The Flower Ornament Scripture

 

A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra

Thomas Cleary

A P P E N D I X   1

 

Technical Terminology and Symbolism in The Flower Ornament Scripture

 

 

The Flower Ornament Scripture is written without much abstruse technical vocabulary, and to the extent that it does use such terminology, it also provides its own explanatory and descriptive material to convey its intent. Nevertheless, in presenting this scripture in English, in which there do not presently exist firmly established conventions or familiar cultural bases for expressing Buddhist ideas, it may be helpful to the understanding of the scripture in translation to discuss some basic terms. Due   to the volume of the scripture,   footnoting individual occurrences of technical terms would call for a great deal of cross-referencing. This would swell the bulk of each volume, and might well produce a situation of chaos rather than order in locating definitions. Furthermore, the virtually constant interruption of the text would likely prove distracting, disrupting the continuity of what is designed to be recited and should be read in a flowing manner, gradually building up a total picture through a succession of impacts, images, and ideas. For these reasons, the main terms in which the fundamental points of the teachings of the scripture are cast will be presented summarily in this introduction for easy reference. Other terms that are not so critical will be dealt with in the glossary. The abstract philosophy of the school based on this scripture is presented elsewhere, 1 and only the essential points which bear direct­ ly on the structure and content of the scripture itself will be intro­

duced here.

Throughout the text of the scripture the terms "sentient beings" and "living  beings"  arc  frequently  to  be  met  with.  These  terms,  which are used synonymously, require some explanation. Here "sentient" or "liv­ ing" contrasts to "enlightened" or "enlightening" beings, but does not imply that the latter are literally insentient or not living. The implication of "sentient" and "living" is reference to the condition of being domi­ nated or compelled by senses, feelings, emotions, thoughts; of being imprisoned, so to speak, by mundane life, at the mercy of its vicissitudes, without self-mastery or ability to transcend compulsive preoccupation

 

1.      Thomas Cleary, Entry into the Inconceivable: An Introduction to Hua-yen Bud­ dhism (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1983).

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with external and/ or internal phenomena. It is a fundamental task of enlightening beings to rise above, and help others to rise above, the fetters of mundane life and sense experience.

There are numerous categories of "sentient beings," several of which attract attention as being of frequent occurrence, used to describe basic unwholesome psychological elements or conditions.   The states referred to as hells , hungry ghosts, and animals, are collectively called the three evil ways or states of woe or courses of misery. "Hungry ghosts" represent craving and greed,   "animals" represent ignorance and folly, and "hells" represent states dominated by ignorance, greed, and hatred. Sometime the states of misery or evil ways are also said to be four, the fourth being the realm of "titans," who symbolize anger, resentment, jealousy, and hatred.

In connection with sentient beings, the common term "birth-and­ death" is also important. This refers to the impermanence of all things and beings. It also refers to the virtually constant fluctuation in the mental states of sentient beings. That is to say, for example, in a moment of anger one is "born" as a titan; in a moment of craving one is "born" as a hungry ghost; in a moment of folly one is "born" as an animal. Every phase of psychological or social development, every shift in interest, attention, or mood, every physiological change, even every passing thought are all examples of "birth-and-death. " Emancipation from birth and death, a prime objective of enlightening endeavor, refers to not being submerged in or dominated by such changes; a traditional metaphor for this is that of the mirror, which is not itself affected by the flux of images it reflects.

The condition of sentient beings is said to be one of affliction, and the term "afflictions " is met with throughout the scripture. In Buddhist psychology there are often said to be several major afflictions: greed, anger, ignorance, conceit, envy, jealousy, doubt, and wrong views. The first three of these are especially singled out and called the "three poisons, " which stultify the mind and prevent if from realizing its enlightenment potential, causing instead the accumulation of suffering.

