Flower Adornment Sutra Introduction

Flower Adornment Sutra

(Avatamsaka Sutra)

Lectures on the Great and Vast Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra

Lecturer: Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (宣化)

Chinese translation: Tang Dynasty by the Tripitaka Master Shramana Shikshananda of Khotan

Vietnamese translation: Bhikshu Thích Minh Định

— oOo —

Introduction

This sutra consists of 45 chapters of scriptural text, but only 39 chapters have been translated, comprising 80 volumes.

The first assembly discusses “faith in cause and effect.”

The second through sixth assemblies discuss “the distinctions of cause and effect.”

The seventh assembly discusses “the equality of cause and effect.”

The eighth assembly discusses “the cultivation of practices through cause and effect.”

The ninth assembly discusses “realization and entry into cause and effect.”

The first assembly consists of 11 volumes and is called the section in which the presentation of the fruits of practice gives rise to joyful faith. The second through seventh assemblies together consist of 41 volumes and are called the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding. The eighth assembly consists of 7 volumes and is called the section in which relying on the Dharma and advancing in cultivation leads to the accomplishment of practices. The ninth assembly consists of 21 volumes and is called the section in which relying on causes to attain realization leads to the fulfillment of virtues.

 

The First Assembly

The first assembly takes place at the Bodhi Tree Enlightenment Site. It contains six chapters:

  1. The Marvelous Adornments of the Lords of the Worlds.

  2. The Manifestation of the Tathagata.

  3. Samadhi of Samantabhadra.

  4. The Creation of Worlds.

  5. The Flower Treasury World.

  6. Vairocana.

The Second Assembly

The second assembly takes place in the Hall of Universal Radiance. It contains six chapters:

  1. The Names of the Tathagata.

  2. The Four Noble Truths.

  3. The Awakening to Light.

  4. Questions on Illumination by Bodhisattvas.

  5. Pure Practices.

  6. Worthy Leader.

The twelve chapters mentioned above are the marvelous Dharma teachings delivered in the human realm.

 

The Third Assembly

The third assembly takes place in the Hall of Marvelous Victory in the Trayastrimsha Heaven. It contains six chapters:

  1. Ascending to the Summit of Mount Sumeru.

  2. Verses Praising Mount Sumeru.

  3. The Ten Abodes.

  4. The Pure Practices of Brahma.

  5. The Merits of the Initial Resolve to Generate Bodhicitta.

  6. Clarification of the Dharma.

  7.  

The Fourth Assembly

The fourth assembly takes place in the Jeweled Adornment Hall in the Yama Heaven. It contains four chapters:

  1. Ascending to the Yama Heaven.

  2. Verses Praising the Yama Heaven.

  3. The Ten Practices.

  4. The Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries.

 

The Fifth Assembly

The fifth assembly takes place in the Hall of All Marvelous Jeweled Adornments in the Tushita Heaven. It contains three chapters:

  1. Ascending to the Tushita Heaven.

  2. Verses Praising the Tushita Heaven.

  3. The Ten Dedications.

 

The Sixth Assembly

The sixth assembly takes place in the Mani Jeweled Treasury Hall in the Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven. It contains only one chapter:

26. The Ten Grounds.

The fourteen marvelous Dharma chapters mentioned above are those delivered in the heavenly realms.

 

The Seventh Assembly

The seventh assembly takes place in the Hall of Universal Radiance. It contains eleven chapters:

  1. The Ten Samadhis.

  2. The Ten Supernatural Powers.

  3. The Ten Kshantis.

  4. Asamkhyeya.

  5. Lifespan.

  6. The Abodes of Bodhisattvas.

  7. The Inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha.

  8. The Ocean of Marks of the Ten Bodies.

  9. Radiance of the Auspicious Marks.

  10. The Practices of Samantabhadra.

  11. The Appearance of the Tathagata.

 

The Eighth Assembly

The eighth assembly takes place in the Hall of Universal Radiance. It contains only one chapter:

38. Leaving the World.

 

The Ninth Assembly

The ninth assembly takes place in Jeta Grove. It contains only one chapter:

39. Entering the Dharma Realm.

 

Introduction

This Flower Adornment Sutra is also called the Sutra of the Dharma Realm and the Sutra of Emptiness. Throughout the entirety of space and the Dharma Realm, there is no place where the Flower Adornment Sutra is absent. Wherever the Flower Adornment Sutra abides is also where the Buddha abides, where the Dharma abides, and where the Noble Sangha abides.

