Sutra of the Great Wheel Vajra Dhāraṇī Spoken by the Buddha (佛說大輪金剛總持陀羅尼經)

Sutra of the Great Wheel Vajra Dhāraṇī Spoken by the Buddha

This is what I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was on Vulture Peak in the city of Rajagriha, accompanied by 1,250 great bhikkhus, and further headed by 36,000 bodhisattvas and mahasattvas. At that time, the World-Honored One was approaching parinirvana, and the Dharma was about to decline. Bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, upasikas, and the eightfold assembly of devas and nagas surrounded him from all sides, gathered to hear the Dharma. At that moment, the Vajra-holding Deva asked about the essential Dharma: "After the World-Honored One's parinirvana, how should the Dharma-gate of total retention be upheld?"

The Buddha told the Vajra-holding Deva: "Excellent, excellent! You, vajra beings, are able to ask about this beneficial matter for beings in the final age. Listen well and reflect upon it, and I shall explain this beneficial matter to you in detail, and expound the essential Dharma."

The Buddha told the Vajra-holding Deva: "Those who wish to uphold the Dharma-gate of total retention, as well as recite sutras, practice meditation, and all kinds of wholesome dharmas, must first be pure. Second, constantly maintain resolute and sincere determination. Third, be diligent and unwavering. Fourth, repay the Buddha's compassionate kindness. Fifth, make great vows, day and night diligently repaying the kindness of teachers, monastics, and parents. Sixth, repay the kindness of bodhisattvas. Seventh, repay the kindness of vajra beings. Eighth, repay the kindness of the Thirty-three Heavens. Ninth, repay the kindness of the Four Heavenly Kings. Tenth, repay the kindness of mantra-holding immortals."

The Buddha told the Vajra-holding Deva: "After my nirvana, in the Dharma-ending age, beings will have little merit, and the three calamities will arise in contention. Poisonous ghosts, spirits, and all heavenly demons—in Jambudvipa, in the land of China—all evil spirits and the 84,000 heavenly demons, each demon with 5,000 followers, will slaughter countless, immeasurable beings in Jambudvipa. You, vajra beings, now hear this secret Dharma in this assembly. You, vajra beings, having heard the method of holding mantras, should first swiftly recite the Great Wheel Vajra Dharani Divine Mantra. If you do not uphold this Dharma-gate, even if all other mantras prove effective, you will still incur the sin of false practice and stealing the Dharma. After death, you will fall into hell, and after suffering punishment, you will fall into the animal realm. Such is the sin of false practice. If there are good men, good women, and immeasurable heavenly immortals, vajra bodhisattvas, countless yakshas, and all spirits and ghosts, listen well! I shall now proclaim for you the Abhiseka Divine Mantra. Reciting it twenty-one times can accomplish all mantra methods, and wholesome deeds will swiftly be achieved. This mantra is the cause by which all buddhas of the ten directions in the past attained buddhahood through this dharani. All bodhisattvas reach the path of buddhahood. All vajra beings attain indestructible bodies. All immortals attain accomplishment. Those who recite this mantra can accomplish all mudra methods and all mandala methods. They may enter the great mandala without needing a physical altar. If a physical altar is constructed, various disasters will arise: calamities from heaven and earth, from kings and thieves, from water and fire, all difficulties from yakshas and rakshasas, from heavenly dragons, spirits, and ghosts, from all demons and human troubles. Recite this mantra for seven days and seven nights, with pure incense burning, before a revered image. Recite this mantra, repent the three karmas, and all sins will be eradicated. All spirits and ghosts will rejoice, and all illnesses in the body will be cured."

