The Wondrous Adornments of the Rulers of the Worlds

Chapter One, Part Four and Five

 

Sutra:

He cultivates boundless expedients,
Commensurate with and filling sentient beings’ many realms.
His spiritual penetrations never cease their wondrous functionings.
Roaring Sound Pervading Seas enters thus.

Moreover, Ocean-ruling Spirit Manifesting Jeweled Lights gained a passage into liberation of impartially bestowing seas of blessings and virtues upon sentient beings, so they become physically adorned, as if with myriad jewels. Ocean-ruling Spirit Indestructible Vajra Banner gained a passage into liberation of using clever expedients to guard and protect sentient beings’ good roots. Ocean-ruling Spirit Untainted by Defilement gained a passage into liberation of draining the seas of sentient beings’ afflictions. Ocean-ruling Spirit Ever-Dwelling in Waves gained a passage into liberation of freeing sentient beings from the evil paths.  

Commentary:

He cultivates boundless expedients. Water-ruling Spirit Roaring Sound Pervading Seas has an understanding of the Buddha’s state, and so she says: The Buddha cultivates boundlessly many expedient practices, all kinds of skill-in-means. They are commensurate with and filling sentient beings’ many realms. These Dharma doors of expedient means are as numerous as sentient beings. They totally fill the realms of all sentient beings. His spiritual penetrations never cease their wondrous functionings. The Buddha’s powers of spiritual penetrations along with his inconceivable states of wondrous functionings never stop, even momentarily. Rather, the Buddha constantly manifests spiritual penetrations and wondrous functionings to teach and transform sentient beings. Roaring Sound Pervading Seas enters thus. Water-ruling Spirit Roaring Sound Pervading Seas enters this passage into liberation.

Moreover indicates that the principles presented previously were not fully elaborated, and something more is to be said. Now, the first Ocean-ruling Spirit to be discussed is named Manifesting Jeweled Lights, because she can make all kinds of gem-like radiance appear. She gained a passage into liberation of impartially bestowing oceans of blessings and virtues upon sentient beings. She attained the state of the Buddha of using an egalitarian, nondiscriminatory attitude to bestow seas of blessings and virtues upon sentient beings, so they become physically adorned, as if with myriad jewels such as gold, silver, vaidurya, crystal, mother-of pearl, red pearls and carnelian. She attained that passage into liberation.

The next Ocean-ruling Spirit is named Indestructible Vajra Banner. Her name conveys the meaning of solidity. This Ocean-ruling Spirit gained a passage into liberation of using clever expedients, skill-in-means, to guard and protect sentient beings’ good roots. She doesn’t allow sentient beings’ good roots to be destroyed. Instead, she protects them and helps sentient beings to perfect their good roots. Her preventing sentient beings’ good roots from being destroyed led to her becoming an Ocean-ruling Spirit with the name Indestructible Vajra Banner. She employs clever, expedient means to keep guard over the roots of goodness of all sentient beings. That is the state of the Buddha that she achieved, and the passage to liberation that she entered.

Ocean-ruling SpiritUntainted by Defilement is extremely pure, wi thout a speck of filth, hence her name. She gained a passage into liberation of draining the seas of sentient beings’ afflictions. She can dry up the oceans of the afflictions of sentient beings. “Draining” means getting rid of them, drying them up, so afflictions are gone and beings’ wisdom opens up. Why haven’t we opened our wisdom? It’s because our afflictions are too heavy. Our seas of afflictions have not dried up. Probably this Ocean-ruling Spirit isn’t paying any attention to us. If she were, then the seas of our afflictions would also have dried up, and we would have achieved this passage into liberation.

However, now that we have listened to the Flower Adornment Sutra, this Ocean-ruling Spirit is sure to drain the oceans of our afflictions dry. Nevertheless, we should not rely on her to dry up our oceans of afflictions. We should drain our own seas of afflictions, and not wait for this Ocean-ruling Spirit to do all the work, or give her a lot of trouble. We should find a way to dry up our own oceans of afflictions. That will make this Ocean-ruling Spirit very happy, and she will definitely never want to leave this passage into liberation.