Therefore, immediately after the Buddha attained perfect enlightenment, he expounded this Flower Adornment Sutra to teach all great beings who had realized the Dharma body. Because this sutra is a wondrous and inconceivable scripture, it was preserved in the Dragon Palace, where the Dragon King protected and safeguarded it. Later, the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna descended into the Dragon Palace, memorized this sutra, and subsequently transmitted it to the human world.

The Flower Adornment Sutra is like an auspicious cloud in the sky, illuminating the three thousand great thousand worlds. It is like a rain of ambrosial Dharma that nourishes all sentient beings. This sutra is also like sunlight illuminating the great thousand worlds, bringing warmth to all sentient beings. It is further like the earth, which enables all living things to grow.

Therefore, as long as the Flower Adornment Sutra remains in existence, the True Dharma can be said to endure for a long time.

Every day, when we explain and study the Flower Adornment Sutra, what matters most is that we practice according to the meaning of the sutra. We must use the sutra to treat the ailments of our body and mind. If we harbor greed, then upon hearing the Flower Adornment Sutra, we should eliminate our greed. If we harbor anger, then upon hearing the Flower Adornment Sutra, we should eliminate our anger. If we harbor ignorance, then upon hearing the Flower Adornment Sutra, we should eliminate our ignorance.

The principle of this sutra is to remedy our habitual tendencies and faults. Do not think that the teachings in the sutra are intended only for Bodhisattvas and have nothing to do with us, or that they are teachings for Arhats and therefore have no relevance to us. Do not think that, as ordinary people, we merely listen to this sutra without being able to attain the spiritual states of the sages.

If you think this way, you are harming yourself, abandoning yourself, and cutting yourself off from the path to sagehood.

Every sentence of the Flower Adornment Sutra is an unsurpassed Dharma treasure. If we put its teachings into practice and cultivate ourselves according to the meaning of its words, we will certainly attain Buddhahood. Therefore, the Flower Adornment Sutra can also be called the mother of all Buddhas. The Flower Adornment Sutra is the Dharma body of all Buddhas.

The Buddha praised the Diamond Sutra, saying: “Wherever a Buddhist scripture exists, there the Buddha exists.” Wherever this Flower Adornment Sutra exists, the Buddha is present. However, if your karmic obstacles are too deep and heavy, you may be standing face-to-face with the Buddha and still fail to see him. This is why there is the saying, “Standing face-to-face, one does not recognize Guanyin.”

Consider Bodhisattva Guanyin, with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, constantly radiating unobstructed light that illuminates all sentient beings connected to her throughout the three thousand great thousand worlds.

Yet we worship the Buddha here every day, recite the Buddha’s name, bow to Guanyin Bodhisattva, and recite Guanyin’s name, but still do not see Guanyin Bodhisattva. Instead, we merely imitate others: they bow, so we bow; they recite, so we recite. This is a state in which we are led by others rather than genuinely returning to the depths of our own minds.

Every day, when we bow to and recite the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva, what should we do? Should we ask ourselves whether we still harbor much anger? Whether we continue to repeat our old faults without correcting them?

If so, even if you bow until the end of the future, you will still not see Guanyin Bodhisattva. But if you turn away from evil and toward goodness, genuinely eliminate your habitual faults, correct your mistakes, and renew yourself, then Guanyin Bodhisattva will surely bless and protect you.

That is why some people practice for many years without developing even a little wisdom, while others have practiced for only a short time before their wisdom opens and they attain unobstructed eloquence.

Therefore, as monastics, we must diligently cultivate morality, concentration, and wisdom, eliminate greed, anger, and ignorance, and continually turn our attention inward to examine ourselves in every action. Only through such practice can we make progress.

We may explain the Flower Adornment Sutra, listen to it, bow to it, and recite it. But if we do not put its principles into practice, then the sutra remains the sutra, you remain you, and I remain I. There is no unity whatsoever.

