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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