Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Dagchen Sakya leading prayers from their thrones, murals, silks, nectar vase with peacock feathers, khatas

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Dagchen Sakya leading prayers from their thrones, murals, silks, nectar vase with peacock feathers, khatas, a photo by Wonderlane on Flickr.

I believe this photo was taken by Steve D.

"An Outline of the Duties Associated with the Glorious Lord of the Cemetery

When a contagious disease is about the land
Put together a powder to be scattered about the area.
Make offerings and present them to your guru, the Precious Ones,
And the Lord of the Cemetery.
Make a prayer: “Avert this contagious disease!” [314]
Bury the ashes from the cemetery near the town
Consider that innumerable people
Will be walking around the Yab/Yum embodiment of the Lord of the Cemetery.
This will avert the contagious disease.
When cattle are getting lung infections
And sheep are getting blisters
Make a mixture of ashes from a cemetery with white mustard and black mustard.
Scatter this around the pens for the cattle.
This will stop the disease from reaching humans and cattle.

Namo Gurawe!
First, the retreat (bsnyen pa):
Draw out two precious jewels on top of a round mandala a full cubit in size.
Pile some barley on top of it.
Put a tripod over that.
Put the Base Torma on that.
Put the Supplemental Torma on that.
Put the Constant Torma in front of it.
Fervently pray to the Yab/Yum.
It is required that you maintain an unchanging Samadhi
That you yourself are the Yidam.
Consider yourself to be surrounded at all times
By innumerable Yab/Yums,
And that the things that obstruct you are being removed.
Pray.
You must maintain Samadhi.
A method for protecting yourself from any sort of war or pestilence
Is to make offerings of sacrificial torma according to the Upadesha.
When enemies are present, do it at dawn.
In the case of contagious disease
There is no schedule.
These are performed just as mentioned above.
Remember that The One Who Poses for the Dance
Excoriates the vicious from within.
Put out Constant Torma and trays of beer:
Seven of each.
Put two conches on top of the Base Torma.
Generate the Yab and the Yum on top of the two conches,
Standing on meat and blood.
Think of them as a mountain and an ocean.
The [deities] melt into the [conches].
Do seven mantras for the Constant Tormas,
And offer them up, adding khāhi khāhi to the seven.
Do not let go of the torma that you hold.
Keep it as a hostage.
Furthermore, six times a day
You must do seven left-circumambulations,
One after the other.
Use seven chang bu for each.
The upper limit on this is seven times.
Do not let women inside the hermitage.
These are The Short Words for Success (sgrub pa).

Namo Gurawe!"

WORDS OF THE SAKYA MASTERS
Translated from the Tibetan by Chris Wilkinson