Vast is your wisdom, coursing in the ocean of truth,
And you have traversed the infinite sea of existences.
Long-lived, without affliction, an embodiment of beneficent knowledge,
Your presence illumines this assembly, O goddess.
Aware of the nature of things, like the sky,
You enter unhindered into all times;
In an instant of consciousness without discriminatory thought
You assess all objects, inconceivable as they are.
With the eye of knowledge you see into the beingless nature,
While by compassion you enter infinite oceans of beings.
Deliberately plunging into most profound liberation,
You guide and develop innumerable beings.
You know how to analyze all states of being,
And are aware of the way to penetrate the essence of things:
You practice the undefiled path of all sages;
You will liberate all beings, purifying them.
You are an unexcelled leader of beings, O goddess,
As you acquire omniscient knowledge throughout the universe,
You expound the Teaching to all beings therein,
And extinguish all fears in the world.
You go by way of the path of Vairocana’s vows,
With unhindered, vast, undefiled understanding;
Everywhere practicing the powers of the enlightened,
You witness the miracles of buddhas in all lands.
Hard to accomplish is a skylike mind such as yours,
Free from the taints of the afflictions;
Therein are all lands in all times,
All buddhas, enlightening beings, and all living creatures.
Day and night, instants and moments, seasons, fortnights, months,
And years, along with their passing away and imagined discriminations,
And the waves of eons, with their enumerations of myriad names,
The oceans of concepts of sentient beings, all you see in an instant.
The deaths and births of beings in the ten directions,
With form or without, thinking and thoughtless,
You comprehend according to their conventional truth,
And show them the way to supreme enlightenment.
Born of the family of the network of Vairocana’s vows,
Having become one with all buddhas,
Your spiritual body pure, your mind unobstructed,
You appear to beings according to their minds.
Having eulogized the goddess with these verses, Sudhana paid his respects and went on.
Sarvavrikshapraphullanasukhasamvasa
Then Sudhana, further cultivating, fostering, and expanding the enlightening liberation of entry into the profound miracle of pleasing sound, went to the night goddess Sarvavrikshapraphullanasukhasamvasa. He saw her sitting on a lion throne of jewel tree shoots inside a tower of branches of jewel trees of all fragrances, surrounded by ten thousand night goddesses. He went up to her, paid his respects, and said, “Noble goddess, I have set my mind on supreme perfect enlightenment, but I do not know how an enlightening being is to carry out and learn the practice of enlightening beings. Please tell me how to perform and learn the practice of enlightening beings, and how to act and learn so as to arrive at omniscience.”
The goddess said to Sudhana, “By my power, when the sun goes down, the blooming lotuses become highly fragrant; all the men and women sporting in the parks decide to go home; the highly conscious beings on the roads and paths in the night head for the protection of all beings: those who live in mountain caves go into the mountain caves, those who lie in trees head for the trees, those who live in caves go into their caves, those who live in villages, cities, or towns go into their villages, cities, and towns, those who live in water go down in the water, those who live in other abodes go to their respective dwelling places, to spend the night comfortably.
“Furthermore, to the young men and women intoxicated with the joy of youth, reveling in music and song and intent on sensual pleasures, I praise the effort to produce roots of goodness as an antidote to the fears of the darkness of birth, old age, and death. I enjoin giving on those who are greedy and lead the ill-behaved to discipline. To those who are hostile I praise kindness, and I lead those agitated in mind to patience. I lead the lazy to undertake the vigorous effort of enlightening beings. Those whose minds wander I establish in meditation. I furnish the stupid with transcendent wisdom. Those who are interested in the Lesser Vehicle I establish in the Great Vehicle. Those who are attached to the world, who act within the sphere of attachment to the conditions of existence, I lead to the transcendent commitment of enlightening beings. Those who are overcome by obstructions, tormented by afflictions in their actions, lacking in the power of virtue and knowledge, I lead to the transcendent power of enlightening beings. Those bound up in the darkness of nescience, in the darkness of the ignorance characterized by egoism and possessiveness, I lead to the transcendent knowledge of enlightening beings.
“Furthermore, I have attained the enlightening liberation ‘manifestation of contentment with the treasure produced from great joy.’”
Sudhana said, “What is the sphere of this liberation?”
The goddess said, “The scope of this liberation is the knowledge and means to take care of sentient beings by the goodness of those who arrive at Thusness. How is that? Whatever well-being sentient beings experience is all due to the power of the goodness of the enlightened, due to the path of the teaching of the enlightened, due to putting the word of the enlightened into practice, due to learning from the enlightened, due to the support of the enlightened, due to practicing the path of knowledge of the enlightened, due to planting roots of goodness like the enlightened, due to the true teaching of the enlightened, due to the illumination of the sun of knowledge of the enlightened.
