施諸餓鬼飲食及水法

Before offering food to sentient beings, everything must be done in accordance with the Dharma, and the offering articles must be clear, pure, and excellent. Whether it be a portion, or a small amount, or a single item, all must be held in vessels of clean copper and in accordance with the Dharma. If there be no copper vessels, then white porcelain vessels may also be used. If there be no porcelain, then lacquered vessels may be used. The various foods and drinks must be prepared with clean water. Facing toward the east, set up the seat (for the presiding master), and only then may the Dharma rite be performed.

Whoever wishes to bestow food and drink upon all the hungry ghosts must first arouse a vast mind and invite all the hungry ghosts everywhere. First one must recite the following verse once with a sincere heart, and only afterward perform the rite of summoning and inviting; then one obtains rewards of blessing and benefit that cannot be measured:

The disciple, bhikṣu (bhikṣuṇī) whose Dharma name is _______ ,

Arouses the mind to uphold

This one savory dish,

Bestowing it everywhere throughout the ten directions,

Reaching the utter limits of empty space,

Encompassing the entire Dharma-realm,

Within realms as numerous as motes of dust,

However many lands there be,

To all the hungry ghosts,

To those long departed,

To the lords of earth, mountains, and rivers,

And even unto the wilds,

The various kinds of ghosts and spirits—

I invite them to gather here.

I now, out of compassion,

Bestow food everywhere.

May this host of ghosts and spirits

Receive these offerings,

And in turn make offerings,

Throughout the entire realm of empty space,

To all Buddhas and holy saṅgha,

To all sentient beings,

The host of ghosts and spirits

Together with the sentient beings,

May all everywhere be fully satisfied.

Together I pray that your bodies,

By the power of this mantra-blessed food,

May depart from suffering and attain liberation,

Be born in the heavens and enjoy bliss,

In the Pure Lands of the ten directions

Roam freely at will,

Arouse the bodhi-mind,

Practice the bodhisattva path,

In the future become Buddhas,

Never falling back.

Those who attain the Way before,

I pray, shall together liberate the rest.

Again I pray that you,

Day and night, always,

Will support and protect me,

Fulfilling my heart's vow completely.

I pray that this Dharma of bestowing food,

By whatever merit it produces,

May be turned and bestowed everywhere

Upon the sentient beings of the Dharma-realm.

May all sentient beings

Equally share therein.

Together with all sentient beings,

I take this blessing

And dedicate it entirely

To the Suchness of the Dharma-realm,

To unsurpassed bodhi,

To the all-knowing awareness.

May I swiftly become a Buddha,

Seeking no other fruit.

I pray that by this Dharma

I may swiftly attain Buddhahood.

Joining the palms level with the heart, recite the above verse and use the mudrā (of Summoning and Inviting) to perform the act of invitation.

The Mudrā of Opening the Throat: With the right hand, the thumb and middle finger hooked together, the remaining three fingers extended straight. Without making the (mudrā) posture supple, this is called the Mudrā of Universal Assembly (gathering all together). The mantra is:

Namo bhūteri tari tathāgatāya.

Forming this mudrā, reciting this mantra 7 times, broadly stirring up the mind of compassion, one prays to cause all hungry ghosts within the dust-mote lands of the entire Dharma-realm all to assemble like gathering clouds.

Again recite the mantra of Opening the Gates of Hell and Opening the Throat (opening the gates of hell and opening the throat), thus:

Oṃ bubhūteri ghatari tathāgatāya.

When reciting this mantra, the left hand holds the food, and the right hand forms the Mudrā of Summoning and Inviting given above. There is only this change of method: with each recitation of the mantra, snap the fingers once. Taking the tips of the thumb and the middle finger, snap the fingers so they make a sound. The remaining three fingers are spread open a little, slightly curved—this is called the Mudrā of Opening the Gates of Hell and Opening the Throat.

"At that time, the Tathāgata then spoke the dhāraṇī named Sublimely Wondrous Light of Immeasurable Majestic Virtue and Sovereign Freedom, which has the power to empower food and drink. The mantra is:

Namo sarva-tathāgata-avalokite, oṃ saṃbhara saṃbhara hūṃ.

