The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “They are my parents, my wet nurses of virtue, always protecting my limbs of enlightenment, keeping me free from all harm.

  “As physicians they release me from old age and death,

  As celestial beings they shower the ambrosia of immortality;

  They are like the moon, clear and full, like the sun,

  Showing the way to peace.

  “They are like polar mountains, impartial to friend and foe,

  Like oceans, unshakable in mind, like pilots and protectors.

  “They are valiant givers of fearlessness, reliable caravan leaders, guides who give me well-being”—with these thoughts he serves the Friends.

  “They always show all spheres of truth,

  Showing the virtue and knowledge of all buddhas;

  Removing the ills of all states of woe,

  They show me what is good.

  “They bestow the treasures of buddhas,

  They guard the treasuries of the Victors;

  They are holders of the secrets of the buddhas”—

  Thus this wise one follows the Friends.

  See this wise one of lofty aspiration serving the Friends;

  You should study as he indicates.

  By virtue of past goodness he saw Manjushri and set out for enlightenment,

  Acting on Manjushri’s instructions; observe his perseverance.

  Having given up all comforts, home, family, and wealth, like an immortal,

  He attends the Friends as a servant.

  Having purified his mind and relinquished his body, this wise one

  Will see the abode of all buddhas and henceforth develop this fruit.

  Seeing people afflicted with sickness, beings tortured by a hundred pains,

  Burning with the fears and sorrows of birth and death,

  He compassionately acts for their benefit.

  Seeing the world beaten by the mechanisms of suffering,

  In the repetitious circle of conditioning,

  He seeks the adamantine knowledge

  That breaks the mechanism of suffering and the circle of conditioning.

  Aiming to clear all lands of the weeds and brambles of lust and hatred,

  Infestations of clinging to views, sprouts of harm,

  He seeks the strong plow of wisdom.

  The mind of the world is thick with delusion and ignorance,

  Bereft of the eye of wisdom, without a guide;

  He will become a leader of the world,

  Showing the way to the abode of safety.

  He will be a conveyor of tolerance and liberation,

  Assailing the enemy afflictions with the sword of knowledge,

  Heroic bestower of freedom from fear, teacher of the world.

  He is assembling the ship of the Teaching,

  Having learned the route of the ocean of knowledge;

  He is a helmsman on the sea of existence,

  Leading to the treasure island of peace.

  This buddha-sun will rise in the sky of reality, a great light,

  An orb of vows with rays of knowledge, illumining the abodes of all beings.

  This buddha-moon will rise, a full orb of virtues

  Equally cooling with higher love, exquisite light impartial toward all.

  Based on a firm ground of will, enlightenment practice gradually rising,

  He will become an ocean of knowledge, mine of all spiritual jewels.

  Born of the dragon of the mind of enlightenment, ascended into the sky of reality,

  Raining the teachings everywhere, he fosters all good fruits.

  He will light the lamp of truth, the pure wick,

  Dispelling the darkness of defilement,

  The lamp in a strong vessel of love and awareness,

  Glowing with the pure flame of the spirit of enlightenment.

  From the embryo of the aspiration for enlightenment, compassion, and love,

  Gradually developing the limbs of enlightenment, this baby buddha is growing.

  He will develop the embryo of virtue and clarify the path of knowledge;

  He is recognized as an embryo of knowledge, developed in accord

  With the womb of vows.

  One like this, girt with compassion and love,

  An altruist determined to liberate beings,

  Is hard to find in the world, celestial or human,

  So pure is his mind.

  Based on good roots of mind, grown through steadfast effort,

  Shading the three realms of being—such a fruit-bearing tree of knowledge

  Is hard to find.

  Aiming to develop all virtues, inquire into all truths,

  And break through all doubts, he serves the Friends with diligence.

  Destroying the afflictions of demons, clearing away views, defilement, and craving,

  Intent on freeing all beings, he has learned to do what is best.

  He will clear away the states of woe and show heaven; he will lead the world

  On the road of liberation, on which virtuous path he stands.

  He will become a destroyer of conditioned existence,

  Cutting through the net of all states of being,

  Liberating beings in all states from misery

  And giving them well-being.

