The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “To put it briefly, there are ten hundred thousand incalculable numbers of such aspects of the conduct of the practice of enlightening beings, which are to be accomplished by an enlightening being. Furthermore, the practice of enlightening beings enters into all things, for the attainment of knowledge; the practice of enlightening beings enters into all lands, to thoroughly purify them. Because of this vow of mine, when the purification of the realm of desire is finished, my commitments will be finished; when the purification of the world is finished, my commitments will be finished; when all sentient beings’ propensities to continue afflictive habits are ended, my commitments will be ended.”

  Sudhana said, “What is the name of this liberation?”

  Asha said, “This liberation is called ‘characterized by sorrowless well-being.’ I know this enlightening liberation, but how can I know the practice, tell of the virtues, convey the inconceivable enlightening skills, or show the infinite varieties of enlightening vows of the enlightening beings who have oceanic minds because of seeking all the buddha-teachings, who are like the polar mountain because of steadfast will, who are like the medicine ‘good to see’ because they free all sentient beings from the sicknesses of afflictions, who are like the sun because they eliminate the darkness of ignorance of all sentient beings, whose minds are like the earth because they are a refuge for all sentient beings, who are like air because they benefit all sentient beings, who are lamps producing the light of knowledge for all sentient beings, who are like clouds raining truth with a quiet sound, who are like the moon because they radiate a web of light beams of virtue, who are like gods because they protect all sentient beings?

  “Go south—there is a district in Samudravetalya called Nalayur where a seer named Bhishmottaranirghosha lives. Go ask him, and he will instruct you in the practice of enlightening beings.”

  Then Sudhana left Asha, after paying his respects, reflecting on the extreme rarity of enlightening beings, on how hard it is to get on good terms with spiritual benefactors, on how very difficult it is to get to meet people of truth, on how hard it is to attain the faculties of enlightening beings, how hard it is to attain the purity of intent of enlightening beings, how hard it is to find colleagues, how hard it is to focus the mind accurately on enlightenment, how hard it is to apply the teachings leading to the state of freedom from distress, how hard it is to find ways to develop invincible goodness of mind, and how hard it is to get to see ways to quickly develop omniscience.

  Bhishmottaranirghosha

  Then Sudhana, his mind on the instruction of the enlightening being, his mind on the purification of the conduct of enlightening beings, his mind developing the power of virtue of enlightening beings, his mind lit by the energy of the vision of Buddha, with mental energy arising from receiving a treasury of teaching, his mental energy increased by the undertaking of great vows, all things apparent to his mind, his mind aware of the intrinsic essence of things, his mind free from all obstructions, his mind viewing the reality realm without obscurity, his pure will indestructible, his mind invulnerable and immune to the power of all demons, gradually made his way to Nalayur and sought out the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha.

  At that time Bhishmottaranirghosha was sojourning in a retreat, a pleasant place with countless diverse trees and plants, shaded by the leaves of various trees, with flowering trees perpetually blooming in various colors and fruit trees perpetually bearing, the ground made of the finest jewel-fruits from various jewel trees, well distributed with great sandalwood trees, graced with fragrance constantly coming from pleasant aloes wood trees, adorned with trumpet-flower trees distributed in the four directions, with beautifully formed fig trees, with perpetually ripe fruits raining from rose apple trees, beautified by fresh water lilies and lotus blossoms.

  Sudhana saw the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha wearing matted hair, sitting on a seat of bark, rags, fragrant grass, and antelope skin on a layer of straw in a hut built at the foot of a sandalwood tree, surrounded by ten thousand seers. Seeing Bhishmottaranirghosha, Sudhana went up to him, and thinking he had found a true spiritual benefactor, looking upon spiritual benefactors as the door to omniscience because they guide one on the true path, looking upon omniscience as coming from the teaching of spiritual benefactors because they lead to the stage of all-knowledge, looking upon omniscience as coming from the guidance of spiritual benefactors because they lead to the jewel land of the knowledge of the ten powers, looking upon omniscience as illumined by the torch of spiritual benefactors because they produce the light of knowledge of the ten powers, looking upon spiritual benefactors as the path to omniscience leading unbroken to the city of omniscience, looking upon spiritual benefactors as lamps on the way to omniscience because they show the level and the uneven, looking upon spiritual benefactors as a bridge to omniscience because the peril of falling is eliminated, looking upon spiritual benefactors as parasols of omniscience because they produce coolness by the power of great love, looking upon spiritual benefactors as streams of omniscience because they give rise to great compassion, looking upon the satisfaction of the vision of omniscience as coming from spiritual benefactors because they illumine the principle of the inherent nature of phenomena, Sudhana paid his respects to the seer and said, “Noble one, I have set my mind on supreme perfect enlightenment, but I do not know how an enlightening being is to learn and carry out the practice of enlightening beings. I have heard you give enlightening beings instruction; please tell me how an enlightening being is to learn and carry out the practice of enlightening beings.”

