The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of The Avatamsaka Sutra

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Translations of Sutras (Chi-Eng)

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions. Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings.

This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary's definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary's translation of Li Tongxuan's seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, "Entry into the Realm of Reality." (Source: Shambhala Publications)

Citation

Cleary, Thomas, trans. The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of The Avatamsaka Sutra. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 1993. https://archive.org/details/avatmaskasutratheflowerornamentscripturethomascleary_300_e.

Table of contents

- Introduction1
1. The Wonderful Adornments of the Leaders of the Worlds55
2. Appearance of the Buddha150
3. The Meditation of the Enlightening Being Universally Good176
4. The Formation of the Worlds182
5. The Flower Bank World202
6. Vairocana254
7. Names of the Buddha270
8. The Four Holy Truths276
9. Awakening by Light282
10. An Enlightening Being Asks for Clarification298
11. Purifying Practice312
12. Chief in Goodness330
13. Ascent to the Peak of Mount Sumeru368
14. Eulogies on Mount Sumeru371
15. Ten Abodes384
16. Religious Practice401
17. The Merit of the Initial Determination for Enlightenment404
18. Clarifying Method425
19. Ascent to the Palace of the Suyama Heaven438
20. Eulogies in the Palace of the Suyama Heaven441
21. Ten Practices454
22. Ten Inexhaustible Treasuries485
23. Ascent to the Palace of the Tushita Heaven497
24. Eulogies in the Tushita Palace516
25. Ten Dedications530
26. The Ten Stages695
27. The Ten Concentrations812
28. The Ten Superknowledges863
29. The Ten Acceptances870
30. The Incalculable889
31. Life Span905
32. Dwelling Places of Enlightening Beings906
33. Inconceivable Qualities of Buddhas908
34. The Ocean of Physical Marks of the Ten Bodies of Buddha933
35. The Qualities of the Buddha's Embellishments and Lights946
36. The Practice of Universal Good952
37. Manifestation of Buddha970
38. Detachment from the World1022
39. Entry into the Realm of Reality1135
Appendix 1: Technical Terminology and Symbolism in The Flower Ornament Scripture1521
Appendix 2: Amplifications of Book 391535
Appendix 3: Commentary on Book 39 by Li Tongxuan1545
Glossary1631

Interconnections

Works related to this item

1 Full translation of

Buddhāvataṃsakamahāvaipūlyasūtra [बुद्धावतंसकसूत्र]. sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba shin tu rgyas pa chen po'i mdo [སངས་རྒྱས་ཕལ་པོ་ཆེ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།]. [The Sūtra of the Ornament of the Buddhas (84000)]. Translated by Bai ro tsa na, Buddhabhadra, Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, Ye shes sde, Śikṣānanda. Kangyur, RKTSK 44 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=44&typ=1.

Classical WorksAbout this item

One of the longest works in the entire Buddhist canon, the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra is widely considered to be a compilation of independent scriptures, which was expanded upon over the course of time. It was extremely influential in East Asia, where it was preserved in an eighty-scroll recension. The Tibetan translation of this work fills four volumes in the Derge Kangyur. Though only two sections—namely, the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra and the Daśabhūmikasūtra—have survived in Sanskrit, both of which have also circulated as independent works.