  He will free them from the straits of views,

  Cut through the entanglements of the web of craving,

  Clear away blameworthy passions,

  And become a guide on the path for the world.

  He will be a refuge for the world, providing light for all beings,

  A guide in the three realms of existence, knowing becoming and decay everywhere.

  He will purify people asleep in affliction, wisely pulling them from the mud of lust,

  Freeing them from clinging to notions, liberating them from bondage.

  Rejoice, Sudhana, for you will illumine the various aspects of reality,

  Illumine the various aspects of the world,

  And reach the goal of the various aspects of all truths.

  As your behavior is mild, as your faith is impeccable,

  As your intention is virtuous, you shall fulfill them all.

  You will see all buddhas soon, you will soon go to all lands,

  You will soon know all truths—such good have you done on your own.

  You will purify many lands and liberate masses of beings;

  You will fulfill myriad practices—such are your many attainments.

  You will be a vessel of virtues, a source of good;

  You will be equal to the offspring of buddhas, in accord with your devotion.

  You have conquered the demons and purified your actions;

  You have cleared away the afflictions in accord with your vows.

  You will clear the path of knowledge and realize the path of truth;

  Before long you will halt the course of the mechanism of suffering,

  Which is due to afflictions in action.

  You will turn the supreme wheel of truth, breaking the cycle of suffering

  Of all beings, which is based on the routines of the world,

  The circle of becoming, gone astray in repetition of mundane states.

  You will preserve the lineage of buddhas, purify the lineage of the Teaching,

  Support the spiritual Community, and become a source of treasures.

  You will remove the web of craving and the dense net of views,

  You will free the world from the net of suffering,

  Having purified such a network of vows.

  You will perfect beings, purify the world, and establish

  The realm of knowledge—such is your intention.

  You will bring greater felicity, beneficially gladdening sentient beings,

  Gladdening the family of enlightening beings, satisfying the wishes of all buddhas.

  You will be a buddha clearly seeing the abodes of all states of being,

  Seeing reflections of all lands and the scope of all truths
.

  You will be a light illumining the reality realm,

  Extinguishing all states of woe, bringing felicity to existence.

  You will show the door of heaven and open the door of enlightenment in the world;

  You will lead the world to the door of liberation, the doorway you have cleared.

  You will lead away from false paths into the path of sages;

  You will humbly follow the path of enlightenment, resolute and diligent.

  Intent on freeing beings in the sea of existence from suffering,

  You will save the world from the sea of existence—

  Become such an ocean of virtue.

  You will evaporate the sea of afflictions of beings

  With the transcendent lights of the sun of knowledge;

  Introducing them to the ocean of spiritual practice,

  You will lead them into the ocean of knowledge.

  You will increase the ocean of understanding

  And purify the ocean of practice;

  Soon you will plunge deep into the ocean

  Of the vows of all buddhas.

  You will view many oceans of lands and see the oceans of congregations therein;

  By the power of the ocean of understanding, you will imbibe the ocean of teachings.

  You will see multitudes of buddhas and will make myriads of offerings;

  You will hear millions of truths—such are the vows you make.

  You will go to the abodes of all lands, to all the abodes of beings,

  And will observe the abodes of all buddhas—this is the direction you are taking.

  You will observe the abode of concentration and tell of the abodes of liberation;

  You will dwell in spiritual powers, grounded in the reality realm.

  You will rise over the abodes of all beings, like the light of sun and moon,

  And ascend to the presence of the buddhas—such is your climb on the great path.

  You will walk in the realm of good, in the realm unattached to any world,

  And attain supreme peace—such is your realm of higher knowledge.

  The differentiations of the cosmic network,

  And all the differentiations of the network of lands,

  Soon you will see, pervading, like the wind unhindered in the sky.

  You will see the extent of the reality realm,

  You will go to the reaches of the worlds,

  You will see all buddhas of all times;

  So rejoice, Sudhana.

  Do not be downhearted, be happy and content,

  In that you have seen, see, and will see yet such liberation as this.

  Sudhana, you are a good vessel of virtues, following the instructions of Buddha;

  You are fit to bear this Teaching—by it you see this wonder.

