慈悲水懺法 3.3

3.3

Having paid homage to the Buddhas, next we repent again. Having already repented of the three bodily and four verbal [actions], next we repent of all obstacles regarding the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. In the sūtras the Buddha said: a human body is difficult to obtain, the Buddha's Dharma is difficult to hear, the Saṅgha is difficult to encounter, faith is difficult to produce, the six faculties are difficult to possess completely, and good friends are difficult to meet. Now, having jointly planted good roots in the past, we have obtained this human body with the six faculties complete, and have also encountered good friends and been able to hear the true Dharma. Yet in the meantime, each of us has failed to be wholehearted and diligent, and we fear that in the future we will long drown in myriad sufferings with no time of release; therefore, today with utmost sincerity we beg for mercy and repent. From the beginningless past down to the present day, we and others: constantly had our minds shrouded by avidyā and our thoughts hindered by kleśas; seeing Buddha images, could not be wholehearted in reverence; disparaged the Saṅgha and harmed good friends; demolished stūpas, destroyed monasteries, burned sūtras and images, and caused the Buddha's body to bleed; or while living in magnificent halls ourselves, placed venerable images in base, improper places, exposing them to smoke, scorching sun, wind, rain, dust, grime, and destruction by birds and mice, dwelling together without ever paying homage; or went unclothed before images, not being well-adorned at all, or obscured lamps and candles and shut up shrine halls, obstructing the Buddha's light. All such sins as these, today with utmost sincerity we repent of them all. Furthermore, from the beginningless past down to the present day: regarding the Dharma, handled sūtra scrolls with impure hands; or faced sūtras and texts with improper, worldly speech; or placed them at the head of the bed, sitting and rising without respect; or shut them in boxes where worms gnawed and rotted them; or allowed the title pins and rollers to come loose and the case wrappers to lose order; or pulled and tore them, omitted or misread them, and ripped paper and ink; did not practice them ourselves, and were unwilling to circulate them. All such sins as these, today with utmost sincerity we repent of them all. Or lay on the ground while listening to sūtras, or recited while lying on our backs; talked and laughed loudly, disturbing others from hearing the Dharma; or misconstrued the Buddha's words, explaining the holy intent perversely; taught non-Dharma as Dharma, and Dharma as non-Dharma; taught what was not a transgression as a transgression, and what was a transgression as not a transgression; spoke of light offenses as heavy, and heavy offenses as light; or moved the earlier to the later, and the later to the earlier; put the earlier and later into the middle, and the middle into the earlier and later; or ornamented words to include them in our own texts; or, for the sake of profit, reputation, and reverence, preached the Dharma to others without a mind of virtue, seeking out the Dharma master's faults in order to debate, launching improper attacks, not seeking supramundane dharmas for the sake of lasting understanding; or disdained the Buddha's words and respected false teachings; disparaged the Great Vehicle and praised the śrāvaka path. Sins such as these are measureless and limitless; we repent of them all. Furthermore, from the beginningless past down to the present day: regarding the Saṅgha, had obstacles such as killing an arhat, causing schism in the harmonious Saṅgha, harming those who had resolved on supreme bodhi, cutting off the Buddha seed so that the holy path could not proceed; or stripped monastics, whipped and beat śramaṇas, flogged and drove them, piling abuse and slander upon them; or broke pure precepts and broke deportment; or urged others to abandon the eightfold noble [path] and accept and practice the five dharmas; or feigned appearance and conduct while covertly stealing from the permanent property. All such sins as these we now repent. Or exposed our bodies, wearing flimsy clothing with careless haste, and with unclean feet and shoes stepped onto temple halls and stūpas before sūtras and images; or wearing wooden clogs entered the saṅghārāma; spat and blew noses in halls and rooms, polluting the ground of the Buddha and the Saṅgha; rode carriages and spurred horses, rushing into monasteries. All such sinful obstacles as these arising in relation to the Triratna are measureless and limitless; today, with utmost prayer, before the Buddhas of the ten directions, the honored Dharma, and the holy assembly, we repent of them all. We pray that by the power of this repentance of all sinful obstacles regarding the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, we may in life after life constantly encounter the Triratna, revere and respect it without wearying, and constantly make offerings of heavenly silks, wondrous tapestries, various jeweled necklaces, hundreds of thousands of musical