COMPOSED BY T'ANG DYNASTY MASTER CH'ING LIANG
COMMENTARY BY TRIPITAKA MASTER HSUAN HUA

Translated by Bhikshuni Heng Hsien
Reviewed by Bhikshuni Heng Yin
Edited by

PROLOGUE:

      THE SECOND, DEPENDING ON THE PLACE. WHENEVER WISDOM EXHAUSTS THE LIMIT OF REALITY, SUBJECT AND OBJECT BOTH DISAPPEAR. ONE FALSELY SPEAKS OF RELYING ON THE TRUE, YET THERE ARE NO COUNTRIES.

HOW MUCH THE MORE SO WHEN KSHETRAS AND DUST MOTES ENTER EACH OTHER, AND DEFILED AND PURE BOTH BLEND AND FUSE. IN THE UNIVERSAL EXTENSION OF THE PERFECT TEACHING, IT IS DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH ITS SEPARATE LOCATIONS.

COMMENTARY:

      THE SECOND, DEPENDING ON THE PLACE. Previously it talked about the time, which was the time of no time. The place, too, is the place of no place. What does ‘place of no place’ mean anyway? The discussion of time and place is according to the Six Realizations: 1) The Realization of Faith. 2) The Realization of Hearing. 3) The Realization of Time. 4) The Realization of a Host. 5) The Realization of Place. 6) The Realization of an Assembly. In the Flower Adornment Prologue, the Realization of Faith is not discussed. In Sutras, it is the word "Thus." The Realization of Hearing is not discussed. In Sutras it is the words, "I have heard." Nor is the Realization of a Host discussed. In Sutras it is the Dharma Speaking Host. The Realization of an Assembly is not discussed either. In Sutras it is, for instance, the words, "twelve hundred fifty in all." Only the Realization of Time which in Sutras is the words, "at one time" and the Realization of Place, which in the Sutras is the Bodhimanda where the Dharma is spoken, are discussed here.

      In the world there is no time, and there also is no place. So we refer to the time of no time and the place of no place. WHENEVER WISDOM EXHAUSTS THE LIMIT OF TRUTH, comes to the end of the principle of the reality limit, then "comprehension is ultimate, and in a single thought one then tallies with the family of the Buddha." The terms are changed, but the meaning is the same. Wisdom exhausting the limit of the truth means understanding the nature of the Treasury of the Thus Come One (tathatagatagarbha). When that happens, then SUBJECT AND OBJECT BOTH DISAPPEAR. There is no one who exhausts anything, and nothing is exhausted. The doer and the object of the action both disappear. When you still have subject and object, you have not reached the reality limit. When you do get there, subject and object no longer exist. As it is said:

When you obtain the one,

The myriad matters all are ended.

Before you attain the one, you have lots of troubles. The troubles arise from your not having reached the one. When you do reach the one, all troubles are gone.

Inside there is no self.

Outside there are no others.

Beyond that there are no objects.

There is no self, no others, and no objects. What would you say that was? Subject and object are both gone.

Therefore, ONE FALSELY SPEAKS OF RELVI1NG ON THE TRUE, YET THERE ARE NO COUNTRIES. One says falsely, expediency, that it depends upon "the true," that is, on the place, and yet, for all that, it is not the case that there is a country, a location. The Flower Adornment Sutra is not the same as other Sutras, which are spoken in the Saha World. It is spoken in the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury. It is not apart from the Saha World, and so is not the pure or the defiled not the pure land or the defiled land but free from purity and defilement. So one falsely speaks of relying on the true, yet there are no countries.

HOW MUCH THE MORE SO WHEN KSHETRAS AND DUST MOTES ENTER EACH OTHER. I  talked before about how a single fine mote of dust could contain the entire Three Thousand Great Thousand World System. How? If you want to know how the immensity of the Great Trichiliocosm can fit into a particle of dust, you first have to know how it cannot fit. If you understand how it can't fit inside, you will understand how it can. If you don't understand how it can't fit, how could you hope to understand how to fit it inside? Here, kshetras and dust motes enter into each other. The Great Trichiliocosm can fit in a particle of dust, and vice versa, without the Trichiliocosm shrinking or the particle of dust enlarging. This is:

Nothing large or small.

