Then a supernatural being named Fine Eye, doorkeeper of the hall of assembly of enlightening beings, at the head of ten thousand supernatural beings, together with his wife and son and clan, sprinkled Sudhana with flowers of various colors and pleasant fragrances, and said, “An enlightening being imbued with ten qualities can approach all spiritual friends. What are these ten? A pure mind free from guile and deceit; great compassion taking in all beings as a whole; meditation on the unreality of self-existence of all beings; the willpower to proceed unswervingly toward omniscience; the power of attention to the spheres of all buddhas; clear perception of the purity of essence of all phenomena; great kindness to all beings as a whole; the light of knowledge that dissolves all barriers; the great body of teachings that acts as a shield against the miseries of the mundane whirl; the eye of knowledge of all currents of reality, directed toward the path of spiritual friends.
“Having attained these ten things, enlightening beings can approach all spiritual friends; and by observation through ten ways of concentrated meditation they can come face to face with all spiritual friends. What are the ten? Meditation on the purity of the sky of reality; meditation viewing the ocean of all realms; meditation without discrimination or thought of any objects; meditation on the appearance of the multitudes of buddhas of all realms; meditation on the multitude of virtues of omniscience; meditation with every thought constantly on spiritual friends; meditation on the virtues of all buddhas deriving from spiritual friends; meditation on being with all spiritual friends forever; meditation on always going to all spiritual friends everywhere equally; meditation devoted to tireless application of the techniques of all spiritual friends. The enlightening being who has accomplished these ten kinds of concentrated meditation comes face to face with all spiritual friends and attains a liberation through concentration called ‘enunciation of the teachings of all buddhas by spiritual friends,’ practicing which the enlightening being realizes the indivisible sameness of all buddhas and finds spiritual friends everywhere in contact.”
Having been told this by the supernatural being, Sudhana looked up to the sky and said, “Bravo, O noble one, sympathetic one; you are trying to help me and show me spiritual friends. Tell me, in the right way, how to proceed; where should I go? Where should I search? What should I meditate on to see spiritual friends?”
The supernatural being said, “One may go into the presence of spiritual friends by an attitude of universal respect, by mental focus on remembering spiritual friends in all things, by concentration speeding everywhere by dreamlike speed of mind, by realizing mind and body as like reflections.”
Then Sudhana, practicing as he had been taught by the supernatural being Fine Eye, saw a great jewel lotus spring up from the ground in front of him. In the heart of the lotus he saw a tower called ‘chamber containing the cosmos,’ beautifully made of gold and jewels. Inside the tower he saw a lotus calyx throne made of wish-fulfilling jewels, set on jewel figurines of the chiefs of all realms of being, arrayed with many kinds of precious adornments and bells which emanated sounds telling of the principle of universal love, the names of the buddhas of past, present, and future, the teachings of all buddhas, and the vows of all enlightening beings. It was also arrayed with rows of jewels which reflected the manifestations of buddhas and the succession of births of all buddhas of past, present, and future, rows of radiant jewels showing the lights of the activities in all buddha-lands throughout space and the effecting of all miracles, emanating the auras of light of all buddhas, emanating apparitions like the chiefs of all worlds making offerings to buddhas, and jewels filling the cosmos in every moment with the mystic projections of the universally good enlightening being. Every object on the throne of inconceivable qualities emanated celestial eulogies of the enlightened. The throne was also surrounded by an inconceivable number of seats arrayed with jewels.
Sudhana saw Lady Maya sitting on that throne, her physical form transcending all in the triple world, having gone beyond all states of being; facing all beings, appearing according to their mentalities; unstained by any world, being made of myriad virtues; in the likeness of all beings, appearing in such a way as to please all beings; adapted to develop and guide all beings, descending into the presence of all beings; appearing continuously to beings at all times like the sky, appearing to all beings to be permanent; not going anywhere, not passing away from all worlds, not coming anywhere, not coming into existence in any world; unoriginated, absorbed in the equanimity of nonorigination; unextinguished, involved in the affairs of all worlds; not real, having attained suchness; not false, appearing in accord with the world; not in motion, being divorced from death and birth; not annihilated, because of the nonannihilation of the nature of reality; undefinable, being beyond any manner of speaking; uniform, her auspicious characteristics issuing from indefinability; like a reflection, appearing according to the minds of all beings; like magic, made of the magic of knowledge; like specks of light, moment to moment sustained by the thoughts of beings; like a shadow, bound to all beings by commitment; dreamlike, appearing to beings according to their mentalities without being mixed up; reaching throughout all universes, being in nature pure as space; issuing from universal compassion, engaged in the protection of the community of beings; issuing from the door of nonobstruction, pervading the cosmos in each instant; infinite, dwelling in all worlds without defilement; measureless, transcending all manner of verbal expression; nondwelling, manifesting to guide all beings; unfixed, appearing magically in the body of a living being; not really existing, made by the magic of aspiration; unsurpassed, being beyond all worlds; unreal, being a manifestation of tranquillity; unproduced, connected to beings according to their acts; like a wish-fulfilling jewel, fulfilling the commitment to satisfy the wishes of all beings; without discrimination, based on the thoughts of all beings; beyond conception, unknowable to all beings; based on resolve, never leaving the mundane; pure, nonconceptual like Thusness.
