The Merits and Benefits of True Repentance

The narrative of "Wings of the Heavens" recounting his experience of repenting verbal karma: After committing verbal karma, the disciple felt restless and unsettled. Whether reciting sutras, performing repentance rituals to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or chanting the Great Compassion Mantra, his mind lacked the usual clarity and peace. Thus, the disciple sat in meditation to calm his emotions, yet even after an hour, the agitation persisted. He then began to repent inwardly to the Triple Gem, repeating his remorse over and over. He felt like the destitute child who had lost his parents, as described by the Venerable Ananda—overwhelmed by immense sorrow and pain, as if a balloon were pressing on his head, and his heart ached. Considering that his master might be in meditation at that moment and not to be disturbed, he wiped away his tears and continued sitting.

After a few minutes, vitality suddenly surged from the tendons in his feet up to the back of his head. In an instant, his entire body broke out in sweat, and both dizziness and heartache vanished. He quickly grabbed his phone to send a message, which was at 11:10, and then continued meditating until falling asleep at midnight. In his dream, the disciple carried a bundle wrapped in cloth, going door to door to repay debts. He said, "Master, carrying so many things is exhausting me. May I call them all out at once to repay together?" You replied, "No, debts must be repaid one by one." He pondered all morning: Who uses cloth bundles nowadays? Could it be repaying karmic debts from past lives? Can repaying debts in a dream eliminate karma?

The above describes the disciple’s experience with repentance rituals. Previously, he had never undergone such repentance. After repenting, his body and mind became purified, his thoughts clear, and the sense of purity deepened beyond what he had felt before. He requested the master to provide guidance and instruction.

Reply to the question: After committing unwholesome verbal karma, being able to reflect promptly, discern the good and evil of verbal karma, right and wrong, and repent in time—this marks the entry onto the path of cultivating the Four Right Efforts among the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment. Once the Four Right Efforts are well-cultivated, evil is eradicated and good arises, enabling smooth practice and the growth of wholesome roots. This is the foundation of Buddhist practice. Without this foundation, one cannot speak of true practice and remains far from realizing the Way. This is a sincere repentance from the depths of the heart—genuine repentance at the level of manas (the mental faculty), not superficial, formal repentance at the conscious level. Therefore, after repentance, the unwholesome karma is eliminated. During meditation, the energy channels surged, the whole body sweated, and ailments vanished. Subsequently, in sleep, manas began to repay karmic debts from past lives, settling them one by one. This is the principle of repentance eliminating karma. Dreaming of repaying debts signifies manas using the dream to reveal that karmic obstacles have been cleared and some past debts repaid. When the elimination of karma and repayment of debts reach a certain degree, practice will become unobstructed: meditative concentration will arise, wisdom will increase, progress will accelerate, and realization of the Way will draw near.

Therefore, at the outset of Buddhist practice, one must sincerely repent the karmic obstacles from past, present, and future lives. When karma is eliminated, various omens will manifest. The elimination of afflictions also reveals itself through various signs, typically in dreams or meditative states. Some individuals, whose bodily, verbal, and mental actions are impure, commit unwholesome deeds yet remain unaware and unreflective. They neither introspect, recognize their faults, nor repent, and thus repeatedly create unwholesome karma. Clearly, such people have not cultivated the Four Right Efforts and have not eradicated evil while cultivating good. Ironically, in Buddhism, it is often such individuals who claim to have attained fruition or realized the mind. In contrast, those who practice more earnestly never boastfully overestimate themselves; they remain grounded in reality, using wisdom to discern and judge according to truth.

The absence of these experiences in practice clearly indicates that one has not yet entered the stage of proper cultivation. How then can realization of the Way occur? One should regularly examine whether their practice has truly entered the stage of proper cultivation, assessing their current level and state. If no omens whatsoever manifest, and afflictions and karmic obstacles remain heavy, one should cease claiming realization of fruition or enlightenment, or considering oneself a sage. Where is the sageliness? Can it be seen? The more one clings to such claims, the heavier the sense of self and the greater the arrogance.

Many practices are required before realizing the Way. Throughout the process, various experiences must arise. Depending on which stage one undergoes and the degree of progress, omens, hints, and revelations will manifest—these are the evidence. Without any experiences, merely talking this way and that, no one can believe it. Most crucially, the Tathagatagarbha (Buddha-nature) holds no such record; no amount of words from anyone is of use.

If one wishes to become a sage, and truly has no other option, then earnestly beseech the Tathagatagarbha to make an exception, to be lenient, and to swiftly reveal the sublime state and fruition of a sage. But if the Tathagatagarbha remains impartial and strictly adheres to principle, then there is no choice—one must remain in their current state. Even a Buddha’s authentication would be useless.