淨土五會念佛誦經觀行儀卷中．下 3.17

3.17

Formerly there was an ascetic named Sumati / Who once bought five stems of flowers, / Taking them to offer to Dīpaṃkara Buddha; / Because of the flowers, his fruit was titled the World-Honoured One Śākya. / All sūtras speak wondrous gāthās, / Naming the scattering of flowers in offering a field of merit. / Merely scattering a single flower to a single Buddha, / Because of the flower, all come to behold Amitābha. / Wise people of the present day who see the sūtra texts / Where the Buddha says flowers are the cause of becoming a Buddha, / Immediately scatter flowers in offering to the Buddha, / And further use flowers to deliver people with affinity. / In profusion, just as one sees the flowers being scattered, / Petals like green clouds fly through the air. / Each and everyone rushes forward to hold them in their hands; / Everyone gathers them in the folds of their robes and returns. / Petals of heavenly flowers rain from the sky; / Scattering upon everyone, they cause the shoots of the Path to sprout. / If only you diligently make offerings of flowers, / Fields of merit will spread one by one across the sands of the Gaṅgā. / Flowers fly rustling throughout empty space; / Emerald leaves flutter and fill the realm. / Pattering like drizzle, they descend mingling with the clouds, / In profusion escorting sons into the lotus palace. / The lotus flowers, lush and dense, are exceedingly broad and level; / Upon the flowers walk hosts of bodhisattvas. / From time to time scattering flowers in offering to the Buddha, / Frequently proclaiming the sounds of the five tempos. / All classes of holy beings hold flowers in the folds of their robes; / Everyone travels to make offerings across the sands of the Gaṅgā. / At each mealtime they return to their home country; / In every step they do not depart from the home of the World-Honoured One. / From time to time the sky rains ten thousand kinds of flowers; / Everywhere they can cause the shoots of the Path to sprout. / Holding each one, they present them to all Buddhas; / Every morning they are constantly in the home of the Dharma King. / Squads of fresh flowers of a hundred jewels fly by, / Praising the inconceivable in the open sky. / If there are living beings who can generate revulsion [for this world], / In the future they will certainly rest in the unconditioned. / Upon the diamond terrace the true teaching is preached; / The bodhisattvas of the west are all alike. / Scattering flowers in offering without cessation, / They are all born upon flowers, endowed with supernatural powers. / The fragrance drifts, spreading more and more continuously; / As flowers go and flowers come, the flowers become fresher still. / In the clear dawn they constantly take them to offer in foreign realms; / By mealtime they return to the presence of the World-Honoured One.