仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經陀羅尼念誦儀軌 1.26

1.26

Having recited the verse three times, take cow dung that has not fallen to the ground, use a clean implement to take it and blend it with various perfumed waters, and recite the preceding mantra twenty-one times to consecrate it. Then, beginning from the northeast corner of the maṇḍala with the right hand, smear it progressively and according to the ritual method by circumambulating to the right. Recite the preceding mantra continuously without interruption until the smearing of the altar is completed, and do not utter any other words. Once the altar has dried, follow the preceding method again using pure cow-dung liquid, smearing it once more as before, reciting the preceding mantra entirely as above. Once it is dried, take Eclipta prostrata, or hollyhock leaves, or Solanum nigrum leaves, crush them and use them to polish and adorn it, making the altar first clean and pure. Next, hang a blue-green canopy over the altar, matching the size of the altar. Around the altar hang twenty-four banners. Next, paint the altar according to the ritual method; the painter must bathe, put on fresh and clean clothes, and receive the upavāsa precepts. The altar has three tiers. Do not use animal hide glue; use fragrant plant resins. If there is no fragrant resin, decoct glutinous rice liquid to mix the colours. In the centre of the altar, paint a twelve-spoked wheel. In the east, paint a five-pronged vajra pestle; on the south side, paint a vajra jewel; on the west side, paint a vajra sword; on the north side, paint a vajra bell. These five items above are the secret seals held in the hands of the bodhisattvas of the five directions. In the southeast corner, paint a three-pronged vajra pestle; in the southwest corner, paint a jewelled crown; in the northwest corner, paint a harp; in the northeast corner, paint a karma-vajra pestle. At the four corners, place four vases of abundance—gold, silver, bronze, or porcelain, or new earthenware is also acceptable. Holding one sheng or less, fill the vases with water and insert branches and flowers. Use four colours of silk, each four cubits long—blue-green, yellow, red, and green—and tie them around the necks of the four vases in the sequence given above. Next, on the third tier, at the east gate paint a vajra hook, at the south gate paint a vajra noose, at the west gate paint a vajra chain, and at the north gate paint a vajra bell. In the southeast corner paint an incense burner, in the southwest corner paint a lotus leaf with assorted flowers in its centre, in the northwest corner paint a lamp, and in the northeast corner paint a vessel of perfumed unguent. The painted pestles and other emblems all have radiant flames. Outside the three-tiered altar there is one perimeter border path, with gates painted on four sides. Along the outer border path, at the four corners of the altar, drive in pegs of khadira wood. If there are no pegs of this wood, iron or red sandalwood pegs are also acceptable; they are twelve finger-breadths long and enter the earth by four finger-breadths. Recite the third vajra mantra below, and having empowered the pegs twenty-one times, then drive them in. Have a maiden ply five-coloured threads together toward the right, as thick as a little finger, to tie around the heads of the pegs, encircling the altar. At the four gates of the altar, place four incense burners and burn agarwood, sandalwood, frankincense, storax, and other incenses. At the four corners of the altar, paint three-and-a-half-pronged vajra pestles; on each of the four corners, light a lamp. Outside the four gates, on both the left and right sides, place two porcelain bowls (gold, silver, or bronze are also acceptable) filled with argha perfumed water; change this water at every period, and sprinkle it in a clean place where it cannot be trodden upon. If praying for an urgent purpose for one week, two weeks, or up to seven weeks, then each morning reverently present offerings with fresh purity daily: eight bowls of milk porridge, eight bowls of curd rice, eight plates of fine fruits, and eight plates of sweet, crispy delicacies. If not for an urgent prayer, offer the ordinary offerings daily: burning incense, lighting lamps, offering argha and perfumed unguent, and picking seasonal flowers. On the fourteenth and fifteenth days of each month, on these two days present offerings of porridge, rice, fruits, and so on as described above. For dispelling disasters for the state, family, or oneself, sit facing north, visualize the principal deity and all offerings as white, and recite silently in stillness. For seeking increase, sit facing east, visualize the principal deity and all items as yellow, and recite in joy and stillness without uttering sound. For subjugation, sit facing south, visualize the principal deity and all items as blue-black, internally arouse great compassion while externally manifesting awesome wrath, and recite in a loud voice. For seeking love and respect, sit facing west, visualize the principal deity and all items as red, and recite aloud with a mind of joy and wrath. In accordance with these four kinds: for disaster-calming, from the first day to the eighth day of the month; for seeking increase, from the ninth day to the fifteenth day of the month; for seeking love and respect, from the sixteenth day to the twenty-second day of the month; for subjugation, from the twenty-third day to the end of the month. Establish the place of practice, cycling from end to beginning. If there is an urgent matter and one cannot follow the days, simply establish it according to the periods of day and night: for disaster-calming, take the first watch of the night; for increase, take the early part of the day; for love and respect, take the late watch of the night; for subjugation, take midday and midnight. If establishing the place of practice and reciting for the four kinds of urgent prayers, follow the days and times above as the regular rule; but for practitioners of yoga who seek departure [from saṃsāra] and unexcelled bodhi, mentally offering during the four periods of day and night—the late watch of the night, midday, dusk, and midnight—is the supreme practice, which will be fully explained below. Fearing that people might find it difficult to understand, the altar is illustrated here.