Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra

This work has been used in a variety of countries. Some major traditional titles include the following: • Sanskrit: '', The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra named "Buddhāvataṃsaka". Vaipulya'' ("extensive") refers to key Mahayana sutras. "Garland/wreath/adornment" refers to a manifestation of the beauty of Buddha's virtues or his inspiring glory. The term avataṃsaka also means "a great number," "a multitude," or "a collection." This matches the content of the sutra, in which numerous Buddhas are depicted as manifestations of the cosmic Buddha Vairocana. Huā () means at once "flower" (archaic; namely ) and "magnificence." Yán (), short for zhuàngyán'' (), means "to decorate (so that it is solemn, dignified)." • Japanese: ' (), usually known as the ' (). This title is identical to Chinese above, just in Shinjitai characters. • ' or ' (), the Sino-Korean pronunciation of the Chinese name. • , shortened to the '''', the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of the Chinese name. • , Standard Tibetan '''' • Tangut (romanized): Tha cha wa tha fa sho ldwi rye According to a Dunhuang manuscript, this text was also known as the ''''. == History ==

The Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra was written in stages, beginning from at least 500 years after the death of the Buddha. One source claims that it is "a very long text composed of a number of originally independent scriptures of diverse provenance, all of which were combined, probably in Central Asia, in the late third or the fourth century CE." Japanese scholars such as Akira Hirakawa and Otake Susumu meanwhile argue that the Sanskrit original was compiled in India from sutras already in circulation which also bore the name "Buddhavatamsaka". The Ten Stages sutra (Daśabhūmika) and the Flower Array sutra (Gaṇḍavyūha) have both survived in Sanskrit. There are two other parts of the Avatamsaka which have survived in Sanskrit, the Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna (The Aspiration Prayer for Good Conduct), and the Anantabuddhakṣetraguṇodbhāvana-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra (Cultivating the Qualities of Infinite Buddhafields). Apart from these four texts and some fragments, the rest of the sutra only survives in Chinese and Tibetan translations. Two full Chinese translations of the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra were made. Fragmentary translation probably began in the 2nd century CE, and the famous Ten Stages Sutra, often treated as an individual scripture, was first translated in the 3rd century. The first complete Chinese version was translated by Buddhabhadra around 420 in 60 scrolls with 34 chapters, and the second by Śikṣānanda, assisted by Bodhiruci around 699 in 80 scrolls with 40 chapters. There is also a translation of the Gaṇḍavyūha section by Prajñā around 798. The second translation includes more sutras than the first, and the Tibetan translation, which is still later, includes many differences with the 80 scrolls version. Scholars conclude that sutras were being added to the collection. The single extant Tibetan version was translated from the original Sanskrit by Jinamitra et al. at the end of ninth century. According to Paramārtha, a 6th-century monk from Ujjain in central India, the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra is also called the "Bodhisattva Piṭaka." In his translation of the Mahāyānasaṃgrahabhāṣya, there is a reference to the Bodhisattva Piṭaka, which Paramārtha notes is the same as the Avataṃsaka Sūtra in 100,000 lines. Identification of the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra as a "Bodhisattva Piṭaka" was also recorded in the colophon of a Chinese manuscript at the Mogao Caves: "Explication of the Ten Stages, entitled Creator of the Wisdom of an Omniscient Being by Degrees, a chapter of the Mahāyāna sūtra Bodhisattvapiṭaka Buddhāvataṃsaka, has ended." == Overview ==

