The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  Thus did Sudhana, by attainment of ten purities of thought while gazing at the night goddess, gain communality with the night goddess in as many such ways as atoms in a buddha-land. Then, having seen the night goddess in as many ways as atoms in a buddha-land, having attained an infinite variety of purity of perception of spiritual friends and entered into as many aspects of communality with them as atoms in a buddha-land, Sudhana bared one shoulder, bowed to the goddess, and spoke these verses:

  As the power in my own mind, my will

  For enlightenment is firm and unbending;

  As in your mind, O goddess, so in mine

  This determination now spontaneously arises.

  All evils are cleared away,

  And resplendent good is developed:

  From witnessing your beauty

  Endless goodness is born in me.

  My mind is adorned with myriad virtues,

  Each to the benefit of living beings;

  Adorned thereby, I carry on practice

  In all lands for all time.

  You have taught me the consummation

  Of all the teachings to aid me:

  For my benefit, thinking to assist me,

  You present supreme spiritual instruction.

  You have blocked the path to woe and calamity

  And shown the way to felicity;

  You have also shown the way to omniscience,

  Followed by all enlightened ones.

  I think of you as a vehicle

  Of emancipation, incomparable, rare;

  Like space, undefiled, infinite,

  Pure is the door to omniscience.

  I think of you as a pure,

  Immeasurable mine of omniscience;

  Oceans of virtues, vast as the sky,

  Arise in my mind every moment.

  Guide me by the transcendent ways

  And nourish me with inconceivable virtues;

  Fully developed by pure virtues, before long

  I will gain the turban of omniscience.

  I always think of spiritual friends

  As fulfillers of the path of omniscience;

  Therefore I think by serving them all,

  Good can be quickly developed.

  All advantages come from that,

  And achievement of good qualities;

  Having honored this infinite group,

  I will tell the world of the path of all knowledge.

  You are my mentor, of measureless virtue,

  My guide on the way of omniscience;

  Even in countless millions of eons

  I could never thank you enough, O sage.

  Having spoken these verses, Sudhana said to the night goddess, “You have shown me the sphere of this inconceivable enlightening liberation; tell me, what is this liberation called? How long ago did you set out for supreme perfect enlightenment? When will you realize supreme perfect enlightenment?”