The next Ocean-ruling Spirit is named Ever-Dwelling in Waves. One way to explain her name is that she always dwells in the breakers. Another interpretation is that she can make the waves “dwell” or subside, so the ocean is always calm. Either explanation makes sense. “Ever Making Waves Dwell” would be the translation corresponding to the second interpretation that she always stops the waves. On the other hand, “Ever-Dwelling in Waves” stresses her not fearing any wave whatsoever, to the point that she passes her life in the breakers. This Ocean-ruling Spirit gained a passage into liberation of freeing sentient beings from the evil paths. She achieved the Dharma door of helping sentient beings get far away from the three evil paths and reach the three good paths. That’s her passage into liberation.

Sutra:

Ocean-ruling Spirit Auspicious Jeweled Moon gained a passage into liberation of universally dispelling the somber darkness of dullness and delusion. Ocean-ruling Spirit Wondrous Floral Dragon Cowl gained a passage into liberation of eradicating suffering and bestowing happiness on those in the destinies. Ocean-ruling Spirit Universally Maintaining Flavor and Light gained a passage into liberation of purifying and regulating the views and deluded natures of sentient beings.  

Commentary:

The next Ocean-ruling Spirit is named Auspicious Jeweled Moon. She gained a passage into liberation, a state of the Buddha, of knowing about the Buddha’s universally dispelling the somber darkness of dullness and delusion. The Buddha totally gets rid of all the darkness of stupidity and delusion. When the obscurity of foolishness is gone, the light of understanding emerges. Once the gloom of delusion is dispelled, brilliant light shines forth. This Ocean-ruling Spirit attains that passage to liberation and understands that state of the Buddha.

The following Ocean-ruling Spirit is named Wondrous Floral Dragon Cowl. She gained a passage into liberation of eradicating suffering and bestowing happiness on those in the destinies, meaning in the destinies of hungry ghosts, hell-beings, animals, and asuras. The agonies and troubles in those four evil destinies are overwhelming, but she can dispel them. She further enables sentient beings of those four evil destinies to be happy, to leave suffering and attain bliss.

Ocean-ruling SpiritUniversally Maintaining Flavor and Lightgained a passage into liberation of purifying and regulating the views and deluded natures of sentient beings. “Purifying” means cleaning up, and “regulating” means keeping in order, in this case regulating sentient beings’ views and deluded natures. She adjusts and balances their deluded natures by adding some wisdom to them, so the delusion is lessened. She purifies and regulates sentient beings’ views, “views” here meaning wrong knowledge and wrong views--the sixty-two views. She can adjust all those types of wrong opinions and outlooks, changing their deluded natures. She doesn’t cut off their deluded natures, but rather she transforms them into natures of wisdom. Wisdom counteracts delusion. This Ocean-ruling Spirit attained that passage to liberation.

Sutra:

Ocean-ruling Spirit Jeweled Blaze of Floral Light gained a passage into liberation of committing to the bodhi resolve, the seed nature that produces all gems. Ocean-ruling Spirit Wondrous Vajra Cowl gained a passage into liberation of the ocean of developing the meritorious qualities of an unmoving mind. Ocean-ruling Spirit Thunderous Sound of Ocean Tides gained a passage into liberation of attaining the samadhi that serves as a gateway for universal entry to Dharma Realms.

At that time, Ocean-ruling Spirit Manifesting Jeweled Lights received the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of Ocean-ruling Spirits, and spoke the following verse.  

Commentary:

The next Ocean-ruling Spirit is named Jeweled Blaze of Floral Light. She gained a passage into liberation of committing to the bodhi resolve, the seed nature that produces all gems. The seed nature of gems is the solid resolve, the firm resolve for bodhi. How firm is it? It’s as solid as vajra. Furthermore, this seed nature of gems is the fundamental substance of all precepts. When we left-home people receive the precepts, we receive the precepts of the seed nature of jewels. Once we attain the seed nature that produces all jewels, then day by day that seed nature of gems increases, that resolve for bodhi augments. She attained that passage into liberation.

The following Ocean-ruling Spirit is named Wondrous Vajra Cowl. She gained a passage into liberation of developing the ocean of meritorious qualities of an unmoving mind. She achieved a state of the Buddha and came to know about the oceanic merit and virtue of an unmoving mind. An unmoving mind is constantly still and quiet, and its meritorious qualities are so numerous that they resemble an ocean. She attained that passage into liberation.