We must become one with the scripture by putting its teachings into practice. This is what it means to become one with the sutra. If we do not practice according to the sutra, our compassion will remain insufficient and our willingness to give will remain limited. We will merely carry our ignorance and afflictions with us. This means we have neither understood nor truly heard the sutra.

Whenever you hear a sentence from the sutra, consider how you can put it into practice. Are you following your bad habits, or are you cultivating yourself according to the scripture? If you continually question yourself in this way, you will certainly benefit.

Why do you fail to gain great benefit? Because you regard the sutra as merely a sutra, unrelated to yourself.

In truth, when the Buddha first expounded the Flower Adornment Sutra, he did so for you, for me, and for all sentient beings. The Buddha was teaching us directly. When we hear these scriptural words, it is as though we ourselves were listening to the Buddha explain these principles and instructing us to cultivate ourselves according to this Dharma method.

All Dharma teachings are inseparable from the inherent nature of each of us. Our inherent nature likewise extends throughout all of space and the Dharma Realm. Therefore, if you expand your mind to embrace the vastness of the universe, you will become one with the Flower Adornment Sutra—two, yet not two.

Everyone should make the Flower Garland realm their own realm and take the immeasurable principles and immeasurable wisdom of the Flower Adornment Sutra into themselves as their own wisdom. Consider how vast and magnificent this is!

 

An Introduction to the Sutra

When Shakyamuni Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi Tree and had just attained perfect enlightenment, he expounded the Great Vaipulya Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra. Without leaving his seat, he remained in samadhi and manifested himself at seven locations—three in the human realm and four in the heavens.

For beings with great and complete spiritual roots, he taught the perfect and sudden Dharma that he had personally realized, leading directly into the principles of the Dharma Realm. Over nine assemblies spanning twenty-one days, he completed this inconceivable sutra.

The sutra consists of 45 chapters, but only 39 chapters have been translated, comprising 80 volumes. At each assembly, the Buddha emitted light, symbolizing the exposition of the great Flower Garland Dharma. Light represents wisdom and bestows blessings upon all sentient beings, enabling them to benefit from the Buddha’s teachings.

From beginning to end, the Flower Adornment Sutra explains five cycles of cause and effect:

  1. The first assembly discusses faith in cause and effect.

  2. The second through sixth assemblies discuss the distinctions of cause and effect.

  3. The seventh assembly discusses the equality of cause and effect.

  4. The eighth assembly discusses the accomplishment of practices through cause and effect.

  5. The ninth assembly discusses realization and entry into cause and effect.

The National Teacher Qingliang divided the entire 80-volume sutra into four sections:

  • The first assembly, comprising 11 volumes, is the section in which the presentation of the fruits of practice gives rise to joyful faith.

  • The second through seventh assemblies, comprising 41 volumes in total, form the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

  • The eighth assembly, comprising 7 volumes, forms the section in which relying on the Dharma and advancing in cultivation leads to the accomplishment of practices.

  • The ninth assembly, comprising 21 volumes, forms the section in which relying on causes to attain realization leads to the fulfillment of virtues.

 

The First Assembly: The Bodhi Tree Enlightenment Site

The first assembly took place at the Bodhi Tree Enlightenment Site, approximately two hundred li west of Rajagriha, in the kingdom of Magadha. Today, this location is Bodh Gaya.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from the space between his eyebrows, symbolizing the Buddha’s light illuminating all places and enabling all sentient beings to come and hear the great Dharma. He also emitted light from his teeth, symbolizing the ability of sentient beings to taste the flavor of the Dharma.

This sutra is expounded by Buddhas throughout the ten directions. Therefore, at many assemblies, Buddhas from the ten directions empower Bodhisattvas to teach it.

At this assembly, the Buddhas of the ten directions empowered Bodhisattva Samantabhadra to teach. Samantabhadra presided over the great assembly and, relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, explained the adornments of the Buddha’s resultant state in both the karmic reward body and the environmental reward realm, thereby bringing forth the complete faith of sentient beings.

This assembly contains six chapters:

  1. The Marvelous Adornments of the Lords of the Worlds.

  2. The Manifestation of the Tathagata.

  3. Samadhi of Samantabhadra.

  4. The Creation of Worlds.

  5. The Flower Treasury World.

  6. Vairocana.

These six chapters belong to the cycle of faith in cause and effect, the section in which presenting the fruits gives rise to joyful faith.