Then the Buddha addressed the Vajra-Holding Deities, the countless celestial beings, and the monk Ananda: "Listen well. If you hold a vajra mantra, I will establish an altar for you in the realm of the vajra deities. If you hold a bodhisattva mantra, I will establish an altar for you in the realm of the bodhisattva deities. If you hold a celestial mantra, I will establish an altar for you in the celestial realm. If you hold a dragon-deity mantra, I will establish an altar for you in the dragon palace. If you hold a mantra of the twenty-eight classes of spirits, I will establish an altar for you in the realm of the spirit deities. If you hold a yaksha or rakshasa mantra, I will establish an altar for you in the realm of the yaksha and rakshasa deities."

The Buddha said to the Vajra-Holding Deities: "When this mantra is spoken, all mountains, rivers, and stone cliffs will shake in six ways. All the celestial beings and spirits of Mount Sumeru will be unsettled. All the dragon kings will flee in great haste, and the clouds and rains of the thirty-three heavens will be disturbed."

Then the World-Honored One spoke the body mantra:

Homage to the World-Honored One, the Seven Buddhas of the Past! Oṃ! Viraji, Viraji! Great Vajra! Sattva, Sattva! Sarate, Sarate! Tāraye, Tāraye! Vidhmani! Saṃpanthani! Tramani! Siddhagrīdhāya! Svāhā!

The Great Wheel Vajra Dharani Heart Mantra says:

I take refuge in all the Tathagatas. I take refuge in the Vidyadhara. I take refuge in the Supreme One.

Om. Viraji, viraji. Maha cakra. Vajri, vajra. Sada, sada. Sarate, sarate. Traye, traye. Vidhamani. Sambhajani. Talamati. Siddha akriti. Jvala svaha.

At that time, the World-Honored One, having spoken this mantra, addressed the Vajra-Wielding Deities, the mantra-holding ascetics, bhikkhus, and bhikkhunis: "First, you must don fresh, clean robes, burn incense to make offerings to Vajra Louzhi, and recite the mantra for seven days and seven nights. Use only incense and pure water. When the recitation reaches one hundred thousand times, all mantra practices will be accomplished. Thereafter, all mudras may be applied universally. Whoever seeks to master all mantras and attain accomplishment, if they can constantly recite this mantra, upon the end of this life, they will swiftly arrive at the Buddha's realm."

At that time, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Vajragarbha and others, having heard the Buddha teach the secret treasury of the Great Wheel Vajra Dharani, declared:

"We, the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas Vajragarbha, each command as many vajra beings as the sands of hundreds of thousands of Ganges Rivers. Each vajra being has a retinue of as many followers as the sands of millions of Ganges Rivers. Each of us also commands as many treasure deities as the sands of hundreds of thousands of Ganges Rivers. Each treasure deity, in turn, commands the four heavenly kings. We all descend, offering precious jewels and vajra mountains to the Buddha. We vow that we, the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas Vajragarbha, will all reach the Buddha's stage. Our retinues rejoice day and night, enabling us to receive and uphold this teaching.

Furthermore, we offer incense, powdered incense, paste incense, banners, flowers, jeweled canopies, and the hundred flavors of food and drink to the World-Honored One, making offerings to all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times—past, future, and present. We, the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas Vajragarbha, also receive and uphold this mantra for the sake of sentient beings in the Dharma-Ending Age.

If there are good men, good women, bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, or upasikas who receive and uphold this Great Wheel Vajra Dharani, they should bathe before a revered image, put on new, clean clothes, burn incense, and set out three plates of food as offerings. They should fully declare:

'We, from time without beginning in the world, have wandered through birth and death, not knowing the number of kalpas. We have slandered Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, those of the Buddha Vehicle, Solitary Realizers, Arhats, slandered Mahayana Bodhisattvas, vilified those who practice the true Dharma, defiled monasteries, defiled stupas and temples, defiled sutras, broken precepts, committed the three unwholesome actions of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, shed the Buddha's blood, killed Arhats, constantly practiced inversion, holding the right as wrong, committed the ten evils, been unfilial, killed fathers and harmed mothers, and created all manner of evil deeds beyond count. Now, before this revered image, we expose and repent.'

