Observing Precepts and Repenting Karmic Offenses: Essential for Cultivating Meditative Concentration

The realization of all dharmas truly occurs within profound meditative concentration. Without meditative concentration, what is learned remains mere knowledge, not genuine wisdom. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize meditative concentration and contemplative practice.

The reason for insufficient meditative concentration is a scattered mind, and the cause of a scattered mind lies in excessive attachments and cravings. Gathering the mind inward inevitably leads to meditative concentration. Restraining body and mind requires upholding precepts; upholding precepts necessitates first receiving them; before receiving precepts, one must repent for all karmic offenses. When offenses are eliminated, obscurations vanish, and the mind becomes pure.

Repentance primarily involves transforming karmic seeds: repenting for newly created karmic actions to counteract old offenses, with the core principle being resolving never to commit them again. When consciousness and the mental faculty (manas) become purified, this is the true result of repentance. This outcome achieves two things: eliminating negative karma and preventing its recurrence. If this effect is absent, the repentance is insincere and merely superficial.

To determine whether offenses have been eliminated after repentance, one must first assess the nature of the offense—whether it is grave or minor. For grave offenses, after repentance, the mind should feel significantly purer than before, certain obstacles should dissolve, and the pace of practice should accelerate. After repenting for minor offenses, the mind should also attain purity.