Usually, our clothes are dirty and uncomfortable to wear on our bodies. If we wash them clean and then wear them, we will feel refreshed. If we have dirt on our bodies, we should bathe them. After bathing, we will feel comfortable and comfortable. If the tea cup is dirty, we should wash them with water before we can drink them. The dust in the house is everywhere, so we should clean them up and live in them.These external environments, objects and bodies are dirty. We know how to wipe and clean them, but how should we deal with them when our inner heart is contaminated?
When our hearts are polluted, we must wash them with pure and repentant Dharma water so that our hearts are free from evil and make life meaningful.Why does the Dharma Water of Repentance have such great effect? I will divide it into four points to illustrate the state of repentance in Buddhism:
1. Repentance in life and repentance in knowledge
In our daily lives, the three karmas of body, speech and mind are between having the mind but not the mind. We don’t know how many things we have done wrong, how many words we have said wrong, and how many delusions we have had, but we are not aware of them.The so-called "not afraid of ignorance arise, just afraid of late enlightenment". This kind of inner awareness and reflection is repentance.
What is the role of confession in life? What can it help us?
First, repentance is to recognize the conscience of sin.
Second, repentance is a way to eliminate evil and to good.
Third, repentance is the power to purify the body and mind.
In daily life of food, clothing, housing and transportation, if you can cultivate a repentance, you will be able to get peace and happiness.It seems that when I was wearing clothes, I thought of the ancient saying "the thread in the hands of a loving mother, the clothes on the body of a wandering son", and I thought of the stitches and threads that were woven with my heart and love, how grateful? After thinking about it and repentance, the resentment of being a thick cloth and a thick cloth is not as good as others' clothes and gorgeous clothes will be eliminated.When eating, I think of "every porridge and every meal is not easy to come by". Every grain of rice is cultivated by farmers' sweat. What can we do? How can we not cherish the food on the plate? The shameful and repentant heart will last for life, and the grievances of eating plain rice will easily be calmed down.When you live in a house, see others living in beautiful houses in the building, think about the golden corners, silver corners, not as poor corners as your own. I feel that there is a humble room to live in, which is far better than the many wind and rain people in the world who are wandering on their eaves. Once you feel repentant, you will naturally live with peace of mind.When I went out, I saw someone else's car and saw him sending him off. It was so glorious. Think about how many tortures others had endured and how much suffering they had suffered for this, which was achieved through hard work. But I didn't work hard enough and my efforts were not deep, so I naturally replaced the car with enough. I would be free and easy as a car in this way.A thought of repentance makes our originally defective life suddenly become rich and worry-free at all times. This is the benefit of being able to repent frequently.
Repentance is an indispensable virtue in our lives at all times.Repentance is like Dharma water, which can wash away our sins; repentance is like a boat and raft, which can carry us to the other side of Nirvana of liberation; repentance is like a medicinal herb, which can heal our troubles and diseases; repentance is like a bright lamp, which can illuminate our ignorance and darkness; repentance is like a city wall, which can protect our body and mind; repentance is like a bridge, which can guide us to the path to becoming a Buddha; repentance is like a clothes, which can adorn our Bodhi fruit."Cai Gen Tan" says: "The great merits of the world cannot withstand the word "pride"; the sins of the heavens cannot be repent." If you make a mistake and know how to repent, no matter how serious the sins can be eliminated.
Although repentance has such a special merit, most people always neglect and laziness when they are alive and do not easily develop a repentance.We often regret our mistakes when bad luck comes; we only sigh at our absurdity when we are plagued by illness; we only face our squandering waste at the critical moment of financial difficulties; we only regret our recklessness when we are overwhelmed and surrounded by enemies; we only regret our hard work and our teeth are too weak to be stubborn when we live to be old and weak, and we regret our young and strong, and we are in vain to be sad.The Buddhist scriptures say, "Bodhisattvas fear the cause, and sentient beings fear the result." The difference between Bodhisattvas and sentient beings is that Bodhisattvas have foresight and foresight, and will not be confused by temporary greed, creating evil causes that are difficult to recover from in all kalpas; while sentient beings are short-sighted and shallow, only see the sweet honey juice on the blade, regardless of the sharp and cold blade. When the honey juice is tasted and the tongue is cut, they have planted endless bitter fruits, and they are too late to regret it.Life is short, so we should resist our hearts and hopes as soon as possible, prepare for the future, work hard to develop when we are young and strong, and often give when we are rich and prosperous, and make good relationships when we are together, so as to create a bright and happy life in our future.