Ocean-ruling Spirit Thunderous Sound of Ocean Tides gained a passage into liberation of attaining the samadhi that serves as a gateway for universal entry to Dharma Realms. One enters all Dharma Realms, and so this is the concentration, the samadhi, of universal entry into all Dharma Realms. She achieved such a concentration and entered such a passage into liberation.

At that time, Ocean-ruling Spirit Manifesting Jeweled Lights received the Buddha’s great, awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of Ocean-ruling Spirits, and spoke the following verse. She used verses to reiterate what had been said in the prose, stating it in more detail.  

Venerable Master: Are there any questions?

Guo Yi: I would like to know more about the samadhi of the Dharma Realms, and where to find out more about it.

Venerable Master: The samadhi of Dharma Realms is in a single particle of dust. That’s where you can find it. Who else has a question?

Guo Sui: Do Ocean-ruling Spirits cause tidal waves and other catastrophes such as floods, inundations, torrents, and so forth?

Venerable Master: Not at all. If it weren’t for them, the oceans would long ago have drowned everyone. Since they are watching over the oceans, the water does not exceed its boundaries and drown people. Ocean-ruling Spirits help people, guarding and protecting them. They don’t harm people. Without these Ocean-ruling Spirits, the waters might have risen to the heavens by now.

Earlier on I discussed Ocean-ruling Spirit either “Ever-Dwelling in Waves” or “Ever Making Waves Dwell.” All of you should decide which interpretation is correct. Since we already discussed this spirit, we don’t need to repeat the explanation. If you remember it, you remember; if you don’t, you don’t. There’s no need to re-lecture it. Just use one of the names. You don’t have to repeat the two meanings I gave before. If there is time left, the translators can use it to translate. If they don’t understand or they forgot because they weren’t paying attention, that’s their problem. I explained to you all very clearly, and yet you still don’t know which meaning is correct.

Which of the meanings is more accurate, more forceful, and more complete? It’s decisions like this that determine whether you have Dharma-selecting Vision or not. You should use whichever interpretation expresses the principle more fully. There might not only be two interpretations, but millions upon millions of them. If you kept on explaining, there would be many, many meanings. And if you were to go into detailed and subtle analysis, then the meanings would be infinite and unending. However, just interpreting in a general way, which of the two meanings should be used? Do you know?

Disciple: Yes.

Venerable Master: Explain to the rest of them.

Sutra:

During oceans of eons—inconceivable and vast--
He made offerings to all the Thus Come Ones,
Bequeathing the merit and virtue to all beings everywhere.
Thus, he is upright and adorned beyond compare.  

In each and every world-system he appears,
Knowing the disposition and propensities of each and every being.
For their sakes he universally proclaims oceans of great Dharma.
Solid Banner joyfully awakens thus.  

Commentary:

Earlier, the prose section described how Ocean-ruling Spirit Manifesting Jeweled Lights received the Buddha’s great, awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of Ocean-ruling Spirits, and spoke a four-line stanza. That verse of four lines was a restatement, by the compilers of the Sutra Treasury, of the previous prose, filling in meanings not completely presented there. Hence the verse discusses how during oceans of eons—inconceivable and vast. Ocean-ruling Spirit Manifesting Jeweled Lights speaks this verse, describing how for oceans of more great eons than could be conceptualized by thought or expressed in words—one knows not how many since they are limitless and boundless like the ocean—he, the Buddha, made offerings to all the Thus Come Ones.

While at the level of planting causes, the Buddha made offerings to all Buddhas for a very long period of time. Sometimes he used wealth as the offering, sometimes he offered Dharma, and sometimes he made offerings of his body, mind, and life to the Buddhas. He gave his body, mind, and life to the Buddhas, employing that kind of sincerity in his quest for Buddhahood. An example of this can be seen here now at Gold Mountain Monastery. All the left-home people and laypeople take time out from their busy schedules to study and practice the Buddhadharma, apply and maintain it. That too is making offerings to all Thus Come Ones. We too are giving our bodies, minds, lives, wealth and Dharma as offerings to the Triple Jewel.

The Buddha cultivated all types of merit and virtue through making offerings to all Thus Come Ones, bequeathing the merit and virtue to all beings everywhere. He universally dedicated all his merit and virtue to sentient beings. He said, “I now transfer all the merit and virtue which I have to all sentient beings throughout the Dharma Realm. I don’t wish to enjoy the reward of that merit and virtue myself. I only hope all sentient beings will leave suffering and attain bliss. May the merit and virtue that I have cultivated enable their karmic obstructions to be eradicated and their good roots to increase and grow, so they will diligently cultivate the proper path and soon reach Buddhahood.” He made that kind of transference to all sentient beings.

