Thereupon the five hundred ponds were filled with pure water,
The trees flourished, and flowers and fruits were filled with life.
The ponds, filled with water, refreshed the whole grove;
By the streams flowing from them the whole continent was replenished with moisture.
The herbs, crops, and greenery growing, the trees flowered and fruited;
All the seeds in the earth sprouted, moistened by the water.
Every place on earth was equally watered then,
And all places low and high became level.
Ravines and rugged terrain then became instantly level;
Brambles, gravel, and the like disappeared, replaced by beautiful jewels.
All the people exulted, like the thirsty drinking water,
And celebrated this park, saying, “By whose power is this felicity?”
Then the king Starlight, with his wife, son, and ministers,
Surrounded by millions of people, went to enjoy the park.
In the middle was the pond Impeccable, filled with fragrant water;
There the king stood, up in its villa, a temple of truth.
It had been seven nights since the water had appeared;
Again the whole earth trembled, with all its mountains and abodes.
In the middle of the pond a thousand-petaled lotus appeared,
Shining like a thousand suns, suffusing the peak of the polar mountain with light.
Its stem was diamond, its calyx the essence of beauty, its clean broad leaves
Diamond, its pericarp of finest gold, its filaments radiant, with superb fragrance.
On that pericarp the Guide was born, sitting up straight, cross-legged;
You shone, your body resplendent with the marks of greatness, attended by celestial beings.
Descending from the temple, the king took you in his arms, delighted,
And handed you to the queen, saying “This is your son—be of good cheer.”
Millions of hidden treasuries appeared, the trees of plenty released
Their goods, and the air was filled with music as you were born, leader of the world.
All those living on the continent looked up to you, trusting—
Respectfully they said, “This is the leader of the leaderless.”
The light emanating from your body illumined the whole earth;
Dispelling the darkness of the world, it put an end to all ailments.
All malevolent creatures, the venomous and harmful,
Became inactive then.
Frustration, censure, ill-fame, pain, misfortunes, illness, accidents—
These all ended, fortune came, and everyone became joyful.
Everyone loved one another, and all became kind;
Free from animosity, nonviolent, they set out on the path of knowledge.
The righteous king shut off the evil ways, opened the way to heaven,
And showed the way to omniscience—you have done a great service to the world.
We benefit further from seeing you, oceanic giver; after long absence,
A leader of the helpless is born in the world—you are a rare guide.
“Having thus eulogized the king, the girl Jewel Light then paid her respects to him and stood there reverently. Looking at her, the king said, ‘Rare are those who appreciate the virtues of others. For the ignorant, the ungrateful, the undiscerning, the agitated, the disturbed, the muddled thinkers, the deranged, the backsliders, those who do not realize the excellence of others’ virtues, it is impossible to comprehend or even conceive of the virtues of the enlightened, or to realize the excellence of knowledge of all virtues. Without a doubt you have set out for enlightenment, since you have understood such virtues of enlightening beings. Our efforts for the care of beings have not been fruitless, as you, endowed with such knowledge, have appeared in our kingdom, by virtue of the higher knowledge of superior people.’
“Then with his own hand the king gave her a priceless robe, radiant with sparkling jewels, and also gave a precious robe to each of her companions. He said, ‘Take this and put it on.’ Jewel Light then knelt on the ground, picked up the robe in both hands, lifted it to her head, and put it on. Her companions likewise each put on their robes. Having put on the robes, the girl and her companions circled the king in respect, with the reflections of all the stars glittering in their robes. Seeing this, the people said, ‘You are beautiful, young lady, with your companions, adorned with stars like a night goddess; surrounded by them, you sparkle most brightly.’”