 

The Second Assembly: The Hall of Universal Radiance

The second assembly took place in the Hall of Universal Radiance, approximately three li southeast of the Bodhi Tree, near a bend in the Niranjana River. It was constructed by the Dragon Kings for the Buddha.

Because the Buddha emitted light that illuminated the boundless worlds throughout the ten directions, the hall was named the Hall of Universal Radiance.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from the soles of both feet, symbolizing that sentient beings should cultivate themselves in accordance with the Dharma.

Bodhisattva Manjushri presided over the assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he explained the virtues and principles of the Ten Faiths.

This assembly contains six chapters:

  1. The Names of the Tathagata.

  2. The Four Noble Truths.

  3. The Awakening to Light.

  4. Questions on Illumination by Bodhisattvas.

  5. Pure Practices.

  6. Worthy Leader.

These six chapters belong to the cycle of the distinctions of cause and effect, the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

The twelve marvelous Dharma chapters discussed above were delivered in the human realm.

 

The Third Assembly: The Hall of Marvelous Victory in the Trayastrimsha Heaven

The third assembly took place in the Hall of Marvelous Victory in the Trayastrimsha Heaven, at the summit of Mount Sumeru.

This is a heaven located on the earth, meaning it is the second heaven in the desire realm.

The Flower Adornment Sutra is spoken by the Dharma body. The Dharma body extends throughout all of space and the Dharma Realm; it is nowhere and yet everywhere, with no place in which it is absent. Therefore, the Buddha can appear anywhere to expound the sutras and teach the Dharma.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from his toes, symbolizing that the Dharma arises from a low foundation and that sentient beings should begin with the basics and gradually advance in their learning.

Bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom presided over the assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he explained the principles of the Ten Abodes.

This assembly also contains six chapters:

  1. Ascending to the Summit of Mount Sumeru.

  2. Verses Praising Mount Sumeru.

  3. The Ten Abodes.

  4. The Pure Practices of Brahma.

  5. The Merits of the Initial Resolve to Generate Bodhicitta.

  6. Clarification of the Dharma.

These six chapters also belong to the cycle of the distinctions of cause and effect, the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

 

The Fourth Assembly: The Jeweled Adornment Hall in the Yama Heaven

The fourth assembly took place in the Jeweled Adornment Hall in the Yama Heaven.

This heaven is located above the summit of Mount Sumeru and is called a heaven dwelling in the sky. It is the third heaven in the desire realm.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from the tops of both feet, symbolizing that the Dharma proceeds upward from below and that sentient beings should learn progressively, following the proper order.

Bodhisattva Meritorious Forest presided over the assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he explained the principles of the Ten Practices.

This assembly contains four chapters:

  1. Ascending to the Yama Heaven.

  2. Verses Praising the Yama Heaven.

  3. The Ten Practices.

  4. The Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries.

These four chapters also belong to the cycle of the distinctions of cause and effect, the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

 

The Fifth Assembly: The Hall of All Marvelous Jeweled Adornments in the Tushita Heaven

The fifth assembly took place in the Hall of All Marvelous Jeweled Adornments in the Tushita Heaven.

This heaven lies above the Yama Heaven and is the fourth heaven in the desire realm.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from both knees, symbolizing dedication. This teaches sentient beings to redirect worldly phenomena toward principle, causes toward results, and their own benefit toward the benefit of others.

Bodhisattva Vajra Banner presided over the assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he explained the principles of the Ten Dedications.

This assembly contains three chapters:

  1. Ascending to the Tushita Heaven.

  2. Verses Praising the Tushita Heaven.

  3. The Ten Dedications.

These three chapters also belong to the cycle of the distinctions of cause and effect, the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

 

The Sixth Assembly: The Mani Jeweled Treasury Hall in the Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven

The sixth assembly took place in the Mani Jeweled Treasury Hall in the Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven. This is the sixth heaven in the desire realm and the highest heaven within that realm.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from between his eyebrows.

Bodhisattva Vajra Treasury presided over the assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he explained the principles of the Ten Grounds.

