The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  Unquantifiable, the Victor cannot be known by any scales;

  Endowed with unobstructed knowledge, Buddha transcends the path of words.

  Radiant as the full moon, steady, adorned with a multitude of qualities,

  He passes infinite eons creating transformations.

  Thinking of the Buddha in every way with perfect concentration,

  Even after untold billions of eons Buddha would still be inconceivable.

  One cannot understand the limit of even a single attribute of the Independent,

  Even while gazing on Buddha, for the qualities of Buddha are inconceivable.

  Those who are intent on this, and whose minds delight therein,

  Will attain these realms, which are so hard to see.

  Valiant ones of great resources, intelligent, pure-minded, stable,

  Enter into this teaching, made of endless virtue and knowledge.

  Great is their aspiration, great their discipline of mind;

  They will attain great enlightenment, having arrived at the sphere of the Victor.

  Then the enlightening being Standard of Knowledge Scattering All Bands of Demons, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  Being the body of unobstructed knowledge, the Independent is incorporeal;

  In the realm of inconceivable knowledge, that cannot be conceived.

  The buddha-body is realized by inconceivable pure deeds;

  Undefiled by the triple world, it shines with distinctive embellishments.

  Universal light of the world, having clarified the reality realm,

  It is also the door of enlightenment, the mine of all knowledge.

  Dispassionate, free from falsehood, having shed all hindrances,

  As the sun of the world Buddha radiates lights of knowledge.

  That which removes the fears of existence and purifies those in the triple world,

  The development of enlightening beings is thus the mine of buddhas’ enlightenment.

  Buddha shows infinite forms without sticking to any form,

  And shows those inconceivable forms through all living creatures.

  No one can reach the end of the knowledge of Buddha,

  By which inconceivable enlightenment is instantly clarified.

  Inexhaustible exposition of knowledge, wherein are the buddhas of all times,

  Is produced in a single instant, without any change in essence.

  The wise seeker of enlightenment, engaged in endless action, should always think—

  Although it be thought, no thought is born in this thought.

  The inconceivable elements of buddhahood realized by the perfectly enlightened

  Are profound beyond all telling, beyond the scope of words.

  Then the enlightening being Flames of Knowledge of Vows of the Illuminator, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  Those of unerring recollection, pure, born of truth, of certain mind

  And inconceivable wisdom, are inexhaustible oceans of enlightenment.

  This is the sphere of action of those whose minds are resolved hereon;

  Their knowledge is unshakable, they have ended doubt.

  They do not become depressed or dejected;

  Their minds are on the way to buddhahood.

  Filled with good qualities realized over countless eons,

  The peerless seekers of knowledge dedicate them all.

  They think about the course of life but do not take refuge in it—

  They take refuge in the Buddha teachings, sporting in the realm of Buddha.

  Whatever mundane fortune takes place in the world of sentient beings,

  The resolute relinquish it all, for they are set on the attainment of buddhahood.

  Vainly clinging, the world is always fettered—

  There, those of unobstructed action are always set on the welfare of beings.

  Unequaled in their action, inconceivable to all beings,

  They consider the happiness of the world, whereby suffering is repelled.

  They have purified knowledge of enlightenment and are sympathetic to all beings,

  As lights of the world, emancipating all beings.

  Then the enlightening being Valiant One with Knowledge to Disperse All Barriers, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  The name of Buddha is hard to come by even in a billion eons—

  How much more so the sight of Buddha, supreme, which ends all desires.

  Buddha appears as the light of the world, gone to the goal of all truth,

  Worthy of the offerings of the three worlds, purifier of all beings.

  Those who regard the physical form of the impeccable best of beings

  Never tire of it even in countless eons.

  Offspring of the Victor looking at the form body of the Lord of Humans,

  Unattached, dedicate themselves purely to enlightenment, seeking the highest goal.

  This is the door to enlightenment, the corporeal embodiment of the Great Sage,

  Whence issue unhindered, inexhaustible analytic intellectual powers.