Ignorance, or folly, or delusion, is sometimes referred specifically to ignorance of cause and effect, by which one falls into vicious circles without a clue of how to escape. Causality means that no condition is in itself inevitable, and ignorance is also understood to refer to ignorance of the real nature of things-that is, lack of awareness of the conditional nature of phenomena. This forms the basis for desire, which in its compulsive form is the poison of greed or covetousness. Ignorance is thus also referred to as the notion that there is something to gain or possess.

Greed, craving, covetousness-these terms basically refer to  attach­ ment to things, feelings, thoughts, to emotional involvement in things, possessiveness and acquisitiveness. These terms also refer to psychologi­ cal greed-for praise, approval, recognition, attention. Contention, con-

 

flict, and frustration occasioned by covetousness in turn underlie anger and hatred.

The poison of anger, hatred, resentment, may again be a reaction to frustration or competition involving more abstract psychological desires, such as self-esteem, as well as material and sensual desires. This poison represents the drawing of boundaries and definition of individual (or group) self-interest as opposed to the interests of others. Only by awareness of interrelatedness, the ultimate unity of being, is the false premise of the self-other dichotomy exposed so that this poison can be extirpated.

The affliction of conceit involves self-importance, pride, seeking to put oneself above others, to surpass others, and having false imaginings of one's worth or achievements. In this same general vein are also defined four fundamental afflictions in relation to the illusion of self, or the ego: ignorance of the real nature of self; the idea of the real existence of a self; pride in the self; and self love.

The affliction of doubt refers to unwillingness to recognize truth, or indulgence in vain speculation. It is not to be confused with doubt used to pry the mind from fixed conceptions. Compulsive doubt and hesita­ tion to accept truth is seen as an extension of self-importance.

Wrong views are usually said to have five archetypes: the notion of a truly  existent  corporeal  self;  extreme  views,  which  cling  to  ideas  of permanence or total annihilation; false views, meaning denial or disre­ garding of causality, or arbitrary superstitious conceptions of causality; attachment to opinions and views; and attachment to rituals or rules, particularly with the idea that enlightenment can be obtained by mechan­ ical adherence to forms. Attachment to rituals also refers to sacrificial and propitiatory ceremonies thought to bring benefits or avert calamity; these are considered a mundane fetter, and were originally not part of Buddhism.

These afflictions are not looked upon as sins or moral defects but as

illnesses and sources of suffering. They are not considered a necessary part of the human condition. Various exercises, such as contemplation of impermanence, remembrance of death, evoking of love and compas­ sion, and many other concrete and abstract practices are prescribed as specific cures for the various afflictions.

Higher states of sentient beings, which are still worldly or mundane, are represented by celestial realms. These generally represent states of satisfaction or felicity or psychic power, or comparatively refined mental conditions experienced in meditation and trance. Many gods and celestial realms of Indian mythology were employed by Buddhists for symbolic or metaphorical purposes, sometimes in a very general way to show that mundane happiness, power, and even the most exalted formless trances, are still not liberation. Although a number ofthese realms are mentioned in The Flower Ornament Scriptu re, on the whole they do not play a very

 

important part, and specific notes on these realms will be deferred to the Appendix.

In addition to these beings, there arc also mentioned a number of other mythological creatures from ancient Indian lore. For the most part these are of little symbolic value, except perhaps to represent diversity. They seem to appear simply as stock items of the cosmology of the civilization in which the scripture was written down.

Turning to what arc sometimes called the sanctified realms, or realms of sages, we come first to what are known as the two vehicles, or the small vchiclc(s) . The term "vehicle" means a vehicle or method of liberation, a course of understanding and application by which emanci­ pation from mundane bondage may be realized. "Two vehicles " refers to what arc known in Sanskrit as shravakas and pratyekabuddhas. Shravaka means "hearer" or "listener" and refers to a follower or disciple of a Buddha, usually thought of particularly as a renuciant mendicant disci­ ple. These "listeners" concentrate on the realization of selflessness, dispassion, and the consequent freedom from craving, cares, and per­ sonal suffering.

