DESCRIPTION

This session is an overview of the massive Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra, shortened to Avataṃsaka Sūtra and typically translated as ‘Flower Adornment’ or ‘Flower Ornament’ Sutra. Within the general framework of the ‘panjiao’ classification system discussed in the previous session, which considers the Lotus Sutra to be the Buddha’s final teaching, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra is presented as the first ‘teaching’ of the Buddha. The sutra is not, however, exactly the collected words and sayings of the historical buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, so much as it is a description of what happened (or, what happens, or is happening) to the Buddha during the 21 days of rapturous immersion in samādhi under the Bodhi Tree just after having attained enlightenment, as recounted by a series of bodhisattvas from this world and beyond.

PART ONE: THE MIRACLE AT ŚRĀVASTĪ

Based on the Chinese rendering of the title of this sutra, it is often abbreviated as the ‘flower adornment’ sutra, however, the term Buddhāvataṃsaka means an adornment or ‘array’ of buddhas, not flowers, and it can be understood as a reference to the Miracle at Śrāvastī.

There is something known as the Twin Miracle, which is a particular spiritual power in which one emits fire from the top half of their body and streams water from the lower half, and according to Buddhist legend, there was a battle of spiritual powers between the Buddha and six rival ‘magicians.’ The Buddha starts by creating a jeweled walkway in midair and, standing on top of the walkway, he enters a meditative state and emits fire from the top half of his body and streams of water from the lower half, and then starts alternating the fire and water between the positions, creating a rainbow array of six colors. The fire and water then shoot up to illuminate the cosmos to the applause of the audience while the Buddha teaches the Dharma to the observers as he walks along the jeweled walkway. A Sanskrit recording of this story also includes the Buddha creating several duplicates of himself that fill the air during the miracle, with some walking, lying down, and sitting.

This final aspect of miracle - the Buddha creating duplicate bodies - is one of the foundational aspects of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.

PART TWO: UNDER THE BODHI TREE

There are two complete Chinese translations of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and there is fragmentary evidence of a Chinese translation that began in the 2nd century AD. Certain chapters of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra were translated separately into Chinese, and the first complete Chinese translation of the entire sutra was done by Buddhabhadra around the year 420 AD in 60 scrolls with 34 chapters. The second translation was done by Śikṣānanda around 699 AD in a staggering 80 scrolls with 39 chapters, and this version became the standard version for most of East Asia throughout the medieval period.

The primary focus of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra is the developmental process of a bodhisattva as they move from an initial stage of ‘generating bodhicitta’ to a final stage of complete, unsurpassable awakening as a fully realized buddha. The thirty-nine chapters of the Śikṣānanda translation are traditionally separated into nine ‘assemblies’ or ‘gatherings.’ Each assembly is, in a way, a complete description of the process of enlightenment, however, as one moves through the assemblies of the sutra there is a sense of expansion and transcendence.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Ten Grounds (Daśabhūmika) is thought to be the original ‘core’ of the entire sutra and constitutes the entirety of the Sixth Assembly. Like many of the chapters of the Avataṃsaka, The Ten Grounds is often found as a sutra by itself. This includes the final chapter of the sutra, a text known as the Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra.

PART THREE: HYPERBOLIC HYPERBOLE

[From Chapter Thirty-Seven: Manifestation of the Tathāgata / Cleary p. 314 or Dharmamitra p. 1352]

“Suppose there was a great sutra scroll equal in size to a three thousand great thousand world-system in which there was exhaustively recorded everything in the three thousand great thousand world-system, including for instance:

A written record of everything within the area encircled by the iron ring mountains which was equal in size to the great iron ring mountains themselves;

A written record of everything on the great earth which was equal in size to the great earth itself;

A written record of everything throughout a medium-sized great thousand world-system which was equal in size to that medium-sized great thousand world-system itself;

A written record of everything throughout a small great thousand world-system which was equal in size to that small great thousand world-system itself; and

In this same way, written records of everything on the four continents, the great ocean, Mount Sumeru, the palaces of the earthly devas, the palaces of the desire realm’s space-dwelling devas, the palaces of the form realms, and the palaces of the formless realm devas, for every one of which these written records were equal in size to each of these phenomena.

Although these great sutra scrolls might be equal in size to the three thousand great thousand world-system, they would all still be able to abide completely within a single atom. And just as this would be so with regard to a single atom, so too would this be so with regard to all atoms.

Suppose then that there was a single person possessed of clear and penetrating wisdom who, having completely purified the heavenly eye, saw this sutra scroll within an atom and realized that it was not benefiting beings in the least, whereupon he thought, “I should use the power of vigor to break open this atom, draw forth this sutra scroll, and then make it benefit all beings.”

Then, having thought in this way, suppose he immediately produced some skillful means to break open this atom, draw forth this immense sutra, and then use it to cause all beings to acquire its benefits. Then, just as he had done this with a single atom, one should realize he also did so with all atoms.

Children of the Buddha! So too it is with the Tathāgata’s wisdom. It is measureless, unimpeded, and universally able to benefit all beings. It is fully present in all beings. It is solely because of all common people’s erroneous perceptions and attachments that they do not know this, do not awaken to it, and thus fail to gain its benefits. Then, the Tathāgata, using the unimpeded vision of his pure wisdom eye, everywhere contemplates all beings throughout the Dharmadhatu and speaks these words: “This is strange indeed, strange indeed! How could it be that all these beings completely possess the Tathāgata’s wisdom, yet, because of foolishness and delusion, they do not realize this and do not perceive this? I should instruct them in the path of the āryas and enable them to forever abandon erroneous perceptions and attachments so that they can see in their own persons the vast wisdom of the Tathāgata which is no different than that of the Buddha himself.”

Session 5 - The World is a Sūtra

DESCRIPTION

PART ONE: THE MIRACLE AT ŚRĀVASTĪ

PART TWO: UNDER THE BODHI TREE

PART THREE: HYPERBOLIC HYPERBOLE

SUGGESTED READING