Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra
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The ''Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahā­vaipulya-sūtra (The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra named "Buddhāvataṃsaka")'' is one of the most influential Mahāyāna sutras of
East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
.Hamar, Imre. Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra, 2015, in ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (Volume One), Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume: 29-1. Editor-in-Chief: Jonathan Silk. It is often referred to in short as the '. In Classical
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, ''avataṃsa'', ''vataṃsa'' and ''uttaṃsa'' (from stem ''taṃs'', meaning "to decorate") all mean
garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...
, wreath, or any circular ornament, such as an earring''''; suffix -ka often functions either as a diminutive or plural. Thus, the title may be rendered in English as ''A Garland of Buddhas'', ''Buddha Ornaments'', or ''Buddha's Fine Garland''. In
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to the language used in a class of Indian Buddhist texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It is sometimes called ...
, the term ''avataṃsaka'' means "a great number," "a multitude," or "a collection." This is matched by the Tibetan title of the sutra, which is ''A Multitude of Buddhas'' (Tibetan: ''sangs rgyas phal po che''). Modern scholars consider the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' to be a compilation of numerous smaller sutras, many of which originally circulated independently and then were later brought together into the larger mature ''Buddhāvataṃsaka.'' Many of these independent ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' sutras survive in Chinese translation. The text has been described by the translator
Thomas Cleary Thomas Francis Cleary (24 April 1949 – 20 June 2021) was an American translator and author of more than 80 books related to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, and of ''The Art of War'', a treatise on management, military stra ...
"the most grandiose, the most comprehensive, and the most beautifully arrayed of the Buddhist scriptures." The ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms filled with an immeasurable number of Buddhas. This sutra was especially influential in
East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
. The vision expressed in this work was the foundation for the creation of the
Huayan school The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fan ...
of
Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...
, which was characterized by a philosophy of interpenetration. The Huayan school is known as
Hwaeom The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bu ...
in
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
,
Kegon The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bu ...
in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and Hoa Nghiêm in Vietnam. The sutra is also influential in
Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song ...
.


Title

This work has been used in a variety of countries. Some major traditional titles include the following: *
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: ', ''The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra named "Buddhāvataṃsaka"''. ''Vaipulya'' ("extensive") refers to key
Mahayana sutras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
. "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 Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...
.'''' * Chinese: ''Dàfāngguǎng Fóhuāyán Jīng'' , commonly known as the ''Huāyán Jīng'' (), meaning "Flower-adorned (Splendid & Solemn) Sūtra." ''Vaipulya'' here is translated as "corrective and expansive", ''fāngguǎng'' (). ''Huā'' () means at once "flower" (archaic; namely ) and "magnificence." ''Yán'' (), short for ''zhuàngyán'' (), means "to decorate (so that it is solemn, dignified)." *
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
: ' (), usually known as the ' (). This title is identical to Chinese above, just in
Shinjitai are the simplified forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in ''shinjitai'' are also found in simplified Chinese characters, but ''shinjitai'' is generally not as exten ...
characters. * ' or ' (), the Sino-Korean pronunciation of the Chinese name. * , shortened to the ', the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of the Chinese name. * ,
Standard Tibetan Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan is a standardized dialect of Tibetan spoken by the people of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. It is an official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region. In the traditional "three-branched" ...
' * 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 Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
. 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 Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
. 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.Takeuchi Yoshinori (editor) (1995). ''Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese'', p. 160. Motilal Banarsidass. 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 Jinamitra was an Indian pandita who travelled to Samye in the Tibetan Empire to engage in translation, at the time of Trisong Detsen, in the eighth century CE. Jinamitra worked with Jñānagarbha and Devacandra to translate the ''Mahāyāna Mahāp ...
et al. at the end of ninth century. According to Paramārtha, a 6th-century monk from
Ujjain Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of 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 The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...
: "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

The sutra, among the longest Buddhist sutras, is a compilation of disparate texts on various topics such as the
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
path, the interpenetration of phenomena (
dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
s), the
omnipresence Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describ ...
of
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
, the miraculous powers of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the visionary powers of meditation, and the equality of things in
emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...
.Takeuchi Yoshinori (editor). Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese, page 160 According to Paul Demiéville, the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' collection is "characterized by overflowing visionary images, which multiply everything to infinity, by a type of
monadology The ''Monadology'' (, 1714) is one of Gottfried Leibniz's best known works of his later philosophy. It is a short text which presents, in some 90 paragraphs, a metaphysics of simple substances, or '' monads''. Text During his last stay in V ...
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."Takeuchi Yoshinori (editor). Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese, page 161 Likewise, Alan Fox has described the sutra's worldview as "
fractal In mathematics, a fractal is a Shape, geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scale ...
", "
holographic Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
", and "
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
".


