The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “For as many eons as atoms in a buddha-land I gazed at the enlightening being, never tired of seeing him. Just as countless illogical thoughts and illusions rise in the minds of a woman and man full of passion when they get together, as I watched the body of the enlightening being, in every moment of consciousness I perceived infinitely various indications from each of his pores—the range of world systems, their various foundations, various conjoining arrangements, various configurations, various mountain ranges, various arrays of the ground, various arrays of clouds in the sky, various names and numbers of eons, emergence of various buddhas and formation of lineages of buddhas, various adornments of enlightenment sites, various occult powers involved in the buddhas’ teaching procedures, various arrays of buddhas’ audiences, various enunciations of scriptures, productions of various vehicles of emancipation, and various manifestations of pure light, the like of which I had never seen before. By ceaseless effort, from each of his pores I saw in each moment of consciousness infinite oceans of buddhas, various adornments of enlightenment sites, various mystic operations of the Teaching, and various miraculous proclamations of scriptures. From each of his pores I saw, in each moment of consciousness, infinite oceans of beings, various houses, gardens, mountains, palaces, rivers, seas, and dwellings, various physical bodies, various goods, various actions and efforts, and various forms of development of faculties. From every one of his pores infinitely various ways of entering past, present, and future became perceptible; infinitely various oceans of vows of enlightening beings were purified, infinite oceans of differences of the practices of the stages of enlightening beings became perceptible, the infinitely various purities of the transcendent ways of enlightening beings became perceptible, infinitely various oceans of past efforts of enlightening beings became perceptible, infinitely various oceans of ways of purifying buddha-lands became perceptible; infinitely various oceans of the universal love of enlightening beings, oceans of universal love for all beings, and oceans of heroic efforts to develop and guide all beings descended into the world, infinite oceans of the universal compassion of enlightening beings arose, infinite oceans of the great joy of enlightening beings grew, and in every moment of consciousness infinitely various oceans of efforts to take care of all sentient beings were accomplished.

  “In each moment of consciousness through those eons numerous as atoms in a hundred buddha-lands, I perceived oceans of principles of the Teaching from each pore of the enlightening being, and never reached the end, even though I did not go into what I had already gone into, and did not attain what I had already attained. This I did by going into the ocean of various ways of liberation of the enlightening being, even when he was the prince Siddhartha in the royal palace surrounded by women; I perceived infinitely various oceans of principles of past, present, and future through each of his pores, by penetrating the oceans of ways into the realm of reality.

  “I only know and have attained this enlightening liberation whose sphere is observation of the oceans of concentrations of all enlightening beings. How can I know the practice, tell of the qualities, or show all the oceans of virtue of the enlightening beings who have gone into the infinitely various oceans of liberative means, who purposely appear physically like all beings, who appear to act in accord with the mentalities of all beings, who emanate infinitely various appearances from all their pores, who realize the purity of essence and nature of all bodies, who are free from discriminatory thought because of awareness of the spacelike quality of the nature of beings, whose intellect reaches everywhere with certain discernment, occupied with spiritual powers equal to those who arrive at Thusness, who produce miraculous displays of infinite spheres of liberation, who have mastered the state where they can enter the vast cosmos of realities in a thought, who roam freely in the ocean of liberation of the all-sided stage of all truths?

  “Go to Lady Maya, mother of the enlightening being, who is sitting on a great jewel lotus seat near the Blessed Vairocana. Go ask her how enlightening beings become undefiled by the taint of worldly things while they are carrying out the practice of enlightening beings, how they become unflagging in serving all buddhas, how they become undeviating from the ends of the actions of enlightening beings, how they become free from all hindrances to entry into the liberations of enlightening beings, how they become unfixed to all states of enlightening beings, how they come into the presence of all buddhas and do not stop their efforts to take care of all sentient beings, do not cease enlightening practice for all time, do not regress from the undertaking of the Great Vehicle of universal enlightenment, and do not become discouraged in maintaining and increasing the roots of goodness in the world.”

  Then, by the empowerment of Buddha, Gopa spoke these verses illustrating this way of liberation:

  Those who see the best of people

  Engaged in the practice of perfect enlightenment

  All go to join him,

  Be they friendly or inimical.

  I remember as many eons as there are atoms

  In a hundred lands;

  There was an excellent world of outstanding light,

  With an age of supreme magnificence.

  In that age, in that world,

  Were sixty decillion buddhas;

  The last of them, best of sages,

  Was a lamp of the world, Spiritual Paragon.

  At the time of that buddha’s demise

  There was a glorious king

  Who had conquered all enemies,

  A king of kings with unobstructed knowledge.

  He had five hundred sons

  Who were heroic, brave, and handsome,

  Physically perfect and pure,

  Adorned with unexcelled splendor.

  The king and his sons had faith in Buddha

  And made great offerings to the enlightened;

  They always followed the true teaching

  And were unshakable in application of its practice.

