The Right Understanding of Manas
The Manas's Confession
I confess myself from beginningless time until this present life
Never once ceasing stealing all the treasures of the Buddha
Foolish and arrogant claiming them as my own calculating everywhere
Grasping at everything not knowing that everything originally belongs to the Buddha
How could there be a self self and what belongs to self seeing profit, forgetting righteousness
Not knowing gratitude and nurture because of grasping (upādāna) never having escaped
The deep pit of karmic obstructions impoverished life after life suffering birth after birth
I confess myself from beginningless time until this present life
Discriminating everything grasping it as self view of self and self-conceit
Self-love and self-delusion constant attentive deliberation imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva)
Grasping seeing as self grasping hearing as self grasping smelling as self
Grasping tasting as self grasping touching as self grasping cognizing as self
Grasping that I can perform all deeds and undertakings grasping that I can discriminate
all principles of the Dharma grasping that I can achieve unmatched virtue and honor
Today I finally know that in truth myself I am nothing at all
I confess myself from beginningless time until this present life
Grasping my faculties and body grasping my objective world grasping my supernatural powers
Grasping my virtues and abilities grasping my becoming a Buddha grasping my propagating the Dharma
Grasping my saving of sentient beings today I finally know that in truth myself
I am capable of nothing from the past onward I falsely grasped the worldly
until the present moment falsely grasping the transcendental such false grasping
I deeply perceive the World-Honored One will not bestow a prediction upon me
Yet hoping for a prediction the thieving mind does not die when can I ever ascend
the supreme throne From now on where shall I go, what shall I do
Thief or gentleman I must choose one wash my heart and turn over a new leaf
Reform and renew myself return everything that is not mine
Bare, naked, and unadorned freely at ease and unbound departing in nonaction