In this form did Sudhana see Lady Maya, manifesting a physical body that was not form, being a reflection of form; not feeling, being the ultimate cessation of painful feelings of the world; outside the thoughts of all beings, but appearing in their thoughts; issuing from the unfabricated nature of reality, detached from illusory action; transcending the sphere of discriminatory consciousness, born of the knowledge of vows of enlightening beings; having no intrinsic essence, being beyond the range of all verbal expression; free from the burning of the mundane whirl, having arrived at the state of supreme coolness of the reality-body—she was appearing physically to beings in accord with their minds by mastery of their minds, appearing in forms resembling all beings but superior to the physical forms of all beings. Some beings saw her in the form of a devil woman, with a form superlative among devil women; some saw her in forms superlative among the goddesses of various heavens; some saw her in forms superlative among the females of the various kinds of beings; some saw her in the form of a most beautiful human princess.
Then Sudhana, emptied of notions of the forms of all beings, penetrating the minds of other beings, saw Lady Maya in the minds of all beings, her virtue sustaining all beings, her body an accumulation of the virtues of omniscience; she was engaged in nondiscriminatory perfect giving, impartial toward all beings, having united all beings in the fellowship of universal compassion; she had set out to actualize the virtues of all buddhas; she had entered the ocean of all ways of tolerance; her mind was expanded with a flood of energy of omniscience; she was indefatigable in clarification of all spheres of truth; she was adept in meditation on the essence of all things; her mind was accomplished in all branches of meditation; she was engaged in all branches of meditation without confusion and had perceived the unique sphere of meditation of those who arrive at Thusness; she was intent on various meditations to evaporate the ocean of afflictions of all beings; she knew how to analyze the teachings of all buddhas; she had the wisdom to consider all the designs of reality; she gazed tirelessly on all buddhas
; she ceaselessly observed the succession of buddhas of past, present, and future; she faced the door of vision of all buddhas; she knew the variety of techniques to perfectly accomplish the path of attainment of all buddhas; she coursed in the space of all who realize Thusness; she knew how to take care of all beings; she appeared in an infinite variety of reflections to develop and guide beings according to their mentalities; she comprehended the variety of purities of all buddha-bodies; she had vowed to purify all lands; she had perfected the vow to guide all beings to ultimate liberation; her mind pervaded the spheres of all buddhas with respect; she had the energy to produce all the miracles of enlightening beings; she had purified the supreme spiritual body; she manifested infinite physical bodies; she crushed the power of all demons; she was imbued with the power of great roots of goodness; with intellect born of the power of truth she perceived the power of buddhas; she had perfected all powers of mastery of enlightening beings; she was flooded with the power of omniscience; her wisdom was illumined by the lightning of the knowledge of all buddhas; her knowledge contemplated the infinite ocean of minds of beings; she comprehended the myriad mentalities of beings; she was expert in knowledge of the differences in faculties of others; she was skilled in knowledge of the differences in interests of infinite beings; her body pervaded infinite oceans of lands in the ten directions; she was expert in knowledge of the differences in all worlds; she was skilled in the means of knowing the junction and disjunction of all lands; she saw throughout all realms by knowledge; she was aware of all times; she bowed to all buddhas; her mind was directed toward reception of the ocean of all buddha-teachings; she was engaged in accomplishing fulfillment of all qualities of buddhas; her intellect was applied to the production of all the provisions for enlightenment; she boldly considered and carried out all the undertakings of enlightening beings; she had completed all the elements of development of the will for enlightenment; she was engaged in protecting all beings; she undertook to be the mother of all enlightening beings and buddhas.
Beginning with these, Sudhana saw Lady Maya in as many ways as atoms in the continent: seeing her, he magically made his body as extensive as Lady Maya, and with this omnipresent body bowed to the ubiquitous Maya. As he was bowing, an infinite variety of concentrations entered into him. Observing those concentrations, making them externally undetectable, cultivating them, mastering them, remembering them, making them all-pervasive, expanding them, watching them, increasing them, accomplishing them, and fixing their impression, he rose from those concentrations and circled Lady Maya, her retinue, her abode and seat, and then stood respectfully before her and said, “Noble one, Manjushri inspired me to seek supreme perfect enlightenment and directed me to attend spiritual benefactors. So I have been approaching spiritual friends, benefactors, and in the course of doing so I have come to you. Now please tell me, noble one, how an enlightening being may achieve omniscience while carrying out the practice of enlightening beings.”
She said, “I have attained an enlightening liberation, ‘magical manifestation of knowledge of great vows.’ Imbued with this liberation, I am the mother of all the enlightening beings in their final existence in all the worlds in this world-ocean where Vairocana Buddha’s miraculous manifestation of birth as an enlightening being in the final existence takes place. All those enlightening beings grow in my belly and come forth from my right side. So here too in this great city of Kapilavastu, as wife of the king Shuddhodana, I became the mother of the enlightening being Siddhartha, by the great inconceivable miracle of the birth of an enlightening being.