Listeners, Buddhist disciples, are divided into four grades, each grade being also divided into those striving to attain that state and those who

have realized the fruit. The four grades are: stream-enterers, who are for the first time disengaged from mental preoccupation with the world; once-returners, who come back to mundane life once before final liberation; nonreturners, who never return to the mundane flow; and saints, who have attained nirvana, a tranquil, dispassionate state of extinction  of afflictions.  The first three are called learners,  while the saints are called nonlearners once they have realized liberation, be­ cause they no longer need to learn anything or strive for their own emancipation.

Pratyckabuddha means "enlightened for one" and refers to an individ­ ual illuminate, a self-enlightened one, who attains liberation without a teacher. Another implication of the name is that an individual illuminate supposedly does not teach others directly. Self-enlightened ones are also called those who are enlightened by awareness of conditioning. They contemplate impermanence and observe that vicious circles , anxieties, and vexations , which are conditioned by striving, clinging, and craving, derive from basic ignorance of the illusory nature of the ego and the ephemeral nature of the world. Individual illuminates therefore root out the notion of self and put an end to desires, so that they attain serenity.

The two vehicles of disciples or listeners and self-enlightened ones or

individual illuminates are called the small or lesser vehicles because of primary focus on individual liberation, concentration on one teacher or path, and lack of flexibility and compassion to teach people of different temperaments. In these senses they are contrasted to the so-called great vehicle of the bodhisattva or enlightening being,   which is concerned with universal liberation and consequently involves greater variety and

 

flexibility of approach. In The Flower Ornament Scripture, it is stated that the so-called lesser vehicles may be demonstrated by enlightening beings when they are conducive to the liberation of people with whom the enlightening beings happen to be dealing. The ways of disciples, self­ enlightened ones, and enlightening beings are collectively called the three vehicles; in this scripture the term great vehicle is used to refer to the vehicle ofbuddhahood, of which the three vehicles might be preparations or partial, provisional techniques. The great vehicle of buddhahood is also referred to as the one vehicle, because it is based on the unity of being and comprehensiveness of approach.

The career of the enlightening being is of particular significance in The Flower Ornament Scripture, and much of the scripture is devoted to describing practices of enlightening beings. The enlightening being is dedicated to universal enlightenment,   at once realizing enlightenment and enlightening others. Although the deeds and practices of enlighten­ ing beings are described in elaborate terms in the scripture, in general they are said to be based on ten ways of transcendence, or transcendent ways. Also called the perfections of enlightening beings, these are means of transcending the world, and arc also ways of transcendent action in the world; in terms of The Flower Ornament doctrine of simultaneity of cause and effect, both aspects are included at once.

The first way of transcendence is giving or generosity. This may be giving of material things, of security, or of liberating teaching. Second is morality, or self-control, or discipline, living according to ethical principles, abiding by certain precepts such as injunctions against killing, stealing, falsehood, slander, and so on. This morality also involves living by general ethics of altruism, and acting in ways conducive to liberation in situations that are not defined by formal standards. Third is forbear­ ance, patience, or tolerance; this involves not only tolerance of people and their doings, but also acceptance of truth without fear. Fourth is energy or effort, meaning indomitability in carrying out enlightening practices in the world. Fifth is meditation or concentration, by which the mind is taken off the realm of desires, attention is mastered, and understanding is empowered. Sixth is wisdom or transcendental knowl­ edge; this refers to nondiscursive knowledge of the emptiness of inherent nature of things, which enables one to be ultimately unattached without dependence on control or concentration. Sometimes it is said to include discursive and analytic knowledge as well as insight or intuitive knowl­ edge.

The first five of these ways of transcendence arc sometimes referred to as the treasury or store of virtue, and the sixth is referred to as the treasury of knowledge. These six items, especially wisdom or noncon­ ceptual knowledge, are in some form common to listeners, individual illuminates, and beginning enlightening beings; beyond these six are four more transcendent ways, which arc more directly applied to the

 

enlightenment of others, and are in the sphere of more advanced enlight­ ening beings.

