慈悲道場懺法

THE COMPASSIONATE BODHIMANDA REPENTANCE DHARMA

“Compassionate Bodhimanda”—these four words are the name of this repentance Dharma.

This name was given because Maitreya Buddha, moved by compassion and pity for beings in the present and future, appeared in a dream and instructed that it be so named. As this accords with the truth, no one dares alter it.

We now reverently follow the instructions of that Compassionate One because we wish to protect and uphold the Three Jewels: to cause the armies of Mara to conceal themselves; to cause the arrogant and those of overweening pride (^[1]) to subdue themselves; to cause those who have not yet planted roots of goodness to plant them, and those who have already planted them to make their roots of goodness grow; to cause those who cling to what they believe they have attained (^[2]) and are attached to wrong views (^[3]) to resolve to relinquish their attachments; to cause those who delight in the Lesser Vehicle (^[4]) not to doubt the Great Vehicle (^[5]); and to cause those who delight in the Great Vehicle to rejoice in the Lesser Vehicle.

Moreover, this compassionate repentance Dharma is greater than all other wholesome deeds. This Dharma is the refuge of all sentient beings; it is like the sun shining by day and the moon illuminating the night. This Dharma is the pupil of the eye, the guiding master, the parents, the siblings, and the true good and wise spiritual friend of practitioners as they journey together to the bodhimanda.

This repentance Dharma is dearer than one’s own flesh and blood. Life after life, it follows us, and even at death it never parts from us. Therefore, this repentance Dharma is called the Compassionate Bodhimanda.

Today, all in the Great Assembly, whether concealed or manifest within the bodhimanda, establish this repentance Dharma and bring forth the great resolve because of twelve great causes and conditions.

What are the twelve?

1.- First, we vow to teach and deliver limitless sentient beings throughout the six realms (^[6]).

2.- Second, we vow to repay the four kinds of kindness without limit.

3.- Third, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, sentient beings who receive the Buddha’s precepts

shall never give rise to thoughts of violating them.

4.- Fourth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, sentient beings shall never give rise to arrogance

toward their elders and venerable ones.

5.- Fifth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, wherever sentient beings are born,

they shall never give rise to anger or resentment.

6.- Sixth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, sentient beings shall never give rise to jealousy

of the physical forms of others.

7.- Seventh, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, sentient beings shall never give rise to stinginess or possessive attachment toward any dharma,

whether within or outside the body.

8.- Eighth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, whatever merit or goodness sentient beings

may accomplish shall not be done for themselves, but solely for those who have no one to protect

or assist them.

9.- Ninth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, sentient beings shall not practice

the four means of embracing beings (^[7]) for their own sake, but solely for the sake of all sentient beings.

10.- Tenth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, when sentient beings see those

who are lonely, imprisoned, disabled, or ill, they shall give rise to the resolve to rescue and assist them, bringing them peace and happiness.

11.- Eleventh, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, when practitioners see

sentient beings who should be subdued, they shall subdue them, and those who should be embraced and accepted, they shall embrace and accept.

12.- Twelfth, we vow that, through the spiritual power of this repentance Dharma, wherever sentient beings

are born, they shall remember the bodhicitta they have brought forth today, causing that bodhicitta to continue

forever without interruption.

We reverently beseech all in the Great Assembly, whether ordinary beings or sages, whether concealed or manifest within this bodhimanda, together to bestow mindful protection and embracing acceptance, so that we disciples, named . . . . may attain purity through repentance, fulfill our vows, make our minds one with the minds of all Buddhas, and make our vows one with the vows of all Buddhas. May the beings of the four modes of birth (^[8]) and the six realms thereby fulfill their vows for bodhi.

CHAPTER ONE

TAKING REFUGE IN THE THREE JEWELS

Today, all in the Great Assembly who share common karma within this bodhimanda should bring forth the mind of awakening. Know that the world is impermanent and the body does not endure for long. Youth and strength must give way to old age and frailty. Do not rely upon a fine appearance and fail to guard your pure conduct.

All things are likewise impermanent and shall perish. Between heaven and earth, nothing abides forever. In youth, the countenance is lovely, the flesh smooth, fragrant, and pure. Yet this body is also impermanent. Those who live must meet and part. Birth, aging, sickness, and death arrive without appointment; who will remove this suffering for us? Calamities suddenly descend, and we know not where to avoid them; there is no escape. The noble and lowly, the rich and poor—all alike die because of these conditions. After death, the body swells and putrefies unbearably. What benefit, then, is there in cherishing this body? If we do not cultivate supreme wholesome karma, by what means can we escape birth and death?

