Overall Teaching

The Buddha dwells in Anāthapiṇḍada’s garden amid bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and kings. He enters a samādhi and transforms the world and countless bodhisattvas come and adorn the world: all of this teaches the interpenetration and purity of all phenomena. However, only the bodhisattvas can see all this due to their roots of virtue and dedication to the path to buddhahood. The bodhisattvas who came then eulogise the Buddha and his inconceivability for ordinary beings.

Summary

1.     (1135) The Buddha is dwelling in a pavilion in Anāthapiṇḍada’s garden with five thousand bodhisattvas led by Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī.

a.     They had all the power to manifest in whatever form needed for the benefit of beings, knowledge of emptiness, and could pervade all realms. (1136)

b.    Five hundred bhikṣus were present who also had realised emptiness and were on the bodhisattva path, aiming to become buddhas rather than arhats. (1137)

c.     World rulers were present who were unsolicited benefactors and who had served buddhas in their past lives, and who also were on the bodhisattva path.

2.     It occurred to those present that one cannot cognize the knowledge of awakening without the aid of spiritual friends, their powers, and their past vows. 

a. They thus requested the Buddha to teach them, according to their different requirements, how the Buddha attained his various attainments. (1138)

3.     Knowing their thoughts, the Buddha entered the “coming forth of the lion” samādhi, whose basis is compassion.

a.     This samādhi transformed the pavilion into one adorned with inconceivable jewels, lights, banners, balustrades, and stairways.

b.    It transformed that land into one adorned with jewels, and vastly expanded it to become coextensive with buddha-fields as numerous as atoms. (1139)

c.     It transformed the sky to become adorned with countless jewel cloud-palaces.

d.    This was done so that the inconceivable virtue of the Buddha’s pure qualities and powers may be seen as an array of all worlds reflecting each other with infinite rays of light through their own jewels, in a single atom and ray of light.[2]

4.     After the Buddha entered this samādhi, bodhisattva mahāsattvas from beyond an ocean of worlds as atoms in untold buddha-fields in the east, (1140) south, west, (1141), north, northeast, (1142) southeast, southwest, (1143) northwest, the nadir, (1144) were given leave by the buddhas presiding over their buddhafields to come to that site and offered unique inconceivable displays, and adorned each of their respective directions. 

a. Those of the zenith offered reflections of the oceans of their past efforts to attain buddhahood in every part of their body, which also reflected the buddha Vairocana. The towers they offered in the zenith echoed all buddhas’ names.

5.     (1145) All of those bodhisattvas were born of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s practices and vows and thus had the knowledge that all is like an illusion and a dream, and that all interpenetrates, and had the skillful means to teach this to all beings. (1146)

6.     The śrāvakas such as Śāriputra, did not see the displays and transfigurations of the Buddha, nor did they see any of the bodhisattvas or their displays.

a.     This is because of their lack of corresponding roots of goodness, as they had not developed the foundations of the bodhisattva path, the bodhisattva vows, (1147) or knowledge of control over holding perceptions which are like dreams.

b.    These are in the sphere of buddhas and not śrāvakas and they were on the śrāvakayāna and accomplished what they had to do for themselves.

c.     Only those with omniscient knowledge and its development can observe the manifestations of a buddha’s samādhi. (1148)

d.    Similarly, ghosts on the side of the Ganges see it as dry with ashes, not seeing the great water there: śrāvakas rejecting omniscience are veiled by ignorance.

e.     Just as a man who sleeps of a heaven while surrounded by people, those people do not see that dream—similarly bodhisattvas see the Buddha’s true power by means of the acts of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

f.      Similarly, herders or hunters on a mountain may overlook many herbs with great medicinal efficacy, but an expert in medicine will know and pick them.

g.     (1149) Just as how the earth is full of jewels and deposits, and one with knowledge of these may benefit from this knowledge and help others too, but others do not know what they can do with these and walk over them.