Thus, he is upright and adorned beyond compare. Since he dedicated all his merit and virtue to all sentient beings of the Dharma Realm, the Buddha’s body is most upright and adorned, especially subtle and wonderful, far beyond compare. No sentient being in the heavens or on the earth could equal the radiance of the Buddha’s hallmarks and characteristics, the wonder of his adornments, his Thirty-two Hallmarks and Eighty Subtle Characteristics.

In each and every world-system he appears. The Buddha manifests in all worlds, knowing the disposition and propensities of each and every being. The Buddha knows whether or not sentient beings have good roots, and what sentient beings are wishing for. For their sakes he universally proclaims oceans of great Dharma. For all sentient beings everywhere, he propagates the great Dharma, which is like the immense ocean. Solid Banner joyfully awakens thus. Ocean-ruling Spirit Solid Banner delights in, awakens to, and enters this passage to liberation. 

Sutra:

Unfathomable, the great rain from the Dharma clouds
Bestowed by multitudes of Guiding Masters in all worlds.
It desiccates the limitless ocean of sufferings:
Free from Defilement enters this Dharma door.  

Commentary:

Unfathomable, the great rain from the Dharma clouds, / Bestowed by multitudes of Guiding Masters in all worlds. “ Multitudes of Guiding Masters,” meaning the Buddhas, send out great Dharma clouds everywhere, which pour down great Dharma rain. This kind of state cannot be understood, guessed at, reckoned or known by ordinary beings.

It desiccates the limitless ocean of sufferings. The Dharma clouds’ great rain can eradicate the afflictions of sentient beings--their greed, anger and delusion. It can rid them of inexhaustible and unending amounts of afflictions. The “ocean of sufferings” refers to every type of suffering whatsoever. The sufferings are limitless and boundless, and so constitute an ocean. Free from Defilement enters this Dharma door. Ocean-ruling Spirit Free from Defilement understands this passage into liberation.  

Sutra:

Sentient beings are shrouded in afflictions.
They flow and turn in the destinies, undergoing every sort of woe. For them he discloses the realm of the Thus Come Ones.
Palaces in All Waters spirit enters this passage.  

Commentary:

Sentient beings are shrouded in afflictions. Basically, all sentient beings possess wisdom and are fundamentally no different from the Buddhas. However, because afflictions obscure their wisdom, that light does not shine forth. Just as when the sun is blocked by clouds, beings are shrouded by afflictions. They flow and turn in the destinies, undergoing every sort of woe. Shrouded by afflictions, they wander in the six paths of rebirth, suddenly in the heavens, suddenly on earth, suddenly among hungry ghosts, and suddenly among animals. They revolve non-stop in all destinies, undergoing myriad sufferings. For them he discloses the realm of the Thus Come Ones. For the sake of sentient beings, the Buddha discloses the state of the Thus Come Ones, hoping beings will attain it, that is, become enlightened and achieve Buddhahood. Palaces in All Waters enters this passage. Ocean-ruling Spirit Palaces in All Waters enters this door. Ocean-ruling Spirit Palaces in All Waters understands this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

Over inconceivable oceans of eons, the Buddha
Cultivated all practices—inexhaustible in number,
Rending forever the net of beings’ delusion.
Jeweled Moon understands and enters thus.  

The Buddha sees sentient beings forever fearful and alarmed.
They flow and turn in birth and death’s colossal sea.
For them, he shows the Thus Come One’s unsurpassed Way:
Dragon Cowl understands thus, and rejoices.

Commentary:

Over inconceivable oceans of eons, the Buddha / Cultivated all practices—inexhaustible in number. The Buddha, in the past, cultivated all practices for such a very long time that it is termed “inconceivable oceans of eons.” How long are oceans of eons? The duration of time involved is so lengthy that it is beyond the mind’s ability to imagine. He renounced what was hard to renounce, practiced what was hard to practice, endured the unendurable, and yielded what was hard to yield. In general, the Dharma doors that were hardest to cultivate were the very ones he cultivated. And those hard-to-practice Dharma doors were inexhaustibly many. That resulted in his rending forever the net of beings’ delusion. He slashes through the net of sentient beings’ stupidity--not only once, but conclusively. He breaks that net. Ocean-ruling Spirit Jeweled Moon understands and enters thus, awakening to and entering this state .

