The Stem Array · Gaṇḍavyūha

“They are without basis, without acquisition,

Without elaboration, without foundation,

With unimpeded minds, stainless,

Focused on the essence of phenomena. {15}

“They are banners of wisdom,

Great heroes who have vajra minds.

They are unshakable and teach nirvāṇa

Within unceasing qualities.¹⁴⁸ {16}

“They have gathered from numerous millions

Of realms beyond number in the ten directions,

Have arrived before the Buddha,

And are free from dualistic perception. {17}

“They see these miracles

Of the self-arisen Lion of the Śākyas,

And it is through his blessing

That these bodhisattvas have gathered. {18}

“The offspring of the jinas, they who have attained perfection,

Do not distinguish between the Buddha’s Dharmas

On the level of the essence of phenomena

But make distinctions merely in terms of terminology. {19}

“They are established in the ultimate conclusion

Of the indivisibility of the essence of phenomena,

But they make distinctions between phenomena

Through producing unceasing words.” {20}

“See the vast circle of wisdom

Of the one who is supreme among beings.

He knows when it is timely and untimely

And then teaches the Dharma to beings. {21}

“He completely defeats all opposition

From gathered assemblies of tīrthikas.

He demonstrates miraculous acts

According to the wishes of beings. {22}

“The Sugata does not dwell in a direction;¹⁴⁹

The Buddha does not go to a realm.¹⁵⁰

The great Muni is always both¹⁵¹

Ascertainable and unascertainable. {23}

“The sun moving through the sky

Demarcates the number of days.

Thus the Teacher, wise with knowledge,

Demarcates the three times without impediment. {24}

“On the night of a full moon

The moon’s disk is the brightest light.

In that way, the Lord¹⁵²

Full of white Dharma is seen. {25}

“Just as the disk of the sun

Moves through the sky

Without being stopped‍—

Thus are the Buddha’s miracles. {26}

“Just as space is not dependent

On the worlds in the directions,

In that way, the buddha miracles

Of the Lamp of the World are to be known. {27}

“Just as in the world the earth

Is the support for all beings,

In that way, in the world the Dharma wheel

Of the Lamp of the World is a support. {28}

“Just as the wind, without impediment,

Moves swiftly through the sky,

In that way, the Buddha’s nature

Moves through the world realms. {29}

“Just as the numbers of worlds

Are based on accumulations of water,

In that way, the buddhas of the three times

Are based on accumulations of wisdom.” {30}

“Just like high mountains and cliffs

That are made of vajras,

The Buddha, the protector of all worlds,

Is the highest in the world. {31}

“Just as the great water of the ocean

Is immeasurable and unpolluted,

In that way, the sight of the Buddha

Dispels the thirst of the world. {32}

“Just as Mount Meru

Is higher than the ocean’s water,

In that way, the Lamp of the World

Is higher than the ocean of phenomena. {33}

“Just as the vast ocean

Is the source of all jewels,

The Self-Arisen One’s wisdom

Is unending instantaneous knowledge. {34}

“The Guide’s wisdom is profound,

Incalculable, and immeasurable;

Therefore, the Buddha demonstrates

Immeasurable, inconceivable miracles. {35}

“Just as a skilled magician

Manifests the qualities of illusions,

In that way, the Buddha, who has the power

Of knowledge, manifests miracles. {36}

“Just as a pure wish-fulfilling jewel

Fulfills the wishes that are made,

In that way, the Jina fulfills

The pure aspirations of beings. {37}

“Just as a shining jewel

Shines with lights,

In that way, pure omniscience

Illuminates the aspirations of beings. {38}

“Just as a jewel with eight facets

Remains facing all directions,

In that way, the unimpeded Lamp

Illuminates the realm of phenomena. {39}

“Just as the bright water-purifying jewel

Makes turbid water clear,

In that way, the sight of the Buddha

Purifies the senses of the world.” {40}

“Just as looking through a sapphire¹⁵³ transforms

A direction in this world into the color of the sapphire,

In the same way, seeing the Buddha

Transforms beings into the color¹⁵⁴ of enlightenment. {41}

“The Buddha manifests immeasurable

Miracles of various kinds,

Within each single atom,

That purify the bodhisattvas. {42}

“They are marvelous, profound,

Infinite, difficult to accomplish,

In the scope of the wisdom of the wise,

And inaccessible to the world. {43}

“For the consummation of the bodhisattvas

There is the perfected display,

The purification of the Buddha’s activity

That teaches entering the realm of the Dharma.¹⁵⁵ {44}

“The Jina manifests

In countless buddha realms

That are completely filled

By buddhas encircled by the wise. {45}

“The Teacher with dominion over all Dharma teachings,

The supreme one of the Śākyas, has appeared.