We disciples, named . . . , reflect thus: The body is like morning dew, and life like the evening sun; existence is fragile, and we do not know when death will come. Moreover, we are poor and destitute, without any merit or virtue worthy of mention; we lack luminous wisdom and possess none of the understanding of great and holy persons. Our speech is neither graceful nor harmonious, humane, or righteous; our conduct, whether advancing or withdrawing, lacks propriety and respect for rank. If we mistakenly establish our resolve in this manner, we shall only add further weariness to our cultivation.

We reverently beseech all in the Great Assembly to bring forth a sense of shame and fearful vigilance. This Dharma assembly has a fixed duration. If we do not now devote ourselves to repentance, later regret and remorse will be of no avail.

From this day forward, we vow to exert ourselves, concentrating our minds morning and evening and becoming ever more diligent in service and offerings. This alone brings true ease and joy and is the most essential undertaking.

We reverently beseech all in the Great Assembly who share common karma within this bodhimanda to be earnest and circumspect, bringing forth a courageous and vigorous mind, an undisciplined mind no longer, an abiding mind, an expansive mind, a supreme mind, a mind of great loving-kindness and compassion, a mind delighting in goodness, a joyful mind, a mind that repays kindness, a mind that delivers beings, a mind that safeguards all sentient beings, a mind that rescues and protects all sentient beings, a mind identical to the minds of bodhisattvas, and a mind identical to the minds of all Buddhas! With one mind and one intention, we sincerely bow in homage to the Three Jewels.

We pray to act on behalf of kings, emperors, local deities, and the people; on behalf of parents, teachers, and elders of the upper, middle, and lower seats; good and evil spiritual acquaintances; devas and immortals; the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world; those who reward goodness and punish evil; guardians who uphold mantras; the Dragon Kings of the five directions; the dragon spirits and the eight classes of beings (^[9]); and all the limitless and endless sentient beings throughout the ten directions who possess sentience and consciousness, whether dwelling beneath the waters, upon dry land, or in empty space. On behalf of all these sentient beings, we vow to take refuge in all Buddhas throughout the ten directions to the utmost reaches of empty space. (1 bow)

– We take refuge in all the honored Dharma throughout the ten directions to the utmost reaches of empty space. (1 bow)

– We take refuge in all the worthy sages of the Sangha throughout the ten directions to the utmost reaches of empty space. (1 bow)

Today, all in the Great Assembly who share common karma within this bodhimanda should understand why we must take refuge in the Three Jewels.

It is because all Buddhas and bodhisattvas possess immeasurable great loving-kindness with which they deliver the world, and immeasurable great compassion with which they comfort the world, cherishing all sentient beings as their own newborn children.

Their great loving-kindness and compassion never know weariness. They constantly seek goodness and benefit for all; they vow to extinguish the fires of greed, anger, and delusion in all beings and teach and transform them so that all may attain the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi. If sentient beings do not realize the fruit of bodhi, the Buddhas vow not to attain perfect awakening. For this reason, the Great Assembly must take refuge in the Three Jewels.

Moreover, all Buddhas cherish sentient beings even more than parents cherish their children.

The sutra teaches: “Parents love their children for only one lifetime. The Buddha’s loving-kindness toward sentient beings is inexhaustible. Moreover, when parents see their children being ungrateful and betraying their kindness, they become angry and resentful, and their love diminishes. The love of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas for sentient beings is not like this. When they see sentient beings rebel against their kindness, the love of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas only continues to increase.

They even enter the Hell of the Wheel of Fire and the Avici Hell, enduring immeasurable suffering in the place of sentient beings.

Therefore, one should know that the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have greater compassion for sentient beings than parents have love for their children. Yet sentient beings, their wisdom obscured by ignorance (^[10]) and their intrinsic nature obscured by afflictions, do not know to turn back and take refuge in the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, nor do they know to look up to and revere them. Even when the Dharma is preached to teach and transform them, sentient beings neither believe nor accept it; instead, they behave coarsely and utter slander, never once arousing the resolve to remember the kindness of the Buddhas.

Because sentient beings lack faith, they fall into the evil destinies—hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals—and throughout these three evil destinies they undergo immeasurable suffering.