No inside and no outside.

Let's just put the Three Thousand Great Thousand World Systems into Three Thousand Great Thousand World Systems, and the fine motes of dust into fine motes of dust, and not mix them up with each other. As soon as we mingle them, people start having false thoughts like, "If you put a huge Three Thousand Great Thousand World System into a tiny mote of dust, won't the people in it a11 suffocate from lack of space to breathe?" You are so compassionate, worrying like that about the inhabitants of the Great Trichiliocosm, you are sure to become a Buddha very soon.

AND DEFILED AND PURE BOTH BLEND AND FUSE. I was just talking about this. The Saha World is the defiled land, and the worlds of the Flower Treasury are the pure land. When the Buddha spoke the Flower Adornment Sutra, it was in the pure land, whose ground is made of gold and vajra, and which experienced the six types of earthquakes. You may say, "Then Shakyamuni Buddha must have left the Saha World." No, he didn't. He was still in the Saha World. The Saha World was just the Flower Treasury and vice versa. That is blending and fusing of the defiled and pure. They intermingle, so there is no defilement or purity. When it talked before about there being no subject or object, that was from the point of view of the Initial and the Sudden Teachings.

What is the Saha World? "Saha" is a Sanskrit word that means "Able To Bear." The living beings of this world can bear the suffering of greed, hatred, stupidity, and so forth. It is also known as the evil world of the five turbidities, and it is the world in which we now live. What is the Flower Treasury? In the middle of the seas of fragrant water there is a huge lotus flower. Within the flower are worlds to the number of fine motes of dust. So it's called the "Flower Treasury of worlds." That world system has twenty tiers, and on every tier are limitless worlds. The Saha World we live in is on the thirteenth tier. Now, IN THE UNIVERSAL EXTENSION OF THE PERFECT TEACHING, the Great, Perfect Teaching, than which there is nothing higher, IT IS DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH ITS SEPARATE LOCATIONS. How could you locate it in a place? If you said it had a location, it would not be perfect. All you can say is that it has no location. That is:

There is no place where it is,

And no place where it isn't.

No place is without it. Everywhere to the exhaustion of empty space and the Dharma Realm is the Way Place where the Flower Adornment Sutra is spoken. It talked before about how in the ten kinds of time there is constant proclamation of this Sutra. The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra is always being spoken. To have heard a single word of it gives you inconceivable merit and virtue.

PROLOGUE:

MOREOVER, THE TRUE IS NOT BEYOND SPECIFICS, AND DOES NOT DESTROY WAT IS RELIED UPON. USING THE PREVIOUS TIME OF NO TIME, THERE IS PERVASION OF THIS PLACE OF NO PLACE.

COMMENTARY:

We just talked about how the Perfect Teaching pervades the Dharma Realm, so there is no way to determine its particular location. Now it says, MOREOVER, THE TRUE IS NOT BEYOND SPECIFICS. The true Dharma, the one, true Dharma Realm, is absolutely not somewhere outside of specifics, AND so it DOES NOT DESTROY WHAT IS RELIED UPON, "what is relied upon" meaning the place. Although it says there is no place, it still does not eradicate locations. It is said to have no location since it pervades all locations, and so has no fixed location. That doesn't mean locations are destroyed.

      USING THE PREVIOUS TIME OF NO TIME, of there being no fixed time, THERE IS PERVASION OF THIS PLACE OF NO PLACE, the location of no fixed location. That's why it's called a Dharma door of unobstructed interpenetration with time and place in perfect fusion. Time does not interfere with place, nor does place get in the way of time. The time pervades all places, and the places too pervade all times. Time and place have no mutual obstruction.

