of septillions of us in each of the ten directions, all expound this teaching. And what we expound, so do all Buddhas in all worlds in the ten directions. In this assembly as many great enlightening beings as atoms in a hundred thousand buddha-lands have attained the concentration of spiritual powers of all enlightening beings; we give them the prediction that they will attain unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment in one lifetime. As many sentient beings as atoms in a buddha-land have roused the determination for unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment; we also give them a prediction, that in the future, after as many eons as atoms in unspeakable buddha-lands, they will all become buddhas, all with the same name, Supreme Realm of the Enlightened. In order to enable the enlightening beings of the future to hear this teaching, we all preserve it together. As the sentient beings are liberated in this world, so are the sentient beings liberated in all worlds in the cosmos.”