法華三昧懺儀 1.9

1.9

夫一切懺悔行法，悉須作前方便。所以者何？若不先嚴淨身心卒入道場，則道心不發、行不如法，無所感降。是故當於正懺之前，一七日中，先自調伏其心，息諸緣事，供養三寶，嚴飾道場，淨諸衣服，一心繫念，自憶此身已來，及過去世所有惡業，生重慚愧，禮佛懺悔，行道誦經，坐禪觀行，發願專精，為令正行三昧身心清淨無障閡故，心所願求悉克果故，（亦須誦下諸懺悔文，悉令通利。）

All repentance ritual methods require preliminary expedients. Why is this? If one does not first purify the body and mind and enters the bodhimaṇḍa abruptly, the mind for the Path will not arise, the practice will not accord with the Dharma, and there will be no sympathetic response. Therefore, during the one period of seven days prior to the formal repentance, one should first tame one's mind, bring an end to all entanglements with external affairs, make offerings to the Three Jewels, adorn the bodhimaṇḍa, clean all clothing, focus one's mindfulness single-mindedly, recall all evil karma committed by oneself in this life and past lifetimes, generate deep shame and remorse, bow to the Buddhas in repentance, circumambulate while chanting sūtras, sit in meditation and cultivate contemplation, and make vows with dedicated devotion. This is so that during the formal practice of the samādhi, body and mind will be pure and free of hindrances, and all that is wished and sought will be accomplished. (One must also recite the various repentance texts below, making oneself thoroughly fluent in all of them.)