Huayan jing (Avataṃsaka-sūtra;) is the title, rendered into English as Flower Adornment Sutra, Flower Ornament Sutra, etc. of one of the most influential texts in East Asian Buddhism, of which three Chinese translations were done, all with the full title of Dafangguangfo huayanjing (大方廣佛華嚴經).
This text describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing each other. The vision expressed in this work was the foundation for the creation of a the Huayan school 華嚴宗 of Chinese Buddhism, which was characterized by a philosophy of interpenetration (通達、圓融).
The sutra is also well known for its detail description of the course of the course of the bodhisattva's practice through fifty-two stages.
Fragmentary translation of this text probably began in the second century, and the famous Ten Stages Sutra (十地經), often treated as an individual scripture, was first translated in the third century. The first full translation was completed by Buddhabhadra (佛駄跋陀) around 420 (Avataṃsaka-sūtra; 60 fascicles, T 278.9.395a-788b.); the second translation (80 fascicles Avataṃsaka-sūtra; T 279.10.1b-444c.) was completed by Śikṣānanda (實叉難陀) around 699; the third was completed by Prajñā (般若) (40 fascicles, Gandavyūha; T 293.10.661a-848b) around 798.
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