Avatamsaka Sutra - Flower Ornament Scripture

Maha-Bodhisattvas dedicate roots of goodness for the sake of all sentient beings to the attainment of various pure subtle bodies --- the body of light, the body of freedom from pollution, the body of non-obsession, the body of purity, the body of extreme purity, the body of detachment from objects of sense, the body of ultimate detachment from objects of sense, the body of freedom from defilement, the body of beauty, the body of non-obstruction --- manifesting images of action in all worlds, manifesting images of speech in all worlds, manifesting images of construction in all abodes, like a clear mirror in which all kinds of images of forms spontaneously appear, showing sentient beings the practices of enlightenment, showing sentient beings the most profound truths, showing sentient beings all kinds of virtuous qualities, showing sentient beings the path of practice, showing sentient beings developmental practices, showing sentient beings the undertakings of bodhisattvas, showing sentient beings in all worlds the appearance in the world of the Buddhas of all worlds, showing sentient beings the spiritual powers and mystical transfigurations of all Buddhas, showing sentient beings the awesome power of the inconceivable liberation of all bodhisattvas, showing sentient beings the essence of omniscience fulfilling the practical vows of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Maha-Bodhisattvas skilfully take care of all sentient beings with such subtle pure bodies and enable them to attain the body of all knowledge with pure qualities.

Avatamsaka Sutra- 680

When great bodhisattvas know the manifestation of Buddha, they know it is infinite because they know it consummates infinite practices; they know it is immensely vast because they know it pervades the ten directions; then they know it has no coming or going because they know it is apart from birth, subsistence, and extinction; then they know it has no action and nothing acted upon because they know it is beyond mind, intellect, and consciousness; then they know it is impartial because they know all sentient beings have no self; then they know it is endless because they know it pervades all lands without end; then they know it is unreceding because they know it will never be stopped in the future; then they know it has no decay because the Buddha's knowledge has no counterpart; then they know it is nondual because they know Buddha equally observes the conditional and the unconditional; then they know all sentient beings gain benefit because the dedication of Buddha's original vows are freely fulfilled.

...

The Ten-Powered Great Hero is supreme,

Incomparable as space,

With a sphere so vast it cannot be measured,

Virtues most eminent, beyond the world.

The virtues of the ten powers are boundless,

Unreachable by thought:

A single teaching of the Human Lion

No sentient beings can know in a hundred million eons.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 979

Note on the image: Ushnishavijaya (Tibetan: tsug tor nam par gyal ma. English: Victorious Crown Ornament): goddess of long-life, white in colour, with three faces and eight hands, seated inside an architectural structure called a stupa, or chaitya. Ushnishavijaya is so named because she is an emanation of Shakyamuni Buddha. She appeared from a ray of light that was emanated from the crown ornament (ushnisha) of the Buddha.

"...Ushnishavijaya, the colour of an autumn moon, with three faces, white, yellow and blue and eight hands. Each face has three very large eyes. The first right hand holds a vishvavajra, second a white lotus with Amitabha [Buddha] residing, third an arrow and the fourth in [the gesture of] supreme generosity. The first left holds a vajra lasso, second a bow, third [in the gesture of] bestowing protection and fourth in [the gesture of] meditative equipoise holding an auspicious nectar vase; complete with silks and jewel ornaments, seated in [vajra] posture. Within the outer circle of the stupa, on the right [side of the chaitya], above a moon is Avalokiteshvara with a body white in colour, the left hand holds a lotus. On the left [of the chaitya], above a sun is Vajrapani, blue, the left hand holds an utpala with a vajra; standing in a peaceful manner and adorned with silks and jewels."

