The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  Then, owing to the spiritual power of the buddhas of the ten directions, owing to the power of the original vows of Vairocana, because the natural order is so, because of the power of roots of goodness, because the buddhas activate knowledge in an instant, because buddhas respond to conditions without missing the time, because they awaken enlightening beings at appropriate times, because their past deeds have no loss or decay, because they foster the attainment of the great practice of Universal Good, and because they manifest the mastery of omniscience, in each of the ten directions, past as many worlds as atoms in ten unspeakable numbers of tens of quadrillions of buddha-lands, there were as many enlightening beings as atoms in ten unspeakable numbers of tens of quadrillions of buddha-lands who came here, filling all universes in the ten directions, showing the vast magnificent adornments of enlightening beings, emitting networks of great beams of light, shaking all worlds in the ten directions, demolishing the palaces of all demons, extinguishing the pains of the states of ill, revealing the power of all enlightened ones, singing praises of the infinite different virtuous qualities of the enlightened, showering all kinds of rains, manifesting infinite different bodies, receiving the teachings of infinite buddhas. By the spiritual power of Buddha, they each said, “Bravo, offspring of Buddha: you are able to explain this indestructible teaching of buddhas. We are all named Universally Good, and we each have come here from the presence of a buddha called Freedom Marked by Universality, from worlds called Universal Light. In those worlds we also expound this teaching, with the same expressions, the same principles, the same explanations, the same certitude, without increase or decrease. We have all come here, by the spiritual power of Buddha, and by having attained the Buddhas’ teaching, to be witnesses for you. And as we come here, the same is true of all worlds in the whole cosmos, throughout space, in all ten directions.”

  Then the enlightening being Universally Good—with the spiritual power of Buddha, looking over all the great congregations of enlightening beings, wishing to recapitulate the immense power of the manifestation of Buddha, the indestructibility of the true teaching of the enlightened, how infinite roots of goodness are not in vain, how the emergence of buddhas in the world always comprises all supreme qualities, the ability to observe skillfully the minds of all sentient beings and teach them the truth according to their needs, without missing the right time producing the infinite light of truth of enlightening beings; the adornments of freedom of all buddhas, and how all enlightened ones are one body, no different, produced by great practices of the past—said in verse:

  The actions of all buddhas

  Are beyond mundane similitudes;

  In order to enlighten sentient beings,

  They make similes of nonsimiles for illustration.

  This subtle, mysterious, profound teaching

  Is hard to get to hear in a billion ages;

  Those with vigor, wisdom, and self-control

  Can get to hear this mystery.

  Any who hear this teaching and rejoice

  Have served countless buddhas;

  Being absorbed into the power of Buddha,

  Gods and humans honor and praise them.

  This is the foremost wealth transcending the world:

  This can liberate all living beings,

  This can produce the pure Path—

  You should keep it attentively.

  BOOK THIRTY-EIGHT

  Detachment from the World

  AT THAT TIME the World-Honored One was in the country of Magadha, in the forest, in the shrine of universal light at the site of enlightenment, sitting on a lotus lion seat; he had completely fulfilled ineffable enlightenment, put an end to afflictions and views, and arrived at formless truth. Abiding in the abode of buddhas, he had attained the equanimity of buddhas and arrived at nonobstruction in the state of imperturbability. All his actions were unimpeded. He stood in the inconceivable and saw through all time. His body continually pervaded all lands; his knowledge always comprehended all things. He understood all activities. He exhausted all doubts. His knowledge was that sought by all enlightening beings. He had arrived at the nondual ultimate perfection of buddhahood and fully attained the equal liberation of the enlightened. He had realized the stage of impartiality of buddhas, which is without extremes or middle, extending throughout the cosmos, equal to space.

