首楞嚴義疏注經 7.21

7.21

The Buddha told Ānanda: "If people of the degenerate age wish to establish a bodhimanda, they should first take [the dung of] a strong white ox of the Snowy Mountains that feeds on the rich, glossy, fragrant grasses within those mountains. Because this ox drinks only the clear water of the Snowy Mountains, its dung is extremely fine; you may take this dung and mix it with sandalwood to plaster the ground. If [the ox] is not from the Snowy Mountains, its dung will be foul and filthy, unusable for plastering the ground. [In that case,] dig down five feet below the surface of a flat plain and take the yellow earth beneath. Mix it with fine sandalwood, agarwood, storax, frankincense, saffron, white gum-resin, costus, lysimachia, spikenard, and clove; sift these ten substances through a fine sieve into powder, blend them with the earth to make mud, and plaster the site of the ground, making an octagonal altar sixteen cubits across."