Seventh is means, which includes skill in application and direction of the elements of enlightening practices and skill in means of liberating other people.

Eighth is vows, involving the determination of commitment to seek complete perfect enlightenment and to help others realize enlightenment.

Ninth is power, referring to powers of mental cultivation and powers of ascertainment.

Tenth is knowledge, including mystical knowledge of the ranges of awareness of Buddhas and practical knowledge of the sciences of devel­ oping and maturing people.

The ways of transcendence may be presented as a progression, but they can only be completed and perfected in conjunction with each other; this is an important aspect of the Flower Garland doctrine of interdepen­ dence and totality.

In conjunction with these ways of transcendence, enlightening beings also cultivate what are known as the four immeasurable minds or four pure abodes. These terms refer to immeasurable kindness, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy, and immeasurable equanimity. "Im­ measurable" means that these feelings or attitudes are extended to embrace all beings, overcoming emotional biases or discriminations between friends and enemies, relatives and strangers.

Also mentioned as basic types of practice of enlightening beings are what are called the four means of salvation or four means of integration. These consist of charity or giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and cooperation. The hallmark of the enlightening being is to be in the world yet at the same time beyond the world. These are means by which the enlightening beings integrate with society in order to carry out their work.

The primary object of the Buddhist teachings as a whole may be said to be buddhahood. The term " Buddha" means enlightened, and as such refers to the fully awake, fully realized, complete human being; what is perhaps more outstanding in The Flower Ornament Scrip ture, however, is the universal or cosmic sense of Buddha. The scripture explicitly states that "Buddha" is to be seen in all lands, all beings, and all things. This is a basic premise of the scripture's grandiose descriptions of the scope of buddhahood; the individual human Buddha may be said to be one who is open to this level of awareness.

Buddha is said to have many dimensions of embodiment. The multi­ plicity of Buddha-bodies at times may refer to all things or beings, or to the potential or realization of full awakening in individual human beings. The "body"  of Buddha, which is often mentioned in connection with the omnipresence of Buddha, is the so-called body of reality. This reality-body is defined in many ways: it may sometimes be said to be identical with all phenomena, or it may be said to be the pure mind, or

 

it may be said to consist of "thusness and the knowledge of thusness, " or it may be referred to as the universal qualities of buddhahood, such as the "ten powers ."

Mention has already been made of "thusness" or "suchness. " This term also can have several nuances. In one sense it simply means "everything, " without arbitrary conceptual glosses. Sanskrit terms for "thusness" include such expressions as bhutatathata, "the thusness of what is", yathabhuta, "as is"; and tathata, "the quality of being such. " The implication of the terms "thus"  or "such"  that no specific notion can truly define being as it really is; the term " thusness " hence can refer specifically to the inconceivable real nature of things, which is also called "emptiness" to allude to the lack of intrinsic meaning of signs and names by which particular things are discriminated and defined. Also, thusness can refer  to the pure nature of the mind; when the  mind is clear and this inherently pure nature is unobscured, reality as it is becomes apparent. Thusness is sometimes spoken of as "pure" and "defiled," or "unchang­ ing" and "going along with conditions;" the first item of each pair refers to the unique real nature which is equal in everything, or emptiness, inconceivability, while the second refers to apparent reality, the realm of myriad differentiations. Thusness is also  equated with "buddha-nature" and the "realm of reality," which includes both absolute and ordinary reality.

Among the qualities that constitute the reality-body of Buddhas in the sense of a universal spiritual body which all Buddhas develop are what are called the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the eighteen unique qualities of Buddhas. The ten powers, which are powers of knowledge, are especially frequently mentioned.