“Indeed, the happiness of beings comes from the light of the sphere of pure deeds of the family of the enlightened. How do I know? As I enter into this enlightening liberation of the manifestation of contentment with the treasure produced from great joy, and recall and plunge into the ocean of Vairocana Buddha’s past practices as an enlightening being, thus do I know and understand—as the Buddha was concentrating on the stages of enlightenment in the past, seeing sentient beings caught up in egoism and possessiveness, in the darkness of ignorance, gone into a tangle of views, dominated by craving, bound by the fetters of desire, hostile and malevolent, continuously pursuing delusions, wrapped up in envy and jealousy, their minds crowded with afflictions, experiencing the great misery of the mundane whirl, tormented by the pains of poverty in the mundane whirl, deprived of the sight of the enlightened, there appeared in the Buddha a mind of great compassion, a mind to take care of all sentient beings materially for their benefit, a mind to produce means of worldly support for all sentient beings, a mind free from attachment to all things, a mind without acquisitiveness for any objects, a mind not dwelling on any pleasures, a mind free from grasping for any material goods, a mind not seeking rewards for giving, a mind not eager for existence in any world, a mind not confused about causal relations, a mind contemplating the truth after thorough investigation, a mind to provide refuge for the welfare of all living beings.
“Having comprehended the essence of all things as it really is, having impartial goodwill toward all sentient beings, working to fill all worlds with great compassion, covering all worlds with the canopy of the great Teaching, holding the thunderbolt of great knowledge, which shatters the mountain of afflictions of all sentient beings, his mind growing in satisfaction through the welfare of all sentient beings, determined to effect the ultimate happiness of all sentient beings, wishing to provide all sentient beings with everything they need, working impartially without abandoning any sentient beings, wishing to satisfy all sentient beings with the wealth of sages, determined to attain the jewel of knowledge of the supreme ten powers, empowered with the mystic
knowledges of enlightening beings, pervading all worlds throughout the space of the entire cosmos with a multitude of various enlightening manifestations, appearing before all sentient beings, swirling a great cloud of all manner of objects and showering a rain of all kinds of precious ornaments, he undertook to give infinite various articles to all sentient beings for their use as appropriate, to perform innumerable services, to strive to provide care by all sorts of charity, giving away many kinds of things, to construct arrangements of myriad benefits, services, and useful articles, to practice various forms of giving, satisfying sentient beings according to their mentalities by endless giving, to make uninterrupted effort to save all beings from the miseries of the mundane world, without desiring the gratitude of anyone, impartial toward all beings, purifying the mind-jewel of all beings, increasing the flood of the ocean of wealth of all-knowledge for all beings produced from the ocean of roots of goodness at one with those of all buddhas, engaged in taking care of all beings by providing for their needs, undertaking all this continuously, from moment to moment, to develop and guide all sentient beings and gradually purify them.
“He undertook to adorn every land as a supreme pure buddha-land in every moment of thought, to purify the practice of the ocean of methods of the Teaching in every moment of thought, to fulfill the means of knowledge pervading all of space in every moment of thought, to purify the means of knowledge of how to tame all sentient beings in every moment of thought, to bring to light the knowledge of how to guide all worldlings in every moment of thought, to always teach in a manner appropriate to the time in every moment of thought, to be a benefactor to all beings by showing the skillfulness to support all knowledge in each moment of thought, carrying out the practice of enlightening beings in each moment of thought in all kinds of worlds, in various forms, by various means, having entered the way of enlightening beings, to suffuse the worlds with various manifestations of the practice of enlightening beings, to show the bodies of all the buddhas of past, present, and future to other beings according to their mentalities in each moment of thought, increasing the flood of the ocean of wealth of all-knowledge for all beings.
“Thus as Vairocana Buddha was carrying out the practice of enlightening beings in the past, he aroused great compassion for those without virtue or knowledge, those attached to the world, ungrateful, wrapped up in the darkness of nescience, egotistical and possessive, shrouded by the darkness of ignorance, immersed in unreasonable thought, lost in the wilderness of views, heedless of cause and effect, dominated by afflictions in action, fallen into a pit of suffering in the wasteland of the mundane whirl, experiencing the misery of various kinds of want; producing vast multitudes of practices of the ways of transcendence, praising the firm foundation of roots of goodness, removing the pain of mundane want from all sentient beings, fostering the growth of great stores of virtue and knowledge, clarifying the realm of causes, enlightening them on the consistency of deeds and states, showing the origin of all beings and lands, involving them in the continuation of the family of buddhas, getting them to remember the teachings of all buddhas, turning them away from all evil, describing the preparations for omniscience, producing a great multitude of transcendent practices filling all realms of beings, he established sentient beings in the care of the ultimate Teaching, satisfying them according to their mentalities. He directed them in preparation for omniscience, he introduced them to the great transcendent ways of enlightening beings, he got them to support themselves on the wealth of sages, he got them to increase their roots of goodness by the momentum of the joy of omniscience. Introducing them to the miracles of all buddhas, taking them into ultimate unattached bliss, showing them the greatness of the enlightened, he led them to enlightening beings’ knowledge of means of salvation.”
