慈悲道場懺法 6.12

6.12

Today, assembly sharing this karmic endeavor in the bodhimaṇḍa! Together we have now completed the repentance of the transgressions of body and speech; next, we must purify our mental karma. That all sentient beings revolve in birth and death without attaining liberation is entirely due to the firm agglomeration of their mental karma. The ten unwholesome deeds and the five inexpiable offenses must be produced by the mind. Therefore, the Buddha admonished: one must not harbor covetousness, anger, ignorance, or wrong views, lest one subsequently fall into hell to endure endless suffering. Today, together we see that the mind drives all the consciousnesses, just as a sovereign governs his ministers: the mouth utters evil words and the body commits grave rebellions, bringing upon oneself severe retributions in the six destinies. One should know that the ruin of the body is created by the mind; if one now wishes to reform and repent, one must first check the mind and then subdue the will. Why is this? A sūtra says: 'Directing the mind to a single point, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.' One should know that purifying the mind is the root of liberation; when mental karma is purified, then progress has an appointed time: the severe retributions of the three wretched paths will not come, and the suffering of the bad paths will not be visited upon us. However, while karma of body and speech is coarse and easy to dispel, the ground of the mind is subtle and difficult to eliminate. Even the Tathāgata, the Great Sage and Omniscient One, only then attained non-guarding over body, speech, and mind; how much more should ordinary, deluded, and foolish people not remain cautious and vigilant? If they do not break and subdue [the mind], its goodness will not be seen. A sūtra says: 'Guard the mind like a city; watch over the mouth like a jar.' Together, from beginningless worlds up to this single lifetime, through ignorance we have given rise to attachment, increasing birth and death, fully incurring the twelve sufferings, the eight wrong practices, the eight difficulties, the three wretched paths, and the six destinies, wandering through them without exception. Experiencing immeasurable suffering in all these places is entirely due to mental karma stirring up enmities and resentments, constantly grasping after conditions without pausing for a moment, inciting the six sense faculties and driving the five limbs to perform all light and heavy bad karma without exception. Or, when body and speech do not comply with its desires, the mind increases its wrath and malice, killing and harming one another without compassion. If one suffers even the slightest hurt or itch, it is intolerable; yet when it comes to others, one only fears that their pain and malice are not deep enough. Seeing another's fault, one desires to proclaim it; yet having one's own shortcomings, one is displeased if another hears of it. Having such a mind is truly cause for shame. Furthermore, anger arising from the ground of the mind is the enemy and thief of the Great Way; therefore a sūtra says: 'Among the thieves who plunder merit, none surpasses anger.' The Avataṃsaka Sūtra also says: 'Disciple of the Buddha, if one gives rise to a single thought of anger, among all evils none surpasses this evil.' Why is this? If one gives rise to a single thought of anger, one experiences a hundred thousand obstacles—namely, the obstacle of not seeing bodhi, the obstacle of not hearing the Dharma, the obstacle of being born in bad paths, the obstacle of having many illnesses, the obstacle of being slandered, the obstacle of being born dull and slow, the obstacle of losing right mindfulness, the obstacle of having little wisdom, the obstacle of being close to bad friends, the obstacle of taking no joy in the worthy and good, the obstacle of being far from right view, departing from the Buddha's true teaching to enter the realms of Māra, not meeting kalyāṇamitras, having imperfect faculties, and even being born in families of bad karma, or being born in borderlands. Such obstacles cannot be fully enumerated. From beginningless time up to the present day, we have already possessed immeasurable and boundless wrathful and wicked minds, even giving rise to anger without sparing our own kin, not to mention all the sentient beings of the six destinies; and when the fierce poison of our afflictions arises, we are no longer self-aware. If only one cannot accomplish an act, what does the mind not imagine? If its desires were allowed to be fulfilled, who would not be ruined? Thus, when the Son of Heaven becomes angry, corpses lie across ten thousand li; and below this, people vainly agitate themselves, inflicting floggings, beatings, and bindings, experiencing various sins and sufferings. At such a time, how could one say, 'I am violating the wholesome precepts'? One only fears that the cruelty and pain are not deep and severe enough. This evil of the mind-ground is common to all sentient beings; neither the wise nor the foolish escape it, and the noble and the lowly share it alike, yet not for a single day have they felt shame and reformed. Today, assembly sharing this karmic endeavor in the bodhimaṇḍa! When anger and distress run deep in the mind, even if one wishes to cast off the objective conditions, as soon as they are triggered, they join with evil, and moment after moment they collide. When will we ever be able to escape this suffering? Since the assembly together knows its transgressions, how could we remain complacent and not reform? Let us together today, with utmost sincerity, lay bare our hearts and repent to extinguish these sins. Each person should feel an equal, piercing sorrow, prostrate with the five limbs touching the ground, and take refuge in the Great Compassionate Father of the world.