"On the right, above a moon is Avalokiteshvara with a body white in colour, the left hand holds a lotus. On the left, above a sun is Vajrapani, blue, the left hand holds an utpala with vajra. Both, for the right wave fly whisks, stand in a peaceful manner, adorned with silks and jewels. To the east is blue Acala brandishing a sword, south blue Takkiraja with a hook, west blue Niladanda with a stick and north, blue Mahabala with a trident. Also, with the left all perform the wrathful gesture at the heart, wearing jewel and snake ornaments, a lower garment of tiger skin, on a lotus and sun seat with the left [leg] extended in a wrathful manner. Above the main [deity] in the two directions are Devaputras holding nectar vases for cleansing the body." (Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, 1820-1892).

At the upper left are Tsongkapa (1357-1419) and his two principle disciples. Below that is a seated Chaturbhuja Lokeshvara. At the upper right are three unidentified teachers wearing monastic attire. The two prominent teachers on the right and left both wear a yellow pandita hat common to the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Below that is a seated Green Tara with the proper right leg pendant.

Three protector deities are depicted in the lower composition. They are unrelated to the practice of Ushnishavijaya but are however related to the religious tradition that the commissioner of the painting belonged. At the bottom center is the protector deity 'Outer' Yama Dharmaraja standing atop a buffalo. At the bottom left side of the stupa is Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo. On the bottom right side is Vaishravana Riding a Lion.

Bodhisattvas are beyond the realm of birth and death,

Their sphere is always pure, their wisdom never recedes.

Ending the path of lesser vehicles, they receive the spiritual crown.

Full of virtue and knowledge, their fame is heard everywhere.

Bodhisattvas’ knowing mind

Is clear and pure as space;

There is no essence, no reliance---

All is ungraspable.

They have great autonomous power,

Able to accomplish tasks in the world. Themselves embodying pure conduct,

They induce others to do likewise.

Bodhisattvas’ earth of skills

Benefit sentient beings;

Bodhisattvas’ water of compassion

Drowns all afflictions;

Bodhisattvas’ fire of wisdom

Burns the brush of delusive conditioning;

Bodhisattvas’ wind of non-abiding

Goes through the void of existence;

Bodhisattvas are like precious jewels,

Able to save the poor;

Bodhisattvas are like thunderbolts,

Able to smash all distorted views;

Bodhisattvas are like ornaments,

Adorning the body of existence;

Bodhisattvas are like wishfulfilling jewels Enhancing all actions.

-----

In buddhas’ mind is nothing else

But true awakening and awakening others;

Whence buddhas come forth,

Thence come bodhisattvas;

And like the omniscient

They enter universality by knowledge.

Thus Maitreya, seeing Sudhana arrive, imbued with virtues, in the realm of nonobstruction, revealed him to the assembly, speaking of his treasury of qualities. Sudhana, hearing such supreme direction and instruction, was flooded with joy and burst into tears. His hair stood on end and he sighed with delight. He rose and paid respects to Maitreya. Then, by the mental power of Manjushri, there appeared in his hands beautiful flower garlands and jewels, produced by the vows of the bodhisattvas; blissfully, Sudhana showered those on Maitreya. Then Maitreya patted him on the head and said, "It is good that you are so indefatigable, Sudhana; you will be a vessel of virtues, like Manjushri and me."

Hearing this, Sudhana disclosed the joy of his heart: "It is hard to find, even in a hundred lifetimes, such friends as these whom I have now met. It is good for me to come here today. By the direction of the honorable Manjushri, perfect in true virtue, I have found this rare friend. I should quickly meet Manjushri himself."

Avatamsaka Sutra - Flower Ornament Scripture 1473

Note on the image: The Bodhisattvas Maitreya and Manjushri.

Maitreya, meaning loving kindness, and Manjushri (Manjughosha), meaning melodious voice, are included among the eight special 'heart-sons', transcendent students of the Buddha Shakyamuni according to the Mahayana.

Maitreya, on the left, is recognizable by his seated posture with the legs extended over the front of the throne. He holds two lotus blossoms that support a golden wheel on his right and a water flask on the left. These three characteristics, seated posture, wheel and flask, are unique to the artistic and iconographic appearance specific for Maitreya.

