The Flower Ornament Scripture Read online

  “There is no doubt in my mind that Thomas Cleary is the greatest translator of Buddhist texts from Chinese or Japanese into English of our generation, and that he will be so known by grateful Buddhist practitioners and scholars in future centuries. Single-handedly he has gone a long way toward building the beginnings of a Buddhist canon in English. . . . His translation of the Flower Ornament Sutra from Shikshananda’s Chinese translation of the Sanskrit is one of the monuments in Buddhist Studies of our time.”

  —Robert A. F. Thurman, Tricycle

  “As to the Avatamsaka-Sutra, it is really the consummation of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience. To my mind, no religious literature in the world can ever approach the grandeur of conception, the depth of feeling, and the gigantic scale of composition, as attained by the sutra. Here not only deeply speculative minds find satisfaction, but humble spirits and heavily oppressed hearts, too, will have their burdens lightened. Abstract truths are so concretely, so symbolically represented here that one will finally come to a realization of the truth that even in a particle of dust the whole universe is seen reflected—not this visible universe only, but a vast system of universes, conceivable by the highest minds only.”

  —D. T. Suzuki

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions. Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings.

  This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary’s definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary’s translation of Li Tongxuan’s seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, “Entry into the Realm of Reality.”

  THOMAS CLEARY holds a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He is the translator of over fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.

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  The Flower Ornament Scripture

  A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra

  Thomas Cleary

  SHAMBHALA • BOSTON & LONDON • 2014

  SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC.

  Horticultural Hall

  300 Massachusetts Avenue

  Boston, Massachusetts 02115

  www.shambhala.com

  © 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993 by Thomas Cleary

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Tripitaka, Sūtripitaka. Buddhāvataṃsakamahāvaipulyasūtra. English.

  The Flower ornament scripture/translated by Thomas Cleary.

  p. cm.

  eISBN 978-0-8348-2409-6

  ISBN 0-87773-940-4 (alk. paper)

  I. Cleary, Thomas F., 1949– . II. Title.

  BQ1622.E5T7413 1993

  294.3′85—dc20

  93-21833

  CIP

  Contents

  Introduction

  1. The Wonderful Adornments of the Leaders of the Worlds

  2. Appearance of the Buddha

  3. The Meditation of the Enlightening Being Universally Good

  4. The Formation of the Worlds

  5. The Flower Bank World

  6. Vairocana

  7. Names of the Buddha

  8. The Four Holy Truths

  9. Awakening by Light

  10. An Enlightening Being Asks for Clarification

  11. Purifying Practice

  12. Chief in Goodness

  13. Ascent to the Peak of Mount Sumeru

  14. Eulogies on Mount Sumeru

  15. Ten Abodes

  16. Religious Practice

  17. The Merit of the Initial Determination for Enlightenment

  18. Clarifying Method

  19. Ascent to the Palace of the Suyama Heaven

  20. Eulogies in the Palace of the Suyama Heaven

  21. Ten Practices

  22. Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries

  23. Ascent to the Palace of the Tushita Heaven

  24. Eulogies in the Tushita Palace

  25. Ten Dedications

  26. The Ten Stages

  27. The Ten Concentrations

  28. The Ten Superknowledges

  29. The Ten Acceptances

  30. The Incalculable

  31. Life Span

  32. Dwelling Places of Enlightening Beings

  33. Inconceivable Qualities of Buddhas

  34. The Ocean of Physical Marks of the Ten Bodies of Buddha

  35. The Qualities of the Buddha’s Embellishments and Lights

  36. The Practice of Universal Good

  37. Manifestation of Buddha

  38. Detachment from the World

  39. Entry into the Realm of Reality

  Appendix 1: Technical Terminology and Symbolism in The Flower Ornament Scripture

  Appendix 2: Amplifications of Book 39

  Appendix 3: Commentary on Book 39 by Li Tongxuan

  Glossary

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  Introduction

  THE FLOWER ORNAMENT SCRIPTURE, called Avatamsaka in Sanskrit and Huayan in Chinese, is one of the major texts of Buddhism. Also referred to as the major Scripture of Inconceivable Liberation, it is perhaps the richest and most grandiose of all Buddhist scriptures, held in high esteem by all schools of Buddhism that are concerned with universal liberation. Its incredible wealth of sensual imagery staggers the imagination and exercises an almost mesmeric effect on the mind as it conveys a wide range of teachings through its complex structure, its colorful symbolism, and its mnemonic concentration formulae.

