大毘盧遮那經供養次第法疏 1.27

1.27

Second, in the detailed explanation there are fifteen mantras, which are the fifteen gates. Every gate has verses and a mantra. In the verse, "in a pure and quiet room" refers to the chamber for recitation and the attainment of siddhi, built as a maṇḍala in places such as a magnificent mountain or subsidiary peaks. As for "scattering exquisite flowers, etc.", whatever is offered should be well distinguished one by one according to the nature and category of each deity and their positions in the maṇḍala, and one should make their colour, fragrance, taste, and texture delight people's hearts. Among the three colours—white, yellow, and red—the Tathāgata family should use white, the Padma retinue yellow, and the Vajra retinue red. Furthermore, according to the directions in the maṇḍala, a round altar should use white, a square altar yellow, a triangular altar red, and the worldly devas red. Padmas are red lotuses; water-born lotuses of blue, yellow, white, and other colours may all be offered generally to the deities. The nāgapuṣpa tree is the tree under which the World-Honoured One Maitreya will attain Buddhahood. That which is plainly called the nāga-flower is the flower esteemed among nāgas, and there are quite a few seeds of it in the Western Regions. The kesara flower and the sāla tree flower are both found in India, but not in this region. However, anything that human hearts delight in and that the worldly consider auspicious may be offered. One should attentively distinguish them one by one, gathering them to make garlands or varied adornments, stringing them or binding them; because of the practitioner's diligent, pure, and sincere heart, the deities will be gladdened and will protectively remember him. "Wherever established" means the hall built previously. "The text" refers to the Mahāvairocana Sūtra. As for "one should rely on the direction in which the iṣṭadevatā resides", one explanation says it is the direction where the iṣṭadevatā resides in the previous recitation hall. A second explanation says that it displays directions according to capacity across the worlds of the ten directions, such as Bhaiṣajyaguru in the east, Amitābha in the west, or Mañjuśrī of Mount Qingliang, which is also permissible. "Residing single-mindedly" means fixing the mind on the iṣṭadevatā without looking away for even an instant, and so on. "The five wheels" are the five limbs of the body. In "taking refuge", life is the most precious treasure cherished by sentient beings; offering this treasure-trove to the Triratna is done with the mantras and mudrās. "Pure deeds of body, speech, and mind" means that abandoning one's life to take refuge in the deities is called pure karma. As for the upāya of paying homage in the mantra, it is because of making homage through these true words. The mantra is precisely the wisdom of dharmatā, and the deities take the wisdom of dharmatā as body and mind. Reciting the mantra with the wisdom of dharmatā reaches everywhere to the deities of dharmatā wisdom; the deities of dharmatā wisdom instantly and simultaneously receive the homage of the mantra, and thus it is said that one is immediately able to pay homage universally to the Buddhas of the ten directions.