[While the tape was being changed, the Venerable Master had disciples explain the first line of the next stanza of verse.]

Explain the line: The Buddha sees sentient beings forever fearful and alarmed. Who is afraid of whom, and who is not afraid of whom? [Two disciples explain.] Why did I tell the two of you to explain this? That’s because it’s very easy to misinterpret this line. It says: “The Buddha sees sentient beings forever fearful and alarmed,” and one might get the mistaken idea, “Oh, the Buddha is afraid of sentient beings. As soon as he sees them, he’s scared. The Buddha fears sentient beings more than anything.” If you miss the point, you might explain it that way, because on the surface it seems to be saying that when the Buddha sees sentient beings, he is always fearful and alarmed.

But that’s not the meaning. It means that the Buddha observes how sentient beings themselves are always becoming fearful and scared. What are they afraid of? They are afraid because the problem of birth and death has not been solved. It’s not [as one disciple had explained] that they’re afraid of how hard it is to cultivate various entrances into the Dharma, because sentient beings don’t yet know what the Dharma is or what the entrances are. They are undergoing repeated deaths and rebirths, and not even trying to get out. It hasn’t yet occurred to them that they should try to get out of the Three Realms.

Therefore, the next line says they flow and turn in birth and death’s colossal sea. What is the most terrifying aspect of this? It’s that within the immense ocean of death and rebirth, they are born and then die, die and then are reborn, over and over again. Human beings live for several decades and then die, just as mayflies are born in the morning and die by the evening. The few decades of our lives seem, to the gods, like the brief life spans of mayflies that are born at daybreak and die at dusk. Fifty years in the human realm are just a day and a night in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Comparatively speaking, isn’t that like being born at dawn and dying by nightfall? From the perspective of the Trayastrimsha Heaven, a hundred years among humans equals one day and one night in that heaven, the “Heaven of the Thirty-three.” The few brief decades of our lives do not even amount to a day and a night in the eyes of those gods. We die before that, like mayflies. The gods look upon people the way people look upon mayflies, as being born in the morning and dying by the evening. We experience the several decades as being a long time, but the mayfly also feels the time it passes through in that one day is quite lengthy, like hundreds of years. Perhaps for it one second is like a year of time for us, and so it lives to be over a hundred “years” of age, or at least many decades.

Consequently, repeatedly dying and being reborn in the great ocean of birth and death is extremely terrifying for sentient beings. On the other hand, you could say the Buddha is afraid for sentient beings, that he constantly stands in for sentient beings and is fearful for their sakes, since they have not ended birth and death. Hence, for them, he shows the Thus Come One’s unsurpassed Way. He points out the unsurpassed Path to Buddhahood.

Dragon Cowl understands thus, and rejoices. Ocean-ruling Spirit Dragon Cowl understands this state and is delighted in mind, filled with joy.

Disciple: There is a discrepancy between the name given Ocean-ruling Spirit number four in the prose and in the verses.

Venerable Master: It amounts to the same thing. There is not much difference between the two. There’s no need to expend too much effort at this point--you won’t get enlightened from doing so. The spirits’ names are all false. If you try to find out their names, it will be a lot of trouble. Guo Ning can also be called “Heng Ching” and “Steve.” The three are one and the one is three. The Spirit called “Ever-Dwelling in Waves” is later called “Palaces in All Waters,” isn’t that right? He can have a palace in the water. People see it as a wave, but he sees it as a palace. The eyes of ordinary people see things differently from the way spirits view them. For example, this bowing bench contains the Dharma Realms of the ten directions, but we ordinary beings just see it as a bowing bench. 

Sutra:

Inconceivable, all Buddhas’ spheres—
At one with space and the entire Dharma Realm,
They cleanse all beings’ nets of delusion:
Maintaining Flavor thus proclaims and tells.  

Pure and inconceivable, the Buddha Eye
Apprehends all and everything.
The Buddha shows sentient beings many wondrous paths.
Thus awakens the mind of Floral Light.  