in Suncheon, Korea. Joseon dynasty, 1644. The sutra, among the longest Buddhist sutras, is a compilation of disparate texts on various topics such as the Bodhisattva path, the interpenetration of phenomena (dharmas), the omnipresence of Buddhahood, the miraculous powers of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the visionary powers of meditation, and the equality of things in emptiness. According to Paul Demiéville, the Buddhāvataṃsaka collection is "characterized by overflowing visionary images, which multiply everything to infinity, by a type of monadology that teaches the interpenetration of the one whole and the particularized many, of spirit and matter" and by "the notion of a gradual progress towards liberation through successive stages and an obsessive preference for images of light and radiance." Likewise, Alan Fox has described the sutra's worldview as "fractal", "holographic", and "psychedelic". Holistic cosmos The East Asian Buddhist view of the text is that it expresses the infinite universe as seen by a Buddha (the Dharmadhatu), who sees all phenomena as empty and thus infinitely interpenetrating, from the point of view of enlightenment. Thus, a Buddha's view of reality is also said to be "inconceivable; no sentient being can fathom it". This idea would later become central in East Asian Buddhist traditions like the Huayan school and Zen. Mind-only and emptiness Paul Williams notes that the sutra contains both the "mind-only" (cittamatra, Yogacara) teachings and the emptiness teachings (associated with Prajñaparamita and Madhyamaka). The sutra thus teaches that all things are empty of inherent existence and also speaks of "pure untainted awareness or consciousness (amala-citta) as the ground of all phenomena". Teachings about emptiness and mind-only can be found throughout the sutra, especially in chapters 10, 1 6, and 22 of the 60 fascicle version (T 278). The sutra contains various statements affirming the mind-only teaching. For example, it states: "The triple world is only mind", and "Everything is created by the mind alone." It also affirms emptiness when it states: "The triple world is completely empty. That is the vision of the Buddhas;" and "all dharmas lack intrinsic nature; to understand the nature of dharmas like this is to see Vairocana." As the sutra states: :In all atoms of all lands, Buddha enters, each and every one, :Producing miracle displays for sentient beings: :Such is the way of Vairocana.... :The techniques of the Buddhas are inconceivable, :All appearing in accord with beings' minds.... :In each atom the Buddhas of all times :Appear, according to inclinations; :While their essential nature neither comes nor goes, :By their vow power they pervade the worlds. (Cleary 1984–7: I, Bk 4) (1115–1234) statue of Vairocana (), Shanhua Temple, Datong, Shanxi, China. Vairocana Buddha The sutra also discusses how there are an immeasurable number of Buddhas and their buddha-fields which are said to be infinite, representing a vast cosmic view of reality. One key Buddha in this sutra is the Buddha Vairocana ("Radiance" or "The Illuminator"). Vairocana is a supreme cosmic Buddha who is the source of light and enlightenment of the 'Lotus universe', and who is said to contain all world systems within his entire cosmic body.According to Paul Williams, the Buddha "is said or implied at various places in this vast and heterogeneous sutra to be the universe itself, to be the same as 'absence of intrinsic existence' or emptiness, and to be the Buddha's all-pervading omniscient awareness." Also, for the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra, the historical Buddha Sakyamuni is simply a magical emanation of the cosmic Buddha Vairocana. Bodhisattva stages The point of all the skillful teachings of the Buddha is to lead all living beings through the bodhisattva stages (Bhūmis) and to final Buddhahood. These stages of spiritual attainment are also widely discussed in various parts of the sutra (book 15, book 26). Indeed, according to a detailed study of the sutra by Itō Zuiei, some of the most important teachings in the sutra are related to the bodhisattva path, its primary cause (bodhicitta) and bodhisattva activity (bodhisattva-caryā). The Daśabhūmika Sūtra chapter describes ten bhūmis in detail. ==Sutra overview==