h.    Just as a man in a land of jewels with a blindfold, he would sit and lie there, but not know there are jewels there or make use of them. Śrāvakas, inimical to omniscience, without clarifying the eye of knowledge, do not realise interpenetration by which they could see the Buddha’s production. (1150)

i.      Just as a person with an eye-purifier in a world of darkness who could see all people’s dispositions, but they couldn’t see him: thus, the Buddha and bodhisattvas see all beings, but the śrāvakas do not.

j.      It is just as absorption in a samādhi on one of the elements: those who have attained the same samādhi could see his absorption, but others cannot.

k.     Just as an ointment that makes one invisible to others, similarly the Buddha can see all beings, but is beyond the world and spheres of beings—being invisible to śrāvakas still, but not bodhisattvas.

l.      Just as a spirit born with a person can see that person, but the person cannot see the spirit.

m.   Just as a monk who attained cessation of perception and sensation. (1151) Things continue occurring but he doesn’t cognize them. Thus, the great śrāvakas did not have the capacity to see the Buddha’s transfigurations.

7.     The Bodhisattva Light from the Origin of the Vows of the Illumination said in verse:

a.     The Buddha’s display is infinite and inconceivable, and the bodhisattvas who have come from all directions are unseen by the śrāvakas, and are heroes beyond measure making displays throughout the cosmos. (1152)

8.     The Bodhisattva King of Invincible Energy says in verse: (1153)

a.     The Buddha shows transformations according to being’s dispositions. His teaching is steadfast as the earth and the nature of his operation in the world is like the wind, not sticking to anything.

9.     Bodhisattva King of Unobstructed Splendour says in verse:

a.     The Buddha is immeasurable like the ocean, and stops the thirts of the world. His knowledge is infinite (1154) and shows transfigurations as a magician, or wish-fulfilling jewel, and clarifies senses like a water-clarifying light.

10.  Bodhisattva Supreme Moon of Vows Emanated Throughout the Cosmos says in verse:

a.     The vision of the Buddha makes everyone the hue of awakening as an emerald makes all green. In each atom the buddha has various transformations, inaccessible to worldlings. He teachings the bodhisattvas about the Dharma Realm. (1155)

11.  Bodhisattva King of Fiery Energy of Truth says in verse:

a.     Śrāvakas do not even know a footstep of the Buddha, let alone an ordinary being. He transcends words and is as the radiant moon. Thinking of him for an aeon he is still inconceivable. Those intent on this will attain his realm. Valiant ones enter his teaching with great discipline and enter great awakening.

12.  Bodhisattva Standard of Knowledge Scattering All Bands of Demons says in verse:

a.     (1156) His body is inconceivable, he clarifies the Dharma Realm which is also the door to awakening. He shows infinite forms without sticking to any form. His exposition of omniscience is instant, without change in essence. A seeker of awakening should think, although it is a thought, no thought is born in it. 

13.  Bodhisattva Flames of Knowledge of Vows of the Illuminator says in verse:

a.     (1157) Those with unshakable knowledge are on the way to buddhahood. Their minds are filled with good qualities and dedicate them all, they think about life but do not take refuge in it: only in the Buddha. They consider the world’s happiness, whereby they repel suffering, and are sympathetic to all.

14.  Bodhisattva Valiant One with Knowledge to Disperse all Barriers says in verse:

a.     The Buddha’s name is hard to come by in a billion kalpas, let alone a sight of him. (1158) Bodhisattvas never tire of looking at it, and dedicate themselves to awakening, which is his realm. The Buddha then foretells their awakening. Those who associate with him have no fear of evil ways and become certain that they will become buddhas themselves.

15.  Bodhisattva King of Superknowledge Discerning the Differentiations of the Plane of the Cosmos says in verse:

a.     Those dedicated to the Mahāyāna have purified minds from seeing the Buddha. Deprivation from encountering the Buddha is intolerable: better it is to spend an aeon in hell. (1159) The only reason to live long amid calamities is to see the Buddha, whereby awakening is attained, and whereby all mundane and transcendental purposes may be attained.

[2] Thus, we are already presented with one of the central theses of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra: all phenomena are interdependent and interpenetrating, they are also inherently pure as they are replete with Buddha Nature. A single atom is a buddha-field, and in it all realms are reflected due to dependent origination.