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Blossoming Trees in CTTB
The Avatamsaka Sutra:
When I see a blossoming tree,
I vow that sentient beings
Will attain features resembling flowers
And be endowed with the thirty-two hallmarksVenerable Master Hsuan Hua:
When you see a blossoming tree, a tree which carries all kinds of flowers in bloom, you also should vow that sentient beings will attain features resembling flowers and be endowed with the thirty-two hallmarks — complete with the thirty-two marks of the Buddhas and be splendid and magnificent like the blossoms on those trees...
Sutra in Forty-Two Sections:
I look upon the flourishing of the teaching as upon a tree blooming during four seasons...
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:
The ancients said,
If it had not endured the cold that pierces to the bone,
How could the plum blossom be so fragrant?Without experiencing the bitter cold of winter, the plum blossoms would not smell so piercingly sweet...