  Such as are hard to see in millions of eons, much more to reveal their virtues,

  You have seen carrying out good practice, enlightening beings

  In the realm of nonattachment.

  You are welcome in the human world; inconceivably great is your gain,

  That you have seen Manjushri face to face and made such a vessel of virtue.

  You have left all states of woe, cleared away the misfortune of situations

  Inopportune for attaining enlightenment, transcended all evil things—

  Do not be weary or distressed.

  You have left the stage of the ignorant and are firmly grounded

  In the virtues of enlightening beings; having fulfilled

  The greatest knowledge, soon you will attain buddhahood.

  Enlightening practice is like an ocean, enlightened knowledge is like space,

  The ocean of vows is equally vast—you should be happy with these.

  The Friends are indefatigable, firm in will, and sure in application;

  Those who follow such Friends as these will soon become guides themselves.

  Seeing how various are the many practices of enlightening beings

  To educate sentient beings, do not become perplexed

  About enlightenment practice that confronts all realities.

  Your achievement of virtue is inconceivable;

  You are useful, righteous, virtuous, and faithful.

  By this accomplishment today you see such enlightening beings.

  See how great is your gain in seeing enlightening beings continuously;

  They each show you your vows, and you follow them all.

  Hard to find even in hundreds of lifetimes

  Is such a participant in the practices of enlightening beings;

  Therefore the enlightening beings, one after another,

  Show you their ways of liberation.

  People live with enlightening beings for millions and billions of ages

  Yet do not know of their state, nor make themselves vessels of virtue.

  You hear this teaching, and see what is hard to find in the world,

  The spiritual manifestation of greatness of enlightening beings—

  You should be uplifted in mind.

  All the buddhas are minding you, the enlightening beings are caring for you,

  And you are grounded in their teaching—bravo, Sudhana, you live a good life.

  You live according to the principles of the family of enlightening beings,

  And learn the qualities of the offspring of buddhas;

  You will prolong the lineage of buddhas—you should be most joyful.

  All buddhas are your peerless parents, all enlightening beings your siblings;

  The elements of enlightenment are all your relatives—

  Nobly born are you, as an offspring of the buddhas.

  Sustainer of the lineage of spiritual sovereigns,

  Prolonger of the lineage of enlightening beings,

  You will attain buddhahood soon, so be happy, Sudhana, full of joy.

  Soon you will receive the supreme marvelous coronation of all buddhas

  And become equal to the peerless heirs of the Victors.

  As a man sows a seed, so shall he reap the fruit;

  Today I bring you glad tidings, that you may find inconceivable joy.

  Even unthinkable millions of enlightening beings

  Who have carried out this practice for millions of eons

  Have not attained such accomplishment

  As you have realized in one lifetime.

  This is all the fruit of devotion and firmness and vigor of will;

  Those who admire this practice should take up what Sudhana has done.

  All practice derives from vows, all qualities derive from application;

  Sudhana, you have accomplished this, forever the best course of conduct.

  The extent to which the dragons will is the extent to which rain is produced;

  The extent of the scope of vows and knowledge is the extent of pervasion

  Of enlightenment practice.

  This should be shown to you, Sudhana, by the practice of the good;

  Once one realizes this, one will be serving the Friends thereby.

  Remember the millions of bodies past that you squandered uselessly for lust;

  Now pursuing the path of enlightenment, this body, well disciplined,

  Should be critical.

  Over millions of eons past you experienced all miseries in conditioned states;

  Having turned away from myriad buddhas, you did not hear such a doctrine as this.

  Now you have got your chance as a human, in the presence of Buddha,

  With such spiritual friends; how could one not be purified

  when one has heard of the practice of supreme enlightenment?

  Even if there are buddhas existing and the Teaching is heard

  From spiritual friends and benefactors,

  If one does not listen to this doctrine one’s mind will not be purified.

  By it an attitude of faith and devotion is produced, supreme respect;

  Getting rid of desire, views, and lassitude, listen to
this Teaching more and more.

  Hearing of such an entry into practice, whoever accomplishes this undertaking

  Makes a supreme gain, inconceivable—this human life is worthwhile.

  For one whose mind is thus purified, the buddhas are not hard to find,

  The enlightening beings are all friends, and there is no more doubt of enlightenment.

