KSITIGARBHA · WOODEN WHEELS
Ksitigarbha Divination
Preparation instructions
- 1 · Pay homagePay sincere homage to the Three Jewels and Ksitigarbha, making vows for all beings.
- 2 · Make offeringsMake available or contemplated offerings as described in the sutra.
- 3 · Recite with sincerityRecite Ksitigarbha’s name. The preparation passage describes one thousand recitations; follow the practice described in the sutra.
- 4 · Make the requestKeep the purpose of this reading in mind and make your request with sincerity.
Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Mahāsattva, with great kindness and compassion, please watch over me and all beings. Swiftly remove our obstacles, strengthen pure faith, and let what is observed now correspond truthfully to the matter in question.
Chinese prayer · Original text
地藏菩萨摩诃萨，大慈大悲，惟愿护念我及一切众生，速除诸障，增长净信，令今所观称实相应。
Sequence and wooden wheel form
Each set has a separate entrance. Complete the preparation, cast onto a clean surface, then read the upper faces after the wheels settle.
Each wheel has a square central section and tapered ends. Set 1 has ten wheels, Set 2 has body, speech and mind wheels, and Set 3 has six numbered wheels.
Set 2 has two uses: casting separately for actions shown in Set 1, and recording three casts of the three wheels after repentance practice.
Set 1 · Ten wheels
Cast all ten wheels together. Each has a good face, a harmful face and two blank faces. Read them after settling, then reflect on the matter observed.
- 1 · Gather wheels
- 2 · Cast
- 3 · Read faces
Set 2 · Body, speech and mind
After the corresponding repentance practice, cast all three wheels together three times, recording each face.
The sutra places this observation in the morning after seven days of repentance practice. Zhixu’s practice instructions specify making the request in the early morning, then casting all three wheels three times. The homage, offerings and one thousand recitations above describe the general preparation; this independent observation follows its specific instructions.
The all-good condition and observing again
All body, speech and mind wheels must show good marks in all three casts. Both long, thick and short, thin drawn marks count as good. One deep or shallow incised face means the all-good condition is not met. This is different from conflicting directions between Sets 1 and 2 in the by-action mode.
Continue the repentance practice and observe again on a following morning: make the request, then cast all three wheels three times as a new complete observation. Do not combine good faces from separate observations. This use is independent of Set 1.
Read the request · Sutra · Practice instructions · Zhixu’s sutra commentary
- 1 · Gather wheels
- 2 · Cast
- 3 · Read faces
Set 3 · Six wheels, three casts
Each wheel has one blank face and three numbered faces. Cast all six together, record the settled faces, then continue. Read the sum after three casts.
- 1 · Gather wheels
- 2 · Cast
- 3 · Read faces
Each cast is recorded after settling. The total and text appear after the third cast.