Avatamsaka Sutra is the Abridged Version

Over the past five or six years, MAPLE has been studying a particularly elaborate, advanced, and yet subtle sutra during its meditation retreats. This sutra is named the “Avatamsaka Sutra” which translates to English as the “Flower Garland Scripture”. This text describes a view of reality that is incomprehensibly vast, deeply interdependent, and mind-shatteringly profound.

During a question and answer period of one of these meditation retreats, I asked Soryu how I was supposed to even begin to approach a sutra of such grandeur. Soryu told me that though it is important to understand the actual words and be clear on what is being pointed out through language, and while it’s also important to understand how the text is translated across languages and cultures, it is also possible for the sutra to impact me beyond any intellectual understanding. Soryu explained that if I remained in my meditation practice while reading or listening to a teaching on this sutra, the sutra will do its work on me regardless of whether I understand the words.

There was then a pause in his answering. After a moment of silence in the meditation hall, Soryu looked at me with a mysterious kind of a smile. He said it’s important to remember this text is just the abridged version of the teaching and that the full version is this present moment.

I replied with a silent gaze, confusion, and wonder. Further silence in the meditation hall followed, broken only by winter winds rattling the window panes.