This assembly contains only one chapter:

26. The Ten Grounds.

This chapter also belongs to the cycle of the distinctions of cause and effect, the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

The fourteen marvelous Dharma chapters discussed above were delivered in the heavenly realms.

 

The Seventh Assembly: The Hall of Universal Radiance

In the seventh assembly, the Buddha returned from the heavens to the human realm and again taught in the Hall of Universal Radiance.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted light from between his eyebrows and from his mouth. The light from his mouth symbolizes that all Buddha-sons are born from the Buddha’s mouth.

Bodhisattva Samantabhadra presided over the assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he taught the Dharma of Equal Enlightenment and Wondrous Enlightenment, which represents the completion of causes and the perfection of results.

The first six chapters discuss the perfection of causes, while the final five chapters discuss the perfection of results.

This assembly contains eleven chapters:

  1. The Ten Samadhis.

  2. The Ten Supernatural Powers.

  3. The Ten Kshantis.

  4. Asamkhyeya.

  5. Lifespan.

  6. The Abodes of Bodhisattvas.

  7. The Ocean of Marks of the Ten Bodies.

  8. Radiance of the Auspicious Marks.

  9. The Practices of Samantabhadra.

  10. The Appearance of the Tathagata.

These eleven chapters belong to the cycle of the equality of cause and effect, described as the section in which cultivating causes in accordance with their fruits gives rise to understanding.

 

The Eighth Assembly: The Hall of Universal Radiance

The eighth assembly also took place in the Hall of Universal Radiance.

At this assembly, the Buddha did not emit light because the teaching concerned an especially important point.

Bodhisattva Samantabhadra again presided over the assembly because he is the presiding figure of the great Flower Garland Dharma assembly. Relying on the Buddha’s spiritual power, he taught the two thousand practices of the Dharma.

A Bodhisattva named Universal Wisdom asked Samantabhadra questions such as: “What are the principles on which Bodhisattvas rely?” and “What practices should Bodhisattvas undertake?” There were two hundred questions, and Samantabhadra provided two thousand answers.

This assembly contains only one chapter:

38. Leaving the World.

This chapter belongs to the cycle in which causes and effects lead to the accomplishment of practices, the section in which relying on the Dharma and advancing in cultivation leads to the accomplishment of practices.

 

The Ninth Assembly: Jeta Grove

The ninth assembly took place in Jeta Grove, within the city of Shravasti.

This was the garden of Anathapindika, with trees belonging to Prince Jeta. It was also called Jetavana Monastery and the Multi-Storied Lecture Hall.

When the Buddha attained perfect enlightenment, this lecture hall had not yet been built; it was established later. If the Multi-Storied Lecture Hall did not yet exist, how could the Buddha teach the Dharma there?

This is a marvelous and inconceivable state. The Buddha can bring immeasurable eons of the past into the present, and he can likewise bring immeasurable eons of the future into the present. Thus, the past, present, and future are not separate; they are perfectly interpenetrating and unobstructed.

This is similar to the principle expressed in the Diamond Sutra: “The three minds cannot be grasped.” The mind of the past cannot be grasped, the mind of the present cannot be grasped, and the mind of the future cannot be grasped.

Why? To assert that the past exists is to cling to it; to assert that the present exists is to cling to it; and to assert that the future exists is also to cling to it. The past has already passed, the present does not remain still, and the future has not yet arrived. This teaching breaks through attachment.

At this assembly, the Buddha emitted a stream of white light, illuminating the three thousand great thousand worlds so that all sentient beings could be nourished by the rain of Dharma and develop wholesome roots.

This assembly was divided into a principal assembly and subsidiary assemblies.

In the principal assembly, Shakyamuni Buddha presided, entered the Lion’s Frequency-Extending Samadhi, manifested a wondrous teaching, and enabled the assembly to “suddenly realize the Dharma Realm.”

In the subsidiary assemblies, Bodhisattvas presided. Samantabhadra, Manjushri, and other spiritual friends explained the “gradual realization of the Dharma Realm” to Sudhana, the Youth.

This assembly contains only one chapter:

39. Entering the Dharma Realm.

However, this chapter consists of twenty-one volumes. It belongs to the cycle of realization and entry into cause and effect, the section in which relying on causes to attain realization leads to the fulfillment of virtues.

