The Flower Ornament Scripture

by Thomas Cleary

  “Just as a person who has taken the herb of invincibility is victorious over all enemies, the enlightening being who has taken the herb of invincibility of the will for omniscience is invulnerable to all opposing demons.

  “Just as there is a medicine called ‘extracting’ that removes all barbs, so all barbs of passion, hatred, delusion, and views drop out of the enlightening being who has taken the extracting medicine of the determination for enlightenment.

  “Just as there is a medicine called ‘good to see’ that cures all illnesses, the enlightening being who has taken the good-to-see medicine of the aspiration for enlightenment is cured of all the illnesses of afflictions and ignorance.

  “Just as there is a medicinal tree called ‘continuity’ whose bark heals all wounds and ulcers upon application and which itself regrows as it is stripped, the tree of continuity of omniscience, which grows from the seed of the essence of enlightenment, heals the wounds and ulcers of actions and afflictions of the faithful on sight, and the tree of omniscience cannot be exhausted or killed by all beings.

  “Just as there is a kind of herb that promotes growth, by the efficacy of which all the trees in the continent grow, similarly by the efficacy of the growth-promoting drug of the will for enlightenment, the saints and enlightening beings all grow.

  “Just as there is an herb called ‘attainment of pleasure,’ which when applied to the body produces physical and mental health, in the same way the ‘attainment of pleasure’ herb of the aspiration for omniscience produces physical and mental health in enlightening beings.

  “Just as there is an herb called ‘gaining memory’ that purifies the conscious memory, in the same way the memory herb of the aspiration for enlightenment produces in enlightening beings purity of unhindered memory of all buddha-teachings.

  “Just as there is an herb called ‘great lotus’ by which one may live for an eon, the enlightening being who keeps taking the great spiritual medicine of the will for enlightenment becomes able to live for countless eons.

  “Just as there is an herb of invisibility that renders one invisible to any humans or nonhumans, the enlightening being under the protection of the invisibility herb of the will for enlightenment, who is assured of buddhahood, cannot be seen in the range of all demons.

  “Just as there is a great jewel in the ocean called ‘totality of all jewels,’ which is such that it is impossible for all the eonic fires to evaporate even a drop of the ocean where it is, in the same way it is impossible that enlightening beings whose mental course is imbued with the ‘totality of all jewels’ gem of the determination for omniscience could lose even one virtue dedicated to omniscience; whereas if they abandon the determination for omniscience, all of their roots of goodness would evaporate.

  “Just as there is a great jewel called ‘collection of all lights,’ which in a necklace obscures all jewelry, in the same way an enlightening being wearing the ornament of the ‘collection of all lights’ mind-jewel of the aspiration for enlightenment is unsurpassed by all aspirations to individual salvation.

  “Just as there is a water-clarifying jewel that will clear all turbidity and foulness from water in which it is placed, in the same way the water-clarifying jewel of the determination for enlightenment clears all the murk and turbidity of afflictions.

  “Just as fishers wearing the water dwelling gem do not die in water, in the same way an enlightening being protected by the water-dwelling gem of the will for omniscience does not die in the sea of the mundane whirl.

  “Just as there is a jewel called ‘dragon scale gem,’ with which fishers and others who live from the sea enter the abodes of the dragons without being attacked by dragons or sea serpents, in the same way an enlightening being holding the spiritual jewel of the dragon of knowledge of the determination for omniscience enters the abodes of the realm of desire without being harmed.

  “Just as the chief of gods overwhelms other gods when wearing the jewel of lordship, in the same way the enlightening being wearing the crown of vows with the regal jewel of the aspiration for omniscience overwhelms all in the triple world.

  “Just as someone with a wish-fulfilling jewel does not fear poverty, the enlightening being with the wish-fulfilling jewel of the aspiration for omniscience has no fears about livelihood.

  “Just as a ‘sun beauty’jewel emanates fire when exposed to the sun, in the same way the sunny jewel of the will for omniscience emanates the fire of knowledge when touched by the light rays of the jewel of wisdom.

