Avatamsaka Sutra Book One Part 1.2

Book One Part 1.2

At that time the celestial king Banner of the Delightful Light of Truth, imbued with the Buddha's power, surveyed all the hosts of the heavens of minor vastness, infinite vastness, and vast results, and said in verse,

The realm of the Buddhas is inconceivable: No sentient being can fathom it.

The Buddhas cause their minds to develop faith and resolution And great enjoyment without  end. If any beings can accept the teaching,

The Buddha, with spiritual powers, will guide them, Causing them to always see the Buddha before them: Ocean of Adornments sees in this way.

The nature of all things has no resting place The Buddhas' appearance in the world is the same way— They have no resting place in any state of being: Supreme Wisdom can contemplate the meaning of this.

Whatever be the heart's desire of sentient beings, The Buddhas' spiritual powers can manifest. Each different, they are inconceivable: This is Wisdom Banner's ocean of liberation.

All lands existing in the past They can show in a single pore: This is the great spiritual power of the Buddhas: Delight in Tranquility can expound this.

The inexhaustible ocean of all teachings Is assembled in the sanctuary of one teaching. Such is the nature of truth explained by the Buddhas: Eye of Knowledge can understand this technique.

In all lands in all quarters Expounding the truth in each in every one, The Buddha's body has no coming or going: This is the realm of Delight in Use of Intellect.

The Buddha sees things of the worlds as like reflections of light; He enters into their most recondite mysteries And explains that the nature of all things is always quiescent: Intellect Sown with Virtue can see this.

The Buddha knows all phenomena And rains the rain of truth according to beings' faculties In order to open the inconceivable gate of emancipation: Tranquil Serenity can understand this.

The World Honored One always, with great kindness and compassion, Appears in order to benefit sentient beings, Equally showering the rain of truth to the fill of their capacities: Pure Light can expound this.

Furthermore, the celestial king Repute of Pure Wisdom found the door of liberation comprehending the ways and means of emancipation of all sentient beings.

The celestial king Supreme Vision found the door of liberation of shadowlike demonstration according to the wishes of all celestial beings.

The celestial king Virtue of Tranquility found the door of liberation of great skill in means adorning the realms of all Buddhas.

The celestial king Sound of the Polar Mountain found the door of liberation of following all sentient beings into the eternally flowing cycle of birth and death.

The celestial king Eye of Pure Mindfulness found the door of liberation remembering the Buddhas' ways of taming and pacifying sentient beings.

The celestial king Delightful Universal Illumination found the door of liberation that flowed forth from the ocean of universal memory and concentration power.

The celestial king Sovereign Lord of the World found the door of liberation of ability to cause sentient beings to meet the Buddha and produce the treasury of faith.

The celestial king Light Flame Sovereign found the door of liberation of ability to cause all beings to hear the truth, to believe and rejoice, and become emancipated.

The celestial king Enjoyer of Meditating on the Truth and Creating Demonstrations found the door of liberation entering into the civilizing activities of all enlightening beings, boundless and inexhaustible as space.

The celestial king Banner of Miraculous Displays found the door of liberation observing the infinite afflictions of sentient beings with universal compassion and wisdom.

At that time the celestial king Repute of Pure Wisdom, imbued with the power of the Buddha, surveyed the hosts of celestial beings of the heavens of little purity, boundless purity, and ubiquitous purity, and said in verse,

He who realizes that the nature of things is without solidity Appears in all the boundless lands of the ten directions: Expounding the inconceivability of the realm of buddhahood, He causes all to return to the ocean of liberation.

The Buddha is in the world without a resting place— Like a shadow or reflection he appears in all lands. The nature of things is ultimately non-origination: This is the entry way of the king Supreme Vision.

Cultivating skill in means over countless ages, Purifying all lands in the ten directions, The suchness of the universe never moves: This is the realization of Virtue of Tranquility.

Sentient beings are shrouded and veiled by ignorance; Blind, in the dark, they remain always in birth-and-death.

The Buddha shows them the path of purity: This is the liberation of Polar Mountain Sound.

The unexcelled path that the Buddhas traverse Cannot be plumbed by any sentient being. It is shown by various expedient methods: Pure Eye, clearly observing, can comprehend them all.

