The Wondrous Adornments of the Rulers of the Worlds

Chapter One, Part Four and Five

 

Sutra:

Moreover, Crop-ruling Spirit Tender and Delectable gained a passage into liberation of giving all sentient beings the taste of Dharma so that they may accomplish the Buddha body.

Commentary:

After the ten River-ruling Spirits had each used verses to praise the Buddha, ten Crop-ruling Spirits in the Flower Adornment Assembly continued to use prose to explain the inconceivability of the realm of Flower Adornment, which is beyond the understanding of common beings and those of the Two Vehicles. Moreover indicates that there is a continuation of the explanation of the sutra’s principles. Crop-ruling Spirit Tender and Delectable gained a passage into liberation of giving all sentient beings the taste of Dharma so that they may accomplish the Buddha body. In ancient China, Emperor Shen Nong taught the people to farm. He taught them how to till the fields and irrigate and tend them so that the shoots would thrive and grow day by day. The seeds are first planted in the ground. Then sprouts come up, grow, and mature. In the same way, when beings mature, they can attain liberation.

This Crop-ruling Spirit was called “Tender and Delectable.” Tenderness is an expedient Dharma that makes sentient beings very comfortable. Delectable refers to a good flavor. The five flavors are sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. Each person has his or her individual taste. Some people like to eat sour things; others prefer sweet food. Some are fond of bitter-tasting things. Some like to eat hot and spicy food. Others enjoy salty food. Sentient beings have different dispositions and individual preferences. However, we are talking about ordinary flavors. Here the sutra is talking about a most delectable flavor, which is the most expedient of expedient means; the most ultimate of ultimate truths. Delectable flavor transcends the five flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. It’s even more aromatic and delicious–more sour, more sweet, more bitter, more spicy, or more salty. It’s a special kind of flavor, but don’t get me wrong – I don’t mean a foul flavor. It is a good flavor.

We can also explain it this way. People in the world all have their preferences. Some are attracted to Catholicism and feel that it is the highest religion. Some prefer Protestantism and consider it to be the best. Others like Confucianism and think that its principles of humanness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are not bad. “Universal love is known as humaneness. Practicing in accord with it is called righteousness. These are superb principles,” they think. Others relish Taoism and enjoy wearing a Taoist cap and letting their hair grow so that you can’t tell them apart from women, except for the fact that they have beards. Still others are attracted to Buddhism. They think, “Buddhism is pretty nice. It has a sweet, delectable flavor.” You haven’t had a full taste yet. A full taste would surpass even the most delectable flavor, so the text says, “the taste of Dharma.”

Each one of us is like a farmer. We should each till our own field and eat our own food, being self-reliant and strengthening ourselves continuously. How do we plant our own field? When we plant a bodhi seed in the Buddha’s field of blessings, a bodhi sprout comes forth. The bodhi sprout grows day by day until it becomes a Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree bears bodhi fruit. Once you reap that bodhi fruit, you have attained liberation. That’s why it’s said, “Enable those who haven’t planted good roots to plant them; enable those who have already planted them to make them grow; enable those whose good roots have grown to bring them to maturity; and enable those whose good roots have matured to attain liberation.” Crop-ruling Spirits are involved in that kind of work.

If you plant a bodhi seed, in the future you will reap a bodhi fruit. The text says, “giving all sentient beings the taste of Dharma” whoever cultivates can get a taste. But those who don’t cannot. The attainment depends upon whether or not you cultivate. If you rely on the Dharma in your cultivation, you will obtain the flavor of Dharma. “So they may accomplish the Buddha body.” Having obtained the flavor of the 84,000 Dharma doors, you nurture the field of your Dharma nature and realize the Buddha body; that is, you become a Buddha.

“What’s so good about becoming a Buddha?” you ask. After you become a Buddha, you can teach all sentient beings to become Buddhas. The Buddha’s work is just to teach and transform sentient beings.