Holistic cosmos

The East Asian Buddhist view of the text is that it expresses the infinite universe as seen by a Buddha (the
Dharmadhatu Dharmadhatu (; ; ) is the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' (dhātu) of the Dharma or Absolute Reality. Entire Dharmadhatu was filled with an infinite number of buddha-lands (Sanskrit: buddhakṣetra) with ineffable number of Buddhas. This rea ...
), who sees all phenomena as empty and thus infinitely interpenetrating, from the point of view of
enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. This interpenetration is described in the ''Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra'' as the perception "that the fields full of assemblies, the beings and aeons which are as many as all the dust particles, are all present in every particle of dust." Thus, a Buddha's view of reality is also said to be "inconceivable; no sentient being can fathom it". The following passage from the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' describes this
holistic Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...
idea of universal interpenetration or interfusion which sees the total sum of all things as being contained in each individual phenomena:
Children of the Buddha, just as if there was a great sūtra, as extensive as the great universe, in which are written down all phenomena in the great universe. That is to say, in it is written about the phenomena in the great enclosing iron mountains, as extensively as the great enclosing iron mountains; it is written about the phenomena on earth, as extensively as the earth; it is written about the phenomena in the medium universe, as extensively as the medium universe; it is written about the phenomena in the small universe, as extensively as the small universe. In the same vein, all phenomena – be they of the four continents, or the great oceans,
Sumeru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritua ...
mountains, the palaces of the
gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
in the heavens of the realm of desire, the palaces in the realm of form, and the palaces of the formless realm – are written down to an equal length. Even though this sūtra is as extensive as the great universe, it can be fully comprised within a single particle of dust. As it is with one particle, so it is with all particles of dust.Hamar, I. Faith, Practice and Enlightenment in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra and the Huayan School, in Imre Hamar and Takami Inoue (eds.) ''Faith in Buddhism. Budapest Monographs in East Asian Studies 6.'' Budapest: Institute of East Asian Studies, Eötvös Loránd University 2016.
This idea would later become central in East Asian Buddhist traditions like the
Huayan The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bu ...
school and
Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
.


Mind-only and emptiness

Paul Williams notes that the sutra contains both the "mind-only" (''cittamatra'',
Yogacara Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...
) teachings and the emptiness teachings (associated with Prajñaparamita and
Madhyamaka Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the Śūnyatā, emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no Svabhava, ''svabhāva'' d ...
). 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).Kim-May Hyung-Hi. The Relation between Emptiness and Mind-only According to the Life of the Bodhisattva as Described in the ''Avataṃsaka-sūtra.'' In Gimello, Robert; Girard, Frédéric; Hamar, Imre (2012). ''Avataṃsaka Buddhism in East Asia: Huayan, Kegon, Flower Ornament Buddhism; origins and adaptation of a visual culture'', p. 74. Asiatische Forschungen: Monographienreihe zur Geschichte, Kultur und Sprache der Völker Ost- u. Zentralasiens, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 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."