Manjushri holds the stem of a single lotus that supports an upright sword above a folio book. The sword and book are the unique characteristics associated with Manjushri.

In this painting both figures sit together as if in conversation on a green lawn in front of a large ornate palace structure. The well-known bodhisattva white Avalokiteshvara and blue Vajrapani are seated directly below but in much smaller scale, surrounded by other attendant bodhisattvas. In the sky above, gods standing upon billowing clouds hold victory banners and celebratory parasols while figures below soar through the sky with garlands of flowers or large single blossoms.

The setting for the painting is the Tushita Heaven, Joyful Land, the abode of Maitreya, above Mount Sumeru, the center of a Buddhist world system, of which there are many, as he waits for the time when he will descend to earth and be the next Buddha after the time of Buddha Shakyamuni has passed.

An inscription below Maitreya gives the name of the heaven. Another inscription to the right side of Manjushri refers to the occasion of the meeting of Maitreya and Manjushri in this depiction.

Light of virtue, star of virtue, mine of virtue, ocean of virtue, pure---

You are committed to universal good in practice, for the welfare of the world.

Avatamsaka Sutra - Flower Ornament Scripture - 1179

When great bodhisattvas attain the Ten Acceptances*, they acquire a body that does not come from anywhere because it does not go anywhere; they acquire a birthless body, having no extinction; they acquire a motionless body, having no disintegration; they acquire an insubstantial body, being beyond falsehood; they acquire a uniform body, being formless; they acquire an infinite body, the power of buddhahood being infinite; they acquire an impartial body, being the same characteristic of Thusness; they acquire an undifferentiated body, seeing past, present, and future as equal; they acquire a body that reaches everywhere, their pure eye perceiving equally, without obstruction; they acquire a body free from the realm of desire, knowing that all phenomena neither form nor dissolve; they acquire a body as boundless as space, their store of virtue being as inexhaustible as space; they acquire a body of endless knowledge of the equality of the nature of things, knowing the forms of all things are one form and their nature is natureless, like space; they acquire a body of infinite, unobstructed sound, being unopposed and unobstructed like space; they acquire a body of pure action of bodhisattvas endowed with all skills, being unhindered in all places, like space; they acquire a body of continuity of succession of the oceans of all Buddha teachings, because like space they cannot be brought to an end; they acquire a body manifesting infinite buddha-lands within all buddha-lands, being free from greed and attachment, unbounded as space; they acquire a body ceaselessly manifesting all aspects of miraculous power, being boundless as the sky and the ocean; they acquire a body of indestructible durable strength, sustaining all worlds like space; they acquire a body with all senses clear and sharp, indestructible as diamond, because like space they cannot be burned by the fires that end an eon; the acquire a body of power to hold all worlds, their power of knowledge being like space.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 876

*The Ten Acceptances are: “acceptance of the voice of the teaching, conformative acceptance, acceptance of the non-origination of all things, acceptance of illusoriness, acceptance of being mirage-like, acceptance of being dream-like, acceptance of being echo-like, acceptance of being like a reflection, acceptance of being phantom-like, and acceptance of being space-like. These ten acceptances have been expounded, are being expounded, and will be expounded by the buddhas of past, present, and future.”

Note on the image: Kurukulla together with Tinuma Yogini and Red Vasudhara. The three together are called the Three Small Red Ones and belong to the larger group known as the Thirteen Golden Dharmas of Sakya.

Kurukulla can be her own entity, an emanation of Tara or an emanation of Hevajra.

"Culmination of the pristine awareness and compassion of all conquerors,

Well arising as the bliss-emptiness, Goddess of Power,

Controlling all beings of the three realms with a charming form,

Homage to the Dakini."