Crop-ruling Spirit Tender and Delectable understood the Buddha’s state and entered the passage into liberation of knowing and giving the flavor of Dharma.

Sutra:

Crop-ruling Spirit Pure Light of Seasonal Blooms gained a passage into liberation of bringing tremendous joy and happiness to all sentient beings.  

Commentary:

The next Crop-ruling Spirit is named Pure Light of Seasonal Blooms. Seasonal Blooms means this Crop-ruling Spirit has big, wonderful lotus flowers that bloom all the time and shine their pure light upon all sentient beings throughout the ten directions of the Dharma Realm, bestowing joy and happiness upon them. That’s why the text says she gained a passage into liberation of bringing tremendous joy and happiness to all sentient beings. All sentient beings includes you, me, and everyone else. This Crop-ruling Spirit brings tremendous joy and delight to all of us, ensuring that we will one day obtain this Dharma door as well. As long as we vigorously cultivate in accord with the Dharma and don’t retreat, we will eventually attain this Dharma door.

Sutra:

Crop-ruling Spirit Robust Strength gained a passage into liberation of using all perfect Dharma doors to purify all realms of existence.  

Commentary:

The next Crop-ruling Spirit is named Robust Strength. Strength refers to the body. Robust means vigorous and healthy. This Crop-ruling Spirit is a hard worker skilled at teaching sentient beings. She works hard day and night, constantly vigorous in the six periods of the day and night. She is stalwart and valiant and will undergo any amount of toil and suffering in order to teach and transform beings. Thus she gained a passage into liberation of using all perfect Dharma doors to purify all realms of existence. She uses perfect Dharma doors to teach and transform sentient beings, leading them back to the source of the mind to regain their fundamental purity. “Realms” refers to realms of sentient beings. She can lead all beings away from confusion and back to enlightenment, so that they renounce what is wrong and return to what is right, practice the Bodhisattva path and realize Buddhahood. She attained that passage into liberation.

The Realm of the Flower Adornment is inconceivable. Not only can those with common understanding never finish explaining it, even Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Pure Land of Eternal Stillness and Light could never finish explaining the principles of the Flower Adornment though they might speak all the time. Now we are just “bringing up one and leaving out ten thousand,” giving a very general explanation. Good advisors, if you have any questions or doubts, you may raise them. We can look into the principles together with straightforward minds. This is where the greatness of Buddhism lies. If there are questions, we investigate them. This differs from other religions where followers may listen but not question; that is superstition.

On the 9th of this month, we will have a Buddha Recitation Session. Each day from the beginning to the end, we will recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha” without stop. After we finish reciting and the session is over, we will ask, “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” during two weeks of Chan meditation. All day long, we will meditate continuously. Anyone who would like to participate is welcome. Today the Dharma protectors, the good and wise advisors, from the Zen Center have come to participate in this Sutra Lecture Dharma Assembly, and we are delighted and extend a warm welcome to them.

Are there any questions? How can one understand without participating? To understand, one must participate.

Sutra:

Crop-ruling Spirit Increasing Essence and Energy gained a passage into liberation of seeing the Buddha’s great compassion and his boundless power of spiritual penetrations and transformations. Crop-ruling Spirit Universally Producing Roots and Fruits gained a passage into liberation of universally manifesting the Buddhas’ fields of blessings and enabling beings to plant indestructible seeds.

Commentary:

Thenext Crop-ruling Spirit is named Increasing Essence and Energy. Increasing means adding more. More of what? Essence and energy. Crop-ruling Spirits watch over the growing and harvesting of the various grains and crops, and so they are able to increase people’s essence and energy, as well as their spirit. When essence and energy increase, their vital spirit increases as well, and their bodies become healthy and free from illness. With a healthy body, one can cultivate. If one suffers from poor health and illness, it is not easy to apply effort in cultivation.

