慈悲道場懺法 3.5

3.5

Today, assembly sharing this karmic endeavor in the bodhimaṇḍa! Let each of you awaken and arouse a sense of shame. The sūtra says: 'Practicing good brings good; practicing evil brings evil.' Yet in this evil age of the five turbidities, one must not commit evil. Good does not lose its good retribution, while committing evil naturally brings disaster; do not say that one can get off lightly. Establishing this repentance rite, the sūtra states: 'Do not slight a small good, thinking it brings no blessing; though a drop of water is tiny, it gradually fills a great vessel; without accumulating small goods, there is no way to become a sage. Do not slight a small evil, thinking it incurs no guilt; the accumulation of small evils suffices to destroy oneself.' The assembly should know that fortune and misfortune, disaster and blessing, are all produced by the mind. If one does not create the cause, one does not obtain the effect. When disasters accumulate and sins become great, the fleshy eye cannot see them; yet who would dare disbelieve what the Buddhas have spoken? We are together born into this world robust and healthy, yet we do not diligently study or exert ourselves to practice good; when we face extremity, of what use will regret be? Now that we have together seen all faults and perils, just as the sūtra has stated, knowing our own sins, how could we not resolve to abandon evil and follow good? If in this life we again fail to apply our minds, when we definitely relinquish this form we will surely fall into hell. How do we know this? Now we see that when committing sins, one never fails to harbor fierce venom and cherish deep grudges. If one resents a single person, one definitely wishes them dead; if one is jealous of a single person, one hates to see any good in them; if one slanders a single person, one definitely plunges them into misery; if one whips a single person, one inflicts the utmost pain and cruelty. Rage, fury, violence, and injury spare neither the venerable nor the lowly; vile curses and ugly words make no distinction between high and low; the voice shakes like thunder and fire flashes in the eyes. But when it comes to making merit, the wholesome mind is feeble and weak: what began with an intent to do much ends up reduced to little; what initially was intended to be done swiftly is later halted. Since the mind is not earnest, as days and months pass by, thus vacillating back and forth, it is finally forgotten and lost. Thus it is that when committing sins the mental resolve is hard and strong, but when cultivating merit the will and intent are feeble and weak. Now, using the cause of weak good to seek escape from the retribution of powerful evil—how could this be attained in vain? A sūtra says: 'With repentance, there is no sin that is not eradicated.' Whenever it comes time for repentance, one must cast the five limbs to the ground like the collapse of a great mountain. This means not begrudging body and life, earnestly urging oneself on for the sake of eliminating the causes and conditions of sin. Let us, such-and-such and the others, each examine ourselves: since the beginning of this life, how many times have we made such reproaches against ourselves? Not begrudging body and life, enduring toil and suffering, to perform this repentance—yet after prostrating for merely a short while, one already says one's energy cannot bear it. Or after sitting upright for a brief moment, one says one must rest. Or one says the four limbs must not be overexerted, that they should be nurtured and not allowed to become exhausted. Stretching out one's legs in sleep, scarcely different from being dead, where does one still remember: 'I should pay homage to the Buddha, sweep the stūpas and plaster the ground, and accomplish what is difficult to accomplish'? Furthermore, what is made clear in the teachings of the sūtras is that never has a single good been seen to arise from laziness and indolence, nor has a single wholesome dharma ever been seen to be obtained from arrogance and self-indulgence. Though we, such-and-such and the others, possess this human form today, our minds mostly turn their backs on the Way. How do we know this is so? Now let us examine: from dawn to noon, from noon to dusk, from dusk to night, from night to daybreak, even for a single hour, a single quarter-hour, a single thought-moment, or a single instant, there is not the slightest thought mindful of the Three Jewels and the Four Noble Truths; there is not the slightest thought of repaying the kindness of parents; there is not the slightest thought of repaying the kindness of teachers and elders; there is not the slightest thought of wishing to practice generosity, keep the precepts, cultivate forbearance, or exert vigor; there is not the slightest thought of wishing to learn dhyāna meditation or cultivate the karma of wisdom. Not a single pure and unblemished dharma can be spoken of, while the heavy obstructions of affliction densely crowd our vision. If one does not conduct such an examination, one also says of oneself: 'My merit is not small; I have a tiny bit of good.' Relying on this, one says: 'I can do what others cannot do; I can practice what others cannot practice,' with haughty pride, acting as if no one else exists. Looking back on this, it is truly shameful! Now, before the great assembly, we lay bare our sincerity, confessing and repenting all our sins, wishing to give rise to joy so that there may be no hindrances in the future. The great assembly should also wash their bodies and minds. The signs of karmic retribution are fully as described earlier; how could one be lenient with oneself and not seek to abandon and depart from them? Let the great assembly not say: 'I do not have such sins. Since I have no sins, why is repentance needed?' If such a thought exists, may it be eradicated immediately. Moreover, subtle, minute missteps have already become great faults; a fleeting resentment immediately gives rise to anger; nature and habit become set and are difficult to reform. The mind must not be indulged, and the will must not be given free rein. If one can restrain and endure, then afflictions can be eliminated; if one is indolent, no salvation has ever been seen. Today, reverently relying on the power of mindfulness of the Buddhas' compassion and loving-kindness, and on the power of the fundamental vows of the great bodhisattvas, we recite the *Sūtra on Karmic Retribution for Sins and the Instruction of Hell*. You should all calm your thoughts and listen attentively with single-minded devotion.