  “Just as the moon beauty jewel emits water when touched by moonlight, in the same way the moon beauty jewel of the aspiration for enlightenment emits the water of commitment to all good when touched by the light of the moon of dedication of roots of goodness.

  “Just as great elephants wearing a crown of wish-fulfilling jewels have no fear of attack, in the same way those wearing the crown of wish-fulfilling jewels of great compassion of the aspiration for enlightenment have no fear of the ills of the state of misery.

  “Just as a jewel called ‘repository of the adornments of the world’ fulfills the wishes of all beings without ever being exhausted, in the same way the aspiration for enlightenment, the great jewel containing the adornments of all worlds, is never exhausted because of fulfilling the undertaking of enlightenment, which is the wish of all beings.

  “Just as the great jewel of a sovereign king dispels darkness and lights up the palace, in the same way the royal jewel of the aspiration for omniscience dispels the darkness of ignorance in all states of being and radiates the great light of knowledge in the realm of desire.

  “Just as everything bathed in sapphire light becomes blue, wherever the sapphire of the aspiration for omniscience is taken, and whatever roots of goodness are dedicated by the will for omniscience, all become the color of the jewel of omniscience.

  “Just as a jewel in a shower of filth does not absorb any foul odors, in the same way the jewel of the aspiration for enlightenment is not defiled though in the realm of desire, because it is essentially pure.

  “Just as the jewel ‘pure light’ outshines all other jewels, in the same way the jewel of ultimately pure light of the aspiration for omniscience is not overcome by the accumulated virtues of all ordinary people, or all learners, saints, and solitary illuminates.

  “Just as one fiery jewel disperses all darkness, in the same way one fiery jewel of the aspiration for omniscience, coupled with objective observation and correct thought, dispels the darkness of ignorance.

  “Just as a priceless jewel in the hand of a merchant in a boat on the sea is superior in beauty and value to hundreds of thousands of crystals in town, in the same way the priceless jewel of the aspiration for omniscience, even in the ocean of the mundane whirl, in the boat of vows, in the determination of an enlightening being who has just aspired to enlightenment for the first time, even though not having yet reached the city of omniscience, is still superior to the crystals of all hearers and individual illuminates in the town of liberation.

  “Just as the jewel known as the ‘powerful king,’ even when on the surface of the earth, shows the arrays of appearances of the abodes on the far-distant sun and moon, in the same way the powerful king jewel of the aspiration for omniscience, in which all virtues are purified, even while in the mundane whirl shows the arrays of appearances of the spheres of all buddhas in the great sun and moon of knowledge of those who realize Thusness in the reaches of the sky of the cosmos of reality.

  “Just as all the wealth, jewels, silver, gold, flowers, perfumes, garlands, clothes, and furnishings there are as far as the sun and moon shine do not match the worth of the powerful king jewel, in the same way, all the virtues of celestials and humans, all Buddhist disciples and self-illuminates, tainted or untainted, as far as the scope of the reality-realm reveals, do not match the worth of the powerful king jewel of the determination for enlightenment.

  “Just as the jewel known as ‘containing the arrays of the oceans’ shows the arra
ys of all oceans, in the same way the determination for enlightenment shows the array of the ocean of the scope of all-knowledge.

  “Just as nothing surpasses celestial gold, with the exception of a wish-fulfilling jewel, there is nothing except the wish-fulfilling jewel of omniscience, which surpasses the celestial gold of the aspiration for enlightenment.

  “Just as a master snake-catcher can place all serpents under his control, the enlightening snake-catcher who has mastered the will for enlightenment can place all the serpents of affliction under control.

  “Just as an armed warrior is invulnerable to enemy troops, the enlightening being armed with the determination for omniscience becomes invulnerable to the enemy troops of afflictions.