Now, we could also say that this Crop-ruling Spirit named Increasing Essence and Energy helps us to augment the wisdom life of our Dharma body as well as our bodhi resolve. She helps all beings increase their resolves for bodhi. She causes people to increase in good Dharma and wipe out all evil dharmas. Good Dharma refers to the bodhi resolve. Evil dharmas refers to thoughts that breed greed and hatred. Wishing to help sentient beings, this Crop-ruling Spirit plants fields of merit and virtue, and harvests the fruits of merit and virtue. What state of the Buddha has she understood? She gained a passage into liberation of seeing the Buddha’s great compassion and his boundless power of spiritual penetrations and transformations. She saw how Shakyamuni Buddha cultivated great compassion in previous lives, thereby obtaining limitless, measureless powers of spiritual penetrations and transformations beyond conception. If we cultivate in accord with the Dharma, vigorously cultivating great compassion, we can also obtain infinite powers of spiritual penetrations and transformations.

Transformations are not static. There are no static dharmas. Ordinary transformations require movement and cannot happen in stillness. Within the Buddha’s state, transformations can also occur in stillness. The Buddha’s spiritual penetrations and transformations can function in both movement and stillness. Thus the Buddha can speak Dharma in response to people’s potentials and teach and transform all beings. That’s the passage into liberation that the Crop-ruling Spirit Increasing Essence and Energy entered after she understood a little bit of the Buddhadharma.

Those of old had a saying, “With movement, there is change. With change, there is transformation. Only one of utmost sincerity in the world can bring about transformation.” So I said that movement brings about change and transformation. Americans are generally familiar with the Book of Changes (Yijing). This book explains the principles of transformations in movement and stillness.

The qian hexagram has three unbroken lines. When the first line moves, it becomes the dui hexagram, which is empty on top. If the first line remains the same and the second line moves, it becomes the li hexagram, which is empty in the middle. If the first and second lines remain the same and the third line moves, it becomes the xun hexagram, which is broken on the bottom. Those of you who have studied the Book of Change s will understand these principles. The transformations brought about through spiritual penetrations are generally the same way, so you might as well cultivate until you attain spiritual penetrations. Then you can try it out! When you have spiritual penetrations, you will understand transformations. Those with utmost sincerity can know things in advance. But if you have foreknowledge, you shouldn’t want to know too much, because knowing too much can be a lot of trouble. Do you understand? This is also movement; it’s also idle thinking.

Crop-ruling Spirit Universally Producing Roots and Fruits not only moves, but produces. What does she produce? She produces roots and fruits. What kind of roots? The roots of fruits. What kind of fruits? The fruits of roots. If there are roots, then there can be fruits. For there to be fruits, there must be roots. What roots are these? bodhi roots. What fruits are these? Bodhi fruits. “How do you know they are bodhi roots and bodhi fruits?” you may ask.

Anybody who doesn’t know that must be totally ignorant! Why? The text that follows very clearly says that she “universally manifests the Buddhas’ fields of blessings.” What is planted in the Buddhas’ fields of blessings is none other than bodhi roots and bodhi fruits. This Crop-ruling Spirit helps people produce bodhi roots and bear bodhi fruits. That’s how she gained a passage into liberation of universally manifesting the Buddhas’ fields of blessings. And as if that weren’t enough, her passage into liberation is also that of enabling beings to plant indestructible seeds. If you have never heard the Flower Adornment Sutra, then there’s nothing to talk about. When you hear the Flower Adornment Sutra,

Once it goes in your ears, it becomes a seed for the Way.

That’s what’s meant by “enabling beings to plant indestructible seeds.” These seeds will not get spoiled or fail to sprout. No matter when you plant them, they will definitely grow bodhi roots and bear bodhi fruits. The bodhi seeds are indestructible.