The power of the Buddhas

The ''Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra'' also highlights the visionary and mystical power of attaining the spiritual wisdom which sees the nature of the world:
Endless action arises from the mind; from action arises the multifarious world. Having understood that the world's true nature is mind, you display bodies of your own in harmony with the world. Having realized that this world is like a dream, and that all Buddhas are like mere reflections, that all principles harmaare like an echo, you move unimpeded in the world (Trans in Gomez, 1967: lxxxi)
As a result of their infinite power and
omnipotence Omnipotence is the property of possessing maximal power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as ...
, Buddhas have the magical ability to create and manifest infinite number of forms all over the universe, and they do this effortlessly and without any calculation, through an infinite number of skillful means (
upaya In Buddhism, upaya (Sanskrit: उपाय, , ''expedient means'', ''pedagogy'') is an aspect of guidance along the Buddhist paths to liberation where a conscious, voluntary action "is driven by an incomplete reasoning" about its direction. Up ...
), out of great compassion for all beings. 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)


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 Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...
("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. The ''Avatamsaka sutra'' also states that the wisdom of the Buddha (the Tathagata) is present everywhere in the universe, indeed, it is present within every living being. Thus, the sutra states (in chapter 32, Manifestation of the Tathagata):
Son of Buddha, the wisdom of Tathagata is present everywhere. Why? Son of Buddha, in the class of living beings there is no place where the wisdom of Tathagata is not present. Why is it that? The wisdom of Tathagata is not established due to grasping the discrimination/consciousness, because the omniscient wisdom, the self-existent wisdom and the non-obstructed wisdom perfectly appear in total disconnection with discrimination.
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 Omniscience is the property of possessing maximal knowledge. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, it is often attributed to a divine being or an all-knowing spirit, entity or person. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any ...
awareness." The very body of Vairocana is also seen as a reflection of the whole universe:
The body of airocanaBuddha is inconceivable. In his body are all sorts of lands of sentient beings. Even in a single pore are countless, immeasurable vast oceans.
Also, for the ''Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra'', the historical Buddha
Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
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 In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
. 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 In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind ( citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). ''T ...
) and bodhisattva activity (bodhisattva-caryā). The '' Daśabhūmika Sūtra'' chapter describes ten bhūmis in detail.


Sutra overview

A Korean wooden depiction of the "three holy ones" (Vairocana Buddha, Samantabhadra and Manjushri), a triad associated with the ''Avatamsaka sutra'', Songgwangsa temple 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 Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...
and
Tusita Tuṣita (Sanskrit and Pāli) or Tushita is one of the six deva-worlds of the Buddhist Desire realm (Kāmadhātu), located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, Tuṣita is said to be reachable through meditation. It ...
Heaven.Takeuchi Yoshinori (editor) (1995). ''Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese'', p. 164. Motilal Banarsidass. Each "assembly" includes various locales, doctrinal topics and characters. The following list of assemblies is based on the exegesis of the Chinese
Huayan The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bu ...
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 Bodhimaṇḍa (Sanskrit and Pali) or daochang (; J. dōjō; T. byang chub snying po) is a term used in Buddhism meaning the "seat of awakening" or "platform of enlightenment". According to Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher), Haribhadra, it is " ...
(the seat of awakening under the bodhi tree in
Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...
,
Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
), 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 Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...
, and the Buddha, discuss the nature of reality, the infinity of the universe, how
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
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 Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...
, his vow to reach Buddhahood long ago, and his path of practice.


