The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  The situation was like that of hundreds of thousands of ghosts gathered on the bank of the great river Ganges, hungry and thirsty, naked, without shelter, emaciated, dehydrated by the wind and heat, attacked by flocks of crows, terrorized by wolves and jackals—they do not see the Ganges River, or they may see it as dry, without water, or full of ashes, because they are shrouded by actions that blind them. In the same way the old great disciples there in the Jeta grove did not see or penetrate the transfigurations of the Buddha, because they rejected omniscience and their eyes were veiled by ignorance.

  It was like the case of a man who has dozed off in the daytime in the midst of a large group of people and while asleep sees a celestial city with beautiful mansions appearing there in his dream, and sees the whole summit of the polar mountain, with groves and gardens, with innumerable nymphs all around, innumerable godlings living there, and various celestial flowers scattered about, and sees wish-fulfilling trees providing various celestial garments, jewel ornaments, and flower garlands, and sees musical trees producing all kinds of sweet celestial sounds, and many kinds of forms of pleasure and diversion, and hears the sweet sounds of the music and singing of the heavenly nymphs, and perceives himself as being there, seeing the adornment of the celestial arrays all over the place. The group of people who are there in the same place do not see this, are not aware of it, do not observe it, because it is the vision of the man in his dream, not the vision of the group of people in the same place. In the same way the enlightening beings and the world rulers on the verge of enlightenment, by virtue of the tremendous power of the Buddha, by the attainment of their own roots of goodness, by their own undertaking of the vow for omniscience, by development of the qualities of all buddhas, by stabilization in the magnificent path of enlightening beings, by accomplishment of the outgrowths of the teachings of all aspects of omniscient knowledge, by fulfillment and purification of the higher aspirations of the acts of the Universally Good enlightening being, by entering the spheres of knowledge of all the stages of enlightening beings, by mastery of all the states of concentration of enlightening beings, and by unhindered contemplation of all the spheres of knowledge of enlightening beings, saw the inconceivable power and mastery of the Buddha, understood and comprehended, whereas the great disciples, the best of the best, did not see or understand, because they did not have the eye of enlightening beings.

  On the snowy king of mountains are many medicinal herbs, which someone who is expert in secret lore and medicine, knowing all the principles of herbal medicine, may go and pick, while herders and hunters on the same mountain, ignorant of herbal medicine, do not know the essence, energy, results, efficacy, or method of application of the herbs. In the same way, those enlightening beings who had entered the sphere of knowledge of buddhas and produced the transformed perceptions of enlightening beings were aware of the transfigured perceptions of the concentration of Buddha, while the great disciples, even though they were there in the same Jeta grove, being satisfied with their own task and having no desire to work for others, being indifferent, dwelt in the feeling of bliss because they were in a condition of bliss in their present state and so were not aware of the perceptions of the concentration and miraculous transfiguration of Buddha.

  This earth is abundantly endowed with mines of jewels of all kinds, with hundreds of thousands of deposits, filled with endless supplies of various jewels. Someone who has acquired knowledge of precious substances, sees where the deposits are, has thoroughly studied the appropriate science and technology, and is supported by immense virtue and strength, then can take jewels and enjoy himself as he wishes, properly honor his parents, support his wife and children, and also distribute them evenly to the old, the poor, the destitute, the unfortunate, those without food and clothing. On the other hand, those who do not know about the deposits of jewels, who have not done good works, and have not clarified the eye of knowledge of the precious, do not discover the jewel mines in spite of the fact that they are walking on them—they do not take the jewels and do not do what can be done with jewels. Similarly, the enlightening beings in the Jeta grove who had clarified the eye of knowledge of the inconceivable sphere of Buddha and who had entered the sphere of the inconceivable knowledge of Buddha saw the miraculous transfigurations of Buddha, entered the oceans of principles of the Buddha teachings, attained oceans of concentrations, engaged in the service of the buddhas, took to embracing all truths, took all beings into their care with the four means of integration. The great disciples, however, did not see or notice the transfigurations of the Buddha or the great assembly of the enlightening beings.

  It was, again, as if a man came to a land of jewels with his eyes blindfolded by a rag: he might walk around, stand, sit, and lie there, but he would not see the masses of jewels, he would not see the jewel trees, jewel clothes, jewel fragrances, or any of the other jewels. Furthermore, he would not know the use, value, or enjoyment of those jewels. He would not take the jewels and would not know what to do with the jewels. Someone whose eyes were uncovered, however, would see and distinguish them all. In the same way, those enlightening beings, having come to the land of jewels of truth, where the unsurpassed jewel of the enlightened, adornment of all worlds, was right before them, standing in the Jeta grove, saw the Buddha displaying inconceivable miraculous transfigurations. The great disciples, however, were standing at the Buddha’s feet and gazing at the Buddha, but they did not see the miraculous occurrence emanating from the sphere of the Buddha’s concentration, and did not see the great treasury of jewels which was the great assembly of enlightening beings. Why? They were inimical to omniscience, their eyes covered with the rag of ignorance, and they had not clarified the eye of unobstructed knowledge of enlightening beings, and they did not realize that all things interpenetrate, which is how they could have seen the miracle produced by the inconceivable power of the Buddha’s concentration.