In addition to reflecting and repenting in life, we must also review ourselves in knowledge at all times, because knowledge is a profound, broad and endless thing that often evolves and mutates, which is prone to the following mistakes, such as:
1.Ideological errors: the "evil knowledge" mentioned in Buddhism is a deviation in knowledge and concepts, such as: not believing in the Three Jewels, not believing in cause and effect, not believing in reincarnation... etc. Once you find that you have such evil knowledge, you should quickly turn back and reflect: 'Ah! My knowledge is wrong!' This is ideological repentance.
2.The error in opinion: it is the "wrong view" mentioned in Buddhism, which means that people and things have incorrect views and ideas, such as: denying the value of morality and ethics, being confused about things, misunderstanding others... etc. If you have this kind of wrong view, you should know to be vigilant: 'Ah! My thoughts are wrong!' This is the repentance of opinion.
3.The error in speech: that is, what Buddhism calls "evil" is missing in words, such as: lies, slander, abusive words, and frivolous words, saying ambiguous and slanderous words.Evil knowledge and evil views are sometimes hidden in the heart and are not easy to discover; while evil sayings often expose their words on excuses and become verbal karma, which can easily breed right and wrong and hurt others. Therefore, we must keep our mouths as bottles, be cautious in our tongues as a knife, and be alert to ourselves at all times: 'Ah! I speak too rashly!' This is repentance in speech.
Repentance of food, clothing, housing and conduct in daily life is self-examination of physical behavior; repentance of thoughts, opinions, and speech in knowledge is the purification and cultivation of psychological thoughts.As long as we always seek in life, distinguish knowledge, and repent, we can purify our body and mind and sublimate our lives.
The great monks and masters of Zen often integrate life with knowledge, experience knowledge in life, and use knowledge to confirm life, so as to avoid division and division, and become Zen and children and lost men. The Zen Master Baiyun Shouduan said, "It is better to go home than to understand the truth, and people often have fewer people's hearts." This is what it means.When a scholar asked Zen Master Nanyin what "Zen" was, Nanyin did not say a word, but just served the guests with tea, poured it in the teapot, filling the tea cup, and the water overflowed, and it still did not stop. The scholar saw that the tea water was flowing all over the table, while the Zen Master was still focused on pouring tea, without any intention. The scholar hurriedly reminded:
“Zen Master, the tea is full, don’t pour it anymore!”
Zen Master Nanyin nodded and said, "You are like this cup, your heart is full of paranoid views and thoughts, and there are a lot of theories. If you don't empty the delusional water in your heart first, how can you bear the Dharma water?"
2. Personnel and work repentance
When people get along with each other, unpleasant frictions are inevitable over time. Sometimes, even if you offend others intentionally or unintentionally, you won’t know.Therefore, in terms of human affairs, if you can always keep the thought of reciting and repenting, the world will be much wider.If you don’t commit sins in your heart, your human affairs will naturally be harmonious. If you think about it, you will find it through. As Zen Master Faqing said in the Prophecy: "The four great generals leave their masters, and the bones will rise in the wind." Life cannot be grasped. Why should you be attached to the right and wrong between people and me? Then think about it this way, there is really no spring breeze in life!
In the past, there was a Zen Master Yunju who once said ten kinds of regrets in human affairs, and advised us not to ignore them. These ten kinds of regrets are:
1.I regret not learning when I am a teacher: it is difficult to find a good teacher, and the influence of a good teacher on us is very far-reaching. A true saying can benefit us for life. Like the boy Shancai, who never gives up his hardships, went to the fifty-three visits, and the Zen Master Zhaozhou is still able to visit until he is 80 years old. It is because it is easy for the master of scriptures to obtain, but it is difficult for others to find a master.If you meet the Rentian Normal School, you don’t know how to study hard, and when the opportunity is lost, you will regret it in vain.
2.If you don’t know how to make friends with a wise man, regret it: the ancients said, “A good medicine is good for the disease, and honest words are bad for the ears and actions”. It is a rare and rare opportunity to be able to make friends in life and be able to communicate and give advice frequently.We must be able to accept the good friends and friends who are indifferent to the right and do not reject them, otherwise all the good friends and friends will be lost and the good opportunities in life will be missed.
3.Regret about serving parents without filial piety: The so-called "a drop of water before life is better than a hundred springs after death". When parents and elders are alive, they cannot be happy, willing to support themselves, and even disobey them in every way. When the kind-hearted parents die, even if they are extremely glorious and decent behind them, and the tomb is majestic, what is the point? "You are not filial to your parents in the hall, what is the merit of worshiping Buddha in the distance? "It is better to be more filial to your parents when they are alive.