For seven days and seven nights, at the three periods of the day, recite this Dharani divine mantra one hundred and eight times. Use three clean vessels filled with pure water, inserting willow branches. Prepare three plates of food along with ghee, honey, curds, cooked rice, tea, soup, honeyed lotus root, and various fruits. Before the revered image, dig a fire pit shaped like a blooming lotus flower. Smear its four sides with red clay. Recite the mantra over ten catties of charcoal. Use only charcoal from the *shuwang* wood or *jiangzi* wood; do not use other charcoal. Also use three large *liang* of frankincense, two large *liang* of benzoin resin, two large *liang* of white sandalwood, two large *liang* of costus root, half a *sheng* of ghee, and half a *sheng* of honey. Chop, mince, and cut these five kinds of incense into pieces the size of beans. In a copper vessel, mix them together with a copper spoon. Recite the mantra one hundred and eight times, and recite the mantra over this mixture of ghee, honey, and incense one hundred and eight times.

The image should face east. The practitioner should face west, kneel on one knee, join palms, and form the offering mudra, like a blooming lotus flower. The two thumbs are pressed together and angled backward with force; the two little fingers are joined and pointed forward with force; the six other fingers are shaped as if holding a bowl. (This is called the offering mudra.)

The disciple so-and-so, of such-and-such province, county, township, and village, states their own name. If a bhikkhu, bhikkhuni, upasaka, or upasika, they should state their ordained name and the name of their monastery. They address all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times, all past sages and saints, and the unseen officials of karma:

'Disciple so-and-so, on such-and-such year, month, and day, at the beginning of the fifth watch, repents, baring the heart and exposing the mind, inviting all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times, all past Buddhas, all present Buddhas, the future Honored Buddha Maitreya, the twelve divisions of the sutra canon, all great Bodhisattvas, all sage monks, all vajra beings, the gods of the Thirty-Three Heavens, the Four Heavenly Kings, Lord Sakra, the officers of the underworld, the sun god, the moon god, the star deities, the good and evil boy attendants, and the protective deities who guard the precepts: bear witness that the disciple exposes and repents, so that all obstructions of sin may be completely eradicated.

From time without beginning in the world, the disciple has cycled through the six paths, wandered in birth and death, not recognizing good and evil. Before knowing the Buddha, they created offenses in proximity to the Buddha, constantly practiced stealing, drinking alcohol, eating meat, divisive speech, harsh speech, and all kinds of quarreling and conflict, beyond count. They killed countless beings, engaged in countless wrongdoings, and told countless lies. Today, at this time, they expose and repent. After this one repentance, they will never commit these acts again.

May the disciple so-and-so, now before the Buddhas of the ten directions, fully confess their sinful calamities: breaking the fast by eating at night, constantly engaging in wrongdoing, being born among the hungry ghosts, animals, border tribes, and lowly stations of the six paths, constantly dwelling in places of unwholesomeness. Today, at this time, they expose and repent. After this one repentance, they will never commit these acts again.'

If good men or good women, from the eighth day of the month to the fifteenth day, make offerings daily, always using fresh food, and within the seven days recite the mantra to completion one hundred thousand times, there will be a spiritual experience.

If it is a person of superior capacity, they will see in a dream all Buddhas and sages touching their head and bestowing a prediction. Immediately after receiving the Buddha's medicine, they will attain the stage of a Vajra Bodhisattva and follow the Buddha.

If it is a person of middling capacity, within the seven days, making offerings as before, there will be wind and rain, clouds and mist, and they will dream of vajra beings and sages.

If it is a sentient being of inferior capacity, proceeding with the seven days of offerings as before, they will not see sages. Within the seven days, there will be no wind or rain, and the banners and flowers will not move. This person, in past lives, created the ten evils and the five heinous crimes, having no affinity with the Dharma. They must repent with doubled effort, repenting six times a day and night. We must then ingest the incense and recite."