  “Just as one handful of celestial serpent sandalwood powder perfumes a thousand worlds, and three thousand worlds full of jewels cannot match the worth of an ounce of it, in the same way one element of the celestial serpent sandalwood of the aspiration for omniscience perfumes the whole cosmos with virtue and surpasses the minds of all learners, those who are beyond learning, and self-illuminates.

  “Just as the precious snowy sandalwood stops all burning and cools the whole body, in the same way the snowy sandalwood of the aspiration for omniscience stops the burning of all afflictions, false notions, lust, hatred and delusion, and cools the body of knowledge.

  “Just as all who come to the polar mountain become one color, gold, in the same way all who approach enlightening beings who are entirely dedicated to omniscience become one color, the color of omniscience.

  “Just as the bark of a tree of paradise emits a fragrance that is not found in all the flowers on earth, in the same way the fragrance of the bark of virtue and knowledge of the tree of vows grown from the seed of enlightening beings’ determination for omniscience is not found in any of the flowers of hearers and individual illuminates, who have lesser roots of goodness, in their untainted discipline, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation.

  “Just as it can be known of a budding tree of paradise that it will produce hundreds of thousands of blossoms, in the same way it can be known that the paradise tree of the aspiration for omniscience budding with roots of goodness will produce countless flowers of enlightenment, imperfect and perfect, in celestials and humans.

  “Just as the fragrance of cloth or oil perfumed for one day with paradise tree flowers is not to be found in cloth or oil perfumed for a hundred thousand days with jasmine flowers, in the same way the fragrance of enlightening beings’ virtue and knowledge, of the mind and body infused for one lifetime with the determination for omniscience, wafts to the presence of all buddhas in the ten directions, and is not to be found in the fragrance of untainted virtue and spiritual knowledge of those infused for a hundred thousand eons with the aspirations of those who seek individual salvation.

  “Just as there is a kind of tree that grows in an ocean, on all of which, from its roots to its flowers and fruits, all beings are at all times living, in the same way the world is sustained by the process of enlightening, growing from the root of vows based on great compassion, from the initial aspiration for omniscience through the duration and ending of the true teaching.

  “Just as there is an ointment called ‘golden light,’ one ounce of which will make a thousand ounces of copper gold, while those thousand ounces of copper cannot appropriate the ounce of ointment and make it copper, in the same way the one element of the essence of the aspiration for omniscience, concentrated by knowledge of dedication of roots of goodness, takes away the copper of the barriers caused by actions and afflictions and makes them into the color of total knowledge of all things, and the essential element of the aspiration for omniscience cannot be defiled or appropriated by any actions or afflictions.

  “Just as even a little bit of fire will produce as much flame as the amount of fuel it gets, in the same way even a little bit of the fire of the determination for omniscience, because of mixing with objects, will increase in its production of flames of knowledge to the extent of the provisions it is supplied with.

  “Just as millions of lamps can be lit from one lamp, without the one lamp being exhausted or diminished by all the lamps taking their flame from it, in the same way from the one lamp of the aspiration for omniscience the lamps of aspiration for omniscience of all buddhas of past, future, and present are lit, yet the one lamp of aspiration for omniscience is not exhausted, and shines undiminished by the lights of the lamps of aspiration to omniscience proceeding from it.

  “Just as when a lamp is put into a room, even a thousand years of darkness immediately vanishes and it lights up the place, in the same way when the lamp of the aspiration for omniscience enters the room of the mind of sentient beings, dark with ignorance, immediately untold eons of darkness caused by the obstruction by afflictions is dispelled, and the lamp produces the light of knowledge.

  “Just as a lamp makes light according to the condition of its wick, and burns as long as there is a supply of oil, in the same way the lamp of the aspiration for omniscience lights up the realm of reality according to the excellence of the wick of vows of the enlightening being, and as long as there is a supply of the oil of the practice of universal compassion, so long will there be the power for the buddha-tasks of guiding sentient beings and purifying lands.

