འཕགས་པ་འཇམ་དཔལ་གྱ་རྩ་བའ་རྒྱད 164

164

“ Oṁ, rise up, O tawny [flame] with red eyes! Give and cause to give! Hūṁ, phaṭ phaṭ!⁹⁸⁸ Destroy all the obstacles, svāhā! ⁹⁸⁹

“This, O Mañjuśrī, is the supreme heart [mantra] of [the god of] fire that accomplishes all activities and fulfills all wishes.

“At the beginning, the practitioner should offer into the fire three oblations of ghee, incanted each time with this heart mantra of fire. For someone engaged in this way in the performance of the pacifying, nourishing, or wrathful activities, there are prescribed three types of firewood, respectively.

“The sticks from the aśoka tree are for the activity of pacifying,
Especially if they are moist with sap.
The best ones are nine inches, a cubit,
Or perhaps three fingers long.

“The ritual instructions specify
That viscid sticks are the best.
They should be without holes nor be hollow,
With the hue of a parrot’s plumage.

“One should avoid yellow,
White, or black colors.
One should collect sticks without holes,⁹⁹⁰
Rejecting also those damaged by worms.

“Sticks of other⁹⁹¹ colors are not recommended.
One should avoid only sticks of the worst kind.
They should be not too dry and not too moist.
Nor should one use scorched sticks.

“One should also avoid those that are
Rotten, crooked, or too long.
One should then prepare a fire pit,
Rectangular on all sides.

“One should carefully dig a pit
To the depth of four cubits,
Or, alternatively, three cubits, two cubits,
Or even one cubit.

“The pit should be free of living organisms
And made of sand.
One should then prepare a lotus-shaped altar⁹⁹²
Encircling the pit all around.

“Or, one can carefully make
An enclosure in the shape of a square,
With corners in the shape of vajras,
Both ends of which are three-pronged.⁹⁹³

“Inside this fire pit one should prepare
A flat, two-cubit area.
One who is well prepared should perform the homa⁹⁹⁴
In a pure, cleanly swept place,

“On a well-chosen riverbank,⁹⁹⁵
Or in a lonely spot on dry land,⁹⁹⁶
A charnel ground, an empty dwelling,
Or on a mountaintop.

“Also, one can always do this in an empty temple
Or a big forest.