  He was with as many great enlightening beings as atoms in untold quadrillions of buddha-lands, all of whom were to attain unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment in one lifetime, and had come from various lands in other regions. All of them were endowed with the means and wisdom of enlightening beings: that is, they skillfully observed sentient beings and civilized them by the power of appropriate means so that they would live by the way of enlightening beings; they skillfully observed all worlds and went to them by the power of appropriate means; they skillfully examined the realm of nirvana and meditated on it and assessed it; they did away with all false conceptions and cultivated sublime practices without interruption; they were well able to take care of all sentient beings; they skillfully penetrated the principles of infinite liberative means; they knew sentient beings are empty and have no existence, yet they did not deny the fruits of action; they knew the various differences in the compulsions, faculties, spheres, and means of sentient beings’ minds; they were able to absorb and hold the teachings of buddhas of past, present, and future, to understand them themselves, and also explain them to others; they were well versed in all mundane and transmundane things and knew their true reality; they examined all compounded and uncompounded things and knew them to be nondual; in a single moment of thought they were able to acquire all the knowledge and wisdom of the buddhas of all times; they were able to show attainment of true awakening moment to moment, to cause sentient beings to become inspired and attain the Way; they knew the spheres of all sentient beings in the mental objects of one sentient being; though they entered the stage of the enlightened, they did not give up the works carried out by enlightening beings; their deeds, knowledge, and means did not fabricate anything; they stayed in the world for countless ages for each and every sentient being, yet they were hard to meet even in incalculable eons; they turned the wheel of the true Teaching, pacifying sentient beings without fail; they had already fulfilled the pure practical commitments of the buddhas of past, present, and future. They had perfected infinite such virtues, so that even if all the buddhas spoke for boundless eons they could not tell of them all. Their names were Universally Good, Universal Eye, Universal Emanation, Universal Wisdom, Universal Vision, Universal Light, Universal Contemplation, Universal Illumination, Universal Symbol, Universal Awareness, and so on. There were as many such enlightening beings as atoms in untold quadrillions of buddha-lands: all of them had accomplished the vow of practice of Universal Good; their profound determination and great vows were already fulfilled; they traveled to all places where buddhas were appearing in the world, requested them to turn the wheel of teaching, and were well able to receive and hold the eye of truth of the buddhas, perpetuating the lineage of buddhas; they knew the order of all buddhas’ appearance in the world and giving instructions, their names, countries, attainment of enlightenment, and turning the wheel of teaching; in worlds where there were no buddhas, they appeared and became buddhas, able to purify defiled sentient beings, able to destroy the action obstructions of enlightening beings, and enter the unimpeded pure realm of reality.

  Then the great enlightening being Universally Good entered a vast concentration called Buddha flower array. When he entered this concentration, all worlds quaked in six ways, moving in eighteen ways, producing a tremendous sound that none did not hear. After that he rose from concentration. At that point the enlightening being Universal Wisdom, knowing the congregation had assembled, asked the enlightening being Universally Good, “Please tell us—what are the reliances of great enlightening beings? What are their extraordinary thoughts? What are their practices? What are their spiritual friends? What are their
exertions of energy? What are their attainments of peace of mind? What are their ways of developing sentient beings? What are their precepts? How do they receive the prediction of enlightenment? How do they enter into the state of enlightening beings? What are their entries into enlightenment? What are their penetrations of the activities of sentient beings? What are their entries into worlds? What are their entries into ages? What are their explanations of past, present, and future? What are their entries into past, present, and future? What are their developments of a tireless mind? What are their knowledges of differentiation? What are their mental masteries? What are their explanations of Buddha? What are their developments of the Universally Good mind? What are their principles of Universally Good practice? For what reasons do they generate great compassion? What are the causes of their development of the will for enlightenment? What are their expressions of respect to spiritual friends? What are their purities? What are their transcendent ways? What are their conscious knowledges? What are their realizational knowledges? What are their powers? What are their impartialities? What are their expressions of the true meaning of the Buddha teaching? What are their teachings? What do they preserve? What are their intellectual powers? What are their masteries? What are their qualities of nonattachment? What are their equanimities? What are their generations of knowledge? What are their magical displays? What are their supports of powers? What are their attainments of great joy and solace? What are their profound penetrations of the Buddha teaching? What are their bases? What are their developments of fearlessness? What are their developments of minds free from doubt? What are their inconceivabilities? What are their skillful esoteric sayings? What are their skillful analytic knowledges? What are their entries into concentration? What are their universal entries? What are their doors of liberation? What are their spiritual powers? What are their insights? What are their liberations? What are their groves? What are their palaces? What are their enjoyments? What are their adornments? What are their developments of an unshakable mind? What are their profound, great determinations they don’t give up? What are their contemplations? What are their explanations of things? What are their purities? What are their definitive marks? What are their illuminations of knowledge? What are their peerless states? What are their indomitable attitudes? What are their outstanding minds? What are their oceanic knowledges entering unexcelled enlightenment? What are their jewel-like states? What are their adamantine commitments to universal enlightenment? What are their great undertakings? What are their ultimate great tasks? What are their indestructible faiths? What are their ways of receiving the prediction of enlightenment? What are their dedications of roots of goodness? What are their attainments of wisdom? What are their developments of a boundlessly broad mind? What are their hidden treasuries? What are their rules of behavior? What are their controls? What are their unimpeded functions? What are their unimpeded functions in respect to sentient beings? What are their unimpeded functions in respect to lands? What are their unimpeded functions in respect to phenomena and principles? What are their unimpeded functions in respect to bodies? What are their unimpeded functions in respect to vows? What are their unimpeded functions in respect to realms? What are their unimpeded functions of knowledge? What are their unimpeded functions of spiritual capacities? What are their unimpeded functions of miraculous abilities? What are their unimpeded functions of power? What are their versatilities? What are their spheres? What are their powers? What are their fearlessnesses? What are their unique qualities? What are their activities? What are their bodies? What are their physical actions? What is their speech? What is their purification of speech? What are the protections they receive? What are their accomplishments of great works? What are their minds? What are their determinations? What are their comprehensive minds? What are their profound minds? What do they strive to practice? What are their certain understandings? What are their certain understandings of worlds? What are their certain understandings of beings? What are their habit energies? What are their graspings? What do they cultivate? What are their accomplishments of the Buddha teachings? What makes them regress from the way of the Buddha teachings? What are their paths of emancipation? What are their qualities of certainty? What are their ways of generating the qualities of buddhahood? What are their appellations of greatness? What are their paths? What are their infinite paths? What are their aids to enlightenment? What are their ways of cultivation? What are their ways of adornment? What are their feet? What are their hands? What are their guts? What are their internal organs? What are their hearts? What is their armor? What are their weapons? What are their heads? What are their eyes? What are their ears? What are their noses? What are their tongues? What are their bodies? What are their minds? What is their action? What is their abiding? What is their sitting? What is their reclining? What are their dwelling places? What are their spheres of action? What are their observations? What are their universal observations? What is their springing? What is their lion’s roar? What is their pure giving? What is their pure discipline? What is their pure tolerance? What is their pure energy? What is their pure concentration? What is their pure wisdom? What is their pure benevolence? What is their pure compassion? What is their pure joy? What is their pure equanimity? What are their principles? What are their pure laws? What are their virtues used to foster enlightenment? What are their knowledges used to foster enlightenment? What are their sufficiencies of insight? What are their quests for truth? What are their understandings of truth? What are their norms of practice? What are demons? What are demons’ actions? How are the actions of demons gotten rid of? What are visions of Buddha? What are actions of Buddha? What are actions of conceit? What are actions of knowledge? What is possession by demons? What is being supported by Buddha? What is being supported by truth? What do enlightening beings do while living in the heaven of satisfaction? Why do they die in that heaven? Why do they appear to abide in the womb? Why do they manifest subtle processes? Why do they manifest birth? Why do they manifest a smile? Why do they show the act of walking seven steps? Why do they appear as children? Why do they appear to live in a palace? Why do they appear to leave home? Why do they demonstrate austerities? How do they go to the site of enlightenment? How do they sit on the site of enlightenment? What are the extraordinary signs when they sit on the site of enlightenment? Why do they demonstrate the conquering of demons? What are the attainments of the power of the enlightened? How do they turn the wheel of teaching? How are good and pure ways acquired due to the turning of the wheel of teaching? Why do the enlightened ones manifest extinction in final nirvana? Please explain these things to us.”