Then the night goddess Sarvavrikshapraphullanasukhasamvasa said to Sudhana, “You should realize that it was none other than the buddha Vairocana, who at that time was the king Encompassing Sound of the Proclamation of All Laws, and the queen Lotus Light, wife of the king Starlight and mother of the king Encompassing Sound of the Proclamation of All Laws, was none other than Queen Maya; Maya was the queen Lotus Light at that time, by whom the spontaneously born child was carried at the hip. And the king father, the elder king Starlight, was none other than King Shuddhodana. And you may think the girl Jewel Light of that time was someone else, but you should realize that she was none other than I—I myself was that girl Jewel Light in that time. As for the people of that time who were taken care of by the king Encompassing Sound of the Proclamation of All Laws by means of generosity, kindness, charitable works, and sympathy, you might think they were other people, but you should not see it that way—they are now the enlightening beings gathered here in the audience of the Buddha, standing on the ground of enlightening beings, irreversibly determined to reach supreme perfect enlightenment, some in the first stage, some in the second, some in the third, some in the fourth, some in the fifth, some in the sixth, some in the seventh, some in the eighth, some in the ninth, some in the tenth stage, who have attained by various different vows, various approaches to omniscience, various preparations, various accomplishments, various ways of emancipation, various purifications of manifestations of the path, various mystic powers, and various manifestations of the path, and, by various states of liberation, abide in various spiritual abodes in this assembly.”
Then the night goddess spoke these verses to Sudhana, further revealing the enlightening liberation of manifestation of satisfaction by treasure produced from great joy:
Broad is my vision, with which I observe everywhere, vast oceans
Of lands of many kings, and oceans of beings in a whirl.
In all lands buddhas sit at enlightenment trees, dispassionate,
Pervading everywhere by mystic powers and always teaching and guiding beings.
My hearing is perfectly clear, and I hear all sounds thereby;
I hear all the teachings of the buddhas and am extremely joyful.
My knowledge, nondualistic, unhindered, penetrates the spheres of others’ minds;
The vast ocean of minds of the world I comprehend in an instant.
I remember the past by the power of recollection and concentration,
Know oceans of eons, the many hundreds of oceans of lives of myself and others.
I know in an instant as many eons as atoms in an ocean of lands,
The beings transmigrating, the buddhas and their projections.
I also remember the initial vow of the buddhas, and those who attained,
Having accomplished their practice, by many means appropriate to their undertaking.
The attainments to the stage of coronation of the oceans of lofty virtue,
And their many ways of awakening, I comprehend in an instant.
I know the methods by which they taught in the world, their measureless virtues
In nirvana, and how long their teachings remained.
The pure principles of their myriad vehicles and extensive guidance of beings
Shown in the world, I know in particular, in countless various ways.
This way of liberation, witnessing the wealth of satisfaction produced from the treasury of joy,
I know only this enlightening liberation of manifestation of satisfaction by treasure produced from great joy. How can I know the practice or tell of the virtues of the enlightening beings in the presence of all buddhas who have plunged into the ocean of commitment to omniscience, who have fulfilled the vow to accomplish the myriad past vows of all buddhas, who have the mighty knowledge to enter all stages of enlightening upon entering one stage of enlightening, who have purified the practice of the vow to comprehend all practices of enlightening beings in one practice, who are masters of the state of comprehension of the whole ocean of all enlightening liberations in each enlightening liberation?
“In this same enlightenment site there is a night goddess named Sarvajagadrakshapranidhanaviryaprabha, in the presence of the Buddha; go ask her how an enlightening being is to develop sentient beings to supreme perfect enlightenment, purify all buddha-lands, serve all buddhas, and practice all buddhas’ teachings.”
Then Sudhana paid his respects to the night goddess Sarvavrikshapraphullanasukhasamvasa and went on.
Sarvajagadrakshapranidhanaviryaprabha
Then Sudhana went to the night goddess Sarvajagadrakshapranidhanaviryaprabha and saw her sitting, in that same assembly, on a seat of jewels reflecting the abodes of all beings; her body was covered with a net of jewels reflecting the principles of the cosmos. Her body showed reflections of all moons, suns, stars, and planets; she appeared to sentient beings according to their mentalities, she manifested her own body in forms like those of all beings; her body manifested infinitely various appearances; her body manifested the principles of the states of all modes of bearing; her body appeared to be present everywhere; her body appeared to sentient beings everywhere to mature them; her body appeared to all beings, pervading everywhere with various projections proclaiming the truth; her body descended from the sky to meet the needs of beings at all times; her body was bowing at the feet of all buddhas; her body was leading all sentient beings in accumulating roots of goodness; her body was facing all buddhas, receiving their teachings and remembering them, heedfully minding and retaining them in fulfillment of her vows; her body was filling all directions with infinite various manifestations; her body was radiating the light of the lamp of truth dispelling darkness for all beings; her body showed the embodiment of pure knowledge of the illusoriness of things; her body showed the embodiment of spirituality free from ignorance and passion; her body was born of the magical nature of reality; her mind was aware of the nature of reality; she was illumined with the light of impartial knowledge; her mind and body were ultimately free from irritation and inflammation; she had come from the indestructible realm of the body of reality; her body was a pure embodiment of the nature of things, inherently undefiled, naturally unafflicted, empowered by the realization of Thusness, not fixed or dependent. Sudhana, seeing her, bowed his head; remembering as many ways of seeing her as atoms in a buddha-land, he prostrated himself on the ground for a long time.