in Suncheon. Luis O. Gómez notes that there is an underlying order to the Avatamsaka collection. The discourses in the sutra version with thirty nine books (or chapters) are delivered to eight different audiences or "assemblies" in seven locations such as Bodh Gaya and Tusita Heaven. Each "assembly" includes various locales, doctrinal topics and characters. The following list of assemblies is based on the exegesis of the Chinese Huayan school. In Huayan commentaries, the main "assemblies" which the collection is traditionally divided into are: 1. The Bodhimaṇḍa (Books 1–6) This assembly of bodhisattvas and other beings is gathered at the Bodhimaṇḍa (the seat of awakening under the bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, Magadha), where the Buddha is seated. It is depicted as both the historical place as well as a transcendent palace filled with multicolored jewels and lights. In these chapters, various bodhisattvas, including Samantabhadra, and the Buddha, discuss the nature of reality, the infinity of the universe, how Buddhahood is omnipresent throughout the universe (which is really one vast Buddhafield) and how bodhisattvas fill the countless worlds in the universe. Chapter six discusses the Buddha Vairocana, his vow to reach Buddhahood long ago, and his path of practice. 2. The Hall of Universal Light (Books 7–12) , holding the sword of wisdom (which symbolizes prajñaparamita). This assembly is located in the "Hall of Universal Light", a grand palace which is coextensive with the Bodhimaṇḍa. In this set of books, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī arrives, and empowered by the Buddha's power, gives various teachings on the path. Mañjuśrī then gives further teachings on bodhisattvas, and on pure conduct. The 11th chapter is a popular text, widely known as the "pure practices chapter". In chapter 12, the bodhisattva Bhadraśrī also teaches the Bodhisattva Path, discussing bodhicitta, faith, and merit, and recites a set of verses which were seen as a dharani in India, the Dharani of the Jewelled Comet (Ratnolkadhāraṇī). 3. Indra's Palace (Books 13–18) Without leaving his seat at the bodhi tree, the Buddha ascends to Indra's (Sakra) palace in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven at the summit of Mount Sumeru and he is praised by Sakra in verse. Many bodhisattvas arrive from other realms and recite verses on the nature of reality, praising the Buddha and bodhisattvas. In book 15, a bodhisattva named Dharmamati teaches on how the bodhisattva path progresses through ten abodes (viharas): • Awakening the Aspiration to Enlightenment • Preparing the Ground • Cultivating the Practices • Noble Birth (i.e. into the family of the buddhas) • Perfection of Skilful Means • Rectification of the Mind • Nonregression • Childlike Simplicity • Crown Prince of the Dharma • Consecration Dharmamati then teaches on spiritual conduct and the importance of analytical inquiry for beginners on the path (book 16). In book 17, Dharmamati teaches about the arousing of the mind of awakening (bodhicittotpāda) and how its merit is greater than any kind of act of worship, no matter how vast. In book 18, Dharmamati discusses the main practices of bodhisattvas: heedfulness (apramāda), the perfections (pāramitās), the ten "inexhaustible treasuries" and others. 4. Yama's Palace (Books 19–22) The Buddha ascends to Yama's palace (Yama is the god of death), is welcomed with verses of praise. Ten more bodhisattvas arrive and sing verses on the nature of reality, emptiness and the mind. These verses also discuss how the world is a mental creation, it includes the famous simile which compares the mind to a painter and the world to a painting. In book 21, one of the bodhisattvas, Guṇavana, teaches the ten practices (carya) of bodhisattvas (which also roughly correspond to the Pāramitā): • Giving Delight (corresponding to dāna) • Bestowing Benefits (śīla) • Nonresentment (kṣānti) • Inexhaustible Practice (vīrya) • Transcending Ignorance and Confusion (dhyāna) • Skilful Manifestation (upāya) • Nonattachment • Using Power & Veneration (Bala) • Cultivation of Good Qualities (Praṇidhāna) • Cultivation of Truth (jñāna) In book 22, Guṇavana teaches the "Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries" (which summarize the bodhisattva path in from a different point of view). They are: • Faith • Ethical conduct • Repentance • Shame (with regard to past wrongdoing) • Acquiring Knowledge (of the Dharma) • Generosity • Wisdom • Mindfulness • Retention (of what has been learnt) • Eloquence (in teaching the Dharma) 5. Tushita Heaven (Books 23–25) . Paralleling the last two books, the Buddha arrives as Tushita heaven without leaving from his past abodes as well. He radiates light in the ten directions and ten more bodhisattvas arrive, singing verses to the Buddha. In book 25, the bodhisattva Vajradhvaja enters samadhi and is blessed by 