In Taiwan, an old monk was lecturing on the Avatamsaka Sutra. In the sutra there is a concept called the "flower-adornment world." When the old monk tried to describe this world, he opened his mouth, but no words came out except for expressions like "Oh! . . ." and "Ahh! . . . ." His audience could make no sense of what he was trying to say. The sutra says that in each flower on this world there are one thousand lotuses, and on each lotus sits a Buddha preaching the Dharma in the ten directions. This description does not tell us much, and in fact, the monk's explanation was better than the sutra's.

The mani pearl is unknown to people;
You can find it in the Tathagata-garbha.
The functions of the six senses are both empty and not empty.
One perfect light with form yet formless.


The mani pearl is a wonderful gem that contains infinite power. For this reason, it is also called the wish-fulfilling gem. With such a gem, you can give people whatever they want or need. The owner of the mani pearl becomes the greatest almsgiver. Ordinarily, people are burdened by too much karma and vexation to gain such a treasure, so for them the mani pearl refers to the mystical pearl of the heavenly realm. In this stanza, however, it refers to the original nature that is within every one of us, but which remains hidden to most of us.

The Lotus Sutra tells a story about the son of wealthy parents. When he was young, he was separated from his family, and for years he roamed the land as a beggar. Unknown to him, there was an extremely valuable pearl sewn into a secret pocket of his robe. One day someone told him, "Indeed, you have a priceless pearl with you. If you can find it, you will be rich."