I take refuge in the Buddha. I take refuge in the Dharma. I take refuge in the Sangha. I take refuge in the twelve divisions of the scriptures. I take refuge in Vajragarbha Bodhisattva. I take refuge in Manjushri Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Guanyin Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Eleven-Faced Guanyin Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Jietuo Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Ding Zizaiwang Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Medicine King Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Medicine Superior Bodhisattva Mahasattva. I take refuge in Maitreya Bodhisattva Mahasattva.

These bodhisattvas, each surrounded by a retinue as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! We, the bodhisattvas and our retinues, bring powdered incense, fragrant ointments, banners, flowers, and jeweled canopies to make offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions. For the sake of sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age who study and practice the Great Wheel Dharani, to support the good merit of good men, good women, bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, upasikas, brahmins, and others who study the sutras and the secret sutra methods, and for those who uphold mantras and for beings of inferior faculties to swiftly realize cause and effect, we, the assembly of bodhisattvas, also seek their confirmation and the prediction of buddhahood through the touch of the crowns of our heads by the buddhas of the ten directions. Reciting this dharani is the fundamental method of the immeasurable buddhas of the past. Reciting this mantra can eliminate all obstacles of sin; fundamental sins will all be eradicated.

If beings of inferior faculties, from the first day of the first month, recite this divine mantra one hundred thousand times before a revered image, then they should enter the practice area and hang four banners of the Four Heavenly Kings, and in the four directions place twelve vajra banners and eight bodhisattva banners each. In the center, place an image of Vairocana, and before it arrange various offerings. Use three copper plates; within the plates place various foods. Use copper bowls to hold offerings of rice cooked with milk and ghee—six bowls to one plate—and place in the bowls rice, copper spoons, Buddha's chopsticks, and soups, making various offerings. Before the image, draw a mandala on the ground, four feet square, smeared with fragrant clay. On it, draw the five colors as per the original instructions, each five inches. In the center of the circle, place five new plates facing upward, filled with fragrant water, and insert willow branches. To the south of the mandala, dig a fire pit in the ground, one and a half feet square, and within a one-foot area shape it like a lotus flower, polishing its interior with red clay. According to the previous method, use five types of incense along with ghee and honey, etc. Place the ghee, honey, and incense mixed together in a copper vessel or *shara* bowl. Using a new copper spoon, recite the mantra over this incense one hundred and eight times. Place five lamps on the mandala, with variegated colors of one and a half feet. On the first day of each month, recite the mantra one hundred and eight times day and night, making offerings as before, changing the food offerings every seven days for twenty-one cycles. If within seven days no visions appear, and there is no wind or rain, and no ghosts or spirits manifest, and no vajra-bodhisattvas appear, it indicates deeply rooted sin. Take the aforementioned five types of incense, mix and pound them, combine with honey to form pills, recite the mantra one thousand and eight times over them, and then ingest this incense. Each morning on an empty stomach, take twenty pills, washed down with pure well water. Each time you wish to take the medicine, recite the mantra over the water twenty-one times. Also, recite the mantra over fragrant water to bathe the body, put on new, clean clothes, recite the mantra and make offerings forty-nine times, and all internal obstacles will be completely eliminated.

These beings of inferior faculties, from time without beginning, have constantly stolen the property of the Three Jewels—the property of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and committed adultery with others, receiving immeasurable retribution from all sages. 'On such-and-such year, month, and day, disciple so-and-so, now before the revered image, before the vajra-bodhisattvas and the holy sangha, openly confesses and repents. May the buddhas manifest before me, may the eightfold assembly of dragons and spirits provide for and serve me, and may the great bodhisattvas constantly be my companions.'

Those who uphold the mantra should eat one meal a day of rice cooked with milk and curds. They will attain a strong and healthy body, their comings and goings will be unobstructed, people will respect them, the words they speak will be trusted and accepted by others, and all their wealth and treasures will increase day and night. Diligently practicing this secret treasury of the Dharani method, constantly generating faith and reverence, recite in a clean, empty room. Be diligent day and night, do not engage in miscellaneous activities, single-mindedly receive and uphold it. Exhausting this one body, they will not receive another womb-born existence among the four kinds of birth, and will constantly gather in one place with the great bodhisattvas.