  The goddess replied, “This liberation is called ‘made of roots of goodness fostering the development of all beings.’ Imbued with this liberation, realizing the equality of the essence of all things, comprehending the nature of all things, going to refuge in the independent state, passing away from all worlds, comprehending the differentiations in forms of things yet realizing the nature of things is without difference, without variation or distinction in appearance, not blue, yellow, red, or white, I manifest different bodies, of many appearances—of varying appearance, of nonvarying, undifferentiated appearance, neither colored nor colorless, of many appearances, infinite appearances, pure appearance, appearing to emanate all sorts of supernal manifestations, appearing to be visible everywhere, appearing to be the same as all beings, transcendent appearance manifest to all beings, appearance of light reflected everywhere, nonoffensive appearance, appearance beautified with the marks and embellishments of greatness, appearance resplendent with impeccable behavior, appearance manifesting the exertion of great power, appearance of unapproachable profundity, appearance unsurpassed in all worlds, appearance varying from moment to moment, appearance manifesting multitudes of different forms, appearance of various physical forms, appearance manifesting infinite miraculous displays, appearance as an eloquent speaker, appearance of all beautiful forms, appearance adapted to development of all beings, appearance of consummate good manifest to those who are teachable according to their mentalities, appearance reflected everywhere without obstruction, pure, untainted, serene, radiant appearance, healthy, beautiful appearance of an indestructible body, appearance of cultivation of inconceivable spiritual methods, superlative appearance overwhelming all, appearance without darkness or obscurity, appearance dispelling all darkness, appearance imbued with all good qualities, appearance of an ocean of virtues of a great soul, appearance attained by honoring the worthy in the past, appearance of supreme vastness of a mind clear as the sky, appearance revealing an ocean of indestructible, inexhaustible virtues, appearance free from all worldly attachments, appearance freely pervading everywhere, appearance instantly manifesting a multitude of different appearances in untold myriads of realms, appearance increasing floods of great joy in all sentient beings, appearance to protect all beings, appearance emanating multitudes of manifestations of all virtues of buddhahood from every pore, appearance purifying the wills and aspirations of all sentient beings, appearance showing determination of the meanings of all spiritual teachings, appearance radiating a network of varicolored lights, appearance of pure light as vast as the sky, appearance contained in the light of the untainted essence of pure jewels, appearance reflecting the undefiled real nature of things, incomparable appearance, appearance reflecting the variety of the ocean of means of liberation, appearance of ubiquitous light, appearance manifest to the world according to the time without fragmentation, appearance originating in the realm of tranquillity and restraint, appearance quelling all afflictions, appearance revealing a field of blessing for all sentient beings, appearance producing calm by all means, appearance fruitfully manifest throughout the world, appearance revealing the exertion of great knowledge, appearance of an unobstructed all-pervasive body, appearance of a universally supreme body manifest in ways beneficial to all beings, appearance embodying an ocean of great love, appearance embodying a mountain of great virtue, appearance reflected in all states of being while independent of all worlds, appearance purifying the power of great knowledge, appearance coexisting with the memory of all worlds and beings, appearance of light of all jewels, appearance showing the matrix of the source of light, appearance corresponding to the faith of all beings, appearance actualizing expression of all knowledge, appearance with laughing eyes cheering the world, appearance of light of the finest arrays of all jewels, appearance without grasping yet not turning away from sentient beings, unfixed, uninvolved appearance, appearance manifesting mystical powers, appearance showing all kinds of miracles, appearance of revealing the roots of goodness of the enlightened, impeccable appearance arising from the ocean of principles of all realms of reality, appearance as reflections going to the assemblies of all buddhas, appearance perfecting all kinds of forms, appearance resulting from good action, appearance adapted to guide those to be taught, appearance that all beings never tire of seeing, appearance radiating multicolored lights, appearance showing the ocean of forms of past, present, and future, appearance radiating lights of all colors, inexpressible appearance, appearance showing a variety of meanings in halos of light, appearance transcending all worlds, appearance manifesting as many suns as atoms in untold buddha-lands in each pore, appearance magically producing multitudes of forms like the clear moon, appearance emanating multitudes of mountains of flowers of infinite colors, appearance emanating garlands of all kinds of adornments, appearance manifesting multitudes of lotuses of all jewels, appearance filling all universes with clouds of incense of all fragrances; in each moment of consciousness producing clouds of treasuries of all kinds of fragrant powders and pervading all universes in the ten directions, I show all this to sentien
t beings who can be guided by seeing, those who can be guided by hearing, those who can be guided by remembering, those who can be guided by production of emanations of teaching cycles, those who can be guided when the time is ripe, those who can be guided by seeing physical bodies, those who can be guided by service, those who can be guided by comprehension, those who can be guided by manifestation of various miraculous effects, those who can be guided by manifestation of inconceivable miraculous effects, by mastery of minds, by mastery of timing, by mastery of prevention of evil deeds, by mastery of promotion of good deeds, by mastery of accomplishment of past great vows, by mastery of momentum toward omniscience, by mastery of the means of attainment of the immense miracles of the liberations of enlightening beings, by mastery of the source of power of great compassion accomplishing the salvation of all beings, by mastery of the will producing purity of the ocean of great love, empowered by the enlightened.

  “Thus, based on this enlightening liberation, fostering roots of goodness according to sentient beings’ mentalities for their development, realizing the undifferentiated essence of reality, manifesting an infinite variety of physical forms, projecting visions of an infinite variety of multitudes of appearances from each body representing practices, radiating an infinite variety of multitudes of light beams from each appearance of action, showing reflections of buddha-lands, showing infinite buddhas emerging from each beam of light in each buddha-land, showing the infinite variety of projections of each buddha, I vivify past roots of goodness, develop new roots of goodness, increase existing roots of goodness, and enhance developed roots of goodness; and in each mental moment I establish infinite beings in the stage of nonregression, where they will not retreat, advancing toward supreme perfect enlightenment.

  “Also, you ask how long ago I set out for supreme perfect enlightenment, and how many eons I have been carrying out enlightening practice. I will tell you this, too, by the power of Buddha.

  “The sphere of knowledge of enlightening beings is not in the realm of thought, conception, or imagination. It cannot be known in terms of length or brevity of life, or in terms of defilement or purity of ages, or in terms of brevity or length of ages, or in terms of multitude or variety of ages, or in terms of variation or differentiation of ages. Why? Because the sphere of knowledge of enlightening beings is utterly pure in its essential nature, it is outside the net of all conceptions, it is beyond the mountains of all obstructions. It appears in the mind and sheds light on beings who can be guided, according to their mentalities, when the time is ripe for their development.

  “It is like the sun: there is no reckoning of day and night on the sun, but when the sun has gone down that is known as the night, and when it has come up that is known as the day. In the same way, in the nonconceptual sphere of knowledge of enlightening beings there are no thoughts or conceptions of imaginations, or notions of cycle or duration or time frames: but when the will of enlightening beings arises, then by the light of the sphere of nonconceptual knowledge, and by mastery of timing in development of all sentient beings, conceptual calculations of ages, duration, and cycles are distinguished; in the sphere of nonconceptual knowledge, conceptual calculations of passage of time in past and future ages are distinguished.