Reciting this mantra 7 times, all hungry ghosts, each one, obtain 49 hú of food—the hú being the measure used in the country of Magadha; and having eaten, all are reborn in the heavens or born in the Pure Land. (This divine mantra) can cause the practitioner's karmic obstructions to be eliminated, his lifespan to be increased and benefited, and in this present life he reaps immeasurable, boundless blessings and rewards—how much more so in the future life."

When reciting this true word (Sublimely Wondrous Light of Immeasurable Majestic Virtue and Sovereign Freedom) to empower the food and drink, one must form the mudrā: Using the thumb of the right hand, rub against the nail of the middle finger 3 times or 2 times, the remaining three fingers held straight upright. Again, using the thumb, twirl it with the tip of the middle finger, snapping the fingers so they make a sound. With each recitation of the mantra, snap the fingers once.

Again recite the true word Receiving the Dharma-Flavor of Sweet Dew (receiving the grace of the sweet-dew Dharma-flavor), forming the Mudrā of Bestowing Fearlessness, by raising the right arm straight upright, the five fingers also pointing straight upward. The true word is:

Namo surūpāya, tathāgatāya, tadyathā, oṃ suru suru, prasuru, prasuru, svāhā.

Forming the Mudrā of Bestowing Fearlessness given above and reciting the true word Bestowing Sweet Dew 7 times has the power to cause the food and water to become a sea of milk and sweet dew, able to open the throats of all the hungry ghosts, causing the food to be multiplied so that it fills everywhere, and the eating and drinking to be made equal.

With the mudrā and true word of the Single-Syllable Mind Water-Wheel Contemplation of Vairocana Buddha, first visualize the syllable vaṃ ² in the palm of the right hand, having the color of milk, then transforming into a sea endowed with the eight precious qualities ³, pouring forth all the flavors of sweet dew and ghee. Bring that hand above the vessels of food, recite the divine mantra of the syllable vaṃ 7 times, then turn the five fingers downward toward the vessels of food, visualizing milk and the various flavors of sweet dew and ghee flowing forth from within the syllable vaṃ, transforming into a sea of milk, as great as the orbs of the sun and moon, so that all the host of ghosts and spirits are fully satisfied, having no lack.

This is called the Mudrā of Universally Bestowing upon All Hungry Ghosts, and (the following is) the true word of the Milk Sea (sea of milk):

Namo samanta-buddhānāṃ, (oṃ) vaṃ.

Having visualized and recited this mantra 7 times, write (the syllable vaṃ) upon clean ground, in a place where no one walks, or beneath the root of a tree beside a pond of water; it must not be written beneath the roots of trees such as the peach tree, the willow tree, or the pomegranate tree. Having finished writing, one must with utmost mind invoke the names of the 5 Tathāgatas 3 times, and then one obtains immeasurable merit.

Namo bhagavate, prabhūtaratnāya, tathāgatāya.

Namo Ratnaketu Tathāgata (Jewel-Victory Tathāgata), who removes the karma of stinginess and greed, fulfilling blessings and virtue.

Namo bhagavate, surūpāya, tathāgatāya.

Namo Surūpakāya Tathāgata (Wondrous Form-Body Tathāgata), who shatters ugly appearance, fulfilling excellent marks.

Namo bhagavate, amṛtarājāya, tathāgatāya.

Namo Amṛtarāja Tathāgata (Sweet-Dew King Tathāgata), who pours the right Dharma into body and mind, so that one receives peace and bliss.

Namo bhagavate, vipula-gātrāya, tathāgatāya.

Namo Vipulakāya Tathāgata (Vast-Body Tathāgata), whose throat is opened wide, so that one receives the wondrous flavors.

Namo bhagavate, abhayaṃkarāya, tathāgatāya.

Namo Abhayaṃkara Tathāgata (Fear-Removing Tathāgata), who purges away all fear, departing from the realm of the hungry ghosts.

If the practitioner is able to do thus, then he obtains the majestic radiance of the Buddhas to bless and cover him over. Invoking the names of the 5 Tathāgatas, by their power, causes all the hungry ghosts who have immeasurable sins to have them eliminated, immeasurable blessings to arise, to obtain a body of wondrous form, to obtain a mind that is vast and great, to obtain fearlessness so that they may receive the food that has been transformed into the various beautiful and wondrous flavors of sweet dew, swiftly departing from the body of suffering, and being reborn in the heavenly realms or the Pure Land.

After bestowing the food, the practitioner should, for the sake of the host of ghosts and spirits, recite the dhāraṇī of Receiving the Bodhisattva Samaya Precepts, reciting it 3 times. The true word is:

Oṃ, samaya-sattvaṃ.

Having recited it 3 times, all the ghosts and spirits are able to hear and receive the profound secret Dharma, all obtaining in full the samaya precepts ⁴ and obtaining immeasurable blessings.

Having bestowed upon all the hungry ghosts so that they are all fully satisfied, one should then use the dhāraṇī method to send them on their way, and only then can they return to the source-origin (Suchness). The true word of Dispatching and Liberating is:

Oṃ, vajra mokṣa muḥ.

If one recites the mantra of Dispatching, one should first form the mudrā, namely: the right hand made into a fist, with the tip of the thumb curled in, the fist turned face-upward, then snap the thumbnail so it makes a sound; this is called the act by which the sending on the way is accomplished.

Each time one writes (the syllable vaṃ) upon the food and then recites 7 times (the true word of the Milk Sea), together with snapping the fingers, then all the ghosts and spirits, having received the food, are able to depart. However, if the mantra of Dispatching has not yet been recited, they are not permitted to depart. If one does not fully carry out the method in this manner, then the bestowing upon the hungry ghosts will not be brought to completion—some may receive and some may not—and one will have wasted one's effort, which is truly to be pitied.

If there be a practitioner who arouses the bodhi-mind and is able to practice in accordance with the Dharma by fully carrying out, in accordance with the Dharma, the rite of bestowing upon the hungry ghosts, then all the hungry ghosts will be fully satisfied, having no lack. The one who upholds and practices this rite of bestowal should indeed know this.

If anyone uses the dhāraṇī to empower the food and drink, and then takes one pure item of food and writes (the syllable vaṃ) into a stream of clean water, then he can cause all the brahmin sages to receive this food; having eaten, with different mouths but the same words, they will turn over the vow of dedication for that donor, so that in his present life he obtains long life, obtains in full the majestic virtue of a Brahmā-deva, and practices the conduct of a Brahmā-deva.

If one uses this divine mantra to consecrate the articles offered to the Buddha—such as water, incense, flowers, food and drink—one must in each case recite the mantra 21 times, and only afterward offer them to the Buddha. To do so is none other than to have taken those articles and presented them as offerings to all the Buddhas of the ten directions, without difference.

This is the essential pith of the Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī for Bestowing upon the Flaming-Face Hungry Ghosts and All Ghosts and Spirits (Śikhi-mukha Preta Sarva-bhūta Dhāraṇī). There is also the Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī for Saving the Burning-Face Hungry Ghosts, translated by the Venerable Śikṣānanda during the Tang dynasty.

In the 4th year of Jōkyō, in mid-spring, on the 20th day, Jōgon, at the age of 49, made one revision.

In the 16th year of Genroku, on the 17th day of the 2nd month, the Venerable Jōgon made another revision.

In the 3rd year of Hōei, in the spring of the year Bǐng-Xū (year of the Fire Dog), this secret ritual manual was obtained, and in the winter of the year Wù-Zǐ (year of the Earth Rat), on the 22nd day of the 10th month, Shōjō, in obedience to the instruction, made another revision.

Annotations:

² In the Combined Explanation of the Two Daily Recitations, the section that discusses the divine mantra of the Single-Syllable Water-Wheel quotes the Sūtra of Bestowing upon the Hungry Ghosts; compared with this passage, one sees that several words are missing before "first visualize the syllable vaṃ" here (Ch.: xiān xiǎng cǐ vaṃ zì), and for this reason the meaning appears obscure.

³ The principal text reads "the sea of the eight meritorious qualities" (bā gōng dé hǎi), but in the Combined Explanation of the Two Daily Recitations it is cited as "the water of the eight meritorious qualities" (bā gōng dé shuǐ).

⁴ The samaya precepts take the wisdom-awareness of the Buddha, that is, one's own awakened nature, as the precept-Dharma. The true word of the Samaya Precepts serves to startle and stir sentient beings—among whom are the ghosts and spirits—so as to awaken that awakened nature, transmitting an admonition to them to conform to that awakened nature and not to transgress against it.