Commentary:

Inconceivable, all Buddhas’ spheres…We sentient beings have our states of sentient beings, Buddhas have the states of Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas have Bodhisattva states. The states of sentient beings are conceivable, and the states of Bodhisattvas can also be conceptualized. Only the states of the Buddhas are inconceivable. The mind cannot conceive of them, nor can words express them. They cannot be reached by the thought processes and verbal expressions of ordinary beings.

They are at one with space and the entire Dharma Realm. As to the states of all Buddhas, all Buddhas are just the Dharma Realm, and the Dharma Realm itself is all Buddhas. The Dharma Realm and all Buddhas are both just like space. “At one with” indicates there is no excess and no deficiency, but rather absolute equality.

They cleanse all beings’ nets of delusion. The Buddhas’ states and their spiritual penetrations function wonderfully to purify and regulate sentient beings’ nets of foolish delusions, their lack of clarity and their confusion.

Sentient beings can be compared to flies. A fly zooms around to the north and south, east and west, up and down. It’s ultimate aim is to find something to eat, but often it pursues many futile paths without finding anything edible. It expends considerable energy without necessarily obtaining anything to eat. It keeps on flying because it is deluded. Deeply confused, it flies everywhere. How did it come to be a fly doomed to fly all over the place without any success? The reason is that at the level of planting causes, which means in previous lifetimes, it entertained all kinds of random thoughts—its thoughts flew all over the place. It admired the fly for being free to do whatever it wanted with no one controlling it. As a result of liking the fly, it became a fly. That’s how it entered the net of delusions. Fortunately for it, the Buddha can cleanse its net of delusions, and in the future it still has the opportunity to become a Buddha.

Maintaining Flavor thus proclaims and tells. Ocean-ruling Spirit Maintaining Flavor and Light comprehends and fathoms the principles just discussed.

Pure and inconceivable, the Buddha Eye…The Buddha has the Five Eyes and the Six Penetrations. Here the sutra text is discussing the Buddha Eye. The Buddha Eye contemplates everything everywhere. It is pure and inconceivable, and it apprehends all and everything. “All and everything” includes the states of the Buddha as well as the states of sentient beings. The Buddha Eye totally takes them in. Whether the states are those of the Buddha or states of sentient beings, they are all perceived by the Buddha Eye. The Buddha Eye is like a great, bright mirror that encompasses and includes everything. The Buddha discerns everything.

The Buddha shows sentient beings many wondrous paths. The Buddha knows whether the disposition of any given sentient being is predominantly good or evil. The Buddha also knows the propensities of sentient beings. He universally reveals to sentient beings many wondrous paths, which are simply the paths we walk in our daily lives, the ways we use each day.

The paths we take in our ordinary daily activities are very wonderful. Unless you pay attention and investigate them, you will not realize their wondrous aspects. As soon as you are attentive and look into this, you find that everything whatsoever is wonderful. A very obvious example is that of the items we utilize each day. Where do they come from? Their origin is very wonderful. Furthermore, how do they go away? Their disappearance is also quite wonderful.

The states we encounter every day are all wondrous paths. For instance, if we don’t eat, we feel hungry. This is very wonderful. How do we get hungry? After we have eaten, we are satiated, which is also wonderful. Even wearing clothes, drinking tea, imbibing Coca - Cola—which would you say was not wonderful? If these things were not wonderful, why would we want to use them? After we have used them, they don’t remain forever; they are temporal. Would you deny that is wonderful? You may claim that everyone understands this. They may understand, but only superficially. They are unaware of its wondrous aspect. Why do people want to eat good food? This is a wonder. Why do they like to wear nice clothes? This too is a wonder. Why do people wish to live in nice homes? It is also a wonder. It is a wonder in that you don’t quite understand, and it is included in the net of delusion. The wonderful exists within the net of delusion. If you understand, then it is wonderful; if you fail to understand, then it isn’t wonderful.

There is just too much to say about the paths of wonder. For example, Guo Yu and Guo Dao are doing Three Steps One Bow. Wouldn’t you say this, too, is a wonder? In the course of their bowing, sometimes people throw glass bottles at them, which is another wonder. One of them didn’t have trousers to wear, and some trousers appeared. That is also a wonder. If we go into this, there are a great many wonders. Thus awakens the mind of Floral Light. This state is the passage to liberation that Ocean-ruling Spirit Jeweled Blaze of Floral Light understands.