  The king had a brilliant son,

  A pure being,

  Adorned with the thirty-two

  Marks of a great man.

  Giving up his kingship, he left home

  Together with five million people;

  Having gone forth, he worked with firmness and energy

  To preserve the teaching of the Buddha.

  There was a city full of trees,

  Best of a billion cities;

  There was a forest there of various trees,

  Quiet and most beautiful.

  There the king’s son sojourned,

  Experienced, intelligent, clear-minded;

  He elucidated the Buddha’s teaching

  To purify the spirit of defiled beings.

  Gathering wise people, he entered the city,

  Composed, of noble mien and serene appearance,

  His gaze steady, mindful, aware,

  His action profound, walking steadily.

  There was an excellent town, Banner of Joy,

  And a grandee there named Resounding Fame;

  I was his beloved daughter,

  Named Shining Light, more beautiful.

  I saw the shining prince and his retinue

  As I stood in the door of my house;

  He was handsome, with the marks of greatness,

  And I became very happy on seeing him.

  When he passed my door,

  I put a pearl in his bowl;

  Then, taking off all my jewelry,

  Full of love I gave it to him.

  With an impassioned heart

  I made a gift to that enlightening being,

  And for two hundred and fifty eons

  Did not fall into evil states.

  I was born among celestials,

  Or as a human princess,

  And in endless forms

  I always saw the prince.

  Then I was born to a courtesan,

  Saw the prince and fell in love,

  Made myself known to him,

  And became
his obedient wife.

  He and I together made offerings

  To the sage Supreme Sun with pure faith,

  And having seen that buddha,

  I was inspired to seek supreme enlightenment.

  During that eon sixty decillion

  Buddhas emerged in the world:

  The last of those buddhas

  Was Energy of Zeal for Truth.

  Then my objective eye was clarified

  And I became aware of the essence of things;

  My continuous errant conceptions were silenced,

  And I attained this illumination thenceforth.

  After that I observed the stage

  Of concentration of enlightening beings;

  In a mental instant I see unthinkable

  Oceans of lands in the ten directions.

  And I see in all directions

  Various pure worlds, infinitely wondrous;

  Seeing them, my mind does not cling to them,

  Nor is it repelled by defiled lands.

  I also see the enlightenment sites in those lands

  And all the buddhas there,

  And I behold in one thought

  Their measureless oceans of light.

  In the same way I see their oceanic congregations

  In an instant of awareness, unimpeded,

  And know all their concentrations,

  And all their immeasurable liberations.

  I also keep their myriad practices in mind,

  And penetrate all the principles of the stages;

  And in each and every instant I enter

  Into the countless oceans of their vows.

  Observing the body of the True Man for endless eons

  And carrying out his practice,

  I have never seen an end to the mystic projections

  Emanating from his every hair.

  And I see oceans of lands beyond number

  On the tip of a single hair,

  With their masses of air and water, fire and earth,

  On various foundations, with different forms,

  And diverse patterns of structure,

  Of various types, according to distribution of elements,

  With an endless variety of adornments.

  I see each of the untold realms

  In the measureless oceans of lands,

  And I see the buddhas therein

  Guiding people by articulating truth.

  I do not understand his activities,

  His speech, his mind, or its action,

  Or his mystic powers and miracles, or great sublime practice,

  Though I have been working at this for eons.

  Then Sudhana paid his respects and took leave of Gopa.

  Maya

  Then Sudhana, turning to go to Lady Maya, having attained knowledge from investigation of the sphere of buddhahood, thought to himself, “How can I meet, associate with, and learn from spiritual benefactors whose senses are detached from all worlds, who do not abide anywhere, whose bodies are beyond all attachments, who have set out on the unimpeded path, who have purified the spiritual body, who skillfully project bodily forms by the illusion of physical action, who observe the world as being within the illusion of knowledge, who are physical embodiments of vows, whose bodies are made of mind by the power of Buddha, whose bodies are not born and do not perish, whose bodies are neither real nor unreal, whose bodies neither come nor go, whose bodies neither become nor disintegrate, whose bodies are of one form which is formless, whose bodies are nondual and freed from attachments, whose bodies have no resting place, whose bodies have no extinction, whose bodies are like reflections and have no difference, whose bodies are like dreams in action, whose bodies are like images in a mirror, whose bodies stand tranquilly everywhere equally, whose bodies are emanations pervading all directions, whose bodies are continuous through past, present, and future, whose bodies are neither physical nor mental and are indivisible, whose bodies are beyond the range of vision of all worldlings, whose secret being can only be known to the vision of the eye of universal good, whose realm of action is unobstructed like space?”

