The Flower Ornament Scripture Read online

  Now as for the Sandhinirmocana Scripture, this is based on nonvoidness and nonexistence. Buddha explained this teaching after having expounded teachings of existence and of emptiness, to harmonize the two views of being and nothingness, making it neither emptiness nor existence. To this end he spoke of an unalloyed pure consciousness without any defilement. According to this teaching, just as a rapid flow of water produces many waves, all of which are equally based on the water, similarly the sense consciousnesses, the conceptual consciousness, the judgmental consciousness, and the cumulative repository consciousness are all based on the pure consciousness. As the Sandhinirmocana Scripture says, it is like the face of a good mirror: if one thing which casts a reflection comes before it, just one image appears; if two or more things come before it, two or more images appear—it is not that the surface of the mirror changes into reflections, and there is no manipulation or annihilation that can be grasped either. This illustrates the pure consciousness on which all aspects of consciousness are based.

  The Sandhinirmocana Scripture also says that though the enlightening being lives by the teaching, knowledge is the basis, because the teaching is a construction. The intent of this scripture is to foster clear understanding of the essence of consciousness in the medium of consciousness. Because fundamentally it is only real knowledge, it is like the stream of water, which produces waves without leaving the body of the water. It is also like a clear mirror, which due to its pure body contains many images without discrimination, never actually having anything in it, yet not impeding the existence of images. Likewise, the forms of consciousness manifested by one’s own mind are not apart from essential uncontrived pure knowledge, in which there are no attachments such as self or other, inside or outside, in regard to the images manifested. Letting consciousness function freely, going along with knowledge, this breaks up bondage to emptiness or existence, considering everything neither empty nor existent. Therefore a verse of the Sandhinirmocana Scripture says, “The pure consciousness is very deep and subtle; all impressions are like a torrent. I do not tell the ignorant about this, for fear they will cling to the notion as ‘self.’” The statement that the pure consciousness is very deep and subtle is to draw ordinary people into realization of knowledge in consciousness: it is not the same as the breaking down of forms into emptiness, which is practiced by the two lesser vehicles and the beginning enlightening beings learning the gradual method of enlightenment. It is also not the same as ordinary people who cling to things as really existent. Because it is not the same as them, it is not emptiness, not existence. What is not empty? It means that knowledge can, in all circumstances, illumine the situation and help people. What is not existent? It means that when knowledge accords with circumstances, there is no distinction of essence and characteristics, and thus there is no birth, subsistence, or extinction. Based on these meanings it is called “not empty, not existent.”

  While the Sandhinirmocana Scripture in this way lets us know, in terms of consciousness, that emptiness and existence are nondual, The Flower Ornament Scripture is not like this: The Flower Ornament just reveals the Buddha’s essence and function of fundamental knowledge of the one reality, the fundamental body, the fundamental cosmos. Therefore it merges true essence and characteristics, the oceans of the reality body and the body of consequences of deeds, the reward body. It directly points out at once to people of the highest faculties the basic knowledge of the unique cosmos of reality, the qualities of Buddhahood. This is its way of teaching and enlightenment; it does not discuss such phenomena as producing consciousness according to illusion.

  According to the Saddharmapundarika Scripture, Buddha appears in the world to enlighten people with Buddha-knowledge and purify them, not for any other religious vehicle, no second or third vehicle. Also it says that Buddha does not acknowledge the understanding of the essence and characteristics of Buddha by people of the three vehicles. Therefore the Saddharmapundarika Scripture says, “As for the various meanings of essence and characteristics, only I and the other Buddhas of the ten directions know them—my disciples, individual illuminates, and even nonregressing enlightening beings cannot know them.” Because the Saddharmapundarika Scripture joins the temporary studies of the three vehicles and brings them ultimately to the true realm of reality of the Buddha-vehicle, its doctrine to some extent matches that of The Flower Ornament Scripture.