Sudhana said, “How long ago did you set out for supreme perfect enlightenment?”
The goddess said, “This is hard to reach, hard to know, hard to believe, hard to penetrate, hard to say, hard to understand. Neither celestial nor human beings can comprehend it, nor can any listeners or individual illuminates comprehend it, except those who, by the empowerment of Buddha, by the help of spiritual benefactors, by the mind being stabilized on great stores of virtue and knowledge, by purity of intention, by the mind being buoyant, undisturbed, straightforward, unimpaired, open, unobscured, by the mind being illumined by the light of universal knowledge, by the mind being dedicated to the welfare and happiness of all beings, by the mind being invulnerable to the afflictions of all demons, by the mind being within range of attainment of omniscience, thus do not seek any mundane pleasures, are focused on the pleasure of the enlightened, have undertaken to put an end to the suffering and misery of all beings, are headed into the ocean of virtues of the enlightened, are in the realm of the space of meditation on the intrinsic nature of things, have purified the path of higher aspirations, have turned away from the flow of the mundane whirl, are turned toward the ocean of knowledge of the enlightened, are certain to arrive at the citadel of omniscience, proceed energetically into the sphere of those who arrive at Thusness, advance boldly toward buddhahood, are headed toward complete fulfillment of the powers of omniscience, and will ultimately attain the ten powers—such people can penetrate, believe in, grasp, follow, and know this matter. Why? Because this matter is the sphere of buddhas—not even enlightening beings can reach it, much less others. Now, with the support of the Buddha I will tell you, for the sake of the correct purification of the minds of those capable of learning, so that those who practice good can master their minds, and so that you may have an explanation of what is on your mind.”
Then the goddess, further elucidating what she meant, looked over the realm of the buddhas of past, present, and future and spoke these verses:
Profound, infinite, is the sphere of buddhas,
Of which you now ask, O child of Buddha.
Even in eons as many as atoms in inconceivable lands
It could not be fully told.
The peaceful nature of the buddhas cannot be known
By the covetous or the malevolent,
Or by those shrouded in the darkness of delusion,
Or those whose minds are defiled by hypocrisy and conceit.
This sphere of buddhas cannot be known
By those ruled by envy and jealousy,
Or those whose minds are polluted by guile and deceit,
Or those enshrouded by barriers of action based on afflictions.
Buddhahood cannot be known
By those who depend on mental or material elements,
Or those attached to the body as real,
Or those with false views and ideas.
Hard to know is the tranquil realm of buddhas,
Which is inherently pure and nonconceptual—
This reality cannot be truly known
By those attached to life and being.
Those who are born in the family of buddhas,
Who are empowered by all the buddhas,
Who preserve the lineage of the enlightened,
Are the knowers of this sphere.
Those who are tireless in good practices
And are helped by spiritual benefactors,
With their minds focused on the powers of sages,
They attain peace on perceiving this.
This is the sphere of the undefiled
Whose minds are pure, without false ideas,
Like the sky in all directions,
Lamps of wisdom who have dispelled darkness.
Those who pervade all worlds
Of all times with compassion
And are benevolent to all beings
Enter the way of the buddhas.
This is the stage of those without grasping,
The happy ones without attachment
Who always gladly give all there is
Impartially to all beings.
This is the sphere of the undefiled,
Whose minds are unafflicted and conduct impeccabl
e,
Whose minds are ultimately free from regret,
Who apply themselves to practice of Buddha’s teaching.
This is the liberation of the inexhaustible
Whose minds are unshakable, imperturbable,
Whose minds are focused on the essence of things,
Whose minds are unhindered by the oceans of actions.
This is the sphere of the disciplined,
With indefatigable and nonregressing minds,
With strength, vigor, and control,
With endless energy in preparing for omniscience.
This is known to those gone to peace,
With tranquil minds, concentrated,
Ultimately calm and cool,
Practitioners of all the branches of meditation.
This is known to the lamps of wisdom,
Whose minds are liberated from all attachments
And have penetrated the essence of things,
Who have gone the way into the reality realm of the enlightened.
This is the liberation of those who know the path,
Whose minds have penetrated the essence of beings,
Whose minds are not imprisoned in the sea of existence,
Who are moons reflected in the minds of beings.
This is known to the universally good,
Who are born from the ocean of vows
Of the buddhas past, present, and future,
And carry them out forever in all lands.
This is the liberation of those who penetrate all oceans of worlds
By means of the oceans of principles of the reality realm
And see their ages of becoming and decay without discrimination.
This is known to those of unobstructed vision
Who see the buddhas under the enlightenment trees,
As many as atoms in all lands,
Teaching after having realized enlightenment.
You have come after many eons
Of serving spiritual benefactors
In quest of the Teaching, seeking tirelessly;
Having heard it, you can remember it.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 185