2. The Hall of Universal Light (Books 7–12)

Indian statue of bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, 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 Bodhimaṇḍa (Sanskrit and Pali) or daochang (; J. dōjō; T. byang chub snying po) is a term used in Buddhism meaning the "seat of awakening" or "platform of enlightenment". According to Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher), Haribhadra, it is " ...
.Prince (2014), p. 225. In this set of books, the bodhisattva
Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...
arrives, and empowered by the Buddha's power, gives various teachings on the path. Mañjuśrī teaches on the
four noble truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...
and the Buddha sends a light from his feet that illuminates the ten directions (symbolizing the all-pervading quality of the Buddha's wisdom). 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 The (Sanskrit; Pali ), (''Tushita''; ''Heaven of the Thirty-three''), is an important celestial realm of the devas in Buddhist cosmology. The word ' is an adjective formed from the numeral ', or "33" and can be translated in English as "bel ...
Heaven at the summit of
Mount Sumeru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritua ...
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): (1) Awakening the Aspiration to Enlightenment; (2) Preparing the Ground; (3) Cultivating the Practices; (4) Noble Birth (i.e. into the family of the buddhas); (5) Perfection of Skilful Means; (6) Rectification of the Mind; (7) Nonregression; (8) Childlike Simplicity; (9) Crown Prince of the Dharma; and (10) 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 (
pāramitā ''Pāramitā'' (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or ''pāramī'' (Pāli: पारमी) is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as a noble character quality generally associated with ...
s), 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 10 paramitas): (1) Giving Delight (corresponding to
dāna (Devanagari: , IAST: ) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that connotes the virtue of generosity, charity or giving of alms, in Indian religions and philosophies. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, is the practice of cultivating generosi ...
); (2) Bestowing Benefits ( śīla); (3) Nonresentment (
kṣānti Kṣānti (Sanskrit) or (Pāli) is patience, forbearance and forgiveness. It is one of the pāramitās in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism. The term can be translated as "patience," "steadfastness," or "endurance," and encompasses meaning ...
); (4) Inexhaustible Practice (
vīrya (Sanskrit; ) is a Buddhist term commonly translated as "energy", "diligence", "enthusiasm", "effort" or "heroism" "help". It can be defined as an attitude of gladly engaging in wholesome activities, and it functions to cause one to accompli ...
); (5) Transcending Ignorance and Confusion ( dhyāna); (6) Skilful Manifestation (
upāya In Buddhism, upaya (Sanskrit: उपाय, , ''expedient means'', ''pedagogy'') is an aspect of guidance along the Buddhist paths to liberation where a conscious, voluntary action "is driven by an incomplete reasoning" about its direction. Upa ...
); (7) Nonattachment; (8) Veneration; (9) Cultivation of Good Qualities; (10) Cultivation of Truth (
jñāna In Indian philosophy and religions, ' (, ) is "knowledge". The idea of ''jñāna'' centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced. It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especially the total or divin ...
). In book 22, Guṇavana teaches the "Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries" (which summarize the bodhisattva path in from a different point of view). They are: (1) Faith; (2) Ethical conduct; (3) Repentance; (4) Shame (with regard to past wrongdoing); (5) Acquiring Knowledge (of the Dharma); (6) Generosity; (7) Wisdom; (8) Mindfulness; (9) Retention (of what has been learnt); and (10) Eloquence (in teaching the Dharma).


5. Tushita Heaven (Books 23–25)

Shakyamuni Buddha attended by Manjushri (left) and Samantabhadra (right), Japan, Kamakura period. Paralleling the last two books, the Buddha arrives as
Tushita Tuṣita (Sanskrit and Pāli) or Tushita is one of the six deva-worlds of the Buddhist Desire realm (Kāmadhātu), located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, Tuṣita is said to be reachable through meditation. It ...
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 Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Buddhism) * Merit (Christianity) Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes * Merit Energy Company, an international energy company * Merit Motion Pictures, an independent documentar ...
.Prince (2014), p. 238. 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 Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...
.


6. Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven (Book 26)

This is the ''Ten Stages Sutra'' ( ''Daśabhūmika sutra''), which focuses on explaining the ten ''bhūmis'' (levels or stages) of the bodhisattva path. It was well known in India as the main source for the bodhisattva stages and was widely cited by
Shantideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...
.
Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...
wrote an influential commentary on this sutra, the ''Dasabhūmikabhāsya.'' 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)

file:2016 Singapur, Chinatown, Świątynia i Muzeum Relikwi Zęba Buddy (20).jpg, A Chinese style statue of the bodhisattva
Samantabhadra Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...
, mounted on an elephant (which symbolizes his steadfast vows). The Buddha returns to the hall of universal light and
Samantabhadra Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...
re-appears, becoming the main teacher of this assembly. In book 27, Samantabhadra teaches on ten types of meditative absorption (
samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
) 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 Abhijñā (; Pali pronunciation: ''abhiññā''; ''mngon shes''; zh, t=六通/神通/六神通, p=Liùtōng/Shéntōng/Liùshéntōng; ) is a Buddhist term generally translated as "direct knowledge", "higher knowledge"Rhys Davids & Stede (1 ...
) mastered by bodhisattvas (such as
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
etc.), and in book 29, he discusses ten types of patience (
kṣānti Kṣānti (Sanskrit) or (Pāli) is patience, forbearance and forgiveness. It is one of the pāramitās in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism. The term can be translated as "patience," "steadfastness," or "endurance," and encompasses meaning ...
), 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.Prince (2014), p. 247. 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 Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Niiralan monttu, Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club r ...
) is but a day in other worlds. Books 33 discusses the various qualities of the Buddhas and in book 34, Samantabhadra teaches the attributes of the ten bodies of the Buddha. 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)

