Light from Every Pore
The assembly now beholds the Tathāgata's own body emitting light from every single pore, each light bringing a distinct effect to countless multitudes — observation, joy, happiness, deepened faith, cooled and refreshed faculties. A great voice then gives forth hymns transcending every worldly form of speech, and a further manifestation of jeweled light is explained through ten distinct reasons, one after another.
Ten Reasons Behind a Single Manifestation
After the long litany of qualities, the sūtra returns to visible spectacle: light pouring from every pore of the Buddha's own body, each ray bringing about a distinct effect, and a voice giving forth hymns of praise that exceed every worldly form of speech. The passage closes by doing something the sūtra rarely bothers with — explaining its own imagery — listing ten separate reasons behind a further manifestation of wondrous, jeweled flames of light.
時，彼大眾見如來身，一一毛孔出百千億那由他阿僧祇光明，一一光明有阿僧祇色、阿僧祇清淨、阿僧祇照明，令阿僧祇眾觀察、阿僧祇眾歡喜、阿僧祇眾快樂、阿僧祇眾深信增長、阿僧祇眾志樂清淨、阿僧祇眾諸根清涼、阿僧祇眾恭敬尊重。爾時，大眾咸見佛身，放百千億那由他不思議大光明，一一光明皆有不思議色、不思議光，照不思議無邊法界。以佛神力，出大妙音；其音演暢百千億那由他不思議讚頌，超諸世間所有言辭，出世善根之所成就。復現百千億那由他不思議微妙莊嚴，於百千億那由他不思議劫歎不可盡，皆是如來無盡自在之所出生。
At that time, that great assembly beheld the Tathāgata's own body, and from each and every one of his pores there emitted a hundred thousand million nayutas of asaṃkhyeyas of light; and each and every one of those lights possessed asaṃkhyeya colors, asaṃkhyeya purities, and asaṃkhyeya illuminations, causing asaṃkhyeya multitudes to observe, asaṃkhyeya multitudes to rejoice, asaṃkhyeya multitudes to feel happiness, asaṃkhyeya multitudes to have their deep faith increased, asaṃkhyeya multitudes to have their aspiration and delight made pure, asaṃkhyeya multitudes to have every faculty cooled and refreshed, and asaṃkhyeya multitudes to feel reverence and honor. At that time, the great assembly all beheld the Buddha's own body, emitting a hundred thousand million nayutas of inconceivable great lights; and each and every one of those lights possessed inconceivable colors and inconceivable radiance, illuminating the inconceivable and boundless Dharma-realm. Through the Buddha's own spiritual power, a great and wondrous voice came forth; that voice gave free expression to a hundred thousand million nayutas of inconceivable hymns of praise, transcending every worldly form of speech entirely, accomplished through wholesome roots that transcend the world. Furthermore, manifesting a hundred thousand million nayutas of inconceivable, subtle, and wondrous adornments, which could never be exhausted through praise even across a hundred thousand million nayutas of inconceivable kalpas, all of it born entirely from the Tathāgata's own inexhaustible, sovereign mastery.
又現不可說諸佛如來出興于世，令諸眾生入智慧門，解甚深義。又現不可說諸佛如來所有變化，盡法界、虛空界，令一切世間平等清淨。如是，皆從如來所住無障礙一切智生，亦從如來所修行不思議勝德生。復現百千億那由他不思議妙寶光焰，從昔大願善根所起，以曾供養無量如來，修清淨行無放逸故，薩婆若心無有障礙生善根故，為顯如來力廣遍故，為斷一切眾生疑故，為令咸得見如來故，令無量眾生住善根故，顯示如來神通之力無映奪故，欲令眾生普得入於究竟海故，為令一切諸佛國土菩薩大眾皆來集故，為欲開示不可思議佛法門故。
He further manifested indescribable Tathāgatas appearing in the world, causing living beings to enter the gateway of wisdom, and to understand its own profound meaning. He further manifested every transformation of indescribable Tathāgatas, throughout the entire Dharma-realm and the entire realm of empty space, causing every world to become entirely equal and pure. All of this arises entirely from the unobstructed all-knowing wisdom in which the Tathāgata abides, and likewise arises from the inconceivable, supreme virtue that the Tathāgata has cultivated and practiced. He further manifested a hundred thousand million nayutas of inconceivable, wondrous jeweled flames of light, arising from the wholesome roots of his own great vow made in ages past — because he had once made offerings to immeasurable Tathāgatas, cultivating pure conduct free of heedlessness; because his mind of all-knowing wisdom, unobstructed, gives rise to wholesome roots; in order to reveal the Tathāgata's own power as vast and all-pervading; in order to cut off the doubt of every living being; in order to cause everyone to be able to behold the Tathāgata; in order to cause immeasurable living beings to abide in wholesome roots; in order to display the Tathāgata's own spiritual power, unable to be outshone by anything; wishing to cause living beings to universally enter the very ultimate ocean; in order to cause the great assembly of bodhisattvas from every buddha-land to all gather together; and in order to open up and reveal the inconceivable gateway of the buddha's own Dharma.
The ten reasons given at the close are unusual for how plainly they are stated — most of the sūtra's imagery is left to speak for itself, but here the text pauses to explain, in order: past vows fulfilled, an unobstructed mind of wisdom, revealing power, cutting off doubt, enabling sight of the Buddha, planting wholesome roots, displaying unrivaled spiritual power, drawing beings into the ultimate ocean, gathering bodhisattvas from every land, and opening the inconceivable Dharma-gate. Read together, they describe a single act of manifestation doing at least ten distinct kinds of work at once — none of them decorative, all of them purposeful.
Part 189 Complete
This closes Part 189. Chapter 23 continues in Part 190.