  As he was engaged in such thoughts, a city goddess named Jewel Eyes, surrounded by a group of sky goddesses, showed herself in the sky, her body adorned with various adornments, holding a basket of celestial flowers of many shapes and colors, and spoke to Sudhana in these terms as she scattered them before him: “You should guard the city of mind, by not dwelling on enjoyment of mundane objects. You should adorn the city of mind, by concentrating on the ten powers of the enlightened. You should clean the city of mind, by getting rid of jealousy, envy, and guile. You should extinguish the burning of the city of mind, by meditating on all truths. You should expand the city of mind, by increasing the flow of great energy in preparing for omniscience. You should protect the dwellings, storehouses, and facilities of the city of mind, by command of the vast spiritual palace of all concentrations, attainments, meditations, and liberations. You should illumine the city of mind, by absorbing universal transcendent wisdom in the assemblies gathered around all buddhas. You should make the city of mind firm, by putting the paths of means produced by all buddhas into the city of your own mind. You should build strong walls about the city of mind, by purification of mind in carrying out the vow of practice of universal good. You should make the city of mind invincible and impregnable, by being invulnerable to all afflictions and bad influences. You should light up the city of mind, by illumining all beings with the knowledge of the enlightened. You should irrigate the city of mind, by receiving the clouds of teaching of all buddhas. You should firmly brace the city of mind, by absorbing into your own mind the oceans of virtues of all buddhas. You should broaden the city of mind, by suffusing all beings with great love. You should provide shelter, by producing the shield of all good ways in the vast canopy of the Teaching. You should water the city of mind, by feeling great compassion for all beings. You should open the doors of the city of mind, by giving of yourself and giving goods to all beings. You should purify the city of mind, by turning away from passion for ephemeral things. You should make the city of mind steadfast and strong, by excluding all unhealthy elements from your body-mind continuum. You should energize the city of mind, by maintaining the energy to produce the provisions for omniscience. You should illuminate the city of mind, by the illumination of recollection of the spheres of the buddhas of past, present, and future. You should know how to stock the city of mind, by examination, learning, and higher knowledge of the various doors of truth in the scriptures of the cycles of teaching of all buddhas. You should know how to govern the city of mind, by showing all beings the path of entries into omniscience in various ways. You should know how to support the city of mind, by perfection of accomplishment of the vows of all buddhas of past, present, and future. You should know how to increase the power to provide for the city of mind, by increasing the great stores of virtue and knowledge from all realms of truth. You should know how to emanate light throughout the entire city of mind, by higher knowledge of the science of stripping away defilements from the minds, senses, and interests of all sentient beings. You should know how to control the city of mind, by embracing all the principles of the realm of reality. You should make the city of mind light, by the light of mindfulness of all buddhas. You should know the essence of the city of mind, by penetrating the principle of nonsubstantiality of all things. You should observe the illusoriness of the city of mind, by going to the spiritual city of omniscience.

  “By thus purifying the city of mind, an enlightening being can produce all good. Why? Because no obstacles stand before an enlightening being whose mind-city is thus purified—no obstacles to seeing buddhas, or obstacles to hearing the Teaching, or obstacles to serving buddhas, or obstacles to efforts to save sentient beings, or obstacles to purifying buddha-lands. Spiritual friends are easily perceptible to an enlightening being looking for spiritual friends when the mind is free from obstacles; and omniscience for enlightening be
ings comes through the help of spiritual friends.”

  Then a goddess, Spiritual Lotus, surrounded by innumerable goddesses radiant with modesty and beauty, came forth from the enlightening site praising Lady Maya and stopped in the sky in front of Sudhana, each goddess emanating webs of light of many jewel colors, colors of pure flames of incense of many fragrances, colors soothing the mind, colors increasing the flow of joy in the mind, colors cooling the fever of the body, colors showing physical purity, webs of light produced by the motion of unattached, unimpeded bodies. Illumining a multitude of lands, revealing to Sudhana the forms of all buddhas everywhere, the lights then circled the whole world and descended into Sudhana’s head, and from his head entered into all of his pores.

  As soon as the light rays of the goddesses touched Sudhana, he acquired an eye called ‘dispassionate light,’ with which no darkness can coexist; he acquired an eye called ‘unobscured,’ whereby he saw the essence of beings; he acquired an eye called ‘dispassionate sovereign,’ whereby he viewed the sphere of essence of all phenomena; he acquired an eye called ‘pure state,’ whereby he viewed the nature of all lands; he acquired an eye called ‘shining light,’ whereby he viewed the reality body of those who arrive at Thusness; he acquired an eye called ‘universal light,’ whereby he viewed the inconceivable perfection of the physical embodiment of those who arrive at Thusness; he acquired an eye called ‘unobstructed light,’ whereby he viewed the becoming and disintegration of worlds in all universes; he acquired an eye called ‘total illumination,’ whereby he observed the manner of extraction of the principles of the scripture in the teachings of all buddhas; he acquired an eye called ‘universal scope,’ whereby he viewed the infinite variety of mystic powers used by buddhas to guide beings; he acquired an eye called ‘all-seeing,’ whereby he observed the emergence of buddhas in all lands.