~Nyingma liturgy

This is the abode of those who dwell in the state of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; this is the abode of those who dwell in non-conceptualization of all things, those who dwell in the state of the unity of the cosmos, those who dwell in the state of the ungraspability of the realm of beings, those who dwell in the state of nonattachment to all worlds, those who dwell in the state of nonreliance on what all worldlings rely on, those who dwell in the state of independence from all supports, those who dwell in the state of independence from all bodily existence, those who dwell in the state of annihilation of all afflictive notions, those who dwell in the state of the essence of all things, those who dwell in the state of freedom from false imaginings, those who dwell in the state of detachment from all thought, those who dwell in the state of neither entering or leaving all perceptions, those who dwell in the state of entry into profound transcendent wisdom, those who dwell in the state of capacity to penetrate the realm of reality in all its aspects, those who dwell in the state of ability to extinguish all afflictions, those who dwell in the higher state of wisdom free from all views, cravings, and conceits, those who dwell in the state of freedom arising from higher knowledge of all meditations, liberations, concentrations, and spiritual attainments, those who dwell in the state of development of all spheres of concentration of bodhisattvas, those who dwell in the state of presence with all buddhas.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 1454, 1455

The great compassion of these great Bodhisattvas is strong and steadfast, extending to all beings. Throughout the universe they change their bodies to a golden color and carry out the deeds of Buddhas time and time again; adapting to the faculties, natures, and inclinations of sentient beings, with a universal tongue within one voice they manifest unlimited sounds, teaching as appropriate to the occasion, bringing joy to all. Even if there were countless beings in innumerable conditions, all in the same assembly, that assembly so vast it fills untold worlds, and each had innumerable mouths each capable of producing billions of sounds, and each should ask the Bodhisattvas different questions all at once, the Bodhisattvas would be able to take on all the questions instantly and reply to them and cause their doubts to be removed. As this is true of one assembly of Great Bodhisattvas, so it is also of countless assemblies.

Avatamsaka Sutra - Flower Ornament Scripture - 469

Empty, quiescent, essentially signless,

The nature of things is equal to space---

The enlightened Teacher, by ultimate truth,

Shows the exalted sphere of buddhas.

As is the essence of the buddhas,

So is that of sentient beings---found in the nature of things.

Signs and signlessness are equal in that way---

All things are ultimately signless.

Those who seek enlightened knowledge Abandon assumptions, notions, imaginations;

Aware that being and nonbeing are the same in essence,

They will quickly become supreme human leaders.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 788

When maha-bodhisattvas sit on the site of enlightenment, ten extraordinary, unprecedented things occur: all the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions appear before them, raise their right hands, and praise them as unexcelled guides; all Buddhas watch over them and give them power; the bodhisattvas who were their colleagues in the past come and surround them and respectfully present various adornaments; the plants and trees and all insentient things bend towards the site of enlightenment; the maha-bodhisattvas enter a concentration called ‘observing the cosmos’, whose power can cause all enlightening practices to be fulfilled; they attain a dharani called ‘oceanic treasury of supreme pure light’, and are able to receive the rain from the great clouds of teaching of all buddhas; by spiritual powers they produce superb offerings throughout all worlds which they present to the buddhas; they rest in highest knowledge and actually know the faculties and mental patterns of all sentient beings; they enter a concentration called ‘well aware’, whose power enables their bodies to fill all world's in all spaces in all times; they attain pure illumination and unobstructed great knowledge, enabling their physical actions to penetrate past, present, and future. These are the ten extraordinary things that happen when maha-bodhisattvas sit on the side of enlightenment.

All buddhas have the same one reality-body (Dharmakaya), a body of infinite range, a body of boundless qualities, a body with no limit in the world, a body undefiled by the realms of desire, form, or formlessness, a body manifested at will, an impartial, pure body that is neither real nor unreal, an indestructible body with no coming or going, no compounding, a body of the inherent essence of phenomena (emptiness), of one form which is formless, an omnipresent body without position or location, a body of boundless forms produced by free psychic transformations, a body of all kinds of manifestations entering universally into everything, a body of skillful employment of subtle truth, a body of a treasury of knowledge illumining everywhere, a body showing the equality of phenomena, a body pervading the cosmos, a body of eternal purity without movement or discrimination, neither existent nor non-existent, a body manifest in accord with the various interests and understandings of all beings capable of being edified, which is not an expedient yet not inexpedient, neither perishes nor does not perish, a body born of the treasury of all virtues, a body of True Thusness, containing all the teachings of the buddhas, a body free from obstruction, its fundamental nature absolutely still, a body in which all qualities of non-obstruction are developed, a body omnipresent in all realms of pure principle, a body omnipresent in all worlds in multiple forms, a body of universal comprehension, free from clinging to objects, free from regression, forever liberated, imbued with omniscience. This is the ninth mighty quality of buddhas.