This is like when someone ingests vajra, even though it passes through his stomach, it remains unharmed. No matter how strong our digestive system is, it can’t digest vajra. The roots and fruits of bodhi are like vajra. Once they enter our ears, they become seeds for the Way. Having heard this passage of the sutra, it’s certain that we will eventually bring forth the bodhi resolve. Those of you who have resolved to leave the home life have done so because your good roots have matured. Since everyone has different causes and conditions from past lives, sometimes when people make a resolve, they run into a lot of obstacles. However, the seeds that this Crop-ruling Spirit helps beings plant cannot be lost or ruined. Once they are planted, they are bound to grow roots and leaves, and bear fruit. So don’t worry. Sooner or later, you shall realize Buddhahood.

This Crop-ruling Spirit named Universally Producing Roots and Fruits understood a small part of the Buddha’s state and entered this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

Crop-ruling Spirit Wonderfully Adorned Circular Cowl gained a passage into liberation of universally causing flowers of pure faith to blossom in sentient beings. Crop-ruling Spirit Moistening Pure Flowers gained a passage into liberation of rescuing all beings out of great compassionate mercy, increasing their ocean of blessings and virtue. Crop-ruling Spirit Accomplishing Wonderful Fragrance gained a passage into liberation of extensively explaining all methods of practice.

Commentary:

Crop-ruling Spirit Wonderfully Adorned Circular Cowl is adorned with merit and virtue. What merit and virtue? Subtle, wonderful, inconceivable merit and virtue. The circle represents infinity. The cowl symbolizes the appearance of adornment with merit and virtue. That’s a rather shallow explanation. If we were to go into detail, we could discuss this for endless eons without finishing. This Crop-ruling Spirit understood a little bit of the Buddha’s state and gained a passage into liberation of universally causing flowers of pure faith to blossom in sentient beings. “Universally” means that these flowers of pure faith bloom in all beings. Their blossoming means that previously they did not exist, but now they do. Sentient beings formerly had a lot of defilement, confused thinking, and selfish desires, and it was impossible for their flowers of pure faith to bloom. But now they have bloomed. So, beings who had not brought forth good roots before now plant them. This is all included in the meaning of “blossom.”

For example, when seeds are planted in the ground and all the conditions of heat, moisture, soil, and so forth are present, they germinate, grow, and eventually bear fruit. Once the flowers of pure faith have bloomed, they must bear the fruit of pure faith. It cannot be that there are flowers, but no fruit. Such flowers are barren. If there is fruit but no flowers, then that is like the fig [which in Chinese is literally the “flowerless fruit”.] Pure faith is perfected through merit and virtue. Such flowers are a manifestation of the realization of the Bodhi Way. They are flowers that bear the fruit of perfect enlightenment. Flowers of pure faith are the cause; the fruit of perfect enlightenment is the result.

The next Crop-ruling Spirit is named Moistening Pure Flowers. The flowers of pure faith need moisture. To nurture flowers of pure faith, one must create all kinds of merit and virtue. If you have merit and virtue, your flowers of pure faith will flourish. So the name of this Crop-ruling Spirit is “Moistening Pure Flowers.” She gained a passage into liberation of rescuing all beings out of great compassionate mercy. Compassion can gather sentient beings in. Mercy means taking pity on all beings and loving and protecting them.

With compassionate mercy, which is a teaching of Confucianism, one regards all beings as if they were one’s own children. This spirit’s compassion and loving protection is that of “loving all children as one would love one’s sons and daughters.” That’s a Confucian doctrine. Buddhism also teaches that we should love all children equally, with impartial great kindness. “Rescuing all beings”: What is meant by rescuing? Suppose someone falls into the water and is about to drown. He’s in the middle of the water, far from either shore, and he’s close to drowning. You can toss him a lifesaving ring or rope, and pull him to shore. Imagine another scenario in which a boat breaks down in the middle of a river or sea. You can go out in another boat and take the passengers to shore.