If good men, good women, bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, upasikas, brahmins, and others receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain it to others, they will obtain immeasurable merit. This sutra is the field of merit for sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age. Through it, one can enter the Dharma gate of immeasurable hundreds of thousands of dharanis. It is also the treasury of all sutras. If good men and good women receive, uphold, and read it, and then sleep at the feet of a revered image, they will see visions: the treasury of all sutras and all its guardian deities, vajra-bodhisattvas, teachers, monks, parents, and all revered images. If such a person, coming from outside the assembly, sees these signs, they should keep their mouth closed and not speak of it to others. If they speak of it to others, their precepts and practice will both be broken.

If good men, good women, bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, upasikas, brahmins, and others read and recite the sutras and the secret method of total retention, they should practice the threefold pure conduct: reciting the sutras with the mouth without speaking evil words, harboring no evil in the heart, and having a body free from attachment to the five desires. They must not dwell together in one place with the five kinds of *chandala* women. They must not associate with the five thousand followers of heretical hunters who carry countless [impurities]. They must not engage in conversation with promiscuous women or widows. They must not lodge at establishments that sell alcohol. They must not engage in frivolous debate about all the sutras with heretics, nor in quarrels, disputes, or slander of the true Dharma and all offerings of gain. If good men and good women make offerings to revered images, they must not eat the food themselves, or their precepts and practice will both be broken. Giving it to the poor yields immeasurable merit. They must also not eat the leftover food of householders or monastics, nor eat at households that consume the five pungent plants, alcohol, or meat. If good men and good women eat such food, their receiving, upholding, reading, and reciting will be broken, their precepts and practice will both be broken, it cannot be called receiving, upholding, reading, and reciting, their spiritual power will be lost, and they will incur the sin of false speech."

When this Dharma was spoken, Ananda, the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, the Four Heavenly Kings, the dragons, spirits, and the eightfold assembly—*gandharvas*, *garudas*, *kinnaras*, *mahoragas*—upasakas, upasikas, five hundred brahmins, and the gods of the Thirty-Three Heavens, Brahma King, Indra, *nagas*, humans and non-humans, and wheel-turning sage kings, hearing the Buddha's words, all greatly rejoiced. They all realized the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, immediately attained the mind of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and all realized the Buddha stage.

At that time, the World-Honored One taught the method of painting images, as all the great Bodhisattvas from the past, future, and present—from the ten directions and three times—gathered together in an assembly of hundreds of thousands.

Hundreds of thousands of Vajra Guardians assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of the twenty-eight classes of Yaksha Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Fragrance Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Celestial Yaksha Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Lion Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Noble Monks assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Mantra-holding Sages assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Indra Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Wheel-Turning Sage Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Peacock Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Dragon Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Great Wind Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Great Thunder Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of the Four Great Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Great Rain Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Garuda Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of White Elephant Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Sun Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Moon Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Star Constellation Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Asura Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Water Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Fire Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Yama Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Great Earth Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Mountain Spirit Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of River Spirit Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Sea Spirit Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Five Grains Benevolent Spirits assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Dwelling and Household Spirits assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Door and Gate Guarding Spirits assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Garden, Forest, Flower, and Fruit Spirits assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Food and Drink Benevolent Spirits assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Seven Treasures Benevolent Spirits assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Five Kinds of Pure Wealth Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Sutra Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Secret Treasury Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Merit Goddesses assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Upasakas and Upasikas assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Gandharvas, Garudas, Kinnaras assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Mahoragas, humans, non-humans, and others assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Divine Medicine Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Exquisite Four-Season Clothing Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Ganges-Sand-Nectar Heavenly Kings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Seal Generals who protect and care for all beings assembled together, Hundreds of thousands of Wheel-Turning Sage Kings assembled together.

