Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c9.s3.35

c9.s3.35

II. After acquiring firm faith, an adept is to take refuge (Śaraṇagamana) by uttering the formulæ of Triśaraṇa⁸ and confessing (Pāpadeśanā) his past sins. The Pāpadeśanā consists in the candidate’s formal confession of all his sins, bodily, mental or verbal, actually committed or approved by him in his previous lives and in the present one, through ignorance or delusion, and in repentance of same, being convinced of the fact that akuśalakarmas lead a being to hell⁹. He is frightened by the prospect of hellish sufferings, and in despair, takes refuge in the three Ratnas and the Bodhisattvas, *viz.*, Samantabhadra, Mañjughoṣa, Avalokita, Ākāśagarbha, Kṣitigarbha and Vajrapāṇi.¹ He absolves himself from his sins by this Śaraṇagamana² and Confession.