If one ascends the stairs at the Pilgrim’s Lodge, directly before the Main Shrine, one will reach a four columned gate called the Gate of Padmagarbha – the Entrance into the Profound. The Entrance into the Profound indicates complete and unobstructed knowledge of the nature of the universe, from which ne may enter into the Flower Treasury Universe of the Avatamsaka Sutra.

The Padmagarbha of Folwer Treasury universe is a world of unlimited potential and unlimited light. Here, the great is not necessarily great, and the small is not necessarily small; the pure is not necessarily pure, and the impure is not necessarily impure; the existent does not necessarily exist, and the non-existent does not necessarily not exist; the sage and common person are equal, the Buddha and living beings are equal; oneself and others are the same, mind and matter are the same. The living beings who live in this world have realized that there is no duality between oneself and others, friend and foe are one, and thus they have no contentions with others or afflictions, due to understanding this principle of harmony. Everyone uses there limitless compassion and endless vows to mutually accept, respect and benefit one another, which leads to illumination and unhindered unity, the Flower Treasury Pure Land.

From the Gate of Padmagarbha to the Main Shrine, one finds the broad courtyard paved with many square concrete slabs, four hundred and sixty-four in total. Upon them are 27840 lines, engraved with a steel ruler by the disciples of the Founder Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Each of the slabs is surrounded on four sides by grass, giving the overall impression of green fields. This is a metaphor, explaining how on the path to Buddhahood, one must sow the field of merit to nurture and cultivate ones spiritual life. It is hence named the Way to Buddhahood.

From the Main Gate to the Arhat Garden, entering the Gate of Padmagarbha and crossing the Way to Buddhahood into the Main Shrine, the path is an analogy for the process of spiritual cultivation from the stage of a common person to that of a Buddha.