慈悲道場懺法 1.30

1.30

Today, assembly sharing this karmic endeavor in the bodhimaṇḍa! If you wish to shed the ordinary and enter the sagehood, you should rely on the Buddha's words and practice according to the teachings. Do not shrink from slight suffering and give rise to laziness; you ought to exert yourselves to repent and extinguish offenses. The sūtra says: 'Offenses arise from causes and conditions, and also cease through causes and conditions.' Since we have not yet escaped the category of ordinary mortals and are heavily deluded in whatever we encounter, without relying on repentance there is no way to attain transcendence. Together today let us arouse a valiant mind and give rise to the intention to repent. The power of repentance is inconceivable. How is this known? King Ajātaśatru committed offenses of great immediacy, yet with shame, conscience, repentance, and self-rebuke, he endured heavy suffering lightly. Furthermore, this method of repentance enables practitioners to attain peaceful and stable bliss. If one can set tasks for oneself, exert effort, lay bare one's sincerity completely, and bow touching the forehead to the ground in repentance, taking ultimate refuge as the goal, that it should fail to resonate with all buddhas has never occurred. The retribution for evil karma is as unerring as shadows and echoes; one should feel fear and repent to the utmost pain. Let each, with a dedicated mind and equal earnestness, prostrate with the five limbs touching the ground, contemplate in mind, and utter these words: From afar we invite all buddhas to confer their pity together.