  “It is like the orb of the sun in the sky: it is perceived reflected in all jewel mountains, in all jewel trees, in all jewels, in all jewel treasuries, in all oceans, in all springs and streams, in all vessels of clear water, and in the minds of all beings; it appears to all beings, and is seen reflected in each particle of all the jewels—the sun does not originate in the jewel mountains, does not enter the jewel trees or particles, is not in the crystals, does not come to the jewel treasuries, does not enter the oceans, does not enter any bodies of water—yet it is seen within them all. In the same way a great enlightening being, leaving the ocean of existence, risen into the sky of the reality realm of the enlightened, dwelling in the realm of the sky of the essence of things, abiding in the sky of peace, is seen in all realms of existence in forms similar to all sentient beings, for the development and civilization of sentient beings: yet the enlightening being is not stained by the ills of the mundane whirl, is not burnt by the suffering of death and birth, does not live by concepts and imaginations, and has no notion of length or brevity of the age. Why? The enlightening being is ultimately beyond all errors of mistaken conceptions, thoughts, and views, sees with accurate knowledge of all worlds as dreamlike, realizes all worlds are like magic, has attained knowledge of the realm devoid of beings, sees things as they are, and yet by control of great vows of the sphere of vast compassion appears to all sentient beings to guide them to perfection.

  “Just as a boatman is always at work on the rivers to ferry people over, never ceasing, all his life never dwelling on the near shore or on the farther shore, and not remaining in midstream either, in the same way the enlightening being undertakes to save sentient beings from the current of the mundane whirl by the power of the boat of the transcendent ways; the enlightening being does not fear the near shore, does not think of the farther shore as safety, and yet is always engaged in ferrying sentient beings over. Though the enlightening being enters the variety of ages by persisting in enlightening practice through all ages, beyond measure, yet the enlightening being does not carry on enlightening practice within notions of passage and length of ages.

  “Just as space, extensive as the cosmos, is without discrimination whether worlds become, decay, or disappear, is by nature pure, undefiled, neither turning back nor tiring, not long or short, eternally supporting all lands, in the same way the space of the will and knowledge of the enlightening being, with the whirlwind of great vows, never tires in keeping sentient beings from falling into all states of misery, has no fear in leading them to the paths of felicity, is not exhausted in setting them on the ways to omniscience, does not follow afflictions, and is not stained by the ills of the mundane whirl.

  “Just as a magically produced man has all his limbs and body parts but lacks ten physical elements—inhalation and exhalation, coolness and warmth, hunger and thirst, joy and sorrow, the pains of birth, old age, sickness, and death—in the same way, in the enlightening being whose form is born of the magic of knowledge, whose body is one with the cosmos, who appears in all states of existence to perfect sentient beings, who lives through all ages, ten things are not to be found: desire for the mundane world, rejection of life in the mundane, currying of enjoyment of objects, malevolence, desire for enjoyment, the burning of afflictions, experiences of painful feelings, fear of difficult situations, desire for existence, and attachment.

  “I will tell you more, by the power of Buddha, to increase the power of vows of enlightening beings of the future.

  “In the very remote past there was a world called Jewel Light. In that world was an age called Beautiful Light. In that age ten thousand buddhas appeared. The first of those buddhas was one called King Illumining Space with the Voice of Truth, who was one of those who has arrived at Thusness, perfectly enlightened, consummate in knowledge and action, arrived at felicity, supreme knower of the world, tamer of humans, teacher of humans and gods, a blessed buddha.

  “That buddha appeared not far from a capital city called Array of Delights, in the middle of the four continents of the world. East of that city was a forest called Beautiful Light, in which there was an enlightenment site called Cloud of Jewel Flowers. At that site a lion throne in the calyx of a lotus of radiant jewels appeared, and this is where that buddha realized supreme perfect enlightenment.

  “At that time the human life span was ten thousand years. Now, there being many who were set in evil ways—killing, stealing, raping, lying, foul and harsh in speaking, divisive, covetous, malicious, and deluded—the buddha sat at the site of enlightenment for a full thousand years and taught enlightening beings, world leaders, and people who had served past buddhas, in order to mature people’s existing roots of good.

  “At that time there was a king called Victori
ous Light in that capital city Array of Delights. He had thrown many hundreds of thousands of criminals and evildoers into prison to discipline them—thieves, killers, rapists, liars, abusive and violent people, troublemakers, greedy people, malicious people, people obsessed with aberrant ideas, people addicted to unlawful pleasures, people overcome by desire for ill-gotten gains, people involved in false cults, evildoers, people who had committed violence, people who had done no good, people who had neglected to come to the aid of those in danger and fear, people without respect for their parents or for mendicants, priests, and holy people.