PROLOGUE:

FURTHERMORE, SOME SAY THIS SUTRA WAS SPOKEN IN THE IMPURE LAND, BECAUSE HE DWELT IN MAGADHA AND SO FORTH. OTHERS SAY THE PLACE OF SPEAKING WAS THE PURE LAND, BECAUSE IT WAS IN THE FLOWER TREASURY. STILL OTHERS SPEAK OF THE DOCTRINE OF TRUE THUSNESS, AND SAY THE TWO KINDS OF LANDS HAVE NO FIXED DIFFERENCES OF PLACE, FOR IN ONE PLACE THERE ARE DIFFERENCES OF SEEING AND HEARING.

COMMENTARY:

      Great Master Ch'ing Liang is raising these questions to determine Ultimately where the Flower Adornment Sutra is spoken. On the surface there are said to be seven places and nine assemblies, it being spoken on three occasions in five assemblies among people, and on four occasions in four assemblies in the heavens. That's why the Prologue says, FURTHERMORE, SOME SAY THIS SUTRA WAS SPOKEN IN THE IMPURE LAND. There are some people who say, The Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken 1n the impure land of our Saha World. Why do they say that? BECAUSE HE DWELT IN MAGADHA AND SO FORTH. It's because the Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken beneath the Bodhi Tree in the country of Magadha in India.

OTHERS SAY THE PLACE OF SPEAKING WAS THE PURE LAND. Someone else objects, "The Flower Adornment Sutra was certainly not spoken in the impure land. Why not? BECAUSE IT WAS IN THE FLOWER TREASURY. The Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken in the worlds of the Flower Treasury, with their six kinds of earthquakes and ground of yellow gold, a state entirely different from that of the impure land, where I maintain it was not spoken. It was spoken in the pure land for sure!" The two people argue with each other, one insisting it was in the pure land, and the other debating that it was the impure.

STILL OTHERS SPEAK OF THE DOCTRINE OF TRUE THUSNESS. Someone else says, "The inconceivable states of The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra are those of the doctrine of true thusness:
      The Thus Come One takes the Way of True Thusness,
      One comes to accomplish Proper Enlightenment,"
AND, talking in terms of the doctrine of true thusness, they SAY THE TWO KINDS OF LANDS HAVE NO FIXED DIFFERENCES OF PLACE. You could say it was the pure land, and you could also say it was the impure land. The Saha World is an impure land in contrast to the worlds of the Flower Treasury, whereas in contrast to the Saha World, the Flower Adornment Sutra being spoken in the worlds of the Flower Treasury is said to be in the pure land. The two lands, impure and pure, are seen as such by people. Some people see the pure land and others see the impure land. There's nothing fixed about it. The differences are due to people, FOR IN ONE PLACE THERE ARE DIFFERENCES OF SEEING AND HEARING. It's just that in one and the same place, people see and hear differently. Some people will see it as the impure land, while others will see the same place as the pure land. If it's as the pure land, they'll see the worlds of the Flower Treasury, and if they see it being spoken in the impure land, they'll see the Saha World. It's due to differences in the dispositions of people that what they see is not the same.

How can it be that two different kinds of countries are seen right in the same spot? This is an inconceivable state, and is due to the fact that what Sages and what ordinary people see are not the same. There's a difference between what is seen with the ordinary person's eye of flesh, and the pure Dharma Eye of a Sage. When someone attains the purity of the Dharma Eye, he can see the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury right within the Saha World. Ordinary people and those of the Two Vehicles can only see the Saha World, made up of dirt, mud, metal and rocks with their meat eyes. For those who have obtained the purity of the Dharma Eye, the defiled is just the pure. Right within the unclean land they can see the pure land of the Flower Treasury. Then has the impure land changed? No, it hasn't. The eyes of flesh of ordinary people see the pure land of the Flower Treasury as the Impure land. Have the worlds of the Flower Treasury changed into the impure land? No. What is seen differs according to the dispositions of living beings. What looks like water to us becomes fire when seen by ghosts, and the gods see it as vaidurya. What is seen differs.