Finally rising from the ground, in a reverential attitude Sudhana gazed at the body of the night goddess, and as he did so he attained ten purities of thought, whereby he gained communality with all spiritual friends. What were those ten? He thought of spiritual friends as his own mind, to associate with them in all situations in the effort to attain omniscience. He thought of them as the pure essence of the development of his own actions, to accomplish the attainment of extensive roots of goodness to please spiritual friends. He thought of them as adorning the practice of enlightening beings, to associate with them in carrying out adornment by all spiritual vows. He thought of them as bringing him to all aspects of buddhahood, to practice the paths taught by all spiritual friends. He thought of them as the state of comfort, to manifest the abode of the supreme state of the realm of all buddhas. He thought of them as the one way of emancipation, to purify the practice of the commitment of emancipation by the vehicle of universal good. He thought of them as oceans of virtues of omniscience, to increase the production of all good qualities. He thought of them as fulfilling, increasing, and preserving all consummate good, to increase the force of energetic effort for total knowledge of complete enlightenment. He thought of them as fulfilling all roots of goodness, to fulfill the aspirations of all beings. He thought of spiritual friends as fulfillers of all aims, to establish the mastery of all acts of enlightening beings. He attained these ten purities of thought, whereby he attained communality with the night goddess and enlightening beings as numerous as atoms in a buddha-land.
That is, he attained communality of recollection, in remembering all buddhas of all times and places; communality of intellect, in unconfused ascertainment of the principles of the ocean of all truths; communality of course, in familiarity with the principles of clear distinction following the courses of the teachings of all buddhas; communality of enlightenment, so as to realize the ocean of all principles of all times by spacelike awareness; communality of purity of faculties, so as to realize the knowledge of the ocean of faculties of all enlightening beings; communality of mental purity, so as to accomplish the path of adornment achieving the virtues of the path of enlightening beings adorned by the protection and care of living beings in all ways; communality of sphere, so as to attain the scope of the sphere of knowledge of those who have arrived at Thusness; communality of following principles, so as to gain the light of the path of entry into the ocean of principles of complete omniscience; communality of comprehension of meaning, so as to attain comprehension of knowledge of the nature of all things; communality of spiritual abode, so as to shatter the mountains of all obstructions; communality of purity of the physical body, so as to attain physical purity resplendent with the marks and embellishments of greatness, appearing to sentient beings variously according to their dispositions; communality of power, so as to increase focus on omniscience in which all powers of enlightening beings are consummated; communality in expertise in all spiritual methods, so as to make the mind clear as space; communality of energy, so as to be capable of tireless perseverance in enlightening practices through all ages; communality of eloquence, so as to illumine unobstructed knowledge of all things; communality of insuperability, so as to purify the body beyond all worldlings; communality of noble-minded, nondepressive, intrepid speech, for purity of good relations with all groups; communality of voice, for enunciation of all truths; communality of purity of articulation, in respect to the myriad principles of conventions of expression of the languages of all beings; communality of purity of virtue, in respect to purities of accomplishment of virtues taught by the buddhas; communality of harmonizing with the tradition of principles and actions of buddhas, for purity of consequences of blameless action; communality of devotion to truth, so as to turn the wheels of teaching of all buddhas who appear in the world; communality of religious practice, so as to dwell in the knowledge of the realm of all buddhas; communality of great kindness, so as to pervade the ocean of all beings in every moment with the various aspects of kindness; communality of entry into the ocean of great compassion, so as to rain teachings for the salvation of all beings; communality of physical action, for equality in application of means to perfect all beings; communality of purity in verbal action, in respect to seeking modes of expression of all truths; communality of mental action, for production of focus on omniscience in the minds of all beings; communality of adornment of all kinds, to approach all buddhas in all buddha-lands; communality of visitation of all buddhas appearing in the world; communality of seeking the teachings of all buddhas; communality of service, to serve all buddhas at all times; communality of leading beings to full development, in all realms of beings; communality of attainment of illumination of all methods of teaching sentient beings; communality of attainment of concentration, in all methods of concentration; communality of universal pervasion, so as to pervade all buddha-lands with projections of practices of enlightening beings; communality of states of