The ten powers arc defined as knowledge of what is so and what is not so, knowledge of the deeds of beings and the consequences of those deeds, knowledge of all states of meditation, concentration, and libera­ tion, knowledge of the faculties of others, knowledge of the inclinations and understandings of beings, knowledge of the characters of beings, knowledge ofwhere all paths lead, knowledge of past lives, clairvoyance, and knowledge of having extirpated all contaminations from the mind. These may be enumerated and defined in somewhat different ways in different Buddhist literature. The "beings" known to the Buddhas may of course be understood as the various conditions of human beings, though not necessarily limited thereto. The ten powers of knowledge of Buddhas are considered vestigial or latent powers in all humans,  and some of them may be more or less developed in individuals. Some of these powers can be awakened and cultivated to some extent through awareness and attention in everyday life, while access to some psychic powers is possible only through intense meditation. Knowledge of past and future may be usefully understood as profound understanding of causes and effects , insight into psychological, social, and other develop­ mental processes over a span of time; this type of knowledge is said to

 

include, however, capacities of recollection and reception that generally remain undeveloped and unknown to ordinary people. In Buddhism it is accepted that intuitive knowledge and direct perception can be awakened and can do what discursive knowledge cannot do, so the operation of certain psychic powers is not accessible to conceptual knowledge.

The four fearlessncsses of Buddhas arc the fearlessness of omniscience, the fearlessness of having put an end to all mental contamination, fearlessness in explaining things which hinder enlightenment, and fear­ lessness in explaining ways to end suffering. Fearlessness here means that the Buddha's knowledge is certain and free from doubt and hesitation. The meanings of omniscience or universal knowledge, which underlie fearlessness, will be taken up along with consideration of the so-called body of knowledge of Buddhas .

The eighteen unique qualities of Buddhas are: freedom from error; freedom from clamor; freedom from forgetfulness; freedom from dis­ traction or fragmentation of mind; freedom from the notion of manifold­ ness; conscious equanimity; no loss of will; no loss of energy; no loss of memory; no loss of concentration; no loss of wisdom; no loss  of liberation; no loss of knowledge and insight of liberation; always acting in accord with knowledge and wisdom; always speaking in accord with knowledge and wisdom; always thinking in accord with knowledge and wisdom; unimpeded knowledge of the past;   and unimpeded knowledge of the present.

Buddhas' body of knowledge, in its broadest sense, may be said to

contain all knowledge, and in the scripture innumerable spheres of knowledge are mentioned. Overall, however, the body of knowledge is often defined in terms of four kinds of knowledge, from which all other proceed. The first knowledge is called the mirrorlike knowledge, or great round mirror. Clear, nondistorting, nondiscursive awareness is likened to a mirror that reflects things objectively and  impartially, without discrimination or attachment. This is also called the mind's aspect of true thusness. Next is  knowledge of equality, of the equal nature of all things, referring to the relativity and inherent emptiness of phenomena. Knowing the essential emptiness of things is also  referred to as universal knowledge or general omniscience. The third Buddha­ knowledge is called subtle observing or analytic knowledge; this is knowledge of particulars, knowledge of characteristics and differentia­ tion. While knowledge of equality deals with the "emptiness" side of the relativity = emptiness equation, analytic knowledge deals with the "rela­ tivity" side. Together they realize the mutual noninterference of equality and distinction, forming, with the underlying mirrorlike knowledge, the basis for the fourth Buddha-knowledge, called the knowledge of practical accomplishment. This refers to acting in the world, in harmony with essential emptiness-equality and with concrete conditions.

Omniscience, or all-knowledge, or universal knowledge, is said to be of three types. One is the aforementioned general aspect of omniscience,

 

which refers to knowledge of emptiness. Beyond this is knowledge of modes of the path, which is knowledge of types of people and various means whereby they may be liberated. The former knowledge is com­ mon to saints, self-enlightened ones, and enlightening beings, while the latter is in the realm of enlightening beings. The consummate omnis­ cience of Buddhas,  containing  the   ten   powers,   is   knowledge  of all particulars of causality and the overall and specific means of enlight enment.