Another example is our lecture hall. Some people while here listening to the Sutras see light and flowers and various other supreme states. Other people just listen to the Sutras and only see the lecture hall with several Buddha images and a certain number of people in the audience. People who have opened the pure Dharma Eye, on the other hand, see the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions all here protecting the Dharma Assembly, with a1l the gods, dragons and the rest of the eight fold division, the good Dharma protecting spirits, adorning the Way Place. The states seen are not the same.

PROLOGUE:

OF THE THREE PRECEDING DOCTRINES, THE LAST ONE APPROACHES THAT OF OUR SCHOOL.
      ACTUALLY, THE PLACE OF SPEAKING OF THIS SUTRA IS SUCH THAT PURE AMP IMPURE ARE NON OBSTRUCTIVE AND CONNECTION AND RESTRICTION. INTERPENETRATE, EACH HAVING TWO SETS OF FOUR PROPOSITIONS.

COMMENTARY:

OF THE THREE PRECEDING DOCTRINES, that is, in the above discussion of how some say the Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken in the pure land and others say it was in the impure land, while still others say the pure is just the impure and vice versa so they are non dual and that's where the Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken, THE LAST ONE APPROACHES THAT OF OUR SCHOOL. The final version is pretty much the same as the doctrine we adhere to.

      ACTUALLY, THE PLACE OF SPEAKING OF THIS SUTRA, the Flower Adornment Sutra, IS SUCH THAT PURE AND IMPURE ARE NON OBSTRUCTIVE. The pure does not interfere with the impure and vice versa. They have no mutual obstruction. People with pure dispositions see it as the pure land, while those whose dispositions are a bit off see it as the impure land. So it says, AND CONNECTION AND RESTRICTION INTERPENETRATE. Connection does not interfere with restriction, nor does restriction block connection. "Connection" means connecting with the impure land while in the pure land. "Restriction" means being restricted either to the pure land or to the impure land. Here there is interpenetration of connection and restriction. One does not rule out the other, EACH HAVING TWO SETS OF FOUR PROPOSITIONS. Each kind is explained by two sets of four statements.

PROLOGUE:

      FIRST, AS BETWEEN THE PURE AND THE IMPURE: PERHAPS IT IS ONLY THE DEFILED; PERHAPS IT IS ONLY THE PURE, AS IN THE TWO PREVIOUS DOCTRINES. PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE THE FLOWER TREASURE INCLINES THE SAHA. PERHAPS NEITHER, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PURITY AND DEFILEMENT BEING ENDED, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE SAME AS THE ONE DHARMA REALM.

COMMENTARY:

This passage is going to discuss the two sets of four propositions, of which this now is the FIRST. It says, AS BETWEEN THE PURE AND THE IMPURE, in considering the two doctrines of it's being the pure or the impure, PERHAPS IT IS ONLY THE DEFILED. Some people say it was only the defiled, that the Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken in the Saha world. PERHAPS IT IS ONLY THE PURE. Or else they maintain that the Flower Adornment Sutra, was only spoken in the pure land, the worlds of the Flower Treasury, AS IN THE TWO PREVIOUS DOCTRINES. This is the same as the two positions maintained before.

      PERHAPS BOTH. Or perhaps one says it was both the defiled and the pure, the defiled not ruling out the pure, or the pure excluding the defiled, so that the Saha World is just the Flower Treasury and vice versa, BECAUSE THE FLOWER TREASURE INCLUDES THE SAHA, the Saha World being part of the worlds of the Flower Treasury. PERHAPS NEITHER. This means there is no defiled and no pure, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFILEMENT AND PURITY BEING ENDED. There stops being any appearance of defilement or any appearance of purity. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE THE SAME AS THE SINGLE DHARMA REALM. Defilement and purity are both within the oneness of the true Dharma Realm, so neither one exists, since they unite with the Dharma Realm. That's the first set of four propositions.