enlightening beings, in the oceans of means of miracles of all enlightening beings; communality of associates, associating with all enlightening beings in practice; communality of entry, entering the most suitable aspects of all worlds; communality of mental distinction of the extent of all buddha-lands; communality of differences in approach, according to differences in entering the ocean of all buddha-lands; communality of thorough penetration of the entire range of reason, in representations of endless knowledge of differentiations of all buddha-lands; communality of emergence in all buddha-lands; communality of nonregression, never to regress in penetrating and comprehending all realms; communality of dispelling darkness, so as to illumine the sphere of knowledge of all buddhas awakening at the site of enlightenment; communality of arrival in the oceans of audiences of all buddhas; communality of pervasion of the network of all buddha-lands, in efforts to serve the buddhas in untold buddha-lands; communality of direct knowledge of the connections of all principles of the Teachings; communality of application, in undertaking all the principles of the Teaching in order; communality of seeking, to purify intensive seeking for truth; communality of purity, in accumulating the adornments of enlightened virtues of physical, verbal, and mental action; communality of goodness of mind, to purify the sphere of knowledge of all things and the sphere of mind without evil thoughts; communality of vigor, in efforts to fulfill the undertaking of collection of all roots of goodness; communality of arrays of practices, in accomplishments of all enlightening practices; communality of unhindered state, in understanding the characteristics of all things; communality of skill in means, in mystical displays of the knowledge of each spiritual state; communality of purification of senses, in assumptions of suitable appearances according to the mentalities of sentient beings; communality of attainment of the concentration methods of enlightening beings, in cultivation of all enlightening teachings; communality of base, in the abodes of all buddhas; communality of accession to the stages of enlightenment, in attainments of all stages of buddhas and enlightening beings; communality of standpoint, in all states of enlightening beings; communality of instruction, in receiving the instructions of all buddhas; communality of concentration, entering the ocean of all concentrations at once; communality of differentiation of concentrations, in the context of various buddha-works; communality of mindfulness, of all points to remember; communality of conduct of enlightening beings, continuing to perform the tasks of enlightening beings through all times; communality of pure faith, to expand the ocean of energy of joy of devotion to infinite enlightened knowledge; communality of destruction of all obstructions to enlightenment; communality of nonregressing knowledge, to produce endless stores of enlightened knowledge; communality of emergence at appropriate times to guide all sentient beings to full development; communality of abode on the ways to omniscience; communality of sphere, entering the sphere of the majesty of the design of the cosmos; communality of independence, so as to be mentally free of all dependence; communality of teaching of all truths, realizing knowledge of the equality of all things; communality of exertion, so as to embody the power of all buddhas; communality of higher knowledge of means of accomplishing communication with all beings; communality of attainment of uncontrived mystic powers, entering the oceans of lands in all directions; communality of the stage of mental command, so as to gain the illumination of the ocean of all concentration spells; communality of penetration of the secrets of all the buddhas’ teachings in the doctrines of all the scriptures; communality of entry into profundity, in realizations of the principle of all things being like space; communality of range, coursing through all worlds; communality of splendor, appearing to beings according to their mentalities; communality of shaking, showing beings changes in the basis of the world; communality of fruitful action, edifying all who see, hear, or remember them; communality of emancipation, so as to awaken to the knowledge of the ten powers, to fulfill all vows.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 187