Sudhana worships Maitreya, from Borobudur 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''.Prince (2014), p. 254. It contains the story of the bodhisattva
Sudhana Sudhanakumāra (), mainly known as Sudhana and Shancai or Shancai Tongzi in Chinese, and translated as ''Child of Wealth'', along with Longnü "Dragon Girl" are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) in Chinese Buddhis ...
'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. Each teacher imparts to Sudhana their own special bodhisattva practice which helps Sudhana deepen his wisdom. The book's climax comes when Sudhana meets the bodhisattva
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...
, who guides him to enter a great tower called "Matrix Adorned with the Splendours of Vairocana" (vairocana-vyūhālāṅkāra-garbha). Within the tower, Sudhana has a grand vision of infinite worlds, each of which contains forms of Maitreya guiding beings to awakening. He also sees countless assemblies of beings with Buddhas teaching them and with Sudhana present in each one. Eighteen armed Samantabhadra statue from Malaysia 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).Prince (2014), p. 256. Following Sudhana's mystic union with Samantabhadra, Samantabhadra recites a popular series of verses which describe the bodhisattva path, the aspiration for enlightenment and various bodhisattva vows. The core of these aspirations are the ten great vows of Samantabhadra, which are: "(1) to pay homage to all the buddhas; (2) to glorify the qualities of all the tathāgatas; (3) to make ample offerings to all the buddhas; (4) to confess and repent of all one's sins; (5) to rejoice in the merits of others; (6) always to request the preaching of the dharma; (7) to entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world; (8) always to study the teachings of the buddha; (9) always to respond to sentient beings according to their various needs; and (10) to dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve buddhahood." 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'').Osto, Douglas.
A New Translation of the Sanskrit "Bhadracarī" with Introduction and Notes.
' New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 12, 2 (December 2010).
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 Bhavya is an Indian actress who predominately works in Kannada films apart from a few Tamil and Telugu films. She was a top heroine of Kannada cinema during 1985–1992. She switched over to key supporting roles post 2000. She is settled in Mu ...
, Śantideva, and
Kamalaśīla Kamalaśīla (Skt. Kamalaśīla; Tib. པདྨའི་ངང་ཚུལ་, Pemé Ngang Tsul; Wyl. pad+ma'i ngang tshul) (c. 740-795) was an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher of Nalanda Mahavihara. Notably he accompanied Śāntarakṣi ...
. The Tibetan canon also contains five commentaries on the individual verses, attributed to figures like
Nāgārjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosoph ...
, Diṅnāga, Śākyamitra, Bhadrāpaṇa, and
Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...
.


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.''Osto, Douglas. "A New Translation of the Sanskrit Bhadracarī with Introduction and Notes." ''New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 12'', 2 (December 2010): 1-21


''Ten Stages Sutra''

The
sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
is also well known for its detailed description of the course of the
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
's practice through ten stages where the ''
Ten Stages Sutra The ''Ten Stages Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ''Daśabhūmika Sūtra''; ; ) also known as the Daśabhūmika Sūtra, is an early, influential Mahayana Buddhist scripture. The sutra also appears as the 26th chapter of the '' ''. Modern Buddhist studies scho ...
'', or ' (, ), is the name given to this chapter of the '. This sutra gives details on the ten stages (
bhūmi Bhumi (Sanskrit: भूमि, romanized: Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi, Dharani, and Vasundhara, is a significant goddess in Hinduism, personifying the Earth. Her earliest form is reflected in the Vedic goddess Prithvi, though their roles and de ...
s) of development a bodhisattva must undergo to attain supreme enlightenment. The ten stages are also depicted in the ''
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: लङ्कावतारसूत्रम्, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅkā", , Chinese: 入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. It is also titled ''Laṅkāvatāraratnasūt ...
'' and the ''
Śūraṅgama Sūtra The ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' (, ''Sūtra of the Heroic'' ''March'') (Taisho no. 945) is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra that has been especially influential on Korean Buddhism (where it remains a major subject of study in Sŏn monasteries) and Chine ...
''. The sutra also touches on the subject of the development of the "aspiration for Enlightenment" (
bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind ( citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). ''T ...
) to attain supreme
buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
.


