建立曼荼羅及揀擇地法 1.39

1.39

If one wishes to raise the altar, one should not make it by tamping earth, for when it dries it will surely crack and be inauspicious. One should, one or two months in advance, take fine, pure earth from a pure place, mix it with consecrated scented water to make mud bricks, like standard bricks, drying them in the shade rather than scorching them in the sun, not letting chickens, dogs, people, or animals tread upon and defile them. When dried thoroughly, use these bricks to lay out the altar evenly, taking the measurement of the cubit and fingers of the person seeking the rite, constructing the square altar in size according to the teachings: for six cubits and below, the altar is four finger-widths high; for twelve cubits and below, it is eight finger-widths high; for twelve cubits and above, increase accordingly. It consists of only a single tier, level and even without further tiers, with the northeast corner slightly lowered. When smeared evenly according to the ritual and the ground on the four sides has dried, one places the five jewels, the five medicines, and so forth in the altar. The five jewels are: gold, silver, pearl, turquoise, and crystal. These are the five kinds of jewels.