  Again, it is as if there is an eye-purifier called “possessed of undefiled brilliance,” which is incompatible with any darkness or obscurity: suppose someone obtained it and with that eye-clarifier “possessed of undefiled brilliance” went in the dark of night among a huge crowd of people in various postures unable to see in the darkness, and walked around, stood there, sat down, and so on—those people would not see this person or distinguish what he was doing. On the other hand, this person would see the crowd of people, their various postures, positions, locations, appearances, and dress. In the same way, the Buddha, together with his company of enlightening beings, having the pure unobstructed eye of knowledge, discerns and sees all beings. Buddha shows the miracle emanated from the great concentration of Buddha, but the great disciples did not see the miracle emanated from the concentration of great knowledge of Buddha, or the great company of the assembly of enlightening beings.

  Also, it is as if a monk in the midst of a large group of people attained the concentration of total absorption in earth or water or fire or wind, or total absorption in blue, yellow, red, or white, or total absorption in heaven, or in the bodies of various beings, or in all sounds, or in all objects, that group of people would not see the body of water, would not see the realm of fire, would not see the various bodies or totality of objects in which the monk’s mind was absorbed, except for those who had themselves attained those states of concentration. In the same way, the great disciples did not see the Buddha’s revelation of the inconceivable wonder of the sphere of the concentration of Buddha, while the enlightening beings who had attained the path of the Buddha entered into the sphere of the Buddha.

  Again, it is as if there were an ointment, which simply by being applied to one’s eyes makes one invisible to others while one is able to see others. In the same way Buddha, beyond the world, beyond the spheres of all beings, having entered the sphere of omniscience, can be discerned by the eye of knowledge of enlightening beings, and sees all beings in the world, but the great disciples could not see those miracles of the Buddha.

  It is also like
the case of the celestial spirit born together with a person and always associated with the person—the spirit sees the person, but the person does not see the spirit. In the same way, the Buddha, in the sphere of omniscience, manifested great miraculous transfigurations of Buddha in the midst of the great assembly of enlightening beings, but the great disciples did not see, did not notice, the miracle of the transfiguration of the Buddha or the magical manifestation of the circle of enlightening beings.

  Again, it is like the case of a monk who has attained perfect control of mind and has reached extinction of perception and sensation: he neither perceives nor cognizes and does nothing with his six sense organs, but still is not totally extinct. All the ordinary events of the world are going on there where he is, but he does not perceive or cognize them, because of the overmastery of the power of his concentration. In the same way, the great disciples were in the Jeta grove and had the six sense faculties, but they did not see, penetrate, perceive, or discern the miracle of the power emanated from the concentration of the Buddha, nor did they gain access to, see, or cognize the great gathering of the enlightening beings, the miracle of the enlightening beings, the transfiguration of the enlightening beings. Why? The sphere of Buddha is indeed profound, vast, immeasurable, difficult to see, difficult to realize, difficult to plunge into, completely beyond all worldlings: for all disciples and individual illuminates, the sphere of Buddha is unthinkable and ungraspable. Therefore, the great disciples, even though they were there in the Jeta grove at the feet of the Buddha, did not see the transfigurations of the Buddha, and they did not see or apprehend the great gathering of enlightening beings or their concentration of the arrays of qualities of enlightening beings or their concentration of the arrays of qualities of inconceivable, innumerable purified worlds in the Jeta grove, because they did not have the capacity to do so.

  At that time the enlightening being Light from the Origin of the Vows of the Illumination, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and then spoke these verses:

  See how inconceivable is the enlightenment of Buddha, the best of beings:

  In the Jeta grove he shows the Victor’s transfiguration of the enlightened.

  He exercises incalculable independent power,

  Whereat the world is confused, not knowing Buddha’s qualities.

  Profound is the miracle worked by the Spiritual Sovereign,

  Infinite, inconceivable, beyond the range of the world.

  The buddhas are adorned with infinite attributes,

  But the truths revealed by the buddhas are signless.

  The Victor shows transfigurations in the Jeta grove,

  Boundlessly deep, most hard to put into words.

  The enlightening beings do not look at the assembly of saints,

  Having come from innumerable lands to see the Buddha.

  They have attained the sphere of unobstructed, unattached action

  By their determination; no one in the world can know their will.

  All those enlightened on their own and the disciples all around

  Do not know their doings or their state of mind.

  The enlightening beings, great in wisdom, are invulnerable, invincible,

  Paragons of heroism, undefiled, certain of the stage of knowledge;

  Beyond measure, of great fame, they have attained concentration

  And display a miracle extending throughout the cosmos.