  Having illumined infinite beings, the Great Sage foretells their supreme

  Enlightenment, having led them into the Great Vehicle.

  The great field of blessings, a sphere of knowledge, has emerged

  And illuminates infinite beings, increasing the mass of virtue.

  There is no fear of evil ways for those who associate now with Buddha,

  The one who cuts through the net of misery and purifies the mass of knowledge.

  A great mind is born in those who see the Buddha,

  Immeasurable wisdom and power is born, radiant as the moon.

  They will be sure of enlightenment, having seen the Buddha,

  And will be certain that they will become buddhas themseļves.

  Then the enlightening being King of Superknowledge Discerning the Differentiations of the Plane of the Cosmos, by the power of Buddha, looked over the ten directions and spoke these verses:

  Having seen the Sage endowed with infinite virtues,

  The minds of those dedicated to the Great Vehicle are purified.

  The buddhas appear for the welfare of all beings,

  Universally compassionate, steadfast, turning the wheel of the teaching.

  How can all creatures requite the buddhas’

  Countless eons of dedication to their welfare?

  It is better to burn in the fearsome three evils for eons

  Than not to see the Teacher, who quells all attachments.

  All the mass of suffering that takes place in all realms of being

  Is tolerable, but not deprivation of the sight of Buddha.

  It is better to live long in every miserable way in the world

  Than not to hear the buddhas.

  Each eon spent even in hell is better

  Then elsewhere apart from Buddha, distant from enlightenment.

  What is the reason for wanting to live long amid calamities?

  It is to see the Buddha and increase in Knowledge.

  All miseries are ended once the Buddha has been seen,

  And entry into knowledge takes place, into the sphere of the enlightened.

  All obstructions are removed when Buddha is seen,

  Increasing measureless virtue, whereby enlightenment is attained.

  Sight of Buddha severs all doubts of sentient beings

  And fulfills all purposes, mundane and transcendental.

  Then the great enlightening being Universally Good, having looked over the host of enlightening beings everywhere, to further analyze, discuss in detail, explain, reveal, elucidate, bring to light, illumine, and point out, by means of the cosmos of truths, equal to the realm of space, equal to past, present, and future, equal to the realm of realities, equal to the realm of beings, equal to the realm of all worlds, equal to all sets of actions, equal to the disposit
ions of beings, equal to the interests of beings, equal to the specific illustrations of truth, equal to the appropriate times for the maturation of beings, and equal to the faculties of all beings, elucidated this “lion emergence” concentration of Buddha by means of ten indications: indication of the succession of all buddhas and the succession of lands in the atoms of the buddha-lands throughout all universes; indication of the seeking and following of virtues of the buddhas in all buddha-lands in space throughout the future; indication of buddhas emerging in all buddha-lands and showing the ocean of infinitely various doors of enlightenment; indication of the hosts of enlightening beings in the circles of the buddhas in the buddha-lands throughout space facing the terrace of enlightenment; indication of pervading the cosmos in a moment of thought with emanations in the forms of the buddhas of past, present, and future, emitted from every pore; indication of the light of magical pervasion of all multitudes of lands in all the oceans in all directions equally with one body; indication of revelation of the power of concentration of all pasts, presents, and futures of the transfigurations of the state of buddhahood in the surfaces of all objects; indication of manifestation of the oceans of eons of various successive transfigurations of Buddha in the lands of past, present, and future, equal to the atoms in all lands; indication of the birth of enlightening beings from the endless power emanating from every pore by the ocean of vows of all buddhas of past, present, and future; indication of endless manifestation of varied expositions of truth amid equal adornments of sites of enlightenment with circles of enlightening beings around lion thrones equal in extent to the cosmos: “These ten, O offspring of the Victor,” said Samantabhadra, the Universally Good enlightening being, “are the first ten of as many expressions of the ‘lion emergence’ concentration as atoms in untold buddha-lands, which I follow. However, these are the sphere of knowledge of those who arrive at Thusness.”