4.I regret disloyal to the Lord: I cannot work with my superiors, be loyal to my duties, and be loyal to my duties. When I am dismissed, I feel dismissed and regretful. What's the use of regret?
5.It is not too much to regret seeing righteousness: the state of life is always determined in an instant. A thought of confusion is humble and a thought of enlightenment is high righteousness.If you fail to do justice and miss the opportunity, it will be useless to be upset.
6.Regret when you see danger and don’t save him: Conscience is something that cannot be deceived. People who are stingy in helping others when they see danger will inevitably lead to endless regrets that "I will not kill Boren, even if I do not kill Boren, Boren will die because of me."
7.If you have money, you will regret it if you lose money: If you have the ability to give money and do good deeds, you will regret it when you lose money and opportunities. It will be useless.In the past, a lay Buddhist said to me, "Master! You come to run a university for Buddhism, and I will donate pure wealth."I thought he was just talking, but unexpectedly, he really sent the money in a few days.I told him that running a Buddhist university is not easy, and there is no need to send money so quickly. He replied, "No! I don't give money now. If I get into a poor future, I won't be able to participate in such a meaningful thing as a Buddhist university.", this lay Buddhist was able to prepare for the future and has gained the profound and wonderful uses of Buddhism.
8.Repent if you don’t believe in cause and effect: A rice seed will grow and bear ears with different causes and conditions. The rice ears in fertile fields will be harvested, and the rice ears on the barren soil will be poor and withered. A rice seed has a difference in cause and effect. We must believe in the truth of karma of "such cause and such result". Beware of ourselves at all times and do not be careless about the six senses sow evil causes, otherwise it will be beyond the reach of feeling the evil consequences.
9.If you are patriotism and unfaithful, regret: "There is no end to the eggs under the collapse of the nest." The prosperity of the country is the welfare of the people. All citizens, whether in the court or in the opposition, should take the survival of the country as their own responsibility and make efforts to contribute.
10.If you don’t practice Buddhism, regrets if you don’t practice well. When you are healthy, you don’t practice well and seek Bodhi. When you get white hair and your teeth are shaken, you can’t even recite the Buddha’s name. If you recite “Namo Amitabha” as “How can you practice Amitabha”? Can you still practice diligently? The so-called “The human body is hard to be obtained now, but the Buddha’s Dharma is hard to hear now; if you don’t save this body in this life, then you will save this body?” It will be too late to wait until impermanence comes, and it will be hard to recite the “Mantra of Rebirth” for us.
Judging from the above ten kinds of regrets, we should grasp the causes and conditions between people as soon as possible, and always maintain a repentant heart. I feel that I am sorry for all sentient beings. With this heart that is neither fighting nor stubborn, we can avoid the defilement of greed and anger, and the relationship between people and affairs will naturally be harmonious.
In addition to human repentance, we must also have work repentance.For example, if building a house cuts corners and causes the misfortune of collapse, can you not repent in your conscience? In order to deceive and make heavy profits, counterfeit and steal, shoddy, ignore business ethics, destroy the image of the country, shouldn't you repent? Just to satisfy personal greed, financial chaos and vicious bankruptcy, put many people in trouble, and put the society in the shadow of suffering, can you not repent? If everyone has the kindness to repent and put personal gains and losses aside with the interests of the masses, we will not be able to prosper, and our country will be harmonious and happy?
There are ten methods of repentance in Buddhist scriptures, which provide guidance for our repentance in human affairs and work. These ten methods of repentance are:
1.Repent to all Buddhas: The magic power of all Buddhas is sometimes connected to our brain waves and saves us with the same frequency.Repenting to all Buddhas does not mean that we kneel down and worship idols or kowtow to wooden statues, but that we should change our minds and empathize our nature.In the past, there was a devout believer who picked flowers from the garden every day to the temple to offer Buddha. He kept offerings to Buddha all year round. Zen Master Wude was very happy and praised her and said, "It is rare that you can offer Buddha with fragrant flowers to worship Buddha every day.The scriptures record: Those who always offer incense and flowers to Buddha will receive the blessing of solemn appearance in the next life!"
After hearing this, the believer was very happy and asked the Zen master to continue teaching: "Master! Every time I come to the temple to worship Buddha with fragrant flowers, I feel that my heart is as cool and quiet as the nectar water has been washed; but when I get home, when facing trivial housework, I sometimes feel like I am trapped in a fire cave, and I am just anxious.Master! Please tell me: How to maintain a pure heart in the hustle and bustle of dust?”