100,000 Buddhas. Then Vajradhvaja teaches the ten aspects of the bodhisattvas' transfer (pariṇāmana) of merit. This is the second longest book in the Avatamsaka and it was known as the Vajradhvaja Sūtra or Vajradhvaja Dhāraṇī to the Indian scholar Shantideva. Another commentary survives in Chinese translation, the Daśabhūmikavibhāṣā (十住毘婆沙論, Shi zhu piposha lun, Taisho # 1521). It is attributed to Nagarjuna and was translated by Kumārajīva's translation team. 7. The Hall of Universal Light (Books 27–38) , mounted on an elephant (which symbolizes his steadfast vows). The Buddha returns to the hall of universal light and Samantabhadra re-appears, becoming the main teacher of this assembly. In book 27, Samantabhadra teaches on ten types of meditative absorption (samadhi) and the various powers that they bestow on those who master them (such as being able to travel freely to all realms in the universe). In book 28, Samantabhadra similarly discusses ten supernormal powers (abhijñā) mastered by bodhisattvas (such as telepathy etc.), and in book 29, he discusses ten types of patience (kṣānti), which mainly refers to an acceptance of the illusory and unarisen nature of reality (i.e. anutpattikadharmakṣānti). Book 30 is taught by the Buddha himself, and it discusses the incalculable (asaṅkhyeya) and infinite nature of the universe and the number of beings contained in it. Books 31 and 32 are taught by the bodhisattva Cittaraja and discuss time and space respectively. Cittaraja states that time is relative, and that in some worlds, an entire aeon (kalpa) is but a day in other worlds. Book 35 discusses the manifestation of the Buddha in the world. Shakyamuni discusses his birth in Tushita, where he was a bodhisattva named Vairocana ('Shakyamuni' and 'Vairocana' are often used interchangeably in the Avatamsaka). In book 36, Samantabhadra discusses the bodhisattva path in brief, including fifty qualities that must be cultivated. Book 37 is an influential text titled The Manifestation of the Tathagata (Tathāgatotpattisaṃbhava) which also once circulated as an independent sutra. This book discusses the nature of Buddhahood and its manifestation in the world. Samantabhadra describes ten aspects of Buddhahood in detail and affirms that Buddhahood is present in every particle in the physical universe, as well as in the body and mind of every living being. In book 38 (the third longest book in the sutra), titled Disengagement from the World, Samantabhadra teaches on the Buddhist path to awakening. He is asked two hundred questions on the bodhisattva's career and provides ten answers to each one, providing a comprehensive set of guidelines and practices for bodhisattvas. These answers include: "ten types of spiritual teachers, ten kinds of effort, ten sources of contentment, ten ways of bringing sentient beings to maturity, ten kinds of moral discipline and so on." 8. Jetavana Pavilion (Book 39) Book thirty nine, entitled Entering the Dharmarealm (入法界品) in the Chinese, is also known as the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra (Stem Array, or Supreme Array Sutra). It is the longest book in the Avatamsaka. It contains the story of the bodhisattva Sudhana's spiritual career. Sudhana is a young man who hears Manjushri teaching and is inspired to seek awakening. Manjushri sends him to his first teacher, and this begins Sudhana's quest, which leads him to study under a series of teachers of all types (monastic, and lay, male and female, from all social and economic classes), including great bodhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara. Sudhana then meets Manjushri and Samantabhadra which confirm his attainment with further visions, including his final merging into the body of Samantabhadra (which contains the entire universe). These verses are known as the Bhadracaripraṇidhāna (Vows of Good Conduct) or Ārya-samantabhadra-caryā-praṇidhāna-rāja (The Royal Vow to follow the Noble Course of Conduct of Samantabhadra). This text which concludes the entire Avatamsaka was very popular in India, East Asia and in Himalayan Buddhism, and it is cited in numerous sources. It was considered to be a dhāraṇī and recited individually as a meritorious text. The text was known to Indian authors like Bhavya, Śantideva, and Kamalaśīla. The Tibetan canon also contains five commentaries on the individual verses, attributed to figures like Nāgārjuna, Diṅnāga, Śākyamitra, Bhadrāpaṇa, and Vasubandhu. == Individual sutras ==