PROLOGUE:

MOREOVER, PERHAPS IT IS ONLY IMPURE, BECAUSE MAGADHA AND SO FORTH COVER UP THE CHARACTERISTIC OF PURITY. PERHAPS IT IS ONLY PURE, BECAUSE, ITS GROUND BEING OF VAJRA, THE CHARACTERISTIC OF IMPURITY IS ENDED. PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO OBSTRUCTION BETWEEN THE HIDDEN AND THE REVEALED. PERHAPS NEITHER. ONE, BECAUSE EACH OBSCURES THE OTHER, SO THE TWO CHARACTERISTICS ARE ENDED.

COMMENTARY:

      Both the non obstruction of pure and impure and the interpenetration of connection and restriction, which were introduced before, have two sets each of four propositions. We are now considering the second of the two sets of propositions in the non obstruction of the pure and the impure.

MOREOVER, PERHAPS IT IS ONLY IMPURE, that The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra is only spoken in the impure land. Why? BECAUSE MAGADHA AND SO FORTH COVER UP THE CHARACTERISTIC OF PURITY. The appearance of the pure is covered over, so there is only the appearance of the impure. PERHAPS IT IS ONLY PURE. Some people may say that it was only in the pure land, the worlds of the Flower Treasury, BECAUSE, ITS GROUND BEING OF VAJRA, THE CHARACTERISTIC OF IMPURITY IS ENDED. "The characteristic of impurity" just means the defiled land. They say it is gone, having been covered over by the vajra.

      PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO OBSTRUCTION BETWEEN THE HIDDEN AND THE REVEALED. Perhaps there are times when the Saha World is concealed and the worlds of the Flower Treasury appear, and times when the Saha World appears and the worlds of the Flower Treasury are concealed, so they are not mutually obstructive. Or perhaps the Saha World and the worlds of the Flower Treasury simultaneously appear, or are simultaneously

concealed, and therefore the hidden and the revealed are non obstructive for those reasons. PERHAPS NEITHER. Maybe the Saha World and the worlds of the Flower Treasury both fail to appear, BECAUSE EACH OBSCURES THE OTHER. The forms and characteristics of each of the two nay be covered up by the other, SO THE TWO CHARACTERISTICS ARE ENDED. Neither one appears.

      Now here listening to the Sutra lectures, some people who understand something of the principles of the Flower Adornment Sutra feel that it is inconceivably wonderful. They comprehend a bit even if they don't totally understand, and the more they think about it the more wonderful and inconceivable they find it. Others listen and find it very dry and flavorless. "What in the world is the Dharma Master talking about? I don't understand a word of it. It doesn't make any sense. What is all this about defiled' and 'pure,' 'neither defiled or pure,' 'non obstruction of defiled and pure'? I haven't the faintest idea what it's trying to say."

The more they listen, the more trouble it is for them, and the more ignorance they have. Coarse doubts, subtle doubts and doubts of ignorance arise. A11 of them are listening to the Sutra, but some listen and find it very good, while others feel more afflicted the more they listen. Before listening to the Sutra they didn't have any afflictions, but as soon as they hear it, ignorance and afflictions start up. They can't sit still in their seats, and they feel very constrained when bowing to the Buddha. They feel like they're sitting on pins and needles, and keep thinking, "I hope it will be over soon. It's still not over. When it's done I can go get some rest." They find listening to the Sutra harder than any work they might do.

Others here really like to listen to the Sutra. As soon as they hear it, it's as if they had entered samadhi. They are unaware of anything else but listening to the Sutra. So you see, even in this there are defiled states and pure ones, as well as states of non obstruction of purity and defilement, and states, which are neither defiled nor pure. What kind of state is neither? The person falls asleep while listening to the Sutra, and hasn't any idea what was said. Then there is neither defilement nor purity. Both are ended.

For others, as they listen, defilement is pretty much the same as purity, and there's no real discrimination between the pure and the impure which is non obstruction of purity and defilement. Why? They have false thoughts the whole time, so although they keep hearing me say, "defilement" and "purity," "pure" and "impure," they don't make any distinctions between them, and so it turns out as non obstruction of the defiled and the pure. There are, then, also four propositions to cover the people listening to the Sutra.