  The Flower Ornament Scripture directly reveals the door of consummate buddhahood, the realm of reality, the fundamental essence and function of the cosmos, communicating this to people of superior faculties so that they may awaken to it: it does not set up the provisional didactic device of five, six, seven, eight, and nine consciousnesses like the Sandhinirmocana Scripture does. As for the Sandhinirmocana Scripture’s establishment of a ninth, pure consciousness, there are two meanings. For one thing, it is for the sake of those of the two lesser vehicles who have long sickened of birth and death and cultivate emptiness to annihilate consciousness, aiming directly for empty quiescence. Also, in the next phase, the Prajnaparamita Scriptures talk a lot about emptiness and refute the notion of existence, to turn around the minds of the two vehicles as well as enlightening beings engaged in gradual study. They also make the six ways of transcendence the vehicle of practice. Although some of those in the two vehicles are converted, they and the gradual-practice enlightening beings are predominantly inclined toward emptiness. This is because the elementary curative teachings for the gradual-study enlightening beings are similar to some extent to those for the lesser vehicles; they do have, however, a bit more compassion than the latter. They have not yet realized principles such as that of the body of reality, the buddha-nature, and fundamental knowledge. They only take the avenue of emptiness as their vehicle of salvation and the six ways of transcendence as their form of practice. Their elementary curative means are after all the same as the two vehicles—only by contemplation of impermanence, impurity, bleached bones, atoms, and so on, do they enter contemplation of emptiness. But while the two vehicles head for extinction, enlightening beings stay in life. They subdue notions of self and phenomena by means of contemplations of voidness, selflessness, and so on. Basically this is not yet fundamental knowledge of the body of reality and the buddha-nature; because their vision is not yet true, inclination toward emptiness is dominant. For this reason the Sandhinirmocana Scripture expediently sets up a pure consciousness distinct from the conceptual, judgemental, and cumulative consciousnesses, saying that these consciousnesses rest on the pure consciousness.

  The Sandhinirmocana Scripture does not yet directly explain that the impressions in the cumulative or repository consciousness are the matrix of enlightenment. This is because the students are engaged in learning out of fear of suffering; if they were told that the seeds of action are eternally real, they would become afraid and wouldn’t believe it, so the scripture temporarily sets up a “pure consciousness” so that they won’t annihilate the conscious nature and will grow in enlightenment. For this reason the Vimalakirtinirdesa Scripture says, “They have not yet fulfilled buddhahood, but they don’t annihilate sensation to get realization.” Since sensation is not annihilated, neither are conception and consciousness. As for the Lankavatara Scripture, it does directly tell those whose faculties are mature that the seeds of action in the cumulative “storehouse” consciousness are the matrix of enlightenment. The Vimalakirtinirdesa Scripture says, “The passions which accompany us are the seeds of buddhahood.”

  People who practice the Way are different, on different paths, with myriad different understandings and ways of acting. Beyond the two vehicles that are called the lesser vehicles, the vehicle of enlightening beings has four types that are not the same: one is that of enlightening beings who cultivate emptiness and selflessness; second is that of enlightening beings who gradually see the buddha-nature; third is that of enlightening beings who see buddha-nature all of a sudden; fourth is those enlightening beings who, by means of the inherently pure knowledge of
the enlightened, and by means of various levels of intensive practice, develop differentiating knowledge, fulfill the practice of Universal Good and develop great benevolence and compassion.

  As for the Lankavatara Scripture, its teaching is based on five elements, three natures, eight consciousnesses, and twofold selflessness. The five elements are forms, names, arbitrary conceptions, correct knowledge, and thusness. The three natures are the nature of mere imagination, the nature of relative existence, and the nature of absolute emptiness: the imaginary nature means the characteristics of things as we conceive of them are mere descriptions, projections of the imagination; the relative nature means that things exist in terms of the relation of sense faculties, sense data, and sense consciousness; the absolute nature means that the imaginary and relative natures are not in themselves ultimately real. The eight consciousnesses are the five sense-consciousness, the conceptual consciousness, the discriminating judgemental consciousness, and the cumulative or repository “storehouse” consciousness. The twofold selflessness is the selflessness of persons and of things.

