千手眼大悲心呪行法 1.2

1.2

As for this Great Dhāraṇī, ever since my childhood I was fortunate to be able to recite it orally, yet without understanding the method for its practice. Later, having studied the Tiantai doctrine and contemplation, I examined its sūtra text and found its contemplative wisdom and phenomenal rituals entirely sufficient for practical application; I have therefore briefly set them forth, so that it truly may serve as a guide for myself. Now, the ritual procedures established by Zhizhe comprise four kinds in all. What are the four? The first is called Constant Sitting, which is the One-Practice Samādhi of the *Sūtra of Mañjuśrī's Questions*. The second is called Constant Walking, which is the Buddha-Standing Samādhi of the *Pratyutpanna Sūtra*. The third is called Half-Walking and Half-Sitting, which are the two samādhis of the Bare-Shouldered Practice and Samantabhadra from the two sūtras *Vaipulya* and *Lotus*. The fourth is called Neither-Walking-nor-Sitting, which includes ritual procedures relying on various sūtras as well as the cultivation of contemplation across good, evil, and indeterminate [states], collectively called the Samādhi at One's Own Will. According to the present sūtra, it does not restrict one exclusively to sitting, solely to walking, or to alternating them equally, nor does it allow one to give free rein to the three natures while observing within them; rather, it enjoins recitation and maintenance in accordance with the Dharma for twenty-one days, which falls under the category of ritual procedures based on sūtras within the Samādhi at One's Own Will. Now, based on the fundamental sūtra, I present ten points: first, adorning the bodhimaṇḍa; second, purifying the three karmas; third, the sīmābandha; fourth, performing the pūjā; fifth, inviting the triratna and devas; sixth, praising and expressing sincerity; seventh, making prostrations; eighth, making praṇidhānas and maintaining the mantra; ninth, kṣamā; tenth, practicing contemplative practice. Furthermore, utilizing the Lotus Samādhi to supplement the visualization, I have annotated beneath the phenomenal rituals, so that practitioners need not consult other texts.