PROLOGUE:

NEXT, EXPLANATION OF THE TWO SETS OF FOUR PROPOSITIONS CONCERNING THE INTERPENETRATION OF THE CONNECTED AND THE RESTRICTED. THAT IS, PERHAPS RESTRICTED, BECAUSE IT IS THIS ONE REALM. PERHAPS CONNECTED, BECAUSE IT INCLUDES THE TEN DIRECTIONS. PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE THIS REALM IS ACTUALLY PERVASIVE. PERHAPS NEITHER, THE TWO CHARACTERISTICS BEING ENDED.

COMMENTARY:

      NEXT, EXPLANATION OF THE TWO SETS OF FOUR PROPOSITIONS CONCERNING THE INTERPENETRATION OF THE CONNECTED AND THE RESTRICTED. What follows is an analysis of the two groups of four statements as to whether there is connection with the ten directions or restriction to a single direction and location.

THAT IS, PERHAPS RESTRICTED, BECAUSE IT IS THIS ONE REALM. It may simply be confined to the appearance of the Saha World at the seven places where the Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken, and so restricted. PERHAPS CONNECTED, BECAUSE IT INCLUDES THE TEN DIRECTIONS. There may be penetrative connection with the Flower Treasury's Buddhalands of the ten directions where the Flower Adornment Sutra is being spoken simultaneously.

PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE THIS REALM IS ACTUALLY PERVASIVE. It may be that while the Flower Adornment Sutra is being spoken only in the Saha World, it can at the same time pervade the worlds of the ten directions. For instance, in the Saha World the Buddha is seen sitting on the Lotus Flower Lion's Throne, and in all the Buddhalands of the ten directions the Buddha is also seen sitting on the Lotus Flower Lion's Throne, lecturing the Sutra and speaking Dharma. PERHAPS NEITHER, THE TWO CHARACTERISTICS BEING ENDED. There may not be any connection or restriction at all.

PROLOGUE:

      MOREOVER, PERHAPS IT IS RESTRICTED, BECAUSE THIS REALM GATHERS IN ALL REALMS. PERHAPS CONNECTED, BECAUSE THIS REALM ENTERS ALL REALMS. PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE IT BOTH GATHERS AND ENTERS. PERHAPS NEITHER, BECAUSE FORMS ARE OBSCURED AND CHARACTERISTICS ENDED.

COMMENTARY:

      MOREOVER, PERHAPS IT IS RESTRICTED, BECAUSE THIS REALM GATHERS IN ALL REALMS. It may be confined to the appearance of the Saha World, but with the Saha World gathering in all worlds. PERHAPS CONNECTED, BECAUSE THIS REALM ENTERS ALL REALMS. Maybe while in this world it penetrates through to all of the other worlds of the Flower Treasury. PERHAPS BOTH, BECAUSE IT BOTH GATHERS AND ENTERS. It may be that while 1n this world it both gathers all other worlds into this one, and enters into all those other infinitely many worlds as well. PERHAPS NEITHER, BECAUSE FORMS ARE OBSCURED AND CHARACTERISTICS ENDED. The aspects
of one may cover up those of the other and vice versa, so there is no connection or restriction. In that case, when the connected and the restricted interpenetrate, the two characteristics of connection and restriction both come to an end.

PROLOGUE:

      FURTHERMORE, IF ONE USES A SINGLE DUST-MOTE TO REPRESENT KSHETRAS, THERE ARE ALSO FOUR PROPOSITIONS, WHICH MAY BE KNOWN. 
      IF ONE PRECEPTS FROM THE MINUTE TO THE VAST, IN GENERAL THERE APPEAR TEN PLACES.

COMMENTARY:

      FURTHERMORE, IF ONE USES A SINGLE DUST MOTE TO REPRESENT KSHETRAS, talking in terms of a minute particle of dust standing for all Buddha kshetras, then THERE ARE ALSO FOUR PROPOSITIONS, WHICH work the same way as the four given above, and so MAY BE KNOWN. They need no further explanation.