  Then the enlightening being Universally Good, illuminating the expression of the meaning of the “lion emergence” concentration of Buddha, by the empowerment of Buddha, while gazing on the face of Buddha, observing the ocean of assemblies everywhere, observing the infinitely various transfigurations of the concentration of Buddha in the inconceivable sphere of the enlightened, observing the magical nature of inconceivable knowledge, and observing all teachings expressed in an inconceivably infinite variety of manners of speaking, then uttered these verses:

  Like the atoms of all lands are the oceanic buddha-lands on a single hairtip:

  Surrounded by a circle of enlightening beings, there Buddha rests on the throne of the enlightened.

  In the ocean of buddha-lands on a single hair, on a lotus throne at the site of enlightenment

  Extended throughout the cosmos, the Guide is seen at the trees of enlightenment.

  Like the atoms in all lands are the buddhas assembled on a single hair:

  Surrounded by a host of enlightening beings, they expound all good actions.

  Buddha sits in one land pervading all lands;

  Endless hosts of enlightening beings go there from everywhere.

  Like atoms in countless lands, enlightening beings, radiant seas of virtue,

  Should appear in the audiences of the Teachers, throughout the cosmos.

  Appearing like reflections in all lands, oceans of knowledge of buddhas,

  Established in good practices, they arrive in the assemblies of all buddhas.

  Assembled everywhere in all lands, in the realm of the joy of enlightening practice,

  Delighted in hearing the myriad teachings, they pass millions of eons in each land.

  Enlightening beings carry out their practices coursing in the ocean of truth, emanating light;

  They enter the oceans of vows, established in the sphere of buddhahood.

  Born of the teachings of the buddhas, acting with universal good in mind,

  They enter the oceans of qualities of buddhas, in vast transfigurations.

  Pervading the refuge of the reality realm, they constantly emanate a cloud of bodies,

  Many as atoms in all lands, with the rain of truth, for enlightenment.

  Then the blessed Buddha, wanting to establish those enlightening beings in this lion emergence concentration of buddhas, went on to emanate from the circle of hair between his brows a light called “illumining past, present, and future, showing all ways into the reality realm,” accompanied by as many beams of light as atoms in untold buddha-lands, with which he illumined all lands in all oceans of worlds in the ten directions.

  Then the enlightening beings who had gathered at the Jeta grove saw, in every buddha-land in all universes throughout the farthest reaches of space, in groups of buddha-lands within atoms of buddha-lands as numerous as atoms in all buddha-lands, in buddha-lands of various powers, various purities, various locations, and various conditions, an enlightening being at the summit of enlightenment sitting on a lion throne, attended by all world rulers, surrounded by a multitude of enlightening beings, attaining unexcelled supreme perfect enlightenment, here teaching in circles as vast as untold buddha-lands with a sphere of sound pervading the cosmos, there gone to the various realms of existence, or in the cities, towns, communities, and nations of the human world, teaching the truth by means of various miracles, various modes of conduct, various embodiments, various indications of ways of concentration, various superknowledges from concentration, appearing in various castes and races, with various auras of light, radiating various webs of light beams, with various spheres of sound, in various congregations, setting up various interlocutors, setting up various instructions, in various words and expressions.

  And, as those enlightening beings saw the transfigurations of the profound concentration of the Buddha in all those assemblies, they saw transfigurations of Buddha throughout the cosmos, in all worlds throughout space, in the arrays of the ten directions, in the sets of cycles in all places, in the confluence of all spaces, in the media of principles in the various regions, in the various realms of conception, in the conjunctions of the various regions, in the specific spaces of the various regions, in the oceans of all regions—that is, in the north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest, nadir, and zenith—in the places of the body of lands, in the places of the body of beings, in the places that are in the conceptions of beings, in the regions of past ages, in the regions of the present in the ten directions, in every point in all realms of space, in the locus of each and every atom of all lands, in the points of entry of all spaces, in the locations of occurrence of performance of various actions, in the conceptual locations of infinite surfaces of space in a point the size of a hairtip, those transfigurations reflected in the minds of all living beings, using their languages, in the perceptions of all living beings, without discrimination among beings, equal in past, present, and future, coming forth equally everywhere as a whole, with physical forms coming to all assemblies, descending into the presence of all bodies of beings, with the same knowledge in all ages, appearing to all beings according to their mentalities, equally, everywhere in all lands, elucidating the teachings of buddhas and guiding sentient beings ceaselessly.