  According to this scripture, there is a mountain in the south seas called Lanka, where the Buddha expounded this teaching. This mountain is high and steep and looks out over the ocean; there is no way of access to it, so only those with spiritual powers can go up there. This represents the teaching of the mind-ground, to which only those beyond cultivation and realization can ascend. “Looking out over the ocean” represents the ocean of mind being inherently clear, while waves of consciousness are drummed up by the wind of objects. The scripture wants to make it clear that if you realize objects are inherently empty the mind-ocean will be naturally peaceful; when mind and objects are both stilled, everything is revealed, just as when there is no wind the sun and moon are clearly reflected in the ocean.

  The Lankavatara Scripture is intended for enlightening beings of mature faculties, all at once telling them the active consciousness bearing seed like impressions is the matrix of enlightenment. Because these enlightening beings are different from the practitioners of the two lesser vehicles who annihilate consciousness and seek quiescence, and because they are different from the enlightening beings of the Prajnaparamita Scriptures who cultivate emptiness and in whom the inclination toward emptiness is dominant, this scripture directly explains the total reality of the fundamental nature of the substance of consciousness, which then becomes the function of knowledge. So just as when there is no wind on the ocean the images of objects become clearer, likewise in this teaching of the mind ocean if you comprehend that reality is consciousness it becomes knowledge. This scripture is different from the idea of the Sandhinirmocana Scripture, which specially sets up a ninth “pure” consciousness to guide beginners and gradually induce them to remain in the realm of illusion to increase enlightenment, not letting their minds plant seeds in voidness, and not letting their minds become like spoiled fruitless seeds by onesidedly rejecting the world. So the Sandhinirmocana Scripture is an elementary gateway to entry into illusion, while the Lankavatara and Vimalakirtinirdesa Scriptures directly point to the fundamental reality of illusion. The Lankavatara explains the storehouse consciousness as the matrix of enlightenment, while the Vimalakirtinirdesa examines the true character of the body, seeing it to be the same as Buddha.

  The Lankavatara and Vimalakirtinirdesa Scriptures are roughly similar, while the Sandhinirmocana is a bit different. The Flower Ornament is not like this: the body and sphere of the Buddha, the doors of teaching, and the forms of practice are far different. It is an emanation body which expounds the Lankavatara, and the realm explained is a defiled land; the location is a mountain peak, and the teaching explains the realm of consciousness as real; the interlocutor is an enlightening being called Great Intellect, the teaching of the emanation Buddha is temporary, and the discourse of Great Intellect is selective. As for the teaching of The Flower Ornament Scripture, the body of Buddha is the fundamental reality, the realm of the teaching and its results is the Flower Treasury; the teaching it rests on is the fruit of buddhahood, which is entered through the realm of reality; the interlocutors are Manjushri and Universally Good. The marvelous function of knowledge of noumenon and phenomena, the aspects of practice of five sets of ten stages, and their causes and effects, merge with each other; the substances of ten fields and ten bodies of buddhahood interpenetrate. It would be impossible to tell fully of all the generalities and specifics of The Flower Ornament.

  Next, to deal with the Vimalakirtinirdesa Scripture, this is based on inconceivability. The Vimalakirtinirdesa Scripture and The Flower Ornament Scripture have ten kinds of difference and one kind of similarity. The spheres of difference are: the arrays of the pure lands; the features of the body of Buddha as rewards of religious practice or emanated phantom manifestations; the inconceivable spiritual powers; the avenues of teaching set up to deal with particular faculties; the congregations who come to hear the teachings; the doctrines set up; the activity manifested by the enlightening being Vimalakirti; the location of the teaching; the company of the Buddha; and the bequest of the teaching. The one similarity is that the teachings of methods of entry into the Way are generally alike.