''The Flower Array Sutra''

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 Sudhanakumāra (), mainly known as Sudhana and Shancai or Shancai Tongzi in Chinese, and translated as ''Child of Wealth'', along with Longnü "Dragon Girl" are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) in Chinese Buddhis ...
to various lands (worldly and supra-mundane) at the behest of the bodhisattva
Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...
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." Despite the former being at the end of the ''Avataṃsaka'', the ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' and the ''Ten Stages'' are generally believed to be the oldest written chapters of the sutra.


The ''Aspiration Prayer for Good Conduct''

Japanese sculpture of Samantabhadra (Fugen), Heian period (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 Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...
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''.'' The ''Bhadracaryā'' was influential in India, and has been influential on Nepalese
Newar Buddhism Newar Buddhism is a form of Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It has developed unique socio-religious elements, which include a non-monastic Buddhist society based on the Newar caste system and pa ...
,
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
and Chinese Buddhism''.'' It is cited in numerous sources as well as in numerous Buddhist inscriptions. It was also considered a dharani with magical powers''.'' Furthermore, there is an Indian commentary to the ''Bhadracaryā-praṇidhāna'', which was translated into Tibetan in various editions attributed to various authors, including
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
- which is unlikely, since the commentary knows of Aryadeva's and Mātr̥ceṭa's work. According to Dr. Maria Vasylieva, the most likely author is a certain *Bhadrapana. A Sanskrit manuscript of one edition of this commentary is held by a collection in China.


''The Manifestation of the Tathagatha sutra''

The ''Tathāgatotpattisaṃbhava sūtra'' (''The Manifestation of the Tathagatha sutra''), which corresponds to chapter 32 of the full ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' translation of Buddhabhadra ( Taisho Tripitaka no. 278)'','' focuses on the nature of the Buddha (Tathāgata) and his activities. According to Imre Hamar, this sutra "is a precursor to the tathāgatagarbha theory, the idea of universal access to buddhahood, as it stresses that all living beings have the wisdom of the Buddha, but due to their defilements, they are not able to see it. The Buddha's mission is to reveal this fact to living beings."'''' A version of this text was also translated into Chinese by
Dharmarakṣa (; J. Jiku Hōgo; K. Ch'uk Pŏpho; c. 233-310) was one of the most important early translators of Mahayana sutras into Chinese. Several of his translations had profound effects on East Asian Buddhism. He is described in scriptural catalogues ...
in 292 CE as an independent sutra, the ''Fo shuo rulai xingxian jing'' (佛說如來興顯經; ''The Appearance of Tathāgata as Related by the Buddha''; ''*Tathāgatotapattisaṃbhavanirdeśa'').'''' The ''Tathāgatotpattisaṃbhava'' is quoted in numerous Indian Mahayana sources, including by the '' Sūtrasamuccaya'', the ''
Ratnagotravibhāga The ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (Sanskrit, abbreviated as RGV, meaning: ''Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage, Investigating the Jewel Disposition'') and its ''vyākhyā'' commentary (abbreviated RGVV to refer to the RGV verses along with the embedded comm ...
vyākhyā,'' Vasubandhu's ''Vyākhyāyukti''.Peter Skilling and Saerji, "The Circulation of the Buddhāvataṃsaka in India," Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2012 (Tokyo 2013), Vol. 16 pp. 193–216.


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 Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...
in his '' Śikṣāsamuccaya'' and it is one of the few texts explicitly recommended in his ''Bodhisatvacaryāvatāra'' (chapter 7, verse 46). It is Chapter 30 in the Tibetan ''Avatamsaka''. Two manuscripts of an independent ''Vajradhvaja'' are preserved in the Dunhuang texts. Meanwhile, the ''Ratnolkādhāraṇī'' is also widely cited by Shantideva (four times in the Śikṣāsamuccaya). The relationship between the ''Ratnolkādhāraṇī'' and the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' is complex. Parts of the ''Ratnolkādhāraṇī'' can be found in different chapters of the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' (in the Tibetan Avatamsaka's chapter 17 and in chapter 20). The ''Ratnolkādhāraṇī'' also exists as independent Tibetan and Chinese sutras.