These miracles of his, which are

Beyond measure, have occurred. {46}

“You see¹⁵⁶ this immeasurable variety

Of the activities of the constant one.

He who has immeasurable splendor

Manifests infinite miracles. {47}

“The Lord of the World teaches

The Jina’s children in the essence of the Dharma,

And they become those who have

The unimpeded range of wisdom in all Dharmas. {48}

“The lord of¹⁵⁷ humans through his powers

Turns the wheel of the Dharma,

Manifesting hundreds of miracles

And purifying¹⁵⁸ the entire world. {49}

“In the domain of the supreme among beings

There is the purified circle of knowledge,

The great nāgas with enormous wisdom,

Who bring liberation¹⁵⁹ from the entire world.” {50}

“The śrāvakas of the supreme ṛṣi

Who appear¹⁶⁰ in the three times

Are without the knowledge

Of the footsteps the Sugata¹⁶¹ takes. {51}

“The entirety of the pratyeka­buddhas

Free of error, who appear in the three times,

Are also without the knowledge

Of the footsteps the Protector takes. {52}

“It goes without saying that all beings,

Obscured by the darkness of ignorance

And like dogs tied to a leash,

Have no knowledge of the Guide. {53}

“The Jina cannot be known.

He cannot be measured by any measure.

The Buddha has unimpeded knowledge.

He has transcended the path of words. {54}

“The constant one has the light of the full moon,

And he is beautified¹⁶² by his features.

For countless kalpas he performs

Unimpeded miraculous actions.¹⁶³ {55}

“Though one contemplates with a focused mind

The Buddha in this and that way

For countless millions of kalpas,

He will remain indescribable. {56}

“One will not completely understand

A single aspect of the self-arisen qualities.

Even when the Buddha is gazed upon,

The Buddha’s Dharmas are inconceivable. {57}

“All such fields of activity as those,

Which are difficult to see, will appear

To those who have the aspiration,

To those whose minds delight in them. {58}

“Those who maintain an unstained, wise mind

And have an overpowering, great¹⁶⁴ accumulation

Enter into this way

Of infinite merit and wisdom. {59}

“Those with vast aspirations,

Vast motivation, and vows

Will reach the field of activity of the jinas

And attain vast enlightenment.” {60}

“They have bodies of unimpeded wisdom,

And therefore the self-arisen ones have no body.

The scope of their wisdom is inconceivable,

And therefore one cannot conceive of them. {61}

“A buddha’s body is obtained

Through inconceivable acts of goodness,

And therefore it is unstained by the three worlds

And beautified by a supreme being’s features and signs. {62}

“He completely illuminates the world

And is purified of the realm of phenomena.

He is the gateway to the enlightenment of buddhahood

And is the great source of all wisdom. {63}

“Unsullied and pristine,

Free of all clinging,

A sun for the world

Radiating rays of wisdom, {64}

“Eliminating the terrors of existence

Through purification of the three realms,

And bringing bodhisattvas to perfection,

He is the source of the enlightenment of buddhahood.¹⁶⁵ {65}

“Although he manifests infinite colors,

He is devoid of all colors.

He manifests the countless, endless¹⁶⁶

Colors because of all beings. {66}

“There is no one who can fully

Understand¹⁶⁷ the Buddha’s wisdom,

Which in each instant purifies

The enlightenment of buddhahood. {67}

“The unceasing teaching of wisdom

Is by its nature unchanging.

In a single instant it describes

All the jinas of the three times. {68}

“The wise one who is dedicated to enlightenment,

Constantly forsaking all other activity,

Although his mind is called mind,

In his mind no mind arises.¹⁶⁸ {69}

“The qualities of buddhahood

That the buddhas manifest

Are inconceivable, are a field beyond description,

Are profound, and are beyond the scope of words.” {70}

“Those who are pure and with unconfused recollection,

Who possess the Dharma with complete certainty,

Who have inconceivable understanding,

Are an unending ocean of enlightenment. {71}

“Their minds have certainty concerning this.

This is their realm of practice.

Their wisdom is unshakable.

They have eliminated doubt. {72}

“They do not become disheartened.