Zen Master Wude asked back: "Do you know how to keep the flowers bright?"
The believer replied: "I know! As long as you change the water every day and cut off the soaked peduncle below, the flowers will not fade easily!"
Zen Master Wude nodded and smiled, “It’s the same with maintaining a pure mind.Our living environment is like water in a bottle, and we are flowers. We must purify our body and mind every day, repent and reflect more, remove rotten habits, and cultivate pure heart seedlings. This is the true meaning of worshiping Buddha!”
After hearing this, the believer suddenly realized and bowed happily: "Thank you for your teachings. I hope you will have the opportunity to get close to your master in the future, live a period of practice in the temple, and enjoy the tranquility of the evening drum and morning bell and Bodhi Sanskrit.”
Zen Master Wude smiled and stretched out his fingers: "Your breathing is the singing of the Brahma, your pulse is the bells and drums, your body is the temple, your ears are like Bodhi, and your words, movements, and movements are everywhere, so why bother with the appearance of the temple?"
Therefore, practicing meditation or repentance in front of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is not only about kneeling down and reciting the body, but more importantly, it is about abandoning distracting thoughts in the heart, resting the false causes, giving up sins, and purifying the body and mind!
2.Repent to parents: If a child often feels that he is filial and cannot be willing to support his family, he will be proud of his family, so repentance and improvement is also a kind of filial piety.
3.Repent to children: If parents often feel that they do not care enough for their children and do not care enough for them, so they will be able to be good parents if they are fully prepared.
4.Repent to the monk: In the past, there was a king of Kazha in India who wanted to murder the elephant king, so he ordered the killer to wear a cassock and pretend to be a monk. The elephant king's mother saw through his fortune and advised his son to refuse to see him to avoid disaster. The elephant king decided to sacrifice himself to save himself and make a stubborn man, so he thanked his mother and said:
‘When you see the appearance of the cassock, you know that it is the origin of compassion; if you convert to the Buddha, you will be compassionate to all sentient beings.Don’t be suspicious, you should be careful! The man who is robed of this robes wants to cross the sea of life and death.'
Both teachers and monks are preachers, the incarnation of truth, and the bright lamp of the dark night. Even if we cannot imitate the elephant king's compassion, we should always be ashamed of the failure of the Tao.
5.Repent to our disciples: As masters and teachers, we should also often reflect on whether we have taught our disciples to do our best to avoid misleading our children and practicing talents.
6.Repent to the king: the country protects us, the leader leads us, so that we can live and work in peace and contentment, and how much have we contributed to the country and society? With such a repentance, we can take on the responsibility of defending our country.
7.Repent to Tan Yue: A monk must also have a repentance to his believer Tan Yue. He feels that I have not done my best to resolve the difficulties for the public and have not saved disasters for the public at all times. I am really ashamed of the Three Jewels and monks and laymen, so I must work hard and do more things to spread the Dharma and benefit sentient beings.
8.Repent to good friends: When you get along with friends, you always feel that you treat me too well. I am not kind to you. Only by being so strict with yourself and being lenient with others can you make good relationships.
9.Repentance to what you have accomplished: For example, if you come from all directions and thousands of miles today, how much time will it take? How much money will it cost? How much help can I help you? With this thought, I feel ashamed of the deep sea and mountains in my heart! Because of my shame and repentance, I am very cautious in every speech, and I hope that every sentence can contribute to you.
10.Repent to the Dragon and Heaven: The Eight Tribes of Heaven and Dragon protect us, and be supported by us in the dark, so that many causes and conditions can help us overcome all dangers and avoid falling into the path of ignorance. Can we not give back to the masses in all directions and repay the Eight Tribes of Heaven and Dragon?
Repentance is so beautiful. When everyone fights and goes against each other, and is violent and upset, we must give in and respect, and repent humbly, so that our hearts are as bright as the sun and our temperament is as peaceful as the wind. How beautiful is repentance! However, unfortunately, the society cannot truly respect those who can repent and reform, and it is rare to tolerate them.For example, after the prisoner is released, although he has reformed himself and determined to be good, society is so realistic that a prodigal son who repented often cannot find a job, lacks opportunities, and has no way out. In the evil situation of no foothold, he has to become more serious and commit crimes again. It is a pity!
《The Five-Part Vinaya says: 'If you know that you have sins and repent, you will increase your good roots.' We Buddhists should have a great ruthless and broad-minded attitude, tolerate those who repent and assist those who repent.