IF ONE PROCEEDS FROM THE MINUTE TO THE VAST..."The minute" means what is very tiny, while "the vast" is what is huge. One world is minute; the worlds of the ten directions are huge. One person is minute; the worlds of the ten directions are vast. One person is minute; immeasurably many people are vast. Vast means the many, while minute means just a few. If one goes from the few to the many, from the tiny to the huge, to discuss this principle, then IN GENERAL THERE APPEAR TEN PLACES. If they appeared in detail, there would be no way to discuss them--no many and no few.

The Birthday of Dharma Protector Met T'ou Bodhisattva was just celebrated, and many Dharma Protectors came to participate. They all got along with each other and didn't fight. They didn't beat each other up with their jeweled pestles, but protected and supported the Way Place instead. It was a rare Dharma Assembly. Next year there will be a lot more Dharma Protectors than there were this year, and this place may not be large enough for all of them. I think there will be over a hundred next year, as yesterday there were several tens, which can become several hundreds, several hundreds in turn being capable of becoming several thousands, which can become several tens of thousands. The Dharma Protecting Bodhisattvas have inexhaustible transformations, so in this too from the minute to the vast, in general there appear ten Dharma Protectors. Yesterday's ten Dharma Protectors were all extremely high and great. Now do you understand?

PROLOGUE:

      FIRST, THE SEVEN PLACES AND NINE ASSEMBLIES OF THIS JAMBUVIPA, YET ALSO THROUGHOUT THE DHARMA REALM, AS IN THE CHAPTER ON ASCENDING SUMERU. TWO, THROUGHOUT A BILLION INDIVIDUAL REALMS OF THE SAME KIND, WHICH ALSO PERVADE THE DHARMA REALM, AS IN THE LIGHT ILLUMINATION CHAPTER. THREE, PERVADING KSHETRAS OF DIFFERENT KINDS, IN THE SHAPE OF TREES AND SO FORTH. FOUR, PERVADING SEEDS OF KSHETRAS. FIVE, PERVADING THE FLOWER TREASURY. SIX, PERVADING THE REST OF THE SEAS OF KSHETRAS, WEATHER SEEDS OR KSHETRAS. SEVEN, PERVADING THE PREVIOUS SIX KINDS OF KSHETRAS’ DUST-MOTES, ALL OF WHICH HAVE KSHETRAS OF SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT KINDS. EIGHT, PLACES TO THE ENDS OF THE REALM OF EMPTY SPACE, AND OF WHAT IS ENCOMPASSED BY THE TIP OF EVERY HAIR, EACH OF WHICH HAS BOUNDLESS SEAS OF KSHETRAS. NINE, LIKE INDRA'S NET. TEN, THE SAME AS ALL OTHER BUDDHAS.

COMMENTARY:

FIRST, THE SEVEN PLACES AND NINE ASSEMBLIES OF THIS JAMBUDVIPA, YET ALSO THROUGHOUT THE DHARMA REALM, AS IN THE CHAPTER ON ASCENDING SUMERU. The first is that the Continent Jambudvipa, our Saha World, has seven places and nine assemblies where the Flower Dharma Sutra is spoken; yet those seven places and nine assemblies pervade the entire Dharma Realm, the way it happens in the Chapter on Ascending Mount Sumeru. That Chapter says:

"When the World Honored One accomplishes Buddha hood, he does not rise from beneath the Bodhi Tree, yet ascends to the summit of Mount Sumeru to the Palace of the Trayastrimsha Heaven, "to speak the Flower Adornment Sutra. The speaking of the Flower Adornment Sutra pervades every "possible location. In a summary fashion one talks about seven places and nine assemblies, but actually it extends everywhere throughout the Dharma Realm, the first.