English translations

The first relatively complete English translation of the contents of the ''Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra'' was authored by the late
Thomas Cleary Thomas Francis Cleary (24 April 1949 – 20 June 2021) was an American translator and author of more than 80 books related to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, and of ''The Art of War'', a treatise on management, military stra ...
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.Bhikshu Dharmamitra (2022). ''The Flower Adornment Sutra - Volume One: An Annotated Translation of the Avataṃsaka Sutra with A Commentarial Synopsis of the Flower Adornment Sutra'', Introduction. Kalavinka Buddhist Classics. 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. Bhiksu Dharmamitra has recently produced from Tripitaka Master Śikṣānanda's 699 ce Sanskrit-to-Chinese edition (T0279) the first and so far only complete English translation of ''any'' edition of the ''Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra.'' It is published by Kalavinka Press in three volumes (totaling 2,500 pages) as ''The Flower Adornment Sutra: An Annotated Translation of the Avataṃsaka Sutra with A Commentarial Synopsis of the Flower Adornment Sutra'' (October 1, 2022 / ISBNS: Volume One - 9781935413356; Volume Two - 9781935413363; Volume Three - 9781935413370). (His complete translation of Chapter 39 which corresponds precisely to the ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' is contained in Volume Three of this work. It includes the traditionally appended conclusion to Chapter 39, "The Conduct and Vows of Samantabhadra" which was originally translated into Chinese in 798 ce by Tripitaka Master Prajñā). Kalavinka Press also published the ''Daśabhūmika Sūtra'' (corresponding to Chapter 26 of the ') as an independent text as: ''The Ten Grounds Sutra: The Daśabhūmika Sūtra: the Ten Highest Levels of Practice on the Bodhisattva's Path to Buddhahood'' (2019). This was translated by Bhikshu Dharmamitra from Tripitaka Master Kumārajīva's circa 410 ce Sanskrit-to-Chinese translation of the Daśabhūmika Sūtra (T0286). The publisher Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) has finished editing and is currently (as of July, 2022) in the process of preparing for publication an unannotated multi-volume edition of Bhikshu Dharmamitra's ''Flower Adornment Sutra'' which also includes Bhikshu Dharmamitra's translation of the traditionally appended conclusion to Chapter 39, "The Conduct and Vows of Samantabhadra" originally translated by Tripitaka Master Prajñā. Both the ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' and the ''Daśabhūmika'' (which together constitute approximately one third of the ') have been independently translated from the Tibetan version by Peter Alan Roberts along with 84000.co as: * ''The Ten Bhūmis Chapter from the Mahāvaipulya Sūtra "A Multitude of Buddhas"'' * ''"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 Hsuan Hua (; April 26, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the lat ...
. Currently over twenty volumes are available, and it is estimated that there may be 75-100 volumes in the complete edition.


See also

*
Indra's net Indra's net (also called Indra's jewels or Indra's pearls, Sanskrit ''Indrajāla'', Chinese: 因陀羅網) is a metaphor used to illustrate the concepts of Śūnyatā (emptiness), pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination),. and interpenetrati ...
* List of sutras *
Mahayana sutras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
* '' Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki'', an early Japanese annotation *
Huayan school The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fan ...
, Chinese Buddhist tradition named after this sutra * Kegon school, Japanese Huayan *
Multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...


References


Further reading

* Prince, Tony (2014). ''Universal Enlightenment, An introduction to the teachings and practices of Huayen Buddhism''. Kongting Publishing Company Ltd. Taiwan.


External links


The Avatamsaka Sutra
(the Flower Adornment Sutra) with explanation

- an outline of the sutra by a disciple of Master Hsuan Hua
Articles by Imre Hamar


Chinese text with matching English vocabulary at NTI Reader digital library {{DEFAULTSORT:Buddhavatamsaka Sutra Huayan Mahayana sutras Vaipulya sutras Yogacara