Considering the matter of the scripture's frequent references to the Buddha's innumerable "spiritual" or "mystic" powers being revealed everywhere, from the point of view of the scripture, all things, all beings, mind, and space itself are bodies of Buddha, so the miracle of awareness and existence-the ultimate causes of which are beyond the power of conception to grasp-are "miracles" of Buddha. They arc constantly edifying in the sense that, as the scripture says, all things are always teaching. The miraculous transformation performed by the Bud­ dha for the enlightenment of sentient beings is, from this perspective, the shifting of the mental outlook to experiencing everything as a learning situation. This vision of life as a whole as the scene of enlight­ enment is one of the major themes of The Flower Omammt Scripture, and is a basic meaning of the statement that there is ultimately only one vehicle of enlightenment.

Mention of the doctrine of "only mind" may be called for to clarify statements in the scripture to the effect that all things are creations of mind. This does  not mean creation in the  sense of creating something out of nothing. This doctrine means that practically speaking the world only "exists" as such because of our awareness, and that what we take to be the world in itself is our experience and inference based thereon. The conceptual order which is taken to be characteristic of objective reality is , according to this doctrine, a projection of the mind, a description that filters and shapes experience in accord with mental habits developed throughout the history of the species, the civilization, and the individual. Techniques of visualization, meditation, concentration, and trance are used in part to detach the mind from fixation on a given conceptual and perceptual order through cultivation of other ways of perceiving and conceiving, and through experience of other spheres, which are equally real to the senses. By mastering attention and realizing the relativity of world and mind through actual experience as well as reasoning, one may then gain freedom while in the midst of the world, having, as scripture says, mastered mind rather than being mastered by it.

In Huayan Buddhism, the school whose philosophy is based on The Flower Omammt Scripture, the cosmos, or realm of reality, is a central idea, one which may be used to clarify certain features of the scripture. The cosmos,  as the term is used here, includes the entirety of conven­ tional (mundane) and absolute (transcendental) reality. The term from which the notion of cosmos or reality realm derives (Sanskrit: dharmad-

 

hatu) can be used to refer to phenomena, individually or collectively, to universes as defined by certain laws or states, to realms of existence and principles defined by the teachings of Buddhism, and also to the realm of nirvana. The Chinese philosophers of the Huayan school distinguished four general reality-realms in which everything, the cosmos, is included: the realm ofphenomena, the realm of noumenon, the realm of noninter­ ference or integration of noumenon and phenomena, and the realm of mutual noninterference among phenomena.

The realm of phenomena refers to all things and events. The realm of noumenon refers to the essence of things in themselves, the principle of voidness or emptiness-the lack of inherent nature or intrinsic reality in conditional, dependent things. The realm of mutual noninterference of noumenon and phenomena means that since phenomena are products of causes and are interdependent and have no absolute individual existence, therefore they are all empty or void of intrinsic nature. Hence their conditional existence does not interfere with their absolute emptiness, and vice versa. Their interdependent existence and emptiness of own being are two sides of the same coin. The realm of noninterference among phenomena is based on the same principle: whatever their appar­ ent differences, phenomena are the same in the sense of being dependent and hence void of absolute identity. The noumenal nature, or emptiness, of one phenomenon, being the same as that of all phenomena, is said to at once pervade and contain all phenomena; and as this is true of one, so it is true of all. Furthermore, the interdependence of phenomena means that ultimately one depends on all and all depend on one, whether immediately or remotely; therefore, the existence of all is considered an intrinsic part of the existence of one, and vice versa.

The  realms   of noninterference between noumenon and phenomena

and noninterference among phenomena are represented symbolically in The Flower Ornament Scripture by such images as Buddha's pores each containing innumerable lands, with each atom in those lands also con­ taining innumerable lands,  each land containing innumerable Buddhas, and so on, ad infinitum. This illustrates the infinite mutual interrelation of all things. The principle of all things reflecting or "containing" one another is also symbolized by the so-called "Net of Indra, " which is an imaginary net ofjewels that reflect each other with the reflections of each jewel containing reflections of all the jewels, ad infinitum.

