Explanation of the Repentance Text

Repentance text: 从于无始，以至今生，毁破三宝，作一阐提。

谤大乘经，断学般若，杀害父母，出佛身血。

污僧伽蓝，破他梵行，焚毁塔寺，盗用僧物。

起诸邪见，拨无因果，狎近恶友，违背良师。

自作教他，见闻随喜，如是等罪，无量无边。

故于今日，生大惭愧，克诚披露，求哀忏悔。

惟愿三宝，慈悲摄受，放净光明，照触我身。

诸恶消灭，三障蠲除，复本心源，究竟清净。

往昔所造诸恶业，皆由无始贪嗔痴，从身语意之所生，今对佛前求忏悔。

Explanation: If we were to list out the contents of this repentance text item by item, and each of us checked ourselves against it, how many of these items have we committed? Or have we committed all of them? Some of these karmic offenses have already received their evil retribution, but how many karmic offenses still exist in the tathāgatagarbha in the form of karmic seeds, not yet manifesting to receive evil retribution, or not yet fully retributed?

"毁破三宝，作一阐提" (destroying the Three Jewels and becoming an icchantika) refers to the karmic offense of slandering the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and destroying the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, causing sentient beings to lose their faith in and reliance upon the Three Jewels, and thereby regress from the bodhi mind. Such a person has eradicated the wholesome roots, severed the Buddha-nature lineage, can never attain liberation, and does not enter nirvāṇa; such a person is called an icchantika.

"谤大乘经，断学般若" (slandering the Mahāyāna sūtras and cutting off the study of prajñā) — what kind of behavior constitutes slandering the Mahāyāna sūtras? Saying that the Mahāyāna sūtras were not spoken by the Buddha but were fabricated by later people — this slanders the Mahāyāna sūtras, causing sentient beings to no longer trust, accept, and study the Mahāyāna sūtras, thereby also cutting off the prajñā wisdom of learners; the offense is extremely grave.

"弑害父母，出佛身血" (killing one's parents and drawing the Buddha's blood) — killing one's parents is an extremely grave offense; not knowing the kindness and gratitude owed to one's parents, repaying kindness with enmity, the retributive result is falling into the Avīci hell. What behavior constitutes drawing the Buddha's blood? The Buddha has three bodies: the Dharmakāya, the Sambhogakāya, and the Nirmāṇakāya. Whoever damages or insults these three bodies is guilty of drawing the Buddha's blood. The Buddha came to this Sahā world in the five aggregates of a Nirmāṇakāya; when sentient beings harm the manifested flesh body of the Buddha, or damage images of the Buddha, this is drawing the blood of the Buddha's Nirmāṇakāya. Ordinary sentient beings generally cannot come into contact with the Sambhogakāya Buddha and thus cannot draw the blood of such a Buddha; bodhisattvas who can contact the Sambhogakāya — those who have attained the bhūmis — would absolutely never draw the Buddha's blood. Due to ignorance, sentient beings more often slander and damage the formless Dharmakāya Buddha: some deny the existence of the Dharmakāya Buddha, some wantonly attack and distort the Dharmakāya Buddha — all of these are drawing the blood of the Dharmakāya Buddha, committing one of the five heinous crimes (ānantarya).

"污僧伽蓝，破他梵行" (defiling monasteries and destroying others' pure conduct) — committing defiled acts within monasteries and temples, such as drinking alcohol, eating meat, killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and committing all evil karma of greed, hatred, and delusion, all constitute defiling monasteries. Destroying the pure precepts and the precept-substance of monks and nuns, engaging in sexual acts with monks or nuns. These karmic offenses generally cannot be purified through repentance, and one will also fall into hell to receive retribution.

"焚毁塔寺，盗用僧物" (burning stupas and monasteries and stealing monastic property) — burning and damaging monasteries, temples, and the property within them, stealing the belongings of the present Saṅgha — these evil karmas are of immeasurable offense, and the retribution is also in hell, with hardly any end in sight.

"起诸邪见，拨无因果" (harboring wrong views and denying cause and effect) — harboring all kinds of wrong views in the mind, claiming that all actions have no cause and effect, no retribution. Due to such wrong views, one falls into the three evil destinies and endures the suffering of offenses for long kalpas.

"狎近恶友，违背良师" (intimately associating with evil friends and turning against good teachers) — closely associating with evil friends, wallowing in the mire with them, defying the venerable teachings of good teachers, falling due to the evil karma committed, and being unable to escape the suffering of birth and death.

"自作教他，见闻随喜" (committing evil oneself and teaching others, rejoicing upon seeing or hearing it) — not only committing evil karma oneself, but also teaching others to commit all kinds of evil karma; upon seeing others commit evil karma, one's mind gives rise to joy, encouraging others' evil habits. For example, when a wrong-viewed ordinary person says that the Mahāyāna is not the Buddha's teaching, there are those who, upon seeing and hearing this, rejoice and praise the person for speaking well, thereby adding a share of the greatest and most extreme evil karma through rejoicing — the retribution will be as great as it can be; having fallen into the Avīci hell, it is very hard to come out again. What should be rejoiced in is not rejoiced in, while what should not be rejoiced in is wantonly rejoiced in — ignorant and foolish.

"从于无始，以至今生" (from beginningless time until this present life) — one has continuously been committing these heaviest evil karmas. Now, having studied Consciousness-only and reached this level of learning, one is still committing such serious evil karma. How severe is the defilement of sentient beings, how evil their minds! When can one begin to put an end to evil karma and never commit it again? When will evil karma finally end?

"如是等罪，无量无边" (such offenses are immeasurable and boundless) — offenses and evil retributions like those above are immeasurable and boundless in number. The evil is so great that it blocks one's path like a mountain, making it impossible to move a single step — how can one then eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and attain seeing the mind, and gain liberation? Sentient beings truly have offenses piled up like mountains, evil karma heaped upon evil karma!