  First, regarding the difference in the arrays of the pure lands, in the case of the pure land spoken of in the Vimalakirtinirdesa Scripture Buddha presses the ground with his toe, whereupon the billion-world universe is adorned with myriad jewels, like the land of Jewel Array Buddha, adorned with the jewels of innumerable virtues. All in the assembly rejoice at this wonder and see themselves sitting on jewel lotus blossoms. But this scripture still does not speak of endless arrays of buddha-lands being in one atom. The Flower Ornament Scripture fully tells of ten realms of Vairocana Buddha, ten Flower Treasury oceans of worlds—each ocean of worlds containing endless oceans of worlds, interpenetrating each other again and again, there being endless oceans of worlds within a single atom. The complete sphere of the ten Buddha-bodies and the sphere of sentient beings interpenetrate without mutual obstruction; the arrays of myriad jewels are like lights and reflections. This is extensively recounted in The Flower Ornament Scripture; it does not speak of the purification and adornment of only one billion-world universe.

  Second, regarding the difference in the features of the Buddhas’ bodies, being rewards or emanations, the Vimalakirti Scripture is expounded by an emanation Buddha with the thirty-two marks of greatness, whereas The Flower Ornament is expounded by the Buddha of true reward, with ninety-seven marks of greatness and also as many marks as atoms in ten Flower Treasury oceans of worlds.

  Third, the difference in inconceivable spiritual powers: according to the Vimalakirti Scripture’s explanation of the spiritual powers of enlightening beings, they can fit a huge mountain into a mustard seed and put the waters of four oceans into one pore; also Vimalakirti’s little room is able to admit thirty-two thousand lion thrones, each one eighty-four thousand leagues high. Vimalakirti takes a group of eight thousand enlightening beings, five hundred disciples, and a hundred thousand gods and humans in his hand and carries them to a garden; also he takes the eastern buddha-land of Wonderful Joy in his hand and brings it here to earth to show the congregation, then returns it to its place. These miraculous powers are just shown for the benefit of disciples and enlightening beings who are temporarily studying the three vehicles. Why? Because disciples and enlightening beings studying the temporary teachings do not yet see the Way truly, and have not yet forgotten the distinction of self and other. The miracles shown are based on the perception of the sense faculties, and all have coming and going, boundaries and limits. Also they are a temporary device of a sage, intended to arouse those of small faculties by producing miracles through spiritual powers, to induce them to progress further. Therefore they are not spontaneous powers. The Flower Ornament Scripture says it is by the power of fundamental reality, because it is the natural order, the way things are in truth, that it is possible to contain all lands of Buddhas and sentient beings in one atom, without shr
inking the worlds or expanding the atom. Every atom in all worlds, like this, also contains all worlds.

  As The Flower Ornament Scripture says, enlightening beings attain enlightenment in the body of a small sentient being and extensively liberate beings, while the small sentient being does not know it, is not aware of it. You should know that it is because Buddha draws in those of lesser faculties by temporary teachings that they see Buddha outside themselves manifesting spiritual powers that come and go—in the true teaching, by means of inherent fundamental awareness one becomes aware of the fundamental mind, and realizes that one’s body and mind, essence and form, are no different from Buddha, and so one has no views of inside or outside, coming or going. Therefore Vairocana Buddha’s body sits at all sites of enlightenment without moving from his original place; the congregations from the ten directions go there following the teaching without moving from their original places. There is no coming and going at all, nothing produced by miraculous powers. This is why the scripture says it is this way in principle, in accord with natural law. When the scripture says time and again that is by the spiritual power of Buddha and also thus in principle or by natural law, it says “by the spiritual power of Buddha” to put forward Buddha as what is honorable, and says “it is thus in principle” or “by natural law” to put forward the fundamental qualities of reality. There is no change at all, because every single land, body, mind, essence, and form remain as they originally are and do not follow delusion—all objects and realms, great and small, are like lights, like images, mutually reflecting and interpenetrating, pervading the ten directions, without any coming or going, without any bounds. Thus within the pores of each being is all of space—it is not the same as the temporary teaching of miraculous powers with divisions, coming and going, which cause illusory views differing from the fundamental body of reality, blocking the knowledge of the essence of fundamental awareness of true enlightenment. This is why the enlightening being Vimalakirti set forth the true teaching after showing miracles. The Vimalakirti Scripture says, “Seeing the Buddha is like seeing the true character of one’s own body; I see the Buddha doesn’t come from the past, doesn’t go to the future, and doesn’t remain in the present.”