In ancient China, there was the story of “burning of boats at the Ji River.” I can’t remember which dynasty it happened in; it was probably during the Era of Warring States. There was a general who led a large army to invade another state. After the troops had crossed the river, he burned all the boats. He was letting his men know that they had to fight well, for there was no way to go back. They had to forget about whether they lived or died; only then would there be hope of going home. Cultivation is the same way. Once you reach the other shore, don’t think about going back. Once we arrive at the further shore of nirvana, we should burn the boat we used to come over. Don’t think about going back.

Once you’ve severed it, it’s severed forever.
Once you’re saved, you’re saved forever.
Once you’re done toiling, you’ll enjoy leisure forever.

Once we reach the other shore, we don’t want to come back. If we come back, we still have to undergo birth and death. “Rescuing all beings”: We don’t want to go to the other shore alone; we want to rescue all beings and bring them to the other shore. What for? For the purpose of increasing their ocean of blessings and virtue, so that, for example, they may go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, where they can cultivate to become Buddhas. When the amount of blessings and virtue becomes very great, they are like an ocean, limitless and boundless. It is difficult to measure the ocean’s breadth and depth; the same holds true the ocean of blessings and virtue. That’s the passage to liberation that this Crop-ruling Spirit attained.

The next Crop-ruling Spirit is named Accomplishing Wonderful Fragrance. Crop-ruling Spirits also rule over all flowers, so this Crop-ruling Spirit perfects all kinds of wondrous fragrances. When beings smell these wondrous fragrances, they change their evil ways, become good, and bring forth the bodhi resolve. Wonderful fragrance is the fragrance of precepts, the fragrance of liberation, and the fragrance of liberation of knowledge and views. This Crop-ruling Spirit gained a portion of the Buddha’s state, namely, the passage into liberation of extensively explaining all methods of practice. “Extensively” means her explanations are endless. She instructs sentient beings in all methods of cultivation-–from the limitless and boundless Dharma doors cultivated by all past Buddhas, to the limitless and boundless Dharma doors cultivated by all future Buddhas.

We sentient beings should not be intimidated by all these Dharma doors. We should not say, “The Buddhadharma is as vast as the great ocean. When am I going to finish cultivating so many Dharma doors?” We can liken that attitude to a person standing beside the ocean and saying, “The ocean is so huge. How could I possibly drink up all the water in it? How could I ever cross it?” He heaves a sigh and concludes, “I’ll never be able to drink the ocean dry. I’ll never get to the other side.”

What should we do? We must truly and honestly get down to cultivation. Then, in a fingersnap, we perfect the cultivation of 80,000 Dharma doors; we penetrate and master them all. With such unobstructed penetration, “in a kshana the three asamkhyeyas of kalpas are done.” In the briefest instant, we perfect the cultivation of three great asamkhyeyas (an uncountable number) of eons. So, there’s no reason to feel that the Buddhadharma is too difficult to practice. Crop-ruling Spirit Accomplishing Wonderful Fragrance attained this passage into liberation.

Today I have a question for you. Instead of asking you for questions, I will ask you my question. I would like to know: “Among the 84,000 Dharma doors, which Dharma door is number one?” If you know the answer, please tell me.

Disciple: Of the Dharma doors of cultivation, there isn’t one that is number one. They are all number one.

Venerable Master: They are all number one? Why?

[Answer is inaudible.] Which one is your Dharma door?

Disciple: Sleeping.

Venerable Master: Oh? Do you really know how to sleep?

Disciple: No.

Venerable Master: If you don’t know how to sleep, then how can you consider that your Dharma door? If you master the Dharma door of sleeping and attain the sleeping samadhi, then being asleep would be the same as being awake, and being awake would be the same as sleeping. Wakefulness and sleep would be one and the same. There would be no difference between them. That’s the attainment of the “sleeping samadhi”; it’s also the attainment of the “no sleep samadhi.” Sleeping and waking, waking and sleeping – it’s all the same. So, what about your Dharma door? Tell me what your state is.

Disciple: Confused thinking.