A further illustration of the principle of interdependence and interre­

lation is afforded by the formation of assemblies in the scripture. To give a simplified example, let us take a group of one hundred individuals: singling out one, we could say this individual is surrounded or accom­ panied by ninety-nine people; adding the totality of the ninety-nine, the group, as one more (a typical Huayan accounting method based on the interdependence of individuals and sets) , this means one individual is accompanied by one hundred. In the same way each individual may be selected as the focus and considered to be accompanied by one hundred.

 

Hence there are a hundred people each accompanied by  a hundred people: viewed as discrete individuals, there are only one hundred, but seen in terms of their interrelation there are basically ten thousand, and this latter figure could be multiplied indefinitely to account for complex relations. All beings and phenomena, being relative, are looked upon in this way in Huayan philosophy: based on the same principle, a person or thing may be seen as multiple when considered in terms of relationships, being in a sense a different person or thing in terms of each different relationship. In reference to the enlightening being, who consciously adopts different guises and deals with people in different ways, this is represented as multiplication of the body of projection of myriad differ­ ent bodies .

Like many popular Buddhist scriptures, The Flower Ornament Scripture is rich in imagery and symbolism. While certain images may at times be taken literally, there are numerous specific symbolic connotations as­ signed to particular items in the text of the scripture itself as well as in traditional exegesis. Some consideration of the metaphorical language of the scripture is therefore called for to gain access to the inner meanings.

At various points throughout the text are elaborate descriptions of a multitude of adornments. In general, these symbolize virtues, teachings, and also qualities of the world as perceived by a pure mind. The term virtue is often used in the scripture in a very broad sense to include all beneficial and liberating acts as well as wholesome qualities, spiritual faculties , and powers of knowledge.

Jewels and precious substances symbolize enlightening teachings; their variety represents the multitude of doctrines expounded by enlightening beings and Buddhas in adapting to different situations and audiences. Rain is also used as a metaphor for teaching; showering rains of all manner ofjewels and ornaments and other beautiful things refers to the exposition of many principles and teachings.

Flowers may be used to represent the mind or mental factors or states, particularly the development of wholesome qualities and   the unfolding of knowledge. Flowers are also used to symbolize practices employed to further spiritual evolution, and fruits symbolize the results of those practices.

Canopies or parasols represent protection from afflictions,   inclusion in a sphere of activity or enlightenment, compassion, breadth of mind, and universality of knowledge.

Seats, thrones, and residences represent spiritual states , stability, or spheres of awareness and action.

Banners and pennants stand for virtues, outward manifestations of qualities or realizations, excellences of character; they also stand for symbolism and representation in general.

Personal ornaments such as garlands and jewelry represent virtues, knowledge, skills, or cultivation of one's faculties .

 

Oceans and clouds represent clusters or groups.  Oceans are also used to symbolize immensity, depth, immeasureability.

Light symbolizes knowledge or awareness; variegated light represents differentiating knowledge,   different kinds of knowledge,   or knowledge of different spheres. Lights, particularly jewel lights, also can represent the experience of a certain kind of meditation in which the attention is focused only on colors, not on things as usually conceived; the colors seen in this kind of concentration are called jewel lights. While fire can be used to represent passion and afflictions, flames are also used to represent wisdom, the destruction of ignorance and folly; lamps and torches are associated with light and flames, representing awareness, knowledge, and wisdom.

Buddha-lands, or buddha-fields, have several levels of meaning. They are spheres of enlightenment, or spheres of action of Buddhas; they may be thought of as actual lands with inhabitants, as communities or societies, or as spheres of awareness. Each realm of sense is a buddha­ land, and so is every particle of matter. A human being can be looked upon as a buddha-land of sight, a buddha-land of hearing, a buddha­ land of taste, a buddha-land of smell, a buddha-land of feeling, and a buddha-land of thought. As a unit of measurement, a buddha-land or buddha-field is represented as a universe or system of a billion worlds.