  The seer Bhishmottaranirghosha looked at the ten thousand people surrounding him and said, “This youth has set his mind on supreme perfect enlightenment and has invited all sentient beings to fearlessness. He is aiming for the welfare and happiness of all beings; he is facing the ocean of knowledge; he wants to spread the clouds of teaching of all buddhas; he wants to plunge into the ocean of all principles of the Teaching; he wants to live by the light of knowledge; he wants to bring the cloud of great compassion near; he wants to cause the rain of the great Teaching to shower; he wants to have the moon of great knowledge rise in the world and extinguish the burning of all afflictions; he wants to develop the roots of goodness of all sentient beings.”

  Then those ten thousand people scattered beautiful fragrant flowers over Sudhana, bowed to him, and circled him in respect, and said, “This person will be a savior; he will extinguish all the hellish torments of all beings, he will stop all brutish ways, he will get rid of the ways of the underworld, he will shut the door of all conditions inopportune for enlightenment, he will evaporate the ocean of craving, he will sever the bonds of craving, he will remove the mass of suffering, he will dispel the darkness of ignorance, he will surround the world with mountains of virtue, he will reveal the mine of jewels of knowledge, he will cause the sun of knowledge to rise, he will clarify the eye of truth, he will show what is good and bad in the world.”

  Then the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha said to those people, “Whoever aspires to supreme perfect enlightenment promotes the happiness of all sentient beings, carrying out the practice of enlightening beings, and will eventually attain omniscience. This youth has set his heart on supreme perfect enlightenment; he will fulfill the stage of complete buddhahood.” Then the seer said to Sudhana, “I have attained an enlightening liberation called ‘unsurpassed banner.’”

  Sudhana said, “What is the scope of this liberation?”

  Bhishmottaranirghosha stretched forth his right hand and rubbed Sudhana’s head, then took Sudhana by the right hand. At that moment Sudhana saw in the ten directions as many buddha-lands as atoms in ten hundred thousand buddha-lands, and in them he perceived himself at the feet of as many buddhas as atoms in ten hundred thousand buddha-lands. He also saw the innumerable features in the pure adornments of those buddha-lands, and he saw the various arrays of the oceans of audiences surrounding the buddhas therein. He also saw the radiant mass of the marks and embellishments of the buddhas�
� bodies in the midst of the congregations. He also heard teaching from the buddhas without missing a single word, and he remembered the cycles of teachings of those buddhas in order without confusion, and he received the rain of those clouds of teaching as they showered on beings of various mentalities. He also entered the oceans of past vows of those buddhas, purified by zealous application of various kinds. He also entered oceans of past attainments of the buddhas, purified by oceans of various vows. He also saw the forms of buddhas manifested so as to please all sentient beings according to their mentalities. He also saw the nets of light rays of the buddhas, their various cool, pure halos. He also entered into those buddhas’ powers by following the light of unobstructed knowledge. He seemed to be with one buddha for a day and a night, with another for seven days and nights, another for a fortnight, another for a month, another for a year, another for a century, another for a millennium, another for a hundred millennia, another for a million years, another for a hundred million years, another for a billion years, another for a hundred billion years, another for a trillion years, another for half an eon, another for an eon, another for a hundred eons, another for a thousand eons, another for a hundred thousand eons, another for a million eons, another for a hundred million eons, another for a billion eons, another for a hundred billion eons, another for a trillion eons, up to untold, inexpressible numbers of eons, or as many eons as atoms in the continent, or as many eons as atoms in untold buddha-lands. Thus did he perceive himself with the buddhas, illumined by the light of knowledge of the liberation “unsurpassed banner,” imbued with the light of the concentration filled with sunlike radiance, reaching absorption in liberation of endless knowledge, imbued with the light of the mystic formulation of the structure of the universe, his mind illumined by the mystic formulation of the indestructible sphere, abiding in absorption in the realm of well-ordered bodies of knowledge, intent on the state of transcendent wisdom of the path of adornment of all planes, illumined by the light of concentration on the sphere containing the space of the enlightened, his mind illuminated by concentration on the circumference of the wheel of teaching of all buddhas, imbued with the light of absorption in the inexhaustible sphere of jewels of knowledge of past, present, and future.

  Then the seer let go of Sudhana, who found himself once again standing before the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha. The seer said, “Do you remember?” Sudhana said, “I remember, noble one, by the empowerment of the spiritual benefactor.”

  Bhishmottaranirghosha said, “I know this enlightening liberation known as the unsurpassed invincible banner, but how can I know the practice, or tell the virtues, or accurately express the excellence of vows, or know the structure of the lands, or plunge into the sphere of knowledge, or enter into the realm of concentration, or attain the mystic powers, or attain to the freedom of liberation, or take up the various physical manifestations, or reveal the purity of voice, or show the light of knowledge of the enlightening beings who have attained absorption in the mystic knowledge supreme among all creatures, who are masters of all wheels of time, who are skilled in achievement of the knowledge of the characteristics of buddhas, who are supernal manifestations of the incarnation of the buddhas, who have comprehended the knowledge of all objects of past, present, and future as of one characteristic, whose bodies are distributed throughout all worlds, who are embodiments of knowledge in which all realms of reality are revealed, who appear to all sentient beings according to their inclinations, who benefit sentient beings according to their ways of thought and action, who glow with a brightness that illumines everywhere, who have purified the sphere of pure, vast, radiant knowledge?