The case of the Zen master Yang Lan in Jin Dynasty is an example.He cultivated hundreds of pots of orchids in the courtyard next to the temple. While preaching, he regarded orchids as his beloved disciple.One day, the Zen master went out for trouble and ordered a disciple to take care of him. When the disciple was watering, he accidentally tripped the orchid frame and destroyed the whole orchid. The disciple felt very guilty and decided to wait for the master to come back and be willing to accept his mistakes and be willing to be punished.Zen Master Jin Dai returned to the temple and saw the broken scene in the orchid garden. After listening to his sincere and earnest repentance, he not only did not get angry, but instead comforted his disciple calmly and said:
“The reason why I love orchids is to use fragrant flowers to offer to Buddha and beautify temples, not to be angry and angry.Life and death flow, and things are impermanent. If you are obsessed with the things you love and cannot give up, it is not the behavior of the Zen master!"
3. Repentance in emotional and repentance in practice
Life is short, just like light smoke and flying fog.Some people pursue love, desire, glory, and live a life of ignorance and troubles; some people stop wanting to keep their own eyes and live a quiet and cool life.The nobleness and humility are all about the choice of emotions.In our emotional life, we should have a feeling of repentance. We feel sorry for someone in this matter. I am wrong. This situation is because I am neglected... I repent and improve every day. The temperament and mind will naturally be broadened and the quality of life will naturally be improved. Otherwise, we will be bound by emotions every day and live in a prison of the five desires and six dusts. We cannot be pushed or liberated. Those days of anger, fear, filth, resentment and disaster are really painful.
There is a story recorded in the Buddhist scriptures that shows that a repentant heart can not only change a person's temperament, but also change a person's appearance: under the knee of King Persenathus in India, there is an ugly daughter, because she looks really ugly, even if she is a princess, no man likes her.The king had no choice but to find a young man in the slum and grant him a generous salary to marry the princess.After marriage, the young man was so shameless because the princess was really ugly that he did not dare to take her out to attend the palace social gatherings. He went there alone at every feast.As time goes by, everyone wonders why the prince-consort always doesn't bring the princess out? Could it be that the princess is as beautiful as a fairy, and she is afraid that others will be moved by her heart, so she can't hide it? Several officials with good relationships with the prince-consort decided to find out, discuss getting the prince-consort drunk, stealing the keys on him, and going to his house to see the beautiful princess.The princess who was locked at home, was unable to raise her head in front of others because of her ugliness. She worshipped in front of the Buddha every day and repented of her ugly karma.When she sincerely repented, she said something strange. Her hands, which were originally rough and unbearable to put their hands together, gradually became white and moist; the thin eyes that looked at the Buddha statue gradually became crystal clear and beautiful; and when she confessed to the Buddha's heart and asked the Buddha for forgiveness, her whole person suddenly became elegant and graceful.When the officials secretly peeked at the princess who worshipped the Buddha with devout tribute, they all held their energy and concentrated their minds. Seeing that the princess was indeed charming and charming, the country was beautiful and beautiful, they were almost stunned.After returning, they criticized the young prince-in-law for being selfish and stingy, hiding the beauty in the deep palace.From this story, we can learn that those who repent often receive the Three Jewels and those who repent can empathize with each other; those who often repent in their emotions can wash away all troubles and dirt, cultivate boundless good roots, eliminate karma, and plant blessing fields.
As for the repentance in practice, Tiantai Sect has three methods of repentance, namely:
1.Repent with the precepts: keeping the precepts carefully and practicing them day and night is like a big fire, burning away all emotional obstacles.
2.Repent with the door of merit: always practice merit and offer sacrifices to the Three Jewels to practice, just like the spring breeze, eliminating all troubles and obstacles.
3.Repent with the Gate of No Birth: to explore life and death, and practice selfless practice, just like purifying water, washing away all obstacles of knowledge and view.
Although there are many ways to practice repentance, the most important thing is to reveal it sincerely.To reveal one's sins are to speak frankly in front of the public. From the repentance, one can see a person's repentance.If it is the sincerest and sincerest of the top grade, you will cry and bleed all over your body when you repent; if it is the middle grade repent, you will at least sweat and feel frustrated and feel frustrated; if it is the most common low grade repent, you will cry and bend down and cannot rise.
To repent, one must have a heart; to be sincere and sincere, one can eliminate sins.In the past, a little novice monk accidentally stepped on a frog while walking at night. When the master found out, he blamed the little novice monk with a sad expression and said:
“How can you step on the dead creatures at will? Amitabha, this is a serious sin! In order to avoid the reincarnation of karma, you have to go to the back mountain to jump to the cliff and sacrifice yourself to apologize.”