  “Just as celestial gold ornaments on the head of the king of gods of control over others’ emanations cannot be outshone by any of the celestials in the realm of desire, in the same way the celestial gold ornament of the aspiration for omniscience, set on perfected virtue and fastened on the head of universal vows of nonregressing enlightening beings, cannot be outshone by ordinary people or by learners or attainers of individual liberation.

  “Just as lion cubs thrive on the roar of the lion, king of beasts, while the other animals all hide, in the same way by the roar of omniscience of the Buddha, the human lion, extolling the determination for enlightenment, the lion-cub beginning enlightening beings thrive on the enlightened teachings, while all grasping, clinging people hide.

  “Just as the strings of all instruments snap at the sound of an instrument strung with lion sinew, in the same way at the virtue-extolling sound of the instrument strung with the sinew of the aspiration for enlightenment of the buddha-lion whose body is the transcendent ways, the strings of the lute of sensuality snap and the songs of praise of the virtues of the individually liberated fade out.

  “Just as a drop of lion milk in an ocean of cow milk causes all the milk to separate and does not mix with it, in the same way the ocean of milk of acts and afflictions accumulated over hundreds of thousands of eons is destroyed by putting into it one drop of the milk of the determination for omniscience of the Buddha, the human lion, and it does not mix with the liberation of those who are only enlightened for themselves alone.

  “Just as the extraordinary power of the cry of a kalavinka chick still in the shell is not found in any of the birds of the mountains, even when they are full grown, in the same way the extraordinary power of the cry of universal compassion of the aspiration for enlightenment of a fledgling enlightening being still in the shell of the mundane whirl is not found in the individually liberated.

  “Just as the wing flapping power and clear vision of a newborn garuda is not found even in fully grown birds of other species, in the same way the power of the determination for enlightenment and the purity of the mind of compassion in a beginning enlightening being born in the family of the buddhas is not found even in seekers of individual liberation and self-illuminates who have been practicing for a long time.

  “Just as a spear in the hand of a powerful man can pierce any armor, however strong it is, in the same way the spear of the determination for omniscience, in the hand of an enlightening being of steadfast vigor, pierces the armor of all views and propensities.

  “Just as a mighty man full of wrath cannot be defeated by any man on earth as long as there are eruptions on his forehead, in the same way
a mighty enlightening being filled with universal love and compassion cannot be overcome by any devils or actions in any world as long as the eruptions of the determination for omniscience do not disappear from the face of will.

  “Just as the special strength of application to technique of a student of archery is not found in a teacher of archery who has already learned it all, the special strength of zealous practice of beginning enlightening beings is not found in those who seek and attain personal salvation without the aspiration for universal enlightenment.

  “Just as the first step in learning archery is to learn the stance, in the same way for an enlightening being learning about omniscience is the first step to understanding all the buddha-teachings in the act of setting out with the determination for omniscience.

  “Just as when a magician is going to make a display of magical effects, all the effects are accomplished by first thinking of the magical formula, in the same way when manifesting the spheres of buddhas and enlightening beings, the establishing of the spheres of buddhas and enlightening beings takes place by first evoking the vow to accomplish enlightenment.

  “Just as all magical formulas are formless and invisible but produce magical phantoms with form by mental activity, in the same way the determination for omniscience is formless and invisible, yet it fashions all spiritual realms with arrays of ornaments of all virtues merely by control of mental activity.

  “Just as all rats and mice take cover as soon as they see a wildcat on the prowl, in the same way all conditioning and affliction flee just from the proceeding of application of intense determination for omniscience.

  “Just as when one puts on an ornament of the finest gold it outshines all bangles, in the same way the enlightening being wearing the gold ornament of the determination for omniscience outshines the ornaments of virtue of all hearers and individual illuminates.

  “Just as even the smallest bit of the most powerful magnet can burst strong chains asunder, in the same way even the smallest bit of aspiration for omniscience with powerful determination can burst asunder the chains of views, ignorance, and craving.