慈悲道場懺法 5.16

5.16

Today, members of the assembly sharing this karmic endeavor in the bodhimaṇḍa! What preceded was generally unloosing all the bonds of enmity on behalf of others' immeasurable enmities across the three periods of time; below this, we should supervise our own minds in self-purification. Why is it that together today we receive bodies of birth and death and fail to attain liberation—advancing, we do not behold the prediction [of Buddhahood] before us; retreating, we do not hear the proclamation [of the Dharma] through the single voice? Truly it is because our sinful karma is deep and heavy, and our bonds of enmity are firmly entrenched. Not only do we fail to see the past and future Buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the worthy and noble ones, but we also fear that the teachings in twelve divisions will merely be heard as sound and echoed in transmission, with the path to the mind forever cut off, and from the enmities and adversaries of the evil destinies there will be no way of escape. When we cast off this physical life, we will only sink into the boiling sea, wheeling through the three wretched paths and fully experiencing the evil destinies. When will we ever behold this human body again? Generating such an intention truly evokes acute sorrow of feeling; directing such a reflection, one cannot help but feel the bitterness of heartache. Together we have already been able to partake respectfully of this transformative influence, severing affection, bidding farewell to relatives, relinquishing glory, and abandoning worldly life. Having no other external conditions, how could we fail to race against time, each seeking what brings peace? If we do not make our resolve firm and strong, enduring toil, bearing suffering, and holding grief and sorrow in our hearts, then suddenly we may be stricken with severe illness and the signs of the intermediate existence will appear. The hell-warden rākṣasas and the ox-headed horse-faced fiends, in bizarre shapes and extraordinary forms, will arrive in a single morning. As the wind-knives dismember our bodies, our minds will be gripped by terror and confusion, while our relatives wail and weep, yet we will have no awareness. At that very time, if one wishes to give rise to a single wholesome thought as today, prostrating with the five limbs touching the ground to bow to the Buddhas and repent, how could it be obtained again? There will only be the immeasurable sufferings of the three wretched paths. Today let the great assembly each exert effort and race against time. If one follows emotions and indulges whims, progress toward the principle will be slow; but if one endures toil and bears suffering, the heading of the mind will be swift. Therefore a sūtra says: 'Compassion is the bodhimaṇḍa, because it endures weariness and suffering. Launching into practice is the bodhimaṇḍa, because it can accomplish matters.' Therefore we know that for the myriad wholesome adornments, without diligence there is nothing to rely upon; if one wishes to cross the great ocean, what can one depend on if not a boat? If one has a mind that aspires and takes joy, yet does not perform the deeds of aspiration and joy, one's vows will surely be in vain, and their fruit will never be seen. It is like a starving person holding the memory of a hundred delicacies: to their distress of hunger it brings no benefit in the end. One must know that to seek superior and marvelous retributions and fruits, mind and practice must go hand in hand. Together, let us promptly generate the superior mind, harbor feelings of shame and remorse, repent, eliminate sins, and unloose all bonds of enmity. Lest we once again dwell in darkness with no foreseeable time of illumination, while others are all liberated, do not harbor regrets afterward. Let each and every one, with utmost sincerity and equal poignancy, prostrate with the five limbs touching the ground, and take refuge in the worldly Father of Great Compassion and Loving-kindness.