The thirteen marvelous Dharma chapters discussed above were delivered in the human realm.

We have now briefly introduced the seven places, nine assemblies, and thirty-nine chapters. I hope everyone will remember them so that, when we reach a particular chapter in our lectures, we will know where it was taught and which Bodhisattva delivered it. Having this basic understanding will help us comprehend the teachings.

The Flower Adornment Sutra is a Mahayana teaching spoken for Bodhisattvas who have realized the Dharma body. It is entirely concerned with cultivating the mind of bodhi and practicing the path of bodhi.

Therefore, although practitioners of the Lesser Vehicle may attend the same Dharma assembly, they are like the deaf and blind: “They have eyes but cannot see Vairocana; they have ears but cannot hear the perfect and sudden Dharma.”

Because they do not cultivate the Mahayana Dharma while in the human realm, they lack the conditions necessary to receive its great benefits.

If we are neither Bodhisattvas nor Arhats, why have we heard the name of the Great Vaipulya Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra and even had the opportunity to hear its marvelous teachings?

It is because in the past we planted wholesome roots in connection with the Mahayana Dharma. Therefore, today we have the conditions to come and hear the teachings. Otherwise, we would be like practitioners of the Lesser Vehicle, as though deaf and blind.

This is an opportunity that is difficult to encounter even once in a thousand eons. I hope everyone will become increasingly diligent and make ever greater efforts to study the profound principles of this sutra.

Although only forty-five thousand verses have been translated, even remembering a single verse can bring immeasurable wondrous benefits.

During the Tang dynasty, there was a monk named Wang Minggan. Although he had left home to become a monk, he did not practice diligently. One day, the ghost of impermanence came to take him away. He encountered Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who taught him the following verse from the Flower Adornment Sutra:

“If a person wishes to understand

All Buddhas of the three times,

They should contemplate the nature of the Dharma Realm:

Everything is created by the mind.”

When Wang Minggan encountered King Yama, he recited this verse and was released. This verse not only saved his life but also helped sentient beings suffering in the hells.

You can see how wondrous the power of this verse is. Therefore, we should recite the Flower Adornment Sutra, bow to the Flower Adornment Sutra, and sponsor the printing and distribution of the Flower Adornment Sutra. Doing so will certainly bring immeasurable merit.

 

Foreword

I believe this is the first time the Flower Adornment Sutra has been lectured on in the United States, and this is also the first time you have heard it explained. Because time is limited, I cannot explain it in detail. Why? If I explained everything too minutely, even six weeks might not be enough to finish explaining just the title. Therefore, for now, I can only give a general explanation. First, I will discuss the origins of this sutra.

Among Buddhist scriptures, the Flower Adornment Sutra is the king of sutras, and it is also the king among kings. The Lotus Sutra is likewise a king among sutras, but it cannot be called the king among kings. The Great Vaipulya Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra is revered as the king of kings. It is the longest Mahayana sutra expounded by the Buddha, yet the time the Buddha spent teaching it was not very long. Shakyamuni Buddha expounded this great Flower Adornment Sutra in only twenty-one days.

This sutra has eighty-one volumes in one version. Other versions contain only forty or sixty volumes, but none of these is entirely complete. Even the eighty-one-volume version is simply one that contains all three sections: the Introduction, the Main Teaching, and the Circulation and Propagation section.

After Shakyamuni Buddha finished expounding the Flower Adornment Sutra, it was not transmitted in the human world. Even in India, this sutra could not be found. Who, then, had requested it and taken it away? The Dragon King had requested it and brought it to the Dragon Palace, where it was offered reverence and worship every day.

Six hundred years after Shakyamuni Buddha entered nirvana, there was a Bodhisattva named Nagarjuna who was extraordinarily intelligent, with no equal. He had read all the literature, philosophical treatises, and scriptures available in the world. Consequently, he developed the aspiration to visit the Dragon Palace to examine its collection of scriptures, and there he discovered the Flower Adornment Sutra.

There are three versions of the Flower Adornment Sutra: the upper, middle, and lower versions.