When the little shaman heard this, he was like five thunders thunders slamming in an instant. Only then did he realize that the disaster was great, so he had to bid farewell to his master with tears in his eyes, and went to the cliff behind the mountain with great sadness. He looked down and said, "Oh! It was deep and dark, and his life was in a moment. The little shaman thought to himself: If you jump down, you will be crushed to pieces and you will die; if you don't jump, you will suffer three ways, and you will be reincarnated for many years, and you will not be able to escape the karma. What should I do? The little shaman thought about it and thought about it, and I was really embarrassed to advance and retreat, and I couldn't help but cover my face and cry.Just as he was crying sadly, a pig-killing butcher passed by. When he saw the little shaman kneeling beside the road and crying sadly, he felt very strange. He stepped forward to ask, and the little shaman told him all the causes and consequences. When the butcher heard this, he immediately felt sad and said with great regret:
“Master! You are just unintentionally trampling on a frog to death. Your sin is so serious. You have to jump over a cliff and commit suicide to eliminate your karma.I slaughter pigs every day, slaughtering them all over the place, and my hands are full of blood. Isn’t this sin infinite? I don’t know how serious it is.Alas! Master! Don’t jump off the cliff, let me jump! I should apologize and die!”
The butcher's thought of repentance arose, and without hesitation, he jumped towards the cliff. Just as he fell with the wind and was about to die in the deep valley, auspicious cloud rose slowly from the valley, and incredibly supported the butcher's body and saved his life.
The meaning of "putting down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot" is to show the extraordinary and extraordinary nature of practice and repentance.Sincere repentance can wash away our boundless sins and give us our original pure face, like grinding a mirror, where the dirt will disappear and the light will appear.
In the past, a monk visited Zen Master Yuexi and asked him for advice:
“Zen Master, I have been studying Buddhism and Confucianism for twenty years, but I still know nothing about Zen. Can you teach me some?"
Zen Master Yuexi waved his hand and slapped him towards him, scaring the monk to escape from the door. He was puzzled. The more he thought outside the Dharma Hall, the more angry he became. Just when he was about to turn back to find the Zen Master to argue, the first old Zen Master happened to come.When the old Zen master saw him angry, he asked kindly:
“Is something wrong? Come to my place for a cup of tea! What's the matter worth getting angry about by those who seek the truth?"
While drinking tea, the monk complained that Zen Master Yuexi waved his palms and slapped him for no reason, and he had no Buddhist elegance... As he was angry, the old Zen Master laughed and raised his hand and slapped him.The monk was stunned, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground with a slam, and he couldn't make a sound for a while.The old Zen master asked with a smile:
“You just said that you already understand Buddhism and Confucianism, but there is only a few Zen methods. I have now used Zen methods to offer you. Do you know what Zen methods are?"
The monk was speechless when asked and didn't know how to answer.The old Zen master saw that he was hesitant and asked again, but he still couldn't answer.The old Zen master rolled up his sleeves and said with a smile:
“I’m so sorry, please take a look at our Zen method!”
As he said that, he bent down, carefully picked up the broken teacups one by one, and calmly took the rag, slowly wiped the tea splashed all over the floor without leaving any trace. Then he stood up with a leisurely smile and said with regret:
“Zen, Zen, isn’t this Zen method?”
After a monk was shocked, he realized that Buddhism is not empty talk, but the ability to practice daily.Now I bow down and receive the teachings.
4. Behavioral repentance and psychological repentance
We have committed many sins in the three karmas of body, mouth and mind on weekdays: sins created by the body such as killing, stealing, and adultery; sins created by speech such as lies, abusive words, slandering, and frivolous words; sins created by thoughts such as greed, anger, and ignorance.These evil things committed in body, speech, and mind are called "ten evils", which are ten kinds of faults.Since ancient times, many great masters have written many repentance verses, which are nothing more than encouraging people to eliminate the faults of the three karma.For example, Emperor Jianwen of the Liang Dynasty once wrote the "Six Repentances" to repent for eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind; Emperor Wu of Liang also wrote the "Mahaprajna Repentances" and "Vajra Repentances"; Shen Yue, a literati who made great contributions to the study of sound and rhyme, also wrote the "Repentances of Lotus Sutra"; Zen Master Baozhi wrote the "Bao Huang Bao Repentances"; Master Wuda wrote the "Compassion Water Repentances", and countless similar works by literati and monarchs of various dynasties and dynasties. It can be seen that not only monks should practice repentance, but the main repentances of a country, and even the people of the whole country must repent. In this way, the national morality of this country must be noble and the social atmosphere will be harmonious.