They do not become despondent.

They maintain the aspiration

Of devotion to the Buddha’s Dharma. {73}

“They have the deepest faith,

And they develop what is truly superior.

They delight in the wisdom

That has no object and no fixation. {74}

“They are filled with virtuous qualities

Created during millions of kalpas.

All of that is completely given away

By these unequaled seekers of wisdom. {75}

“Although they are active within saṃsāra,

They are not based within saṃsāra.

They have realized the Buddha’s Dharma

And so delight in the Buddha’s field of activity. {76}

“Whatever worldly good fortune there is

That occurs within the realms of beings,

The resolute ones renounce it all,

And they remain in the Buddha’s good fortune. {77}

“The world remains fruitless,

Continuously in bondage.¹⁶⁹

Those whose conduct is free from attachment

Are continuously fixed on benefiting beings. {78}

“Their unequaled conduct

Is inconceivable for all beings.

They who think of the world’s happiness

Bring an end to suffering. {79}

“They have compassion for the whole world

And have the pure wisdom of enlightenment.

They are a light for the world

And bring liberation to the entire world.” {80}

“Even the word buddha is a great rarity

For thousands of millions¹⁷¹ of kalpas,

Let alone seeing a supreme one

Who eliminates all doubts. {81}

“He has gained the realization of all Dharmas.

He is the object of veneration¹⁷² for the three worlds.

He brings purification to all beings.

He is a light for the world that brings joy when seen.¹⁷³ {82}

“One will never have enough

Of seeing the form body

Of the supreme blameless being,

Even in a quintillion kalpas. {83}

“The bodhisattvas¹⁷⁴ are continually gazing

At the form body of the lord of humans.

They have no attachment, and they dedicate

Their own virtues to enlightenment for the benefit of others. {84}

“The form body of the great Muni

Is this gateway to the enlightenment of buddhahood,

From which comes unimpeded and

Unceasing¹⁷⁵ discriminating knowledge. {85}

“The supreme great Muni illuminates

Countless, innumerable beings,

Brings them into the Mahāyāna,

And prophesies their supreme enlightenment. {86}

“He illuminates an infinite world,

A realm that has the nature of great merit,

A domain of wisdom that has arisen and appeared,¹⁷⁶

And he multiplies accumulated merit. {87}

“He cuts through the net of suffering

And purifies¹⁷⁷ the aggregation of wisdom.

Those who please the Jina

Have no fear of the lower realms. {88}

“On seeing the supreme two-legged being,

An extremely vast motivation develops.

The incalculable power of wisdom

Creates an illuminating radiance.¹⁷⁸ {89}

“Those who see the Buddha, the supreme human,

Will certainly attain supreme enlightenment.

They will have certainty, thinking,

‘I will become a tathāgata.’ ” {90}

“Having seen the Muni who is the foremost Śākya,

Who possesses a perfection of infinite qualities,

Those with minds that make dedications

Are purified within the Mahāyāna. {91}

“The constant ones who have great compassion,

Who turn the wheel of the Dharma,

The tathāgatas

Appear for the sake of all beings. {92}

“How could all beings

Be able to repay the buddhas,

Who for trillions of kalpas

Have been dedicated to benefiting beings? {93}

“It is better to be cooked for ten million kalpas

In the three unendurable lower existences

Than to not see the Teacher,

Who dispels all attachment. {94}

“However great the aggregation of suffering

That exists within the minds of all beings,

One can endure the experience of all of it,

But not being deprived of seeing the Buddha. {95}

“It is better to remain for a long time

In all these different states of being

That are in the lower existences in this world

Than to be deprived of hearing¹⁸⁰ the Buddha. {96}

“It is better to remain for countless kalpas

In each of the hell realms

Than to remain far from the supreme enlightenment

That has been attained by infinite jinas. {97}

“For what reason would one wish to remain

For a long time in the lower realms?

One would do so as a cause of seeing

The lord of jinas, which increases wisdom. {98}

“All suffering is eliminated

Through seeing the Jina, the Lord of the World,

And there is the realization of the wisdom

Of the field of activity of the perfect buddhas. {99}

“By seeing the Buddha, the supreme human,

All obscurations are brought to an end.

It causes the increase of immeasurable merit

Through which enlightenment is attained. {100}

“Seeing the Buddha eliminates

The doubts and uncertainties of beings,

And both worldly and unworldly

Wishes are completely fulfilled.” {101}