  One who has entered such a teaching keeps all the precepts,

  Abandons all causes of misery, and embraces all virtues.

  Soon, relinquishing this body, you will go to a buddha-land, purified;

  You will see the abode of enlightening beings and behold the buddhas everywhere.

  You have completed a set of past causes, Sudhana, based on your devotion;

  You serve the Friends with the highest aim, thereby growing like a lotus in water.

  Intent on rapport with all spiritual friends and with all buddhas,

  Intent on seeking out all truths, arise, well disciplined, and do not weary.

  Set out to apply all truths and follow all the paths; offspring of Buddha,

  Grounded on vows, arise, vessel of all virtues.

  Through such perfect devotion you have paid this honor to me;

  Soon you will come into the presence of the assemblies of all buddhas.

  Bravo, Sudhana, buoyant in mind, conscious of the vows of all buddhas;

  Firm in resolve, you soon will reach the perfection of virtue of buddhas.

  Ask Manjushri about ultimate liberation in the realm of knowledge;

  He will initiate you into the highest practice of good in your final existence.

  Thus Maitreya, seeing Sudhana arrive, imbued with virtues, in the realm of nonobstruction, revealed him to the assembly, speaking of his treasury of qualities. Sudhana, hearing such supreme direction and instruction, was flooded with joy and burst into tears. His hair stood on end and he sighed with delight. He rose and paid his respects to Maitreya. Then, by the mental power of Manjushri, there appeared in his hands beautiful flower garlands and jewels, produced by the vows of enlightening beings; blissfully, Sudhana showered these on Maitreya. Then Maitreya patted him on the head and said, “It is good that you are so indefatigable, Sudhana; you will be a vessel of virtues, like Manjushri and me.”

  Hearing this, Sudhana disclosed the joy of his heart: “It is hard to find, even in hundreds of lifetimes, such Friends as these whom I have now met. It is good for me to have come here today. By the direction of the honorable Manjushri, perfect in true virtue, I have found this rare Friend. I should quickly meet Manjushri himself.”

  Then Sudhana stood respectfully before Maitreya and said, “Noble one, I have set out for supreme perfect enlightenment, but I do not know how an enlightening being is to learn and carry out the practice of enlightening beings. It has been predicted by all the buddhas that noble Maitreya will become supremely perfectly enlightened in one lifetime; and one who is sure of supreme perfect enlightenment in one lifetime has gone beyond all the stations of enlightening beings, entered the certainty of enlightening beings, fulfilled all the transcendent ways, entered all doors of tolerance, attained all states of enlightening beings, mastered all ways of liberation, perfected all concentrations, reached the goal of all courses of action of enlightening beings, attained all powers of memory, intellect, and methods of elucidation, mastered all powers of enlightening beings, gathered all provisions of enlightening beings, mastered the methods of wisdom and skill in means, developed the illumination of higher knowledge, mastered all learning, purified all practices of enlightening beings, accomplished all methods of carrying out vows, received the directions of all buddhas, comprehended all vehicles of liberation, taken on the empowerment of all buddhas, embraced the enlightenment of all buddhas, preserved the treasuries of all buddhas, stored the secrets of all buddhas, gained leadership of the esoteric circle of all enlightening beings. Such a one is a hero in all assaults against afflictions, a guide to those in the wilderness of the mundane whirl, a physician for those sick with afflictions, a chief of all beings, a leader, preeminent among all noble people, highest of all saints, a pilot for those in the sea of the mundane whirl; such a one draws the net of means to guide sentient beings, observes the faculties of people who have matured, is united with all sentient beings, is engaged in protecting all enlightening beings, is in concert with all the works of enlightening beings, is in the circles of all buddhas, is reflected in the abodes of all beings, is unstained by the things of the world, is beyond the reach of all demons, is in accord with the realm of all buddhas, has attained nonobstruction in the sphere of all enlightening beings, is engaged in the service of all buddhas, is one with all enlightened qualities, wears the turban of coronation, sits on the throne of spiritual sovereignty, is initiated into the realm of omniscience, is a source of all enlightened teachings, has attained enlightenment and mastery of omniscience.