Avatamsaka Sutra - Flower Ornament Scripture - 928, 929

To infinite lands in the worlds of the ten directions

They go and are born, countless times,

With never a thought of weariness or disdain:

The joyful ones travel this path.

Radiating nets of countless lights Illuminating all worlds,

They enter the nature of reality wherever the light shines:

The good-minded travel this path.

Causing the lands of the ten directions to tremble---

Countless billions of trillions,

They do not cause the beings to fear: This is the path traveled by benefactors of the world.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 476

Note on the image: Shakyamuni Buddha accompanied by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas and two arhat figures, possibly Shariputra and Maudgalyayana.

Eight Great Bodhisattvas:

- Akashagarbha: from the Womb of Space Sutra

- Avalokiteshvara: from the Heart Sutra & Lotus of the Good Law Sutra

- Kshitigarbha: from the Earth Store Sutra

- Maitreya: mentioned in the Pali Sutras as the next buddha & in the Mahayana Sutras

- Manjushri: from the Vimalakirti-nirdesha Sutra, Flower Garland Sutra & Prajnaparamita Sutras

- Nivarana-vishkhambhin

- Samantabhadra: from the Lotus of the Good Law & Flower Garland Sutra

If there are views, this is defilement;

This is not yet to be considered seeing.

By dismissing all views

Can one thus see Buddha.

Bodhisattvas form this thought: “I should look upon all objective realms as like phantoms, all Buddhas as like reflections, and al enlightning practices as like dreams, Buddha's teachings as like echoes; all worlds are like Illusions, because they are upheld by the consequences of actions; differentiated bodies are like apparitions, because they are produced by the power of deeds; all sentient beings are like mind, because they are defiled by various influences; all things are like the limit of reality, because they cannot change.”

Bodhisattvas also form this thought: “I should carry on enlightening practices in all lands, in all worlds throughout space, moment after moment clearly realizing all truths taught by the Buddha, with precise presence of mind, free from all attachments.”

Thus do bodhisattvas observe that the body has no self, and they see the Buddha without hindrance. In order to transform sentient beings, they expound various teachings, to cause them to have unlimited joy and pure faith in the Buddha's teaching. They rescue all without weariness of mind. Because they are unwearied, if there are any sentient beings in any world who are not mature or are unruly in any way, they go there and employ expedient means to transform and liberate them. By virtue of great commitment and will they remain secure among those beings’ various kinds of speech, deeds, attachments, devices, associations, routines, activities, perspectives, births, and deaths, and teach them, not letting their minds be disturbed or discouraged, and never for a moment forming any thought of attachment. Why? Because they have attained non-attachment and independence. Their own benefit and the benefit of others is fulfilled with purity.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 465

May the blessings of Mother Tara fulfill the lives of all sentient beings throughout the coming new year and beyond!

Happy New Year everyone! May you be safe and prosperous, rich in compassion, now and always!

~Om Tara Tu Tara Ture Svaha~

ༀ་ཏཱ་རེ་ཏུཏྟཱ་རེ་ཏུ་རེ་སྭཱ་ཧཱ།

Mantra recitation by HH Dalai Lama:

Observing all things

To be without inherent existence,

Whatever their appearances of origin and disappearance,

Being just provisional descriptions,

All things are unborn,

All things are 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.

Avatamsaka Sutra - 373