The Flower Ornament Scripture

 

A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra

Thomas Cleary

BOOK FOURTEEN

 

14. Eulogies on Mount Sumeru

 

 

THEN,  DUE  TO  THE  SPIHITUAL  POWER  of the  Buddha,  there  came  and gathered great enlightening beings from each of the ten directions, each accompanied by as many enlightening  beings  as  atoms  in  a  buddha­ land, coming from worlds far  away,  beyond  lands  as  numerous  as atoms in a hundred buddha-lands.  Their names were Wisdom of Truth, Total Wisdom, Supreme Wisdom, Virtuous Wisdom, Vigorous Wisdom, Good Wisdom, Knowing Wisdom, True Wisdom, Unexcelled Wisdom, and Stable Wisdom. The worlds they came from were called Indra Flower, Red Lotus, Jewel Flower, B lue Lotus, Diamond Flower, Fra­ grant Flower,  Delightful Flower, Rosy Dawn Flower,  Adorning Flower, and Space Flower.  They had each cultivated pure practice with Buddhas; the Buddhas were called Extraordinary Moon, Infinite Moon, Imper­ turbable Moon, Wind Moon, Water Moon, Liberation  Moon,  Unex­ celled Moon, Constellation Moon, Pure Moon, Comprehending Moon . When the enlightening beings had reached the Buddha, they prostrated themselves at the Buddha's feet, and then magically produced luminous lion scats in the direction from which they had come. In the same way as the enlightening beings gathered atop  Mount  Sumcru in  this  world, so it was in all worlds; their names, worlds, and the names of their Buddhas were all like this .

At that juncture the Buddha emitted a hundred thousand billion light beams of sublime  hue from the toes of his feet, illumining  all the worlds in   the ten directions,   so that the Buddhas  and congregations in the palaces of the Indras atop Mt. Sumcrus were all revealed. Then the enlightening  being Wisdom  of Truth, infused   with   spiritual  power from the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

 

Buddha emits a pure light

Showing all the Guides of the worlds S ojourning in   the Halls  of Wonder On the peaks of Mt. Sumerus.

371

 

3 72 The Flower Omament Scripture

 

All of the kings of gods

Invited the Buddhas into the palace, All   with   ten   beautiful   verses Praising the enlightened ones.

 

Among  those  great   assemblies The groups of enlightening beings Have come from the ten directions

And sit calmly on the seats they made.

 

The enlightening beings in those congregations All have the same names as we

And the names of the lands they come from Are also the same as ours.

 

The Buddhas of their own lands Also have the same names as ours; Each one has, with a Buddha,

Purely cultivated unexcelled practices.

 

Buddha-children, you should observe The Buddha's power of freedom:

In all the Jambudvipas

All think the Buddha's there.

 

Wc now sec the Buddha On  top  of Sumcru:

It's  the same  in the ten directions, By the Buddha's power of freedo m.

 

In each world

They determine to seek the Buddha-way, And based on such a vow

Practice enlightening deeds .

 

Buddha, with various bodies, Travels throughout the worlds, Unhindered in the cosmos, Beyond the ken of anyone.

 

The light of his wisdom always shines everywhere, Removing all the darkness  of the world;

It has no compare at all :

How can it be comprehended?

 

Eulo,gies on Mount Sumeru 3 73

 

Then the enlightening   being Total Wisdom,  infused   with   the   power of the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

 

Even if one always looked at Buddha For a hundred thousand eons,

Not  according  to the absolute  truth But looking at the savior of the world, Such a person is grasping appearances

And increasing the web of ignorance and delusion, Bound in the prison of birth and death,

Blind, unable to sec the Buddha.

 

Observing all things

To be without inherent existence,

Whatever their appearances of origin and disappearance, Being just provisional descriptions,

All things arc unborn,

All things arc imperishable:

To one who can understand this

The Buddha will always be manifest.

 

The nature of things is fundamentally empty and null, With no grasping and no vision.

The emptiness of inherent nature is Buddha; It cannot be assessed in thought.

If one knows the inherent nature Of all things is like this,

This person will not be affected By any afflictions .

 

Ordinary people seeing things Just pursue the forms

And don't realize things arc formless: Because of this they don't see Buddha.

 

The Sage is detached from the realms of time, Replete with   the   marks  of greatness, Dwelling in nondwclling,

Omnipresent without moving.

 

I observe all things

And clearly understand them; Now I sec the Buddha

With certainty, free from doubt.

 

374  The Flower Ornamem Scripture

 

Wisdom of Truth has already explained The real nature of the Enlightened;

From him I have understood

That enlightenment's inconceivable.

 

 

Then the enlightening  being Supreme  Wisdom,  rece1vmg power from the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

 

�he Enlightened One's great wisdom Is rare, beyond compare;

All beings in the worlds

Cannot reach it in their thoughts.

 

Ordinary people's deluded views Grasp forms and arc not veritable. Buddha is beyond all forms,

So not within their view.

 

The deluded and unknowing

Wrongly grasp the forms of the five clusters, Not understanding their true nature;

Such people don 't see Buddha.