TWO, THROUGHOUT A BILLION INDIVIDUAL REALMS OF the SAME KIND, WHICH ALSO PERVADE THE DHARMA REALM, AS IN THE LIGHT ILLUMINATION CHAPTER. The second is throughout a billion world realms, which also have a Mount Sumeru, seas of fragrant waters, Vajra Mountains, salty seas. Iron Ring Mountains and four great continents, each one of those world realms pervading the entire Dharma Realm, the way the Chapter of Light Illumination describes in great detail.

THREE, PERVADING KSHETRAS OF DIFFERENT KINDS, IN THE SHAPE OF TREES AND SO FORTH. The third refers to pervasion not simply of the Dharma Realm, but also to pervasion of all the different kinds of places. Not only does it pervade the Dharma Realm; it also pervades the other different kinds, where there is flowing water like rivers, as well as lakes and locations with trees and so forth. FOUR, PERVADING SEEDS OF KSHETRAS. Our Lotus Flower Banner  World System has twenty tiers, each tier of which has limitless and boundless seeds of worlds. Where we are living now is its thirteenth tier. The fourth is to pervade a11 seeds of worlds.

FIVE, PERVADING THE FLOWER TREASURY. The fifth refers to pervasion of the worlds of the Flower Treasury. The Thus Come One pervades throughout its worlds, proclaiming the Flower Adornment Sutra's wonderful Dharma. SIX, PERVADING THE REST OF THE SEAS OF KSHETRAS, WHETHER SEEDS OR KSHETRAS. The sixth is the pervasion of the rest of the kshetras, seas, and world systems, just as of the ones before both the seeds of worlds and the worlds themselves. SEVEN, PERVADING THE PREVIOUS SIX KINDS OF KSHETRAS' DUST MOTES, each mote of dust of the previous six kshetra locations, whether the same or different, ALL OF WHICH HAVE KSHETRAS OF SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT KINDS.

      EIGHT, PLACES TO THE ENDS OF THE REALM OF EMPTY SPACE, any place with empty space. AND OF WHAT IS ENCOMPASSED BY THE TIP OF EVERY HAIR. The tip of every hair can encompass dust-motes, so this means any spot that can take in a particle of dust, EACH OF WHICH HAS BOUNDLESS SEAS OF KSHETRAS. In each particle of dust there appear Dharma Realms many as boundless seas of kshetras. NINE, LIKE INDRA'S NET. The places where the Flower Adornment Sutra is spoken are inexhaustibly multi layered, in the same way as the network banner in front of Palace of the god Indra, the lights of which shine upon each other, and the interstices of which all penetrate each other, so that each light reflects all others in infinite profusion. TEN, THE SAME AS ALL OTHER BUDDHAS. Not only does Shakyamuni Buddha speak the Flower Adornment Sutra like this, but every Buddha upon accomplishing Buddha hood first speaks the Flower Adornment Sutra in the same way.

PROLOGUE:

ALTHOUGH OF THE PREVIOUS TEN KINDS, EACH PERVADES THE DHARMA REALM, STILL THE FIRST NINE ARE THE ACTUAL PLACES WERE VAIROCHANA SPEAKS DHARMA.

COMMENTARY:

      ALTHOUGH OF THE PREVIOUS TEN KINDS of places, EACH place PERVADES THE DHARMA REALM, STILL THE FIRST NINE places before ARE THE ACTUAL PLACES WHERE VAIROCHANA SPEAKS DHARMA. The former nine places are the locations where Vairochana Buddha speaks the Dharma of the Flower Adornment Sutra.

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WONDERFUL DHARMA LOTUS PLOVER SUTRA VOLUME III. Chapter Two, Expedients, The Buddha explains the One Great Matter for which all Buddhas appear in the world. Paperbound,

WITH ONE HEART BOWING TO THE CITY OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS, VOL.II Bhikshu Heng Sure and Shramanera Heng Ch'au have been on their bowing journey for over two years now. These records represent their daily observations of internal and external changes, steeped in the doctrines of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Paperbound, with photographs and illustrations, 322 pages.