The upper version contains verses numbering as many as the dust particles in thirteen great thousand worlds. Consider how many that would be! The number of dust particles in a single world is already immeasurable and boundless; the number in a great thousand world system is even greater.

What is meant by a great thousand world system? One Mount Sumeru, one sun, and one moon together constitute one world. One thousand Mount Sumerus, one thousand suns, and one thousand moons together form a small thousand world system. One thousand small thousand world systems form a middle thousand world system. One thousand middle thousand world systems form a great thousand world system.

The number of dust particles in a great thousand world system is infinite and beyond calculation. If the number of verses is equal to the number of dust particles in thirteen great thousand world systems, then it is even more impossible to count.

How many chapters does the upper version of the Flower Adornment Sutra contain? Its number of chapters equals the number of dust particles in one four-continent world.

What is meant by “one four-continent world”? “One” refers to Mount Sumeru, while “four” refers to the four great continents: Eastern Purvavideha, Southern Jambudvipa, Western Aparagodaniya, and Northern Uttarakuru. Together, they are called one four-continent world.

The upper version of the Flower Adornment Sutra has as many chapters as there are dust particles in one four-continent world. How many would that be? I cannot calculate it either.

The middle version of the Flower Adornment Sutra contains 4,198,800 verses divided into 1,200 chapters.

The lower version contains 80,000 verses divided into 48 chapters.

Bodhisattva Nagarjuna had an extraordinary memory. He memorized the lower version of the Flower Adornment Sutra, and after returning to India, he transcribed the entire text. It was subsequently transmitted from India to China.

The version transmitted to China contained only eighty volumes and thirty-nine chapters. The remaining nine chapters were never transmitted.

Shakyamuni Buddha expounded the Flower Adornment Sutra at seven different locations, holding a total of nine Dharma assemblies. If you can understand the principles of this Flower Adornment Sutra, it is as though you have seen the Buddha’s entire body. If you thoroughly understand the Shurangama Sutra, it is as though you have seen the Buddha’s protuberance on the crown of his head. If you thoroughly understand the Lotus Sutra, it is as though you have seen the Buddha’s body, but not completely. If you can fully comprehend the principles of the Flower Adornment Sutra, you will clearly see the Buddha’s entire body and wisdom-life.

The Flower Adornment Sutra is like a great ocean, while other sutras are like small rivers. Small rivers cannot compare with the great ocean.

Today, there are people in the world who can lecture on the Flower Adornment Sutra, but their numbers are exceedingly small. If we say that no one can lecture on it, are we not lecturing on it right now? How, then, can we say that nobody can explain it?

Some people study the Buddha Dharma throughout their entire lives yet have never even heard the name of the Flower Adornment Sutra. How pitiful that is! Even reading through the Flower Adornment Sutra once is rare, let alone lecturing on it. Reading it once at the fastest pace takes at least twenty-one days. Therefore, this sutra is extremely difficult to encounter.

Regarding the “seven places and nine assemblies” of this sutra, there is a verse that goes as follows:

Leaving the Bodhi Tree, then Jeta Grove;

The third and fourth are Trayastrimsha and Yama.

The Hall of Universal Radiance is the second, seventh, and eighth;

Paranirmitavasavartin and Tushita are the sixth and fifth.

The Buddha attained enlightenment at the Bodhi Tree Enlightenment Site. There, beneath the Bodhi Tree, he first expounded the Flower Adornment Sutra, comprising six chapters and eleven volumes.

At the second assembly, he taught six chapters and four volumes in the Hall of Universal Radiance.

At the third assembly, he taught six chapters and three volumes in the Trayastrimsha Heaven.

At the fourth assembly, he taught four chapters and three volumes in the Yama Heaven.

At the fifth assembly, he taught three chapters and twelve volumes in the Tushita Heaven.

At the sixth assembly, he taught one chapter and six volumes in the Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven.

At the seventh assembly, he returned to the Hall of Universal Radiance and taught eleven chapters and thirteen volumes.

At the eighth assembly, also in the Hall of Universal Radiance, he taught one chapter and seven volumes.

At the ninth assembly, he taught one chapter comprising twenty-one volumes in Jeta Grove.

Jeta Grove can be described today as a burial ground, a place where the bones of the deceased are kept. This is the explanation of the “seven places and nine assemblies” in the lower version of the sutra.