Venerable Master: So confused thinking is also a Dharma door. Why do you say none of them are number one? You have to have a reason. You can’t just make baseless claims. What are your grounds? The Vajra Sutra says very clearly, “The Dharma is all the same, with no high or low. There is no number one and no number two.” If you don’t believe this, you can look into it. If your Dharma door works for you, then your Dharma door is number one for you – sleeping. If my Dharma door works for me, then it’s number one for me – eating. If her Dharma door works for her, then it’s number one for her – wearing clothes. Eating, wearing clothes, and sleeping – that’s all there is. Now, quickly go to bow the repentance ceremony. After bowing, quickly go to sleep. After you wake up, put on your clothes. After putting on clothes, at eleven o’clock you can eat your meal. You don’t have to do anything else.

Sutra:

Crop-ruling Spirit Delighting the Beholder gained a passage into liberation of enabling all beings in the Dharma Realm to renounce laxness, worry, affliction, and other evils, so that they all become pure.

Crop-ruling Spirit Immaculate Light gained a passage into liberation of contemplating the good roots of every sentient being and speaking Dharma accordingly, thus gratifying and delighting the entire assembly.

At that time Crop-ruling Spirit Tender and Delectable received the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of Crop-ruling Spirits, and spoke the following verse.  

Commentary:

The next Crop-ruling Spirit is named Delighting the Beholder. When sentient beings see this Crop-ruling Spirit, they experience adoration and joy, hence her name. She gained a state of the Buddha, a passage into liberation of enabling all sentient beings in the Dharma Realm – that many sentient beings – upon seeing this Crop-ruling Spirit or hearing the Buddhadharma, to renounce laxness. All the sentient beings present at Gold Mountain Monastery right now could be said to have renounced laxness. Why is this? Before they heard the Buddhadharma, these people were like ordinary young Americans – feeling that they had a share at every meal but didn’t have to share in the work. When it came to eating, they had no mark of others. When it came to work, they had no mark of self. When they got into a fight, they had no mark of sentient beings. When they ate meat, they had no mark of beings with a life span.

Now that they have come to Gold Mountain Monastery, some people have no mark of self when it comes to eating. They think, “It doesn’t matter if I eat or not, as long as other people can eat their fill.” When working they have no mark of others. “I can do all the work myself. I don’t need others to do it.” They are completely different from the way they used to be. When they get into a fight, they have the mark of sentient beings, so they think, “I should not fight with this person.” They don’t eat meat anymore, because they have the mark of beings with a life span. They say, “May all beings enjoy a long life,” and they refrain from killing. They are very diligent and hardworking, and not afraid of there being too much work. These are all ways in which they have given up laxness. They have forgotten their physical comfort for the sake of the Dharma. They even go without sleep so they can study more Buddhadharma.

Guo Zhan was especially vigorous today, standing up during the sutra lecture to avoid nodding off. [To Guo Zhan] Was that why you stood up? I saw him starting to doze off when he was sitting there. Yesterday he heard me talk about the sleeping samadhi, and today he wanted to get out of that samadhi. That’s also a case of renouncing laxness.

One also renounces worry, sorrow, pain, and affliction, and other evils. Cultivators should not become depressed or sad. Nor should they become afflicted. They should not constantly worry, like the man from the state of Qi who worried that the sky would fall down. He kept thinking, “I wonder which day the sky will collapse. What am I going to do when the sky falls?” He worried about this all day long to the point that he stopped planting his fields and did no work whatsoever. Now, wouldn’t you say this was going a little too far?

Sometimes people fret about things unnecessarily. For example, they may think, “I wonder if my father is about to die. I wonder if my mother will get sick.” These are worries about one’s elders. Others may wonder, “Will my child grow up? Will my pet dog get skinny? Will my cat know how to catch mice?” These anxieties are uncalled for. Some people make a big deal out of trivial issues and are always worried about something.