At that moment, as the World-Honored One spoke this method of painting the sacred image, the three-thousandfold world system trembled in six ways. Then, heavenly mandārava flowers rained down, fragrant breezes arose from the four directions, banners and streamers moved of their own accord as if celestial drums sounded spontaneously, and the buddhas of the ten directions and three times emitted great compassionate light, reaching down even to the Avīci hell. Beings of the six destinies, having seen this radiance and color, all brought to mind the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and realized unsurpassed enlightenment. The assembly gathered together, wishing to hear the method for painting the images of the buddhas of the three times.

"Take a piece of silk and divide it into four layers, each eight feet long. Use fragrant liquid to coat the silk; do not use glue for painting the image. The painter should receive the eight precepts, eat pure food, bathe, and wear new, clean clothes. In a clean room, burn incense, set up a water vessel filled to the brim with fragrant water to sprinkle in the four directions, thereby establishing the boundary. First, paint a water pool, with two branches extending downward from the pool. In the water of this pool, paint lotuses in full bloom, and some that are not yet open, facing downward. Around the four sides of the water pool, place sword railings and stone pillars, all adorned with colors. The tops of the pillars should resemble the shape of blooming lotuses, with vajra jewels placed within them. On each pillar, place a golden jewel. In the center, make a descending bridge, also adorned with colored jewels.

Paint a thousand-jeweled staircase, and above it, paint a five-bay gatehouse. Above that, in the form of a tower, construct a seven-bay gatehouse, with owl-tail ornaments on top. The tiles should all be like the color of lapis lazuli. From the lower eaves, each opening should emit jeweled flowers, with pearl chimes suspended in the center. In the seven-bay tower, install doors and windows. Directly in the center gate, place a large golden lock. All the gates should also be adorned with paintings of the seven jewels. Below, directly in the center gate, paint an image of Vairocana Buddha, exactly like the Buddha in height and form. To the left and right, paint Ānanda, Kāśyapa, and the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, all adorned with the seven jewels. To the left and right, paint two vajra beings, entirely golden in color, holding jeweled vajras, in a majestic posture of subduing demons. At the feet of the vajra beings, paint golden mountains. Further down to the left and right, paint two more vajra beings, in reddish-white form. On the heads of these vajra beings, place wheel canopies. Their hands all hold vajras, adorned with colored paintings. Their feet also tread upon vajra mountains, dignified and majestic—one with mouth open, one with smiling lips. At the left and right feet of the vajra beings, paint two lions, heads raised upward in a roaring posture.

In front of the image of Vairocana Buddha, place a large golden incense burner, topped with a seven-jeweled canopy. Let the incense smoke not be interrupted. In front of the incense burner, paint a blooming lotus. From the center of this flower, transform and produce a seven-jeweled flower tray. On this tray, paint seven golden plates. On these plates, place gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, pearls, benzoin resin, frankincense, and gośīrṣa sandalwood as offerings. In front of the tray, paint four banners of the Four Heavenly Kings, twelve banners of vajra beings, twelve banners of bodhisattvas, and eight banners of dragon kings, arranged in a row. On the ground, place a sitting mat. On the mat, paint auspicious grass and birds. The practitioner kneels with joined palms in offering.

If good men, good women, upāsakas, upāsikās, brahmins, and others each paint their own principal deity, with a joyful countenance and youthful form, seated in full lotus posture—the method of painting the image is thus completed."

At that time, the World-Honored One taught the Seal of All Dharmas, the Seal of the Dharma Body.

Dharma Body Seal, Chapter 1

Stand up, with your feet in a T-stance. Extend both arms upward, palms together. Separate the two middle fingers, while the other eight fingers remain joined at the middle knuckles. Bend both wrists upward, raising them above the head. This is the Body Protection Mudra. Recite the mantra one hundred and eight times.