Introduction to the Flower Ornament Sutra

is an application of original study materials that open the door to the teachings of the Five Ranks of the Mahayana embedded in Book 39 Entry into the Realm of Reality

It is not known when and by whom The Flower Ornament Sutra [Hua-yan in Chinese, Kegon in Japanese] was compiled. It is supposed the sutra came into form in Northern India during the 1st and 2nd century CE, arising from recorded sermons Shakyamuni Buddha preached during the first three weeks after his enlightenment. The sutra was transmitted to China and Japan during the 1st millennia where it formed the basis of the Hua-yan and Kegon philosophical schools. D. T. Suzuki described the relationship the sutra has with the Zen schools in his assertion that, “Zen is the practical consummation of Buddhist thought in China, and the Kegon is its theoretical culmination…the philosophy of Zen is Kegon and the teaching of Kegon bears fruit in the life of Zen.”

The Five Sections of the first fifty benefactors of Book 39 of The Flower Ornament Sutra correspond directly to The Five Ranks of Tung-shan Liang-chieh. The Five Sections are added above to the Nonduality – Resolution Sequence Symbol with the same placement as the Five Ranks.

I. The Ten Abodes

Introduces the attributes of the Universal Aspect of Mind – Recognizing the reality of the Universal Mind.
II. The Ten Practices
Uses the spiritual power of the Abodes to initiate the embodiment of the transcendent teachings of the Ten Paramitas – Establishing an intuitive engagement with the Universal Mind
III. The Ten Dedications
The study of the distinctive qualities of Thusness – Attaining an open and intimate relationship with the Universal Mind
IV. The Ten Stages
Making the enlightened principles of the Bodhisattva Path one’s own – The Personal and Universal Minds intimately communicate
V. The Ten Steps of the Eleventh Stage
Attributes of the Dharmakaya – The Personal and Universal Minds relate in unobstructed harmony

The teaching of the first four sections guides the maturation of the interpenetration of shi [Personal, phenomenon, relative] and li [Universal, noumenon, principle]. The fifth section is the non-obstructed interpenetration of shi and li that results in harmonious unfolding of events. The Four Awakenings [symbolized by blue circles] are transitions that mark successful comprehension of a section and movement into the next. Each awakening successively encompasses its predecessors. Mutual interpenetration of shi and li does not obliterate the distinctions between things, but rather demonstrates that everything is intimately connected to everything else without losing distinctiveness.