  It is not known when or by whom this scripture was composed. It is thought to have issued from different hands in the Indian cultural sphere during the first and second centuries AD, but it is written so as to embrace a broad spectrum of materials and resists rigid systematization. While standard figures and images from Indian mythology are certainly in evidence here, as in other Buddhist scriptures, it might be more appropriate to speak of its provenance in terms of Buddhist culture rather than Indian culture per se. The Flower Ornament Scripture presents a compendium of Buddhist teachings; it could variously be said with a measure of truth in each case that these teachings are set forth in a system, in a plurality of systems, and without a system. The integrity of Buddhism as a whole, the specificity of application of its particular elements, and the interpenetration of those elements are fundamental points of orientation of the unfolding of the scripture.

  Historicity as such is certainly of little account in The Flower Ornament Scripture. This is generally true of the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, although they usually present their teachings as having been revealed or occasioned by the meditations of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. In the case of The Flower Ornament Scripture, most of the discourse is done by transhistorical, symbolic beings who represent aspects of universal enlightenment. The Buddha shifts from an individual to a cosmic principle and manifestations of that cosmic principle; the “Buddha” in one line might be “the Buddhas” in the next, representing enlightenment itself, the scope of enlightenment, or those who have realized enlighte
nment.

  Certainly one of the most colorful and dramatic rehearsals of Buddhist teachings, The Flower Ornament Scripture became one of the pillars of East Asian Buddhism. It was a source of some of the very first Buddhist literature to be introduced to China, where there eventually developed a major school of philosophy based on its teachings. This school spread to other parts of Asia, interacted with other major Buddhist schools, and continues to the present. The appreciation of The Flower Ornament Scripture was not, however, by any means confined to the special Flower Ornament school, and its influence is particularly noticeable in the literature of the powerful Chan (Zen) schools.

  The work of translating from The Flower Ornament Scripture into Chinese apparently began in the second century AD, and continued for the better part of a thousand years. During this time more than thirty translations and retranslations of various books and selections from the scripture were produced. Numerous related scriptures were also translated. Many of these texts still exist in Chinese. Comprehensive renditions of the scripture were finally made in the early fifth and late seventh centuries. The original texts for both of these monumental translations were brought to China from Khotan in Central Asia, which was located on the Silk Route and was a major center for the early spread of Buddhism into China. Khotan, where an Indo-Iranian language was spoken, is now a part of the Xinjiang (Sinkiang) Uighur autonomous region in China, near Kashmir, another traditional center of Buddhist activity. The first comprehensive translation of The Flower Ornament Scripture was done under the direction of an Indian monk named Buddhabhadra (359–429); the second, under the direction of a Khotanese monk named Shikshananda (652–710). The latter version, from which the present English translation is made, was based on a more complete text imported from Khotan at the request of the empress of China; it is somewhat more than ten percent longer than Buddhabhadra’s translation.

  The Flower Ornament Scripture, in Shikshananda’s version, contains thirty-nine books. By way of introduction to this long and complex text, we will focus on a comparison of The Flower Ornament Scripture with other major scriptures; as well as a brief glance at the main thrust of each book.

  A Comparison with Other Major Buddhist Scriptures

  Due to the great variety in Buddhist scriptures, analysis of their interrelation was an integral part of Buddhist studies in East Asia, where scriptures were introduced in great quantities irrespective of their time or place of origin. In order to convey some idea of the Buddhism of The Flower Ornament Scripture in respect to other major scriptures, as well as to summarize some of the principal features of The Flower Ornament, we will begin this Introduction with a comparison of The Flower Ornament with other important scriptures. This discussion will be based on the “Discourse on the Flower Ornament,” a famous commentary by an eighth century Chinese lay Buddhist, Li Tongxuan. What follows is a free rendering of Li’s comparisons of The Flower Ornament Scripture to the scriptures of the lesser vehicle (the Pali Canon),1 the Brahmajala Scripture, the Prajnaparamita Scriptures,2 the Sandhinirmocana Scripture, the Lankavatara Scripture,3 the Vimalakirtinirdesa Scripture,4 the Saddharmapundarika Scripture,5 and the Mahaparinirvana Scripture.6

  The scriptures containing the precepts of the lesser vehicle are based on conceptual existence. The Buddha first told people what to do and what not to do. In these teachings, relinquishment is considered good and nonrelinquishment is considered not good. Doctrine set up this way is not yet to be considered indicative of true existence. This teaching based on existence is temporary, dealing with the delusions of ordinary feelings and the arbitrary invention of ills; this teaching is designed to stop these and enable people to live in truly human or celestial states. That is why the preface of the precepts says that if one wants to live in heavenly or human conditions one should always keep the precepts.