As for affliction, some people who have nothing better to do look in the mirror and think, “How irritating! Why do my nostrils point downward? It would be nice if they pointed upwards, so I could look different from everyone else.” They get afflicted about that.

“Other evils” refers in general to greed, anger, and delusion. Sentient beings forsake laxness, worry, affliction, freed, anger, and delusion, so that they all become pure. This is the state of Crop-ruling Spirit Delighting the Beholder.

The next Crop-ruling Spirit is named Immaculate Light. When all filth is left behind, one gains light. What is meant by defilement? Great Master Yongjia’s Song of Enlightenment says:

The mind is the root;
Dharmas are the dust.
The two are like streaks on a mirror.
When the streaks are entirely removed, light begins to appear.
When mind and dharmas are both forgotten,
Then the nature is true.

In order to leave filth, mind and dharmas must both be forgotten. That means to leave behind the two attachments to self and to dharmas. Attachment to self is filth, and so is attachment to dharmas. Once you have left these two attachments, so that people and dharmas are both empty, the light of wisdom inherent in your nature will come forth. Thus she is called the Crop-ruling Spirit Immaculate Light. She gained a passage into liberation of contemplating the good roots of every sentient being. She uses wisdom to contemplate and illuminate the good roots of all sentient beings. Sentient beings’ good roots may be shallow or deep, few or many, small or great. We have to use the Buddhadharma to nurture and irrigate them so they will grow. How do we nurture and irrigate them? We do that by speaking Dharma accordingly. Whatever Dharma a sentient being needs to hear, we speak it for him or her. We give each being exactly the right teaching, the one that accords with that being’s potentials. We dispense the teaching in accord with the individual’s needs, just as a doctor prescribes medicine according to the patient’s sickness, thusgratifying and delighting theentire Dharma assembly. All those at the feast of Dharma obtain just the amount of Dharma they are supposed to receive, so they are delighted and satisfied. This Crop-ruling Spirit attained that passage into liberation

At that time in the Dharma assembly, Crop-ruling Spirit Tender and Delectable received the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of all the Crop-ruling Spirits, and spoke the following verse.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One, an unsurpassed ocean of merit and virtue, Appears everywhere as a bright lamp shining upon the world. Rescuing and protecting all sentient beings whatsoever,
He bestows peace and joy upon all, omitting not a single one.  

Boundless is the World Honored One’s merit and virtue.
Those who hear him do not do so in vain.
They leave all suffering and feel perpetual joy.
Seasonal Blooms understands thus.

Commentary:

The Thus Come One is an unsurpassed ocean of merit and virtue. The Thus Come One has perfected the three kinds of enlightenment and is replete with the ten thousand virtues. Thus he is said to be an unsurpassed ocean of merit and virtue. There is no merit and virtue higher or greater than that of the Thus Come One. Thus his merit and virtue is an ocean of merit and virtue, because it is measureless and boundless, infinite and inexhaustible.

He appears everywhere, teaching and transforming all sentient beings impartially. He is as a bright lamp shining upon the world and destroying all darkness. Before the Buddha came into the world, the world was as if devoid of the light of sun, moon, and lamps, going through a long, dark night. When the Buddha was born, it was as if sunlight, moonlight, and lamplight illuminated the entire world. The Buddha realized Buddhahood for the sake of saving sentient beings. His work is to save sentient beings, so the text describes him as: Rescuing and protecting all sentient beings whatsoever. Sentient beings are drowning in the river of love and the sea of suffering. The Buddha steers a great, precious ship of compassion to save them all. He rescues every single being. Even the most evil being gets rescued. The Buddha doesn’t say, “You’re too wicked. I won’t save you.” He doesn’t discriminate among sentient beings.

He bestows peace and joy upon all, omitting not a single one. He makes all beings peaceful and happy without leaving out or forgetting any. Every single sentient being gets saved by the Buddha. As we say in Buddhism, “Sentient and insentient beings will all perfect the Wisdom of All Modes.”