“At that time I was in the house of king Shuddhodana, and when the time of the enlightening being’s descent from the heaven of contentment had arrived, from every pore the enlightening being emanated as many rays of light as atoms in untold buddha-lands, arrayed with the qualities of the birth of all enlightening beings, known as the light originating from the qualities of birth of all buddhas; those rays of light illumined the whole world, then descended on my body and entered into every pore of my body, beginning with my head. As soon as those light rays of the enlightening being, with various names, emanating magical projections of the various miracles attending the birth of an enlightening being, had entered me, they caused the spheres of light at the front of the enlightening being’s light rays to be manifest in my body, and the supernal manifestations of miracles attending the birth of all enlightening beings were visible. And as soon as those light rays of the enlightening being had entered my body, I saw all the enlightening beings whose birth-miracles were shown in the spheres at the front of the enlightening being’s light rays, as they sat on the Buddha’s lion throne at the site of enlightenment, surrounded by congregations of enlightening beings, honored by the leaders of the worlds, turning the wheel of the teaching. I also saw all the buddhas with whom those buddhas associated as they carried out enlightening practices in the past. I also saw mystical projections of their initial inspiration, attainment of enlightenment, turning of the wheel of the teaching, final extinction, and the pure arrays of all buddha-lands, as well as the multitudes of emanations of those buddhas pervading the cosmos in each moment of consciousness. When those rays of light of the enlightening being entered my body, my body outreached all worlds, and my belly became as vast as space, and yet did not go beyond the human physical size. The supernal manifestations of the enlightening beings’ abode in the womb everywhere in the ten directions all appeared in my body.
“Upon the appearance in my body of the furnishings of the enlightening being’s abode in the womb, the enlightening being, together with as many enlightening beings as atoms in ten buddha-lands, all with the same vow, the same practice, the same roots of goodness, the same state of liberation and the same stage of knowledge, adept at the same mystic projection, having accomplished the same endeavor, adept at the same practice, having purified the same spiritual body, able to assume an infinite variety of physical forms, expert in the projection of the endeavors of universally good enlightening beings, respectfully attended by chiefs of all worlds, descended from the heaven of contentment by the great miracle of enlightening beings; appearing to pass away from all heavens of contentment, appearing to become regenerated in all worlds, from each heaven of contentment to early existence, following skill in means of developing inconceivable numbers of sentient beings to maturity, alerting all intoxicated, deluded beings, detaching from all attachments, emanating a great network of light beams dispelling the darkness from all worlds, stopping all evils and miseries, putting an end to all hellish ways of being, making all beings aware of their past deeds, rescuing all beings, appearing in the presence of all beings, he descended from the heaven of contentment with his retinue and entered my belly.
“Once all of them were in my belly, they walked around in strides as big as a billion-world universe, even as big as worlds as numerous as atoms in untold buddha-lands. Also all the untold congregations of enlightening beings at the feet of all buddhas in all worlds in the ten directions entered my belly in every moment of thought to see the miracle of the enlightening being’s dwelling in the womb. The chief gods of all the heavens also came to the enlightening being in the womb, to see and honor him, to listen to the Teaching and hear his discourse. Yet even though it took in all those multitudes, my belly was not enlarged, nor did this body of mine become any more than a human body. Yet it received so many multitudes; and all the celestials and humans saw the various pure arrays of the enlightening beings’ surroundings. Why was this? Because of the development of this enlightening liberation of the magic of knowledge of great vows.
“Just as I received the enlightening being in my belly in this world, so did I likewise do so in all worlds in the billion-world universe, and with this same miraculous manifestation; yet this body of mine is neither dual nor nondual, neither single nor multiple; this is because of the development of this enlightening liberation of the magic of knowledge of great vows. And just as I was the mother of this buddha Vairocana, so was I
the mother of infinite buddhas before. Whenever an enlightening being was spontaneously born in the calyx of a lotus, there I became a lotus-pond goddess and received the enlightening being, and the world recognized me as the progenetrix of the enlightening being; in whatever buddha-land an enlightening being appeared, I became an enlightenment-site goddess there: thus in whatever ways enlightening beings manifested birth in the world in their final existence, in so many ways did I become the mother of the enlightening beings.
“Just as I was the mother of this buddha in this world in all his manifestations of miracles of birth as an enlightening being, so was I the mother of the buddhas Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kashyapa; and so will I be the mother of all the buddhas of this eon.
“When the time comes for the enlightening being Maitreya, now in the heaven of contentment, to manifest descent from heaven, and emanate the lights of the manifestation of the miracles of enlightening beings abiding in the womb whence they are born, I will see all realms in all universes which are illumined thereby, where Maitreya will be born in a royal family in the human world and will guide sentient beings, and everywhere therein I will be the mother of the enlightening being.
The Flower Ornament Scripture Page 197