How do Buddhists repent from their behavior? We can achieve our own shame and enlightenment from the following four behaviors anytime and anywhere:
1.Say good things to repent: No matter who you are or what you are, you should be compassionate, joyful and entrusted, and praise them with good words. This is repentance.The scriptures say: 'Nectar and poison are all in the human tongue'. Being a good mouth can not only promote others' good roots, but also enhance one's own virtues. Why be stingy?
2.Donate donations to repent: Doing more charity and doing more merits can not only drive away greed and love, but also benefit sentient beings, which is also a kind of repentance.
3.Diligent service to repent: Be determined to serve the public and repent your sins. The "Dharma Sentences" says: "Practice benevolence and kindness, be kind to the public, have eleven honors, and always be blessed with you." This way of repentance is also a field of blessing.
4.Repent to others: Think more about others and achieve more good things. For example, if others do business, I will buy more things and make more money. On the surface, it is to help others, but my merits will be dedicated and I often help myself.Like me and others, he bought a pair of Arhat shoes, and he sold a pair of shoes for 150 yuan, but I gave him 200 yuan. He felt strange and asked me:
“Master, when someone buys my shoes, I sell them for 150 yuan per pair. He still thinks it is expensive and wants to bargain with me. Not only do you not think it is expensive, but you add 200 yuan per pair. What is the reason?"
I said, "You sell a pair of shoes for 150 yuan, and you don't make much money, and the quality cannot be improved. People wearing shoes will suffer losses. If we go bankrupt due to poor capital turnover, we will never be able to buy Luohan shoes.Now I buy shoes with a pair of 200 yuan, which is to sponsor you to make money. You can improve your quality and expand your business network, so that everyone in the world can wear Arhat shoes, and everyone in the world will receive blessings!”
Therefore, sometimes being good to others means being good to ourselves. As long as we feel that we owe others too much, we are always ashamed and repented, and always want to repay others, we will naturally get a great joy in the Dharma.This kind of transformation from psychological repentance into behavioral goodness and kindness can bring five blessings according to the records in the scriptures:
First, we will never stay away from all saints;
Second, all sentient beings are happy to see and hear;
Third, when you enter the public, you will not feel fear;
Fourth, get a good name;
The fifth is solemn Bodhi.
As for psychological repentance, in "Maha Samadhi", there are also five methods of repentance:
1.Repentance: It means to recite the verse of repentance often, "All evil karmas committed in the past are all caused by greed, anger, and ignorance; from the body, speech and mind, I repent now, to eliminate the deep sins and obtain a pure life in the heart.
2.Advice: For example, if you offend someone when speaking or offend someone when doing things, you will take the initiative to ask him for advice, invite him to have a dinner, and invite him to participate in various activities.Please come and do good deeds, and encourage the public to develop compassion and bodhicitta together. This is also a method of repentance.
3.Rejoice: When others talk happily, we listen happily to help them; when others do things happily, we participate happily, and never forget to give praise and encouragement. This kind of casual praise is casual joy.In addition, there is also helping others and making good relationships, which is the joy of casually; obedience and appreciation of sympathy is the joy of the ears; watching with the eyes and caring for love is the joy of the eyes; agreeing with the heart and feeling with the same feelings is the joy of the heart.This kind of rejoice is merit, and being happy every day means repentance.However, most people often ignore the repentance of joy, and when they get along with others, they are filled with sorrow and tears, spreading their worries to others and affecting everyone's emotions.It is a sin to increase everyone's worries and distress for personal discomfort.Therefore, we must be happy ourselves and give everyone happiness. This is repentance.
4.Dedication: We dare not enjoy the merits we have done on our own. Dedication is for everyone to enjoy together. In this way, we are a good repentance in our hearts.For example, when we light a lamp of light now to offer to Bodhisattvas, although it is only a small matter, if we make a vow to light this lamp, everyone in the world can illuminate it and receive the light of the Buddha, what a good wish! Giving a dollar is only a small dollar, when giving, making a vow to make the merits of giving can solve the sufferings of the people of the world. What a great power is this kind of repentance to the small to the big, and to the truth! Some people just sing the dedication verses in their mouths, and they still need to practice it in their own way.