  All of them were united by the blessed Vairocana Buddha, by the four integrative methods, by equality of past virtuous actions; they were fully developed by seeing, hearing, and remembering; they had already set their minds on supreme enlightenment; going to the buddhas here and there, they were united by fundamental virtues: in accord with the sameness of their roots of goodness and adoption of means of developing omniscience, the enlightening beings gained access to the projections of the concentration of the blessed Vairocana, which extended throughout the cosmos, to the farthest reaches of space. Some comprehended the reality-body, some the form-body, some the past attainment of Vairocana as an enlightening being, some the fulfillment of the ways of transcendence, some the pure adornment of the sphere of action, some the mystic projection of the stages of enlightening, some the mystical projection of perfect enlightenment,
some the unconfused mystical projection of the concentrations in which buddhas sojourn, some the powers and fearlessnesses of buddhas, and some comprehended the ocean of analytic powers of buddhas—they entered into as many such oceans of mystical projections of Buddha as there are atoms in ten inexpressible numbers of buddha-lands. They entered those oceans of mystical projections of Buddha by way of various devotions, various paths, various doors, various entries, various penetrations, various methods, various approaches, various directions, various capacities, various places, various worlds, various attainments, various provisions, various transformations, various means, and various concentrations. Those enlightening beings gained access to the mystical projections, the miraculous transfigurations, of the blessed Buddha Vairocana by means of such enlightening beings; concentrations as these—adornment of the entire cosmos, illumination of the realm of unobstructed knowledge of all times, light of knowledge of the continuity of the planes of the cosmos, entry into the plane of the sphere of those who realize Thusness, illumination of the plane of space, free access to the ten powers of buddhas, bold emergence adorned by the fearlessness of the enlightened, whirlpool of the principles of the reality realm, moon pervading all universes with unhindered sound, and light of principles of universal order.

  Those enlightening beings also entered the oceans of mystical projections of buddhahood of the blessed Vairocana by way of such enlightening concentrations as those known as emblem of the king of truth crowned by nonattachment, seeing oceans of buddhas in all objects, emblem of reflection of the different bodies of all realms of being, entry into the unalloyed sphere of the body of those who arrive at Thusness, container of compassion going along with the whirl of all worlds, founded on the power based on all truths, sphere of revelation of ultimately quiescent indifferent equality, universally projected reflection emanated purely without attachment, occult manifestation of the unity of all lands, effectuation of the manifestation of attainment of enlightenment in all buddha-lands, comprehension of embodiment of all oceanic virtues, endless spiritual power to effect the mystical transfiguration of all objects, entry into the ocean of past practices of all buddhas, basis of eternal preservation of the lineage of buddhas, power of devotion to purification of the ocean of all lands in the ten directions of the present, illumination of the states of all buddhas in a single moment of thought, entry into ultimate freedom from attachment to all objects, causing all worlds to appear in one buddha-field, production of emanations of all embodiments of buddhas, adamantine knowledge of the ocean of all faculties, causing all buddhas to appear within a single body, instantaneous state of discovering the principle of all things in the point of a moment of thought, spiritual power of manifesting nirvana in all realms in the cosmos, power to roam on the highest plane, magical manifestation of the differentiation of the bodies of beings in all buddha-lands, entry into the presence of the whirl of all knowledge, complete knowledge and differentation of past, present, and future in a single instant, containing the body of principles of the cosmos in every moment of thought, lion following the lineage of all buddhas, sphere of the eye of wisdom seeing the cosmos in all objects, vigorous undertaking of approach to the ten powers, sphere of the eye of universal vision of all objects, illumination of beings in all spheres of form, space of an unmoving whirl, showing all things in one thing, verbal analysis of truth.