法華三昧懺儀 1.9

1.9

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.)