Sutra:

Massive, uncountable demon armies
Were all routed in an instant.
Steadfast, unmoving minds are difficult to fathom.
Wondrous Vajra Cowl has such skill-in-means.

Commentary:

The ten armies of demons were discussed previously. Every army of demons transformed into ten armies of demons to make a hundred armies of demons. The hundred great demon armies changed into a thousand massive armies of demons. The thousand massive armies of demons changed into tens of thousands of extensive armies of demons. The more changes, the more armies; the more that were created, the more that came to be. One knows not how many sons of demons, grandsons of demons, demon kings, and demon masses there were. There were massive, uncountable demon armies. They were countless. It wasn’t just hundreds or thousands or millions or billions. Each army changed into hundreds of thousands of millions of billions. That is because the demons’ spiritual prowess was extraordinarily great. Unfortunately they belong to the forces of evil; it would be fine if they benefited beings, but they are always harming people. That’s why the demon kings are known as murderers.

Although there were so many, still, they were all routed in an instant. The power of the Buddha’s spiritual penetrations could subdue and tame them in an instant, a brief moment of time--so they were all overthrown and dispelled. That does not necessarily mean they were killed or anything like that. It means that they changed their way of thinking and behaving--they reformed in every way. What kind of change did they make? They become Dharma protectors. Thus, that they were routed means they surrendered.

Steadfast, unmoving minds are in a state of unmoving Thusness, lucid and forever clear. They are unshakable and have attained samadhi. Once in samadhi they are difficult to fathom. Steadfast, unmoving minds don’t entertain a single thought. When not a single thought arises, ghosts and spirits cannot perceive anything. Not having a single thought, one resembles a calm, placid sea without waves. When the wind is still, the waves subside. An ocean without waves is difficult to fathom. There’s no way to probe its depths.

Wondrous Vajra Cowl has such skill-in-means. Ocean-ruling Spirit Wondrous Vajra Cowl attains this expedient Dharma door.  

Sutra:

Wondrous sounds in ten directions everywhere proclaim, Pervading all throughout the Dharma Realm.
This is the state of the Thus Come One’s samadhi.
Sound of Ocean Tides spirit practices in this realm.

Commentary:

Wondrous sounds in ten directions everywhere proclaim. The Buddha goes throughout the ten directions pronouncing wonderful sounds. You can observe that all the sounds in the world are expressing the Dharma in various ways. All of them are speaking the Dharma right here and now. Sometimes sentient beings speak the Dharma. Sometimes insentient entities speak the Dharma. Sometimes sound is used to express the Dharma; sometimes the expressions of Dharma are soundless. That’s the meaning of “wondrous sounds in ten directions everywhere proclaim.”

These are wonderful sounds pervading all throughout the Dharma Realm. Not only do these wonderful sounds pervade the ten directions, they reach every place in the Dharma Realm. To the ends of space throughout the Dharma Realm, there isn’t any place where the wonderful sounds of the Buddha’s proclamations cannot be heard.

This is the state of the Thus Come One’s samadhi: What gives him that strength? This state is accomplished by means of the Thus Come One’s samadhi power. Sound of Ocean Tides spirit practices in this realm. This passage into liberation and state is the state of the Ocean-ruling Spirit Thunderous Sound of Ocean Tides. She practices this method of samadhi. It’s not for sure that we can hear the wonderful sound of the Buddhadharma, and even if we can, we may not recognize it.

Let me tell you something about the radio. There’s no person in the radio, but the radio can talk, and quite loudly, too. Its voice is very loud if you turn up the volume. That’s not so spectacular, because you can only hear a voice. Take a look at the television--not only does it have sound, there are also little people who appear. If you told people about this phenomena 300 years ago, saying that in the future there would be something called television on which you could clearly see people talking and walking, those people from 300 years in the past would say, “You’ve gone mad! How could such an amazing thing be possible?” Now everyone believes that it’s possible. Now not only adults, but children are into watching television and do not doubt its existence. If you had mentioned television to people who lived 300 or 500 years ago, they would have said, “You’re just talking in your dream.” Wouldn’t that be a case of proclaiming wonderful sounds? Worldly dharmas include world-transcending Dharma; world-transcending Dharma also encompasses worldly dharmas.

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