“Great enlightening beings have infinite paths, infinite aids to enlightenment, infinite ways of cultivation, and infinite ways of adornment.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of infinite path: because space is infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the cosmos is infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the realms of sentient beings are infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the worlds are infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because time is infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the languages of all sentient beings are infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the embodiments of Buddha are infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the utterances of Buddha are infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because the power of Buddha is infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings; because omniscience is infinite, so are the paths of enlightening beings.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of infinite aids to enlightenment: as space is infinite, so is enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment; as the cosmos is infinite, so is enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment; as the realms of sentient beings are infinite, so is enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment; as worlds are infinite, so is enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment; as the number of eons can never be fully told, so too all worldlings cannot fully tell of enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment; as the languages of sentient beings are infinite, so is enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment, producing knowledge to comprehend ways of speaking; as the embodiment of Buddha is infinite, so is enlightening beings’ development of aids to enlightenment, extending to all sentient beings, all lands, all worlds, and all times; as the utterances of Buddha are infinite, enlightening beings utter one word pervading the cosmos, heard by all sentient beings, so the aids to enlightenment they develop also are infinite; as the power of Buddha is infinite, the aids to enlightenment accumulated by enlightening beings through the power of Buddha are infinite too. Based on these factors, enlightening beings can attain the infinite knowledge of buddhas.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of infinite ways of cultivation: cultivation without coming or going, because their physical, verbal, and mental doings have no action; neither existent nor nonexistent cultivation, there being no inherent nature; cultivation without increase or decrease, being in accord with fundamental essence; cultivation like an illusion, a dream, a shadow, an echo, an image in a mirror, a mirage in the heat, the moon’s image in the water, being free from all clinging; empty, signless, wishless, nondoing cultivation, clearly seeing the triple world yet ceaselessly accumulating virtues; inexplicable, inexpressible cultivation beyond speech, apart from all definitions and constructions; cultivation of the indestructible realm of reality, directly knowing all phenomena; cultivation of the ultimate reality of True Thusness, entering the space of ultimate reality of True Thusness; cultivation of vast wisdom, the power of their deeds being inexhaustible; equal cultivation of the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and omniscience of buddhas, directly seeing all things without doubt or confusion. Based on these ten elements, enlightening beings can accomplish the supremely skillful cultivation of omniscience of buddhas.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of way of adornment. Without leaving the realm of desire, they enter the meditations, liberations, and trances of the realm of form and formlessness, yet they are not thereby born in those realms. This is their first way of adornment. Their knowledge appears to enter the path of personally liberated saints, yet they do not take emancipation by this route; this is their second way of adornment. Their knowledge appears to enter the path of individual illumination, yet they do not cease to generate great compassion; this is their third way of adornment. Though they have human and celestial retinues surrounding them, hundreds and thousands of concubines and troupes of singers and dancers, they never for a moment leave meditation, liberation, and concentration; this is their fourth way of adornment. They take part in amusements and experience pleasure and happiness with all sentient beings, but they never for a moment leave the concentration of equanimity of enlightening beings; this is their fifth way of adornment. They have already transcended all worlds and have no attachments to anything, yet they do not abandon efforts to liberate sentient beings; this is their sixth way of adornment. They live by the right path, right knowledge, and right insight, yet they can appear to enter false paths, without taking them to be true or pure, to cause the sentient beings involved in them to abandon false principles; this is their seventh way of adornment. They always maintain the Buddha’s pure precepts, and their thoughts, words, and deeds are faultless, but because they want to edify immoral sentient beings, they appear to perform the acts of ordinary ignorant people; though they are already filled with pure virtues and abide in the course of enlightening beings, yet they appear to live in such realms as hells, animality, ghosthood, and in difficulty and poverty, in order to enable the beings therein to gain