The Buddha, by means of concentration formulae Numerous as the atoms in oceans of lands Teaches sentient beings, covering everything: Universal Illumination can enter this.

The appearance of a Buddha is hard to encounter; It may be met once in countless eons; It is capable of inducing faith in sentient beings: This is the realization of the celestial Sovereign.

The Buddha explains that the nature of things is natureless; Profound, far-reaching, it is inconceivable. He causes all beings to engender pure faith: Light Flame can comprehend this.

The Buddhas of all times are replete with virtue; They teach sentient beings inconceivably. Contemplating this produces joy: Enjoyer of Truth can teach in this way.

Sentient beings are sunk in the ocean of afflictions: Their ignorance and pollution of views are much to be feared. The great teacher pities them and frees them forever: This is the realm of contemplation of Banner of Miracles.

The Buddha constantly emits great beams of light; In each light beam are innumerable Buddhas. Each makes displays of sentient beings' affairs; This is the entry way of Wonderful Sound.

Furthermore, the celestial king Pleasing Light found the door of liberation of always experiencing the bliss of tranquil serenity yet being able to appear in order to eliminate the sufferings of the world.

The celestial king Pure Subtle Light found the door of liberation of the ocean of great compassion, the mine of joy and happiness of all sentient beings.

The celestial king Sound of Freedom found the door of liberation manifesting in a single instant the power of virtue of all sentient beings of boundless eons.

The celestial king Supreme Awareness and Knowledge found the door of liberation causing all becoming, existing, and disintegrating worlds to be as pure as space.

The celestial king Delightful Pure Subtle Sound found the door of liberation of joyfully believing and accepting the teachings of all sages.

The celestial king Sound of Skillful Meditation found the door of liberation of ability to spend an eon expounding the meanings and methods of all stages of enlightenment.

The celestial king Adornment Explaining Sound found the door of liberation of methods of making great offerings when all enlightening beings descend from the palace of the Tushita heaven to be born in the world.

The celestial king Profound Light-Sound found the door of liberation of contemplation of the inexhaustible ocean of spiritual power and wisdom.

The celestial king Great Fame found the door of liberation of techniques for appearing in the world, having fulfilled the ocean of virtues of all Buddhas.

The celestial king Supreme Pure Light found the door of liberation of the mine of faith and delight produced by the power of the Buddha's ancient vows.

Then the celestial king Pleasing Light, imbued with the power of the Buddha, surveyed all the celestial hosts from the heavens of little light, infinite light, and intense light, and said in verse,

I remember the past practice of the Buddha, Serving and providing offerings for innumerable Buddhas: His pure deeds, in accord with his original faith, Are now all visible, through the Buddha's spiritual power.

The Buddha's body is formless, free from all defilement; Always abiding in compassion and pity, He removes the distress of all worlds: This is the liberation of Subtle Light.

The Buddha's teaching is vast and boundless; It is manifest in all fields, According to their becoming and decay, each different: This is the power of liberation of Sound of Freedom.

The Buddha's spiritual power is incomparable; It appears everywhere, in the vast fields of all directions, And makes them all pure, always manifest: This is the technique of liberation of Supreme Mindfulness.

Respectfully serving all the Buddhas, Numerous as atoms in oceans of lands, Hearing the teaching, getting rid of defilement, not acting in vain, This is Subtle Sound's application of the teaching.

The Buddhas have, for immeasurable eons, Expounded the techniques of the stages, without peer. What they have explained is boundless and inexhaustible: Sound of Skillful Meditation knows the meaning of this.

The infinite scenes of the Buddha's miraculous displays Appear in all places in a single instant, Great techniques for conquering spirits and attaining enlightenment: This is the liberation of Adorning Sounds.

Sustained by awesome power, able to explain And to demonstrate the deeds of spiritual powers of the Buddhas, Purifying all according to their faculties: This is the liberation door of Light-Sound.

The Buddha's wisdom is boundless It has no equal in the world, it has no attachment; Compassionately responding to beings, it manifests everywhere: Great Fame has realized this path.

The Buddha, in the past, cultivated enlightening practices, Made offerings to all the Buddhas of the ten directions— The vows made in the presence of each Buddha Supreme Light hears and greatly rejoices.