5.Vow: In the temple, monks often recite the four great vows: "The boundless vows are vows to be saved, the endless troubles are vows to be eliminated, the infinite Dharma is vows to be learned, and the supreme Buddhist path is achieved." These four vows are to repent forever to eliminate the root of life and death, and there is no longer any troubles of greed, anger, ignorance, and suffering.In the past, after the Buddha gave the prophecy, Mrs. Victory Garland respectfully made the ten great vows and became the teacher of Buddhist vows. The first five vows of these ten great vows are the most specific method of psychological repentance:
From today, even Bodhi, I will not have any intention of infringing on the precepts I have received;
From today, even Bodhi, I will not have arrogance to all my deities and elders;
From today, even Bodhi, I will not feel angry with all sentient beings;
From today, even Bodhi, I will not feel jealous of other bodies, colors, and external possessions;
From today on, even Bodhi, I will not feel stingy in internal and external laws.
Ashoka, who once unified India, once made a plea to offer offerings to monks, and one of them also came to participate in the offer, so Ashoka was in a dilemma.Because in India, even a king who is the honor of a country must bow respectfully when he sees a monk.After King Ashoka bowed to many great masters, he was unable to bow down to such a young novice monk, but he didn't bow down to him, and he was worried that he would be severely criticized and criticized for being disrespectful to the Three Jewels.In a dilemma, the little novice monk was forced to call him to a place where no one was left, and reluctantly bowed to him, and told him, "Little novice monk, I am the king of a country, and I cannot worship others casually, especially a child as young as you. Don't tell anyone about what I bowed to you just now!" After hearing Ashoka's words, the little novice monk silently put down the bowl that was given to him, suddenly jumped into the bowl, wandered along the bowl, and then jumped out of the bowl, smiled at Ashoka. He went in and out and out in such a way, and had no obstacles in his supernatural powers, which made Ashoka stunned and secretly surprised: "This little novice monk is really powerful!"
The little novice monk settled down and slowly walked to King Ashoka, clasped his hands and said, "King! Don't tell others about this just now!"
King Ashoka was extremely ashamed and quickly confessed: "Oh! My heart is not bright and pious enough, so I should not be despised by the little novice monk!"
From then on, Ashoka was respectful and unscrupulous to all monks, regardless of age, age, age, age, age, and is not arrogant.
We must always repent of our sins of body, speech and mind, and correct our past mistakes in terms of behavior and psychology.Although sins exist in terms of things, they do not exist in nature. The scriptures say: "Sin is originally empty and is created by the mind. If the mind is destroyed, sin will also be destroyed; if the mind is destroyed, sins will be empty, both are empty, which is called true repentance. Therefore, sins are like frost and snow, and have no self-nature, but are just temporary contamination and stagnation. If you use the sunlight of Prajna wisdom to observe it, it will naturally melt.In the method of repentance of the Gate of No Birth, as long as there is no thought arises and no false thoughts or evil thoughts, it is true repentance.If you further realize the true nature of the immovable nature, you will naturally eliminate all sins without repentance.
Although Buddhist confessionism has different connotations and levels of depth, it is the same as oneself and others.Repenting for yourself means repenting for others; repenting for others means repenting for yourself, and you cannot be separated from all sentient beings.The story of Zen Master Pujiao’s repentance can be used as our mirror:
A believer asked Zen Master Pujiao: "Do you repent for yourself by practicing the method of repentance? Or for others? If you repent for yourself, where does your sin come from? If you repent for others, others are not me and cannot be replaced, how can you repent for him?"
Zen Master Pujiao thought for a long time but couldn't answer, so he traveled around to seek answers.One day, I arrived at Zen Master Litan and as soon as I stepped into the door, Litan shouted "Ha!"
Zen Master Pujiao was not clear about it and was about to express his intention to come, but the Zen staff of Litan had already waved towards him. Pujiao was inexplicably able to avoid it for the time being.A few days later, Litan found Pujiao and said to him:
“I have the Goode case and want to discuss it with you.”
Pu Jiao was still surprised and surprised, and a scream of surprise, "Ha!" Before he could tell, Litan shouted again, and the echo was fluctuating in Pu Jiao's chest, just like Pu Jiao's own voice. Pu Jiao Zen Master suddenly became enlightened in an instant and couldn't help laughing.Seeing that he had realized it, Litan was very happy and held his hand to ask: "Do you know Buddhism?"
With his eyes in common, Zen Master Pujiao also smiled and shouted, "Ha!", and pulled Yutan's hand away.
Litan knew that the universal friends had already understood the method of repentance that "the one is the same as one, and the other is the same as oneself and the other is the same", and he also laughed out loudly.
I hope everyone can have a repentant attitude, have a clear mind, see their true nature as soon as possible, and enjoy a happy and liberated life!