  People’s fabricated doings are unreal, and not true attainment, therefore their life in human and celestial states is impermanent, not truly real. They have not yet attained the body of reality and the body of knowledge. This teaching is not based on true existence; it is temporarily based on conceptual existence. This is the model of the lesser vehicle. As for keeping precepts in The Flower Ornament Scripture, it is not this way: as it says in the scripture, “Is the body religious practice? Are walking, standing, sitting, or reclining religious practice?” and so on, examining closely in search of “religious practice,” ultimately finding it cannot be apprehended—this ungraspability is why it is called pure religious practice. As the scripture says, those engaged in such pure practice are said to uphold the discipline of the buddha-nature, and attain the Buddha’s reality body. Therefore they attain enlightenment at the first inspiration. Because they keep the discipline of buddha-nature, they are equal to the essence of Buddha, equal in terms of noumenon and phenomenon, merging with the cosmos of reality. When they keep discipline this way, they do not see themselves keeping precepts, they do not see others breaking precepts. Their action is neither that of ordinary people nor that of saints. They do not see themselves arousing the determination for enlightenment, they do not see the Buddhas attaining enlightenment. If there is anything at all that can be grasped or apprehended—whether good or bad—this is not called enlightenment, not called pure practice. One should see in this way. Such discipline based on the essence is itself the body of reality; the body of reality is the knowledge of Buddhas; the knowledge of Buddhas is true enlightenment. Therefore this discipline of The Flower Ornament Scripture is not the same as the teaching of the lesser vehicle, which has choosing and rejection.

  Next, the precepts for enlightening beings in the Brahmajala Scripture are based on presentation of both conceptual existence and real existence. For people who have big hearts and like to practice kindness and compassion and those who seek Buddhahood, the Buddha says Vairocana is the fundamental body, with ten billion emanation bodies. To suddenly cause us to recognize the branches and return to the root, the scripture says these ten billion bodies bring innumerable beings to the Buddha. It also says if people accept the precepts of Buddha, they then enter the ranks of Buddhas: their rank is already the same as great enlightenment and they are true offspring of Buddha. This is therefore discipline based on the essence, and is thus based on reality. This scripture abruptly shows great-hearted people the discipline of the essence of the body of reality, while lesser people get it gradually. Therefore one teaching responds to two kinds of faculties, greater and lesser. The statement that the ten billion emanation bodies each bring countless beings to the Buddha illustrates giving up the provisional for the true. This is the teaching of true existence. Because in this teaching the provisional and true are shown at once, it is not the same as the lesser vehicle, which begins with impermanence and has results that are also impermanent, because the precepts of the lesser vehicle only lead to humanity and heavenly life. However, the establishment of a school of true existence in the Brahmajala Scripture is not the same as that expounded by Vairocana in The Flower Ornament Scripture. In the Brahmajala Scripture, by following the teaching of the emanation bodies of Buddha we arrive at the original body: in the school of the complete teaching of the Flower Ornament, the original body is shown all at once; the fundamental realm of reality, the body of rewards of great knowledge, cause and effect, and noumenon and phenomena are equally revealed. Also the description of the extent of the cosmos of The Flower Ornament Scripture is not the same as the description in the Brahmajala Scripture.

  As for the Prajnaparamita Scriptures, they are based on explaining emptiness in order to show the truth. When the Buddha first expounded the teachings of the lesser vehicle to people, they stuck to principles and phenomena as both real, and therefore could not get rid of obstruction. Therefore Buddha explained emptiness to them, to break down their attachments. That is why it explains eighteen kinds of emptiness in the Prajnaparamita Scriptures—the world, the three treasures (the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community), the four truths (suffering, origin, extinction, the
path), the three times (past, present, and future), and so on, are all empty, and emptiness itself is empty too. This is extensively explained in these scriptures, to nullify ignorance and obstructing actions. When ignorance is totally exhausted, obstructing actions have no essence—nirvana naturally appears. This is true existence; it is not called a school of emptiness. However, though it is real true existence, many of the teachings expounded have becoming and disintegration, therefore it cannot yet be considered complete. As for The Flower Ornament Scripture, in it are the arrays of characteristics and embellishments that are rewards or consequences of enlightening practice—they can be empty and they can be actual. In this scripture the teachings of emptiness and existence are not applied singly—noumenon and phenomena, emptiness and existence, interpenetrate, reflecting each other. All the books of the whole Flower Ornament Scripture interpenetrate, all the statements intertwine. All the sayings in the scripture point to the same thing—when one becomes all become, when one disintegrates all disintegrate. In the totality, because the essence is equal, the time is equal, and the practice is equal, every part of the scripture is equal, and so the explanations of the Teaching are equal. Therefore attainment of buddhahood in the present means equality with all Buddhas of past, present, and future: consequently there is no past, present, or future—no time. In this it differs from the Prajnaparamita Scriptures, in which formation and disintegration take place at separate times and thus cause and effect are successive.