When their offenses have been exhausted and they emerge, they may temporarily be born as humans, yet their eyes and ears are impaired, their bodies are unsightly, and they cultivate neither meditative concentration nor wisdom.

Sentient beings experience such obstructive retributions because they have no faith.

Today, all of us in this Dharma assembly, bound by common karma, know that the offense of disbelief is more serious than other offenses and causes practitioners to go for a long time without seeing the Buddha.

Today, all of us must rouse ourselves and practice together, subduing our thoughts and restraining our emotions, arousing the supreme resolve, and bringing forth shame and remorse. Bowing our heads, we beseech forgiveness and repent of our former offenses. Only after the burdens of karma have been exhausted and both inwardly and outwardly we are purified should we direct our minds back toward the virtue of faith and bring forth faith in the Three Jewels.

If we do not arouse such a mind and direct our thoughts in this way, we fear that our faith will be cut off and its obstructions difficult to overcome. Once the path toward our destination is lost, we shall wander in confusion, not knowing where to return! Therefore, we cannot remain without faith, but must wholeheartedly bow down and take refuge in the Three Jewels, not daring to harbor doubt.

We, your disciples, named . . . , now, only through the power of the compassion of the Buddhas and great bodhisattvas, hope to awaken to understanding, and we feel profound shame. We pray that the offenses we have committed may be eradicated. As for offenses we have not yet committed, we dare never commit them.

From this day forward until the day we attain Buddhahood, we shall bring forth firm faith and dare never retreat.

After relinquishing these bodies, whether we are born in hell, among hungry ghosts, among animals, as humans, or as devas; whether within the three realms we receive a male body, a female body, or a body that is neither male nor female, and so forth; whether great or small, whether rising or descending, and whether we undergo every kind of unbearable suffering and affliction, we vow that we shall not allow such suffering to make us retreat from or lose the faith we have brought forth today.

Even if we must endure manifold suffering and tribulation throughout tens of thousands of kotis of kalpas, we vow that we shall not allow suffering to make us retreat from or lose the faith we have brought forth today.

We pray that the Buddhas and great bodhisattvas will together bestow their aid and protection, and together gather us in and accept us, so that the faith of us, your disciples, named . . . , may become steadfast, identical to the mind of the Buddhas and identical to the vows of the Buddhas, and so that false demons and non-Buddhist paths cannot destroy our faith.

Together, with utmost sincerity and single-minded earnestness, we wholeheartedly bow down and take refuge in all Buddhas throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space.

We take refuge in all the honored Dharma throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space.

We take refuge in all the Sangha of sages and noble ones throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space.

Today, all of us in this Dharma assembly, bound by common karma, should calm our minds and listen.

Alas! The realms of devas and humans are both illusory, and the world is false and deceptive.

Because they are illusory and unreal, their results are likewise unreal. Being false and fragile, they undergo limitless transformations.

Because their results are unreal, beings remain submerged in the cycle of birth and death. Because their transformations are endless, beings continue to drift and revolve in the painful ocean of craving. Seeing sentient beings suffering in this way, the Buddha feels immense compassion.

The Sutra of the Compassionate Flower teaches: “All bodhisattvas who attain Buddhahood have their original vows.”

The World-Honored Shakyamuni did not manifest a body that would dwell in the world for a long time, and his lifespan was brief because he had compassion for sentient beings in this realm, whose lives are cut short and who die in the blink of an eye, like magical transformations, remaining submerged in the ocean of suffering with no escape. Therefore, to save the corrupt and evil sentient beings of this realm, the Buddha had, for a time, to employ stern and exacting words and teach them with utmost earnestness.

Dwelling within the ocean of suffering and rescuing sentient beings, he never once failed to devote his attention to spreading the teachings, bringing deliverance, and benefiting sentient beings by employing wholesome dharmas as skillful means.

Therefore, the Samadhi Sutra teaches: “The mind of all Buddhas is the mind of great loving-kindness and compassion; wherever the compassionate mind of the Buddhas shines is where sentient beings are suffering.”

When the Buddha sees sentient beings undergoing suffering and affliction, it is as though an arrow has pierced the Buddha’s heart or the Buddha’s eyes have been torn out. Having seen this, he feels compassion, and his mind cannot rest even for a moment. Therefore, the Buddha wishes immediately to eliminate the suffering