liberation—really the enlightening beings are not born in those states; this is their eighth way of adornment. Without being taught by another, they attain unhindered intellect and the light of knowledge, are able to illumine and understand all Buddha teachings, are sustained by the spiritual power of all buddhas, are one and the same body of reality with all buddhas, accomplish all incorruptible mystic states of clarity and purity of great people, abide in all equal vehicles of liberation, are aware of all spheres of buddhahood, are endowed with the light of all worldly knowledge, and clearly see all realms of sentient beings; they are able to be truth-knowing teachers for sentient beings, yet they make the appearance of ceaseless search for truth; though they actually are unexcelled teachers of sentient beings, they show respect to preceptors and religious mentors, because great enlightening beings, by skillful expedients, abide in the path of enlightening beings yet manifest whatever is necessary; this is their ninth way of adornment. Their roots of goodness are sufficient, their practices are completed; they are coronated by all buddhas together and reach the furthest extent of mastery of all the teachings, their heads crowned with the turban of the state of nonobstruction. Their bodies reach all worlds and everywhere they show the body of Buddha that has no resistance. Masters of the teachings, they attain supreme fulfillment and turn the unimpeded pure wheel of teaching. They have already accomplished all manner of freedom of enlightening beings, but for the sake of sentient beings they appear to be born in all lands. They are in the same realm as all buddhas, yet they do not abandon the practices of enlightening beings, do not give up the principles of enlightening beings, do not neglect the works of enlightening beings, do not leave the path of enlightening beings, do not slacken the conduct of enlightening beings, do not cut off the graspings of enlightening beings, do not cease the skillful methods of enlightening beings, do not stop doing the tasks of enlightening beings, do not tire of the developmental activities of enlightening beings, do not put an end to the sustaining power of enlightening beings. Why? Because enlightening beings want to quickly realize unexcelled, complete perfect enlightenment, so they examine the ways of access to omniscience and cultivate the practices of enlightening beings unceasingly. This is their tenth way of adornment. Based on these principles enlightening beings can attain the supreme way of great adornment of buddhas.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of feet: the feet of discipline, fulfilling all higher aspirations; the feet of energy, assembling all elements of enlightenment without regressing; the feet of spiritual knowledge, gladdening all sentient beings according to their desires; the feet of psychic powers, going to all buddha-lands without leaving one buddha-land; the feet of determination, seeking all higher laws; the feet of resolute commitment, fulfilling all their tasks; the feet of accord, not opposing the teachings of all the honorable; the feet of delight in truth, tirelessly hearing and holding all teachings s
poken by buddhas; the feet of rain of teaching, lecturing to the masses without timidity; the feet of cultivation, getting rid of all evils. Based on these, enlightening beings can attain the supreme feet of buddhas, which can reach all worlds in one step.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of hands: hands of deep faith, wholeheartedly accepting and ultimately taking up the teaching of buddhas; hands of giving, satisfying all those who seek, according to their desires; hands of initiating greetings, extending their right palm to welcome and lead; hands of honoring buddhas, tirelessly gathering blessings and virtues; hands of learning and skillfulness, cutting off the doubts of all sentient beings; hands of fostering transcendence of the triple world, extending them to sentient beings and extricating them from the mire of craving; hands of settlement on the Other Shore, saving drowning sentient beings from the four torrents; hands of generosity with right teaching, revealing all sublime principles; hands of skillful use of philosophies, quelling diseases of body and mind with the medicine of knowledge and wisdom; hands always holding jewels of knowledge, unfolding the light of truth to obliterate the darkness of afflictions. These are the ten: based on these, enlightening beings can acquire the supreme hands of buddhas covering all worlds in the ten directions.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of guts: guts free from deception, their hearts being pure; guts free from falsehood, being honest by nature; nonprevaricating guts, having no crookedness; nonswindling guts, having no greed for anything; guts cutting off afflictions, being full of wisdom; pure-minded guts, being free from all evils; guts examining food and drink, remembering reality; guts observing noncreation, being aware of interdependent origination; guts aware of all ways of emancipation, fully developing the will; guts rid of the defilement of all extreme views, enabling all sentient beings to enter into the guts of Buddha. These are the ten; based on these, enlightening beings can acquire the supreme, vast guts of buddhas, able to contain all sentient beings.