Thursday, February 14, 2013

Avatamsaka Sutra - Summary Book 1


A Thematic Summary of Each Book

The first book of the scripture, entitled The Wonderful Adornments of the Leaders of the Worlds, describes a symbolic assembly of various groups of beings at the site of Buddha's enlightenment. 

The title of this book refers to the representatives of various realms of being who appear on the scene, but it can also be read Wonderful Adornments of the Leader of the Worlds, referring specifically to the Buddha, the various states of being seen as adornments of the Buddha, their realizations representing aspects of Buddha's total enlightenment. 

Buddhabhadra's translation entitles this book Pure Eyes of the World, which likewise may also be read Pure Eye of the Worlds, representing the total universal awareness of the Buddha

In this opening book a general picture of the nature of buddhahood and the general principles and scope of the teaching is built up through the various beings' eulogies and descriptions of the liberations they have realized. 

What is stressed is the universality and comprehensiveness of buddhahood, which is described as both physically and metaphysically coextensive with the cosmos itself. 

It emphasizes that Buddha expounds the truth by various means and teaches innumerable practices for the benefit of all beings: here "Buddha" refers to reality itself, and to people who are awake to reality. 

The various kinds of beings that appear in this book do not in this case represent their mundane aspects as such, but rather depict various facets of the Buddha's enlightenment, while also representing the potential for enlightenment inherent in all conscious beings, a fundamental theme of universalist Buddhism. 


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