Various "chapters" of the Buddhāvataṃsaka collection also circulated as individual sutras. These include the Ten Stages (Daśabhūmika), the Flower Array (Gaṇḍavyūha), the Manifestation of the Tathagatha, the Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna, and the ''Anantabuddhakṣetraguṇodbhāvana-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra. Ten Stages Sutra The sutra is also well known for its detailed description of the course of the bodhisattva's practice through ten stages where the Ten Stages Sutra, or ' (, ), is the name given to this chapter of the '. This sutra gives details on the ten stages (bhūmis) of development a bodhisattva must undergo to attain supreme enlightenment. The ten stages are also depicted in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. The sutra also touches on the subject of the development of the "aspiration for Enlightenment" (bodhicitta) to attain supreme buddhahood. The Flower Array Sutra learning from one of the fifty-two teachers along his journey toward enlightenment. Sanskrit manuscript, 11-12th century. The last chapter of the Avatamsaka circulates as a separate and important text known as the Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra ("", or "bouquet"; 'Entering the Dharma Realm'). Considered the "climax" of the larger text, this section details the pilgrimage of the layman Sudhana to various lands (worldly and supra-mundane) at the behest of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī to find a spiritual friend who will instruct him in the ways of a bodhisattva. According to Luis Gomez, this sutra can also be "regarded as emblematic of the whole collection." The Aspiration Prayer for Good Conduct (794–1185). The Bhadracaryā-praṇidhāna (or Samantabhadra-caryā-praṇidhāna) was often added to the end of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, at the very end of the Gaṇḍavyūha. The prayer contains the ten vows of Samantabhadra which encapsulate the core essence of the commitments and actions of all past and future buddhas. However, not all translations of the Gaṇḍavyūha contain this prayer (Śikṣānanda's Chinese Gaṇḍavyūha does not include it, for example), and some translators translated the prayer independently, like Buddhabhadra''. A Sanskrit manuscript of one edition of this commentary is held by a collection in China. The Vajradhvaja sūtra and the Ratnolkādhāraṇī Both the Vajra-flag sutra (Vajradhvaja sūtra, also known as the Vajradhvaja-pariṇāmanā) and the Ratnolkādhāraṇī (The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch) seem to have been important sutras in India. The Vajradhvaja sūtra is cited five times by Shantideva in his Śikṣāsamuccaya and it is one of the few texts explicitly recommended in his Bodhisatvacaryāvatāra (chapter 7, verse 46). Two manuscripts of an independent Vajradhvaja are preserved in the Dunhuang texts. == English translations ==

The first relatively complete English translation of the contents of the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra was authored by the late Thomas Cleary and published by Shambhala Publications in 1984 as The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sūtra. Cleary's translation was actually only partially translated from Śikṣānanda's most complete and now standard Tang Dynasty edition. Cleary chose instead to translate fully a third of this scripture (the very long and detailed Chapter 26 and the immense 53-part Chapter 39) from the much later P.L. Vaidya Sanskrit editions, even though he claimed on page two of his introduction to have made his translation from the Śikṣānanda edition. This is clearly not true, for Cleary's translations of Chapters 26 and 39 do not follow Śikṣānanda's Chinese at all, whereas they do follow the often very different P.L. Vaidya Sanskrit edition fairly closely from beginning to end. • "The Stem Array" Chapter from the Mahāvaipulya Sūtra "A Multitude of Buddhas" These translations are freely available on the 84000 website. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is also producing a translation of the '' (which they title The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra'') along with a lengthy commentary by Venerable Hsuan Hua. Currently over twenty volumes are available, and it is estimated that there may be 75-100 volumes in the complete edition. ==See also==