The lower version of this sutra originally contained thirty-nine chapters and 445,000 verses. Later, when it was transmitted to China, nine chapters containing 55,000 verses were not transmitted.

Although this sutra is incomplete, it still contains all three sections: the Introduction, the Main Teaching, and the Circulation and Propagation section. For this reason, National Teacher Qingliang of the Tang dynasty, when promoting the Flower Adornment Sutra, considered it provisionally complete.

National Teacher Qingliang was an emanation of the Flower Garland Bodhisattva. Why is he said to have been an emanation of this Bodhisattva? Because he specialized in lecturing on the Flower Adornment Sutra and did not lecture on other sutras.

National Teacher Qingliang’s name was Chengguan, his courtesy name was Daxiu, and he was from Kuaiji. His family name was Xiahou.

He was born during the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, in the year Wuyin (738 CE). He stood nine chi and four cun tall, his arms extended beyond his knees, and he had forty teeth.

Ordinarily, we have a little more than thirty teeth. A person with forty teeth was considered a noble and extraordinary individual, and very few people possessed this characteristic.

The Buddha had forty-two teeth, while National Teacher Qingliang had forty. In darkness, his eyes appeared to emit rays of light. During the day, however, his eyes looked ordinary, except that his pupils remained completely still.

In the fourth year of the Jianzhong era, he completed the Commentary and Subcommentary on the Flower Adornment Sutra (Huayan Shuchao). This commentary is the most renowned explanation of the Flower Adornment Sutra.

Before writing the commentary, he prayed that the Bodhisattvas at the great Flower Garland Dharma assembly would bless and assist him. “Blessing and assistance” means helping him.

One night, he dreamed that the tops of the mountains had all turned golden. Upon awakening, he understood this as a manifestation of pervasive radiance.

From that time onward, writing the Huayan Shuchao became extraordinarily smooth. He did not need to exert himself in deliberate thought. Ordinarily, when we write, we must think carefully about every sentence and every word. He, however, did not need to think things through; he wrote quickly, as though copying from a text.

After four years, he had completed the commentary on the entire Flower Adornment Sutra.

After finishing the work, he had another dream—or perhaps it was not necessarily a dream, but rather a vision that may provisionally be called a dream. He saw himself transform into a dragon. Then that dragon transformed into thousands upon thousands, tens of thousands upon tens of thousands, and innumerable boundless dragons, which flew to other worlds.

This was his experience of the Flower Garland realm. Everyone regarded it as a symbol of the meaning of the sutra’s circulation and propagation.

National Teacher Qingliang lived through the Sui and Tang dynasties, spanning nine reigns, and served as the teacher of seven emperors.

After National Teacher Qingliang passed away, an Indian monk came to China. Along the way, he encountered two youths dressed in green. This monk had attained the fruit of Arhatship, so he stopped the two youths in midair and asked them:

“Where are you going?”

The youths replied:

“We are going to China to request the sacred tooth of the Flower Garland Bodhisattva and bring it back to the Shrine of Manjushri in India for veneration.”

After arriving in China, the Arhat told the emperor about the two youths who had come to request the sacred tooth of the Flower Garland Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva apparently referred to National Teacher Qingliang.

The emperor therefore ordered Qingliang’s stupa to be opened. Sure enough, one of his canine teeth was missing.

These events were truly marvelous and inconceivable. You can see that the Flower Garland Bodhisattva had come to China, which is why National Teacher Qingliang possessed such extraordinary physical characteristics.

According to National Teacher Qingliang’s division of the Flower Adornment Sutra, the first five volumes constitute the Introduction, the middle fifty-five and a half volumes constitute the Main Teaching, and the final nineteen and a half volumes constitute the Circulation and Propagation section.

Although the sutra was not translated completely into Chinese, all three sections—the Introduction, the Main Teaching, and the Circulation and Propagation section—are present.

Those who propagated the Flower Adornment Sutra in China were all great Bodhisattvas. If they had not attained the spiritual state of Bodhisattvas, they would not have been able to lecture on the Flower Adornment Sutra.

The Flower Garland realm is extraordinarily subtle and wondrous. It is the wondrous among the wondrous and the marvelous among the marvelous.