  “Go south to a land called Ishana, where there lives a priest named Jayoshmayatana. Go ask him how an enlightening being is to learn and apply the practice of enlightening beings.”

  Then Sudhana, pleased, uplifted, transported, overjoyed, happy, paid respects to the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha and departed, looking back at him again and again.

  Jayoshmayatana

  Then, illumined by the light of knowledge of the enlightening liberation “unsurpassed banner,” directly witnessing the inconceivable miracles of the realm of buddhas, endowed with mystic knowledge directly aware of the inconceivable liberation of enlightening beings, his mind illumined by the inconceivable knowledge of concentration of enlightening beings, imbued with the light of knowledge of concentration comprehending all times at once, illumined by the realm of concentration comprehending that all is in perception, having attained the light of the highest knowledge in all worlds, approaching the state whose scope reaches everywhere in past, present, and future, intent on the knowledge showing nondual equality in differentiation, with the light of knowledge extending to all objects, with skillfulness rich in zeal for the purification of tolerance in the face of people’s beliefs, having attained the light of certain knowledge of acceptance of things in terms of their inherent nature, his mind constantly involved in enlightening beings’ practice of mystic knowledge reaching everywhere, which is meditation on inherent nature, his mind progressing rapidly and irreversibly toward omniscience, illumined by the lightning of knowledge of the ten powers, his mind tirelessly seeking the sound of the reality realm, determined to enter the realm of omniscience, intent on accomplishing the infinite array of practices of enlightening beings and purifying the infinite sphere of great vows of enlightening beings, his mind directed toward endlessly ongoing knowledge of the infinite network of all worlds, his mind not shrinking from guiding infinite beings to complete development, beholding the infinite sphere of practice of enlightening beings, seeing the variety of conditions in infinite worlds, seeing the variety of differentiations of infinite worlds, seeing infinite worlds within microcosms and macrocosms, seeing the variety of the webs of perceptions and conceptions on which infinite worlds are based, seeing the variety of conventional terminology in infinite worlds, seeing the variety of interests of infinite beings, seeing the variety of differentiations of infinite beings, seeing the following of developmental teachings of infinite beings, seeing the variety in perceptions of place and time of infinite beings, Sudhana, his attention on spiritual benefactors, gradually made his way to the priest Jayoshmayatana in the land of Ishana.

  At that time the priest was practicing an ascetic exercise of enduring fierce heat, with his mind on omniscience; on four sides were huge bonfires like mountains ablaze. Rising above appeared a great mountain precipice, a razor-edge path.

  Sudhana went up, paid his respects to the priest, and said, “Noble one, I have set my mind on supreme perfect enlightenment, but I do not know how an enlightening being is to learn and carry out the practice of enlightening beings. I hear you give enlightening beings instruction; please tell me how to learn and carry out the practice of enlightening beings.”

  The priest said, “Climb this razor-edge-path mountain and jump from there into the fire—thus will your enlightening practice be purified.”

  At that point Sudhana thought, “It is hard to avoid the situations that are inopportune for enlightenment; it is hard to get to be human; it is hard to remove error and doubt about the right opportunity; it is hard to find a buddha in the world; it is hard to have all one’s faculties in order; it is hard to get to hear the truth; it is hard to meet people of truth; it is hard to find genuine spiritual benefactors; it is hard to get genuine guidance and instruction; it is hard to live right in the human world; it is hard to carry out truth in all respects. Might this not be a demon, or someone possessed by a demon, or a cohort of the devil, or an imitation spiritual teacher, or a false enlightening being, who has undertaken to impede my roots of goodness, who is out to destroy my life? Does he not want to prevent me from reaching omniscience? Does he not want to lead me on a wrong path? Does he not want to prevent me from attaining buddhahood?”

  While he was involved in these thoughts, ten thousand Brahma gods appeared in the sky and said to him, “Do not get fixed on such thoughts. This sage has attained the light of the
concentration of adamantine flame. He has unrelenting energy and has begun the great undertaking of salvation. He has set out to end the emotional attachments of all sentient beings. He is striving to dissolve the webs of all views. He is determined to burn up the deadwood of all afflictions and their actions. He is working to shed light in the wilderness of all kinds of knowledge that is not conducive to enlightenment. He is resolved upon eliminating all beings’ fears of old age and death. He is intent on dispersing the darkness of past, present, and future. He has undertaken to shine beams of light of all truths. As he mortifies himself with four fires under the blazing sun, even the Brahma gods, who think themselves creators and lords and supreme beings, and are engrossed in various views, do not take pleasure in their own states because of the light given off by this priest’s peerless practice of heat austerity. Not enjoying the pleasure of meditation, they come to the priest, and he overwhelms them by mystic power, and through fierce austerity teaches them to get rid of all their views and destroy all pride and arrogance. He also teaches them so that they may suffuse all worlds with great love and compassion, make their will for enlightenment firm, enlarge their determination for enlightenment, turn to the vision of all buddhas, fully receive the voice of the buddhas, and hear the voice of buddhas everywhere without resistance or obstruction.”