  Then the enlightening being King of Invincible Energy, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  Full of virtue and great knowledge, gone to the goal of enlightening practice,

  Givers of security to all worlds—behold these, the offspring of Buddha,

  Intelligent, with boundless wisdom and well-concentrated minds,

  In the realm of boundlessly deep and broad knowledge.

  The great grove called Jeta, where the perfect Buddha sojourns,

  Is adorned with magnificent arrays and filled with enlightening beings.

  See the Great Oceans, nonreliant, independent,

  Sitting on lotus thrones, having come from the ten directions:

  Not resting on anything, not grasping, free from falsehood, without abode,

  With unattached minds, dispassionate, set on the reality realm.

  Exemplars of knowledge, great heroes, with unshakable adamant minds,

  In the midst of unperishing truths, they make a show of nirvana.

  They have come together from countless worlds in the ten directions,

  Come to the Buddha, without any notions of duality.

  They see the miraculous transfiguration of the autonomous Buddha,

  By the power of which these enlightening beings have come.

  They are nondiscriminatory in regard to Buddha teachings and the plane of realities;

  The offspring of Buddha have thoroughly realized that distinctions are merely mundane conventions.

  The buddhas stand in the undifferentiated ultimate limit of the reality realm,

  Yet show the differentiation of things by inexhaustible sayings.

  Then the enlightening being King of Fiery Energy of Universal Splendor, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  See the immense sphere of knowledge of the best of beings;

  Knowing when is the right time and when not, he teaches the truth to people.

  Destroying the various arguments marshaled by heretics,

  He shows beings’ spiritual transfigurations according to their dispositions.

  Buddha is not finite or infinite:

  The great sage has transcended finitude and infinity.

  Like the sun coursing through the sky giving light every day,

  So does the sagacious guide appear, independent of past, present, and future.

  As the sphere of the full moon shines at night,

  So does one see the guide, full of pure qualities.

  As the globe of the sun courses through space without stopping,

  Such is the transfiguration of the Buddha.

  Just as space is independent of all land,

  So is the Buddha transfiguration of the Lamp of the World to be known.

  As the earth is the support of all corporeal beings in the world,

  In the same way is the wheel of teaching of the Lamp of the World steadfast.

  As the wind blows swiftly through the sky, not sticking to anything,

  In the same way does the nature of Buddha operate in the world.

  Just as all lands are founded on a mass of water,

  So are the buddhas of all times founded on a mass of knowledge.

  Then the enlightening being King of Unobstructed Splendor, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  Like a lofty mountain made of diamond

  Does Buddha emerge in the world, savior of all beings.

  Like the water of the ocean, immeasurable, pure,

  Does the sight of Buddha stop the thirst of the world.

  Just as the polar mountain emerges from the ocean water,

  So does the Light of the World emerge from the ocean of truth.

  Like an ocean filled with deposits of jewels

  Is the Independent One’s instant awareness of endless knowledge.

  Profound is the Guide’s knowledge, incalculable, infinite,

  By which he shows infinite inconceivable Buddha transfigurations.

  As an expert magician shows illusory forms,

  Buddha, master of knowledge, displays transfigurations.

  As a pure wish-fulfilling jewel grants what is desired,

  The Victor fulfills the aspirations of those whose intentions are pure.

  Like a luminous jewel shining,

  Omniscience, pure, illumines beings’ minds.

  Like an octagonal jewel facing all directions,

  The Unobstructed Lamp illumines the cosmos.

  Like a water-clarifyi
ng light purifying water,

  Vision of Buddha purifies people’s senses.

  Then the enlightening being Supreme Moon of Vows Emanated throughout the Cosmos, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  As everywhere is made one hue by an emerald,

  Vision of Buddha makes beings the hue of enlightenment.

  In each atom Buddha shows transformation of various kinds,

  Beyond measure, purifying the enlightening beings.

  That is extremely profound, unlimited, hard to approach,

  In the realm of knowledge of the wise, inaccessible to worldlings.

  The full arrays of adornments purified by the works of Buddha

  Are perceived by enlightening beings entering the reality realm.

  The inconceivable buddha-lands where the Victor appears

  Are filled with buddhas surrounded by the wise, everywhere.

  The Teacher, master of all truths, the Hero of the Shakyas, has come forth:

  It is his immeasurable miracle that has appeared.

  You see the variety of the infinite deeds of the resolute:

  The one of infinite splendor shows endless transformations.

  The Leader of the World teaches the offspring of Buddha about the reality realm;

  And they develop the range of knowledge unattached in all things.

  Buddha’s wheel of teaching turns by spiritual power,

  Filled with hundreds of miracles, purifying all worlds.

  In the realm of the Best of Beings, their sphere of knowledge purified,

  The Great Dragons, rich in wisdom, liberate all beings.

  Then the enlightening being King of Fiery Energy of Truth, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  The disciples trained in past, present, and future, foremost sages,

  Do not even know a footstep of a perfect buddha.

  Even all individual illuminates

  Do not know a footstep of the Protector.

  How much less could ordinary beings know the Guide,

  As they are bound in chains and wrapped in the dark of ignorance.