The Cult of Tara

WORSHIP 179
Then, finally, putting down the hand gesture, they recite the almost
invariable ritual form of the four immeasurables:
May all beings have Bliss and the cause of Bliss.
May all beings be freed from suffering and the cause of suffering.
May all beings be joined with the holy Bliss wherein there is no
suffering.
May all beings dwell in the limitless equanimity that is free of
near and far, love and hate.
Fig. 23. The diamondlady-of-the-mindgesture.
1.2 Making the cleansing water potent
All the above recitations are performed without a break, recited
in a low-pitched, rhythmic, droning chant. Then, these personal
preparations completed, the place and the ritual utensils must also
be prepared: they are to be cleansed of all hindrances, purified into
Emptiness, and contemplatively re-created and empowered. But
first the water for the cleansing must be made potent; the monk who
is serving the altar, and who will do all the actual work, holds the
kusa-grass sprinkler with the gesture called "diamond-lady-of-themind"
(fig. 23), while the assembly recites the mantra, OM AMRTA
HIJM PHAT! and visualizes that the water, set out in a large conch
shell at one side af the altar, "has become the essence of Swirling
Nectar." This mantra is recited 21 or 100 times, at the discretion
of the head monk, until the water is magically powerful enough to
be used.