Boundless is the World Honored One’s merit and virtue. The One Honored both in and beyond the World, the Great Guiding Master of the Triple Realm, has limitless, boundless, infinite, and inexhaustible merit and virtue. His merit and virtue is inconceivable. Those who hear him include you and me. Those who hear the Buddha’s name or the sutras spoken by the Buddha do not do so in vain. Their hearing will not be in vain. What use will it be? They leave all suffering and feel perpetual joy. All beings will have no suffering, but will enjoy every kind of happiness.

Seasonal Blooms understands thus. Crop-ruling Spirit Pure Light of Seasonal Blooms has attained this state and this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

All the powers perfected, the Well-Gone One
Appears in the world, adorned with meritorious virtues.
All sentient beings are thoroughly tamed and subdued.
Robust Strength understands and attains this Dharma.  

Long ago, the Buddha cultivated an ocean of great compassion.
His mind is intent upon each and every being in the world.
Thus, his spiritual penetrations know no bounds.
Increasing Essence and Energy sees thus.  

Commentary:

All the powers are perfected by the Well-Gone One. “Well-Gone One” is one of the ten titles of Buddhas. “All the powers” refers to the Buddha’s Ten Powers. Having cultivated all the powers to perfection, the Buddha appears in the world, adorned with meritorious virtues. Adorned with all the meritorious virtues he has accomplished, the Buddha appears in the world of sentient beings.

All sentient beings are thoroughly tamed and subdued. The obstinate beings of the Saha World are difficult to tame and subdue. You may try to teach them wholesome Dharmas, using all kinds of expedient means to teach them, whether speaking to them directly or hinting indirectly, yet they won’t believe you. On the other hand, when they encounter unwholesome, unclean, perverse conditions, they pursue them like crazy. Sentient beings may be hard to subdue, yet the Buddha can subdue them. They may be hard to teach, but the Buddha manages to teach them.

Crop-ruling Spirit Robust Strength understands and attains this Dharma, this passage into liberation.

Long ago, the Buddha cultivated an ocean of great compassion. The Buddha applied effort in cultivating the Dharma door of great kindness and compassion.

His mind is intent upon each and every being in the world. His every thought is to save beings from suffering and make them happy. Thus, his spiritual penetrations know no bounds. In order to teach and transform obstinate and incorrigible sentient beings, one must possess all kinds of spiritual powers and expedient means. Thus the Buddha’s spiritual penetrations are boundless. Increasing Essence and Energy sees thus. Crop-ruling Spirit Increasing Essence and Energy understands this state and this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

Constantly, the Buddha manifests throughout all worlds.
None of his expedients are ever used in vain.
He thoroughly purifies beings’ delusions and afflictions:
Universally Producing spirit is liberated thus.  

Commentary:

Constantly, the Buddha manifests throughout all worlds. The Buddha is nowhere present, yet nowhere absent. The Buddha pervades the entire world. Why can’t all sentient beings see the Buddha? If the Buddha is everywhere in the world, beings should all be able to see him. But sentient beings are enveloped in their delusions and afflictions. Delusions shroud them like clouds covering the sun. Although the sun is there, clouds block it from view. Likewise, although the Buddha is present everywhere, sentient beings cannot see him because they are obstructed by their own ignorance, delusions, karma, and suffering. Even so, the Buddha constantly appears before sentient beings. Although beings cannot see him, the Buddha always sees them.

None of his expedients are ever used in vain. The Buddha uses all manner of expedient methods to teach and transform sentient beings, leading them to bring forth the resolve for bodhi and realize Buddhahood. He thoroughly purifies beings’ delusions and afflictions. The Buddha dispels the clouds covering sentient beings, so that the sun can shine forth. Universally Producing spirit is liberated thus. This state is the passage into liberation that Crop-ruling Spirit Universally Producing Roots and Fruits understands.

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