翻譯名義集 4.96

4.96

[Kṣama] is translated here as "repenting offenses." Master Yijing said: "Kṣama is a Western pronunciation, meaning forbearance. When people of the Western Country accidentally bump into someone, they say kṣama, meaning to ask for forgiveness, wishing that they not be angry or reproachful. This has long been mistakenly transmitted in this land, and it is difficult to alter." Master Yinjing said: "Kṣama is corrupted and abbreviated. The character chan did not exist in texts; the proper term is chamo. It is translated here as forbearance, meaning to forgive my offenses." When Tiantai explains the Chapter on Repentance in the Suvarṇaprabhāsa, he does not distinguish Chinese and Sanskrit, but directly explains: "'Chan' means to submit oneself; 'hui' means to yield. Like a person in the secular world who offends a king, submits in sincerity and complies, not daring to disobey. Not disobeying is yielding; complying is submitting oneself. A practitioner is also like this, bowing at the feet of the Three Jewels, properly complying with principle, not daring to do wrong; hence it is called chan-hui (repentance). Furthermore, chan is called white phenomena (wholesomeness), and hui is called black phenomena (unwholesomeness). Black phenomena must be repented and not done; white phenomena must be aspired to and honored. Discussing rejection and acceptance together, it is called repentance. Furthermore, chan means cultivating the future; hui means reforming the past. Regarding unwholesome phenomena done in past days, looking upon them with contempt and disgust is called hui. All wholesome phenomena discarded in past days, from this day forward, vowing to diligently cultivate them is called chan. Abandoning the past and seeking the future, it is called repentance. Furthermore, chan means laying bare all faults, disclosing errors, not daring to conceal them. Hui means cutting off the continuing mind, turning away in regret and abandoning them, rejecting both the agent and the act together; hence it is called repentance. Furthermore, chan is called shame (hrī); hui is called dread of blame (apatrapā). Shame is being ashamed before heaven; dread of blame is being ashamed before humans. Humans see the manifest; heaven sees the hidden. The hidden is subtle and the manifest is coarse; both coarse and subtle are unwholesome, hence it is called repentance." The Commentary on the Vimalakīrti says: "Now to clarify, the eradication of offenses has three [methods]: first, repentance through formal ritual; second, repentance through contemplating signs; third, repentance through contemplating the unarisen. Repentance through formal ritual eradicates transgressions against unmanifest action (avijñapti), relying on the vinaya gate; repentance through contemplating signs eradicates natural offenses, relying on the gate of meditation; repentance through contemplating the unarisen eradicates offenses of delusive conceptualization, relying on the gate of wisdom. Furthermore, offenses of transgressing unmanifest action obstruct morality; natural offenses obstruct meditation; offenses of delusive conceptualization obstruct wisdom. As for repentance through formal ritual, as explained in the Vinaya, when the ritual is accomplished, it can eradicate offenses of transgressing unmanifest action, but natural offenses are not eradicated. The Dazhidu lun says: 'For example, if a bhikṣu cuts grass and deprives life, both offenses belong to the same category. Performing the ritual repents both; unmanifest action is eradicated, but the offense of taking life is not eradicated; although transgressing unmanifest action is eradicated, the natural offense is not yet eradicated.' As for repentance through contemplating signs, it is like the methods of practice explained in various Vaipulya sūtras, seeing signs that offenses are eradicated. The Bodhisattva Precepts says: 'If one sees various auspicious signs such as rays of light and flowers, offenses are then eradicated; if one does not see signs, though one repents there is no benefit. If one sees auspicious signs, both unmanifest and natural offenses are eradicated together.' As for repentance through contemplating the unarisen, when this contemplation is perfected, it can remove the offenses of fundamental delusive confusion. Like uprooting the roots of a tree, the branches and leaves naturally perish. The Contemplation of Samantabhadra says: 'The ocean of all karmic hindrances / is entirely produced from delusive conceptualization. / If one wishes to repent, / sit upright and be mindful of the true mark. / All offenses are like frost and dew; / the sun of wisdom can disperse them.'"