  Then the great enlightening being Universally Good said to Universal Wisdom and the others, “Offspring of Buddha, great enlightening beings have ten kinds of reliance. They take the determination for enlightenment as a reliance, as they never forget it. They take spiritual friends as a reliance, harmonizing as one. They take roots of goodness as a reliance, cultivating, gathering, and increasing them. They take the transcendent ways as a reliance, fully practicing them. They take all truths as a reliance, as they ultimately end in emancipation. They take great vows as a reliance, as they enhance enlightenment. They take practices as a reliance, consummating them all. They take all enlightening beings as a reliance because they have the same one wisdom. They take honoring the buddhas as a reliance because their faith is purified. They take all buddhas as a reliance because they teach ceaselessly like benevolent parents. These are the ten: if enlightening beings rest in these principles, they can become abodes of the unexcelled great knowledge of buddhas.

  “Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of extraordinary thought. What are they? They think of all roots of goodness as their own roots of goodness. They think of all roots of goodness as seeds of enlightenment. They think of all sentient beings as vessels of enlightenment. They think of all vows as their own vows. They think of all truths as emancipation. They think of all practices as their own practices. They think of al
l things as teachings of Buddha. They think of all modes of language as the path of verbal expression. They think of all buddhas as benevolent parents. They think of all buddhas as one. These are the ten: if great enlightening beings rest on these principles, they will attain unexcelled skillful thought.

  “Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of practice. What are they? Practice dealing with all sentient beings, to develop them all to maturity; practice seeking all truths, to learn them all; practice of all roots of goodness, to cause them all to grow; practice of all concentrations, to be single-minded, without distraction; practice of all knowledge, to know everything; practice of all cultivations, to be able to cultivate them all; practice dealing with all buddha-lands, to adorn them all; practice dealing with all good companions, respecting and supporting them; practice dealing with all buddhas, honoring and serving them. These are the ten: if great enlightening beings rest on these principles, they will attain the practice of the unexcelled knowledge and wisdom of buddhas.

  “Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of spiritual friends. What are they? Spiritual friends who cause them to persist in the determination for enlightenment; spiritual friends who cause them to generate roots of goodness; spiritual friends who cause them to practice the ways of transcendence; spiritual friends who enable them to analyze and explain all truths; spiritual friends who enable them to develop all sentient beings, spiritual friends who enable them to attain definitive analytic and expository powers; spiritual friends who cause them not to be attached to any world; spiritual friends who cause them to cultivate practice tirelessly in all ages; spiritual friends who establish them in the practice of Universal Good; spiritual friends who introduce them to the reaches of knowledge of all buddhas. These are the ten.