entertainments, rare and fine perfumes, and bright flowers and fruits, exhausting all that exists in the world. When someone attains Buddhahood, may we be the first to go and entreat them to open the gate of nectar; when they enter nirvāṇa, may we always be able to present the final offering. In the Saṅgha, may we cultivate the six harmonies and reverences, obtain sovereign power to make the Triratna flourish, promoting the Buddha path above, and transforming sentient beings below. The light and heavy sins regarding the Triratna mentioned above have all been repented; the remaining evils we should now repent in succession. In the sūtras the Buddha said: there are two kinds of strong persons: first, those who do not commit sins themselves; second, those who can repent after committing them. It is also said: there are two kinds of pure dharmas that can eliminate many obstacles for sentient beings: first, shame, not doing evil oneself; second, remorse, not letting others do it. One who possesses shame and remorse can be called human; if one lacks shame and remorse, one is no different from beasts. Therefore, today with utmost sincerity we take refuge in the Buddha and repent in accordance with the Dharma. From the beginningless past down to the present day, we and others: either believed in false, inverted views and killed sentient beings, offering prayers and sacrifices to chī, mèi, wǎng, and liǎng ghosts and spirits, wishing to prolong life but in the end unable to do so; or falsely claimed to see ghosts, pretending they were the words of spirits; all such sins as these we repent. Furthermore, from the beginningless past down to the present day: either in actions were arrogant and haughty, self-important and proud; or relied on noble lineage to look down on everyone, using high status to scorn the low and using strength to oppress the weak; or drank wine, fought, and caused chaos, sparing neither kin nor stranger, drunken all day long without recognizing high or low; all such sins as these we now repent. Or indulged in food and drink without measure, eating raw shredded fish or consuming the five acrid roots, defiling sūtras and images, pushing past the pure assembly, letting the mind run wild without knowing limits, keeping distant from good people and being intimate with evil friends; all such sins as these we now repent. Or were haughty, hypocritical, stubborn, and opinionated, domineering and pushy, unmindful of human feelings, considering oneself right and others wrong, hoping for lucky gains; all such sins as these we now repent. Or when facing wealth, showed no yielding, lacking integrity and shame; butchered meat and sold wine, deceiving to sustain ourselves; or loaned at interest, counting hours and selling days, hoarding, stingy, harsh, greedy and insatiable; receiving offerings from others without shame or remorse; or lacking precept virtue, receiving the offerings of the faithful in vain; all such sins as these we now repent. Or beat male and female slaves, driving servants without asking after hunger and thirst, without asking after cold and heat; or demolished bridges and cut off roadways; all such sins as these we now repent. Or were heedless and self-indulgent, inindeterminate and scattered, playing dice and chess, gathering in groups to drink, eat, and feast, mutually disturbing and wining-and-dining, engaging in pointless talk about worldly affairs, wasting time in vain from year's beginning to year's end; during the initial, middle, and final periods of the night, not cultivating dhyāna and recitation; lazy, indolent, lying like a corpse all day long, taking no care in mind regarding the six mindful recollections; seeing others' superior achievements, immediately giving rise to jealousy, harboring cruelty and poison, giving full rise to kleśas, causing the fierce wind of all evils to fan the firewood and fire of sins, burning constantly without rest, so that the slight good of the three karmas was all burned together, and the good dharmas being exhausted, one became an icchantika, falling into the great hells with no time of release. Therefore, today with utmost prayer we bow our heads to the ground, before the Triratna of the ten directions, repenting of them all. All the myriad sins above, whether light or heavy, coarse or subtle, whether done by oneself, causing others to do them, rejoicing in their doing, or using force and power to coerce their doing, down to praising those who practice evil dharmas, today with utmost sincerity we repent of them all. We pray that by the power of the merit produced by this repentance of all evils, in life after life we may be compassionate, harmonious, loyal, filial, humble, and patient; understand integrity and know shame, greeting others proactively with consideration; be compliant, good, upright, cautious, pure, righteous, and yielding; stay far from evil friends and constantly encounter good conditions; restrain the six senses and protect the three karmas; bear toil and endure suffering, the mind not retreating; establish the resolve for bodhi and not fail sentient beings. Having made these vows, we take refuge and pay homage to all Buddhas.