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of internal organs. Perpetuating the seed of buddhas is an organ of enlightening beings, manifesting the immeasurable spiritual power of the Buddha teaching. Causing the seed of the Teaching to grow is an organ of enlightening beings, generating the immense light of knowledge. Preserving the seed of the spiritual community is an organ of enlightening beings, enabling them to gain access to the irreversible wheel of teaching. Awakening those who are rightly stabilized is an organ of enlightening beings, instantly adapting to the time. Fully developing unstable sentient beings is an organ of enlightening beings, producing continuity of causal basis. Conceiving compassion for wrongly stabilized sentient beings is an organ of enlightening beings, causing thorough development of causal basis for the future. Fulfilling the indestructible bases of the ten powers of buddhas is an organ of enlightening beings, with unopposable roots of goodness that conquer the armies of demons. The supremely fearless lion’s roar is an organ of enlightening beings, gladdening all sentient beings. Attaining the eighteen unique qualities of buddhas is an organ of enlightening beings, with knowledge penetrating everywhere. Knowing all sentient beings, all lands, all things, and all buddhas is an organ of enlightening beings, clearly seeing all in a single instant. These are the ten; based on these, enlightening beings can attain the indestructible internal organs of great knowledge with supreme virtues of buddhas.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of heart: a heart of diligence, fulfilling all tasks; a heart of perseverance, accumulating embellishing virtuous practices; a heart of great courage and strength, crushing all armies of demons; a heart acting according to truth, extinguishing all afflictions; a heart of nonregression, never ceasing until enlightenment is reached; a heart of inherent purity, knowing the mind is immovable, not having any attachments; a heart of knowledge of sentient beings, adapting to their understandings and inclinations to emancipate them; a heart of great kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, leading into the way of enlightenment, knowing the various understandings and inclinations of sentient beings, and saving them without using separate paths; a heart of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, and nonfabrication, seeing the characteristics of the triple world without grasping them; a heart adorned with an indestructible supreme treasury of marks of felicity, thoroughly invulnerable to all demons. Based on these ten, enlightening beings can attain the supreme heart of the treasury of light of great knowledge of buddhas.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of armor: they wear the armor of great benevolence, rescuing all sentient beings; they wear the armor of great compassion, enduring all suffering; they wear the armor of great commitment, fulfilling all their tasks; they wear the armor of dedication, constructing the adornments of all buddhas; they wear the armor of virtue, benefiting all sentient beings; they wear the armor of the ways of transcendence, liberating all conscious beings; they wear the armor of wisdom, destroying the darkness of affliction of all sentient beings; they wear the armor of skill in means, generating universal roots of goodness; they wear the armor of the firm stability and freedom from distraction of the mind of universal knowledge, not enjoying other vehicles; they wear the armor of single-minded certainty, free from doubts and confusion in regard to all things. Based on these ten, enlightening beings can wear the supreme armor of buddhas and crush all demon armies.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of weapon: giving is a weapon of enlightening beings, destroying all stinginess; self-control is a weapon of enlightening beings, getting rid of all crime; impartiality is a weapon of enlightening beings, removing all discrimination; wisdom is a weapon of enlightening beings, dissolving all afflictions; right livelihood is a weapon of enlightening beings, leading away from all wrong livelihood; skill in means is a weapon of enlightening beings, manifesting in all places; in general, all afflictions such as desire, wrath, and folly are weapons of enlightening beings because they liberate sentient beings through afflictions; birth-and-death is a weapon of enlightening beings because they continue enlightening practices and teach sentient beings; teaching the truth is a weapon of enlightening beings, able to break up all clinging; all knowledge is a weapon of enlightening beings because they do not give up the avenues of practice of enlightening beings. Based on these ten, enlightening beings can annihilate the afflictions, bondage, and compulsions accumulated by all sentient beings in the long night of ignorance.
“Great enlightening beings have ten kinds of head: the head of nirvana, as no one can see the top; the head of honor, respected by all humans and celestials; the head of universal higher understanding, being supreme in the universe; the head of foremost roots of goodness, honored by the sentient beings of the three worlds; the head bearing sentient beings, developing an indestructible crown; the head of not despising others, in all places always respectful; the head of transcendent wisdom, nurturing all virtuous qualities; the head of union of knowledge and skill in means, everywhere appearing in compatible forms; the head of teaching all sentient beings, taking all sentient beings as disciples; the head of preservation of the eye of reality of buddhas, able to perpetuate the seeds of the three treasures. Based on these ten, enlightening beings can attain the supreme head of knowledge and wisdom of buddhas.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 144