 

Knowing that all things

Have no inherent being of their own, Understanding the nature of things this way One will see Vairocana .

 

Caused by the preceding five clusters, Succeeding clusters arise in continuum; Comprehending this nature,

One sees Buddha, inconceivable.

 

Just  like a jewel  in the dark Cannot be seen if there is no lamp,

With no one to explain Buddha's teaching Even the intelligent cannot comprehend it.

And like an eye with cataracts Cannot sec pure beautiful colors, So too the impure mind

Cannot sec the Buddha's teaching.

 

Eulo,f!ies on Mount Sumeru

 

And as the bright clear sun Cannot be seen by the blind, Those who  have no wisdom Can never sec the Buddhas.

 

If one can remove the eye's cataracts And abandon the concept of form And not sec  in terms  of things, Then one can see the Buddha.

 

Total Wisdom has explained

The enlightenment of the Buddhas;

I, having learned from him, Have gotten to see Vairocana.

 

375

 

 

 

Then the enlightening being Virtuous Wisdom, imbued  with power from the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

 

Things have no true reality;

Because of wrongly grasping them as real Do ordinary people therefore

Revolve in the prison of birth and death.

 

Things expressed by words

Those of lesser wisdom wrongly discriminiate And therefore create barriers

And don't comprehend their own minds .

 

If one doesn 't comprehend one's own mind, How can one know the right path?

Based on misconstrued intellect They increase all evils.

 

Not seeing all things arc empty,

Always suffering the pains of birth and death, This is because such people

Cannot yet have the pure objective eye.

 

In the past I experienced suffering Because I didn't sec Buddha.

So one should clarify the eye of reality And sec what is to be seen.

 

 

If one can see the Buddha,

One's mind will have no grasping; Such a person can then perceive Truth as the Buddha knows it.

 

If one can see Buddha's real teaching, One is said to have great knowledge; This person has pure eyes

And can see into the world.

 

No view is seeing

Which can see all things;

If one has any views about things, This is not seeing anything.

 

The nature  of all things Has no origin and no end.

How wonderful the Great Guide:

Awakened himself, he can awaken others.

 

Supreme Wisdom has explained The truth realized by the Buddhas; We, having learned from him,

Can know the Buddha's true nature.

 

 

Then the enlightening being Vigorous Wisdom, receiving power from the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

 

If one dwells on discrimination, One ruins the eye of purity;

Ignorant, false views increase, And one never sees the Buddha.

 

If one can understand falsehood As it is, without delusion,

And know the basis of delusion is itself reality, One's perception of Buddha will be pure.

 

If there arc views, this is defilement; This is not yet to be considered seeing. By dismissing all views

Can one thus sec Buddha.

 

Eulogies on Mount Sumeru

 

Things spoken of in conventional terms People wrongly conceptualize; Knowing  the world  is all birthlcss: This is seeing the world.

 

If one sees seeing the world,

This seeing is a feature of the world; In reality they're equal, no different: This is called true insight.

 

If one sees they're equal, no different, One won't discriminate among things. Such vision is free from delusions: Without indulgence, it's free.

 

All the different things

Pointed out by the Buddhas Arc impossible to apprehend Because their nature's pure.

 

The nature of things is fundamentally pure; Like space, it has no marks.

Nothing at all can explain it: This do the wise observe.

 

Divorcing the concept of things, Not indulging in anything,

And not even cultivating this, One can sec the great Sage.

 

As Virtuous  Wisdom explained, This is called one who sees Buddha; All the actions there be

A rc all inherently nil.

 

377

 

 

 

Then the enlightening being Good Wisdom, infused with Buddha' s power, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

 

Extraordinary, the great beings, The countless enlightened ones

Arc free from taint, their minds arc free; Self-liberated, they can liberate others.

 

 

I see the Lamps of the Worlds As thev arc, without delusion,

As  ond who has accumulated knowledge

Over cons can sec.

 

The acts of ordinary people All soon pass away;

Their nature is like space, So said to be without end.

 

When the wise speak of endlessness, This is still not saying anything; Because inherent nature is endless,

It can have an inconceivable end.

 

In the endlessness spoken of There arc no beings to be found;

Knowing the nature of things is thus, One will see the Honored One.

 

No view  is   called seeing, The birthlcss is called beings; Whether views or beings,

Knowing they've no substantial nature, The seer dismisses entirely

The subject and object of seeing; Not destroying reality,

This person knows the Buddha.

 

If one knows the Buddha

And the truth the Buddha tells, One can  illumine  the world Like Buddha Vairocana docs .

 

The truly enlightened point out well The pure road of one truth;

The great being Vigorous Wisdom Expounds innumerable teachings:

Whether of existence or nonexistence, His conceptions are all removed:

Thus he can see the Buddha And abide in reality.

 

 

Then the enlightening being Knowing Wisdom,  imbued  with power from the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

Eulogies 011 Mount Sumeru

 

Hearing the supreme teaching, I produce the light of wisdom

Illumining all worlds everywhere, Seeing all the Buddhas.

 

Herein there's not the slightest thing: Only provisional names;

Those who think there's self and person Enter a dangerous path due to this.

 

People who grasp and cling Think the body really exists:

The B uddha is not something grasped, So they never get to see.

 

These people lack the eye of wisdom And cannot sec the Buddha,

Circulating in the sea of birth and death Through uncountable cons.

 

Contention is called birth-and-death, Noncontcntion is nirvana:

Birth-and-death and nirvana Both cannot be grasped.

 

If one pursues provisional names And  grasp  these two   things One is not in accord with reality

And doesn't know the Sage's subtle path.

 

If one produces such conceptions­ "This  is  Buddha,  this  is  supreme"­ One is deluded-this is not real truth; Thus one cannot sec true awakening.

 

If one can know this real body's

Quiescent character of true thusness, One can sec the truly enlightened Transcending the path of speech.

 

Things expressed in words

Cannot disclose the character of reality; Only through equanimity can one see Things, including the Buddha.

 

379

 

380  The Flower Omame11t Scripture

 

The Truly Enlightened in the past The future, and the present,

Forever sever the root of discriminiation­ That's why they 're called Buddha.

 

Then the enlightening being True Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse.

 

I'd rather suffer the pains of hell

While able to hear the name of Buddha Than to experience boundless pleasure Without hearing the name of Buddha.

 

The reason for suffering in the past Over countless cons

Revolving within birth and death

Is due to not hearing the name of Buddha. Not deluded about things,

Realizing them as they truly are,

Detached from all compounded forms : This is called unsurpassed awakening.

 

The present is not compounded, Nor arc the past and future;

All things have no signs:

This is the real body of Buddha.

 

If one can sec this way

The profound truth of things, Then one can see all Buddhas ' Reality-body in its true aspect.

 

Seeing what's true as true And what's not true as untrue: Such ultimate understanding

Is the reason for the name of Buddha .

 

Buddha 's truth cannot be perceived; Realizing this is called perceiving truth. The Buddhas practice this way: Nothing can be grasped.

 

Knowing they arc many because one And one because many,

 

Eulogies 011 Mou11t Sumeru

 

Realize all things have no basis And only arise from compounding.

 

There is no creator or created:

They only arise from habitual conceptions. How can we know it is so?

Because other than this naught is.

 

All things have no abode:

No definite locus can be found; The Buddhas abide in this, Ultimately unwavering.

 

381

 

 

Then the enlightening being Unexcelled Wisdom, receiving Buddha's power, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

The unexcelled great beings Dismiss the concept of creatures. None can surpasss them,

That's why they're called unexcelled.

 

The sphere attained by the Buddhas

Has no fabrication and no discrimination; The gross has no existence,

And neither docs the fine .

 

The realms accessible to Buddhas Arc innumerable therein;

True  awareness  is  detached  from numbers: This is the Buddhas' true teaching.

 

Buddha's light shines everywhere, Destroying all darkness and gloom; This light neither has radiance

Nor docs not have radiance.

 

It has no attachment to things, No thought and no defilement, No abode and no location,

And docs not destroy the nature of things .

 

Herein there is no dualism,

Yct neither is there oneness;

 

382  The Flower Ornament Scripture

 

One \vho sees well with great knowledge Skillfully abides according to truth.

 

No mean and no duality,

And not even any nonduality:

A ll  in  the worlds  is  void-

This is the vision of the Buddhas.

 

People with no awakened understanding Buddha makes abide in the truth.

A ll things have no abode-

Understanding this, one sees one's own body Is not a body, yet said to be so;

Is not born yet manifests birth:

No  body  and  no  view-

This is the unexcelled Buddha-body. Thus has True Wisdom explained

The nature of Buddhas' subtle teaching; Any who hear this teaching

Will attain the pure eye.

 

 

Then the enlightening being Stable Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha, looked over the ten directions and said in verse,

 

How  grand,  the Great  Light, The vigorous Unsurpassed Hero, Who appears in the world

To help  the con fused .

 

The Buddha observes all beings With a heart of great compassion,

Seeing them in the three realms of existence Su ffering over and over.

 

Except for the Truly Enlightened, The honored Guide, full of virtue, There is none who can rescue

All human and heavenly beings.

 

If the Buddhas and enlightening beings Did not appear in the world,

There would not be a single creature Who could have peace and case.

 

Eulo�f?ics  otz  Mou11t  Sumcm

The Buddha, rightly awakened, As well as the sages and saints , Appear in the world,

Able to bestow happiness on beings.

 

If someone sees the Buddha, That is gaining great benefit;

Hearing the name Buddha  and developing faith Is a monument in the world.

 

Wc sec the World Honored  Ones And consider it a great boon; Hearing such a wonderful teaching, W c all shall attain enlightenment.

 

The enlightening beings, in the past, By the spiritual power of Buddha, Attained the pure eye of wisdom

And perceived the realms of the Buddhas.

 

Now we sec Vairocana

And grow doubly in pure faith. Buddha's knowledge is boundless And cannot be fully explained.

 

Even if the enlightening beings

Such as Supreme Wisdom, and I, Stable Wisdom, Were to speak for countless eons ,

We could not tell it all .