The Cult of Tara

222 MAGIC AND RITUAL IN TIBET
And here they add:
We dedicate and give in offering this vast great torma to all the
beings in the six destinies, the five classes and the four birthplaces
which comprise the entire triple world. May all beings,
their streams satiated with inexhaustible Bliss, quickly have the
opportunity to attain the rank of Buddhahood !
And all these beings, too, are given the gift of the Law.
3.12 Giving the offering of thanksgiving
The remaining portion of this filling in of the offerings first
repeats the general offerings and praises, but here they are presented
to the deity as a concluding gesture of thanksgiving. The offering
materials are empowered once more with their mantras and gestures,
and they are offered up either with the simple series of offering
mantras and gestures or with such verses as "Like a vast ocean ..."
—"whichever one wishes," the text says, which means, in effect, at
the discretion of the head monk.
Again the goddess is praised either with Atisa's verse, "Gods and
demigods bow their crowns . . . ," or with the Homages; and there
may even be added a repetition of the sevenfold office which accompanies
that text. How extended the offering is, and what texts are
used, is decided by the head monk often simply on the spur of the
moment, depending upon his mood and other imponderable factors.
Therefore the other monks are required to have a vast store of
memorized verses, ready to be recited at a moment's notice. The
thanksgiving then concludes with a dedication of merit, as the monks
join their palms and recite (or sing) the following verses:
Guru, holy deity Tara,
the whole host of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
their fathers, mothers, sons, disciples, neighbors,
retinue, and servants: think of me !
May we all, Master and disciples,
quickly gain the fruit of great enlightenment;
may the sufferings of all beings, infinite as space,
quickly be exhausted;
may we attain the unobstructed strength
to save the unsaved, rescue the unrescued,
banish the sighs of the careworn,
and place all beings in the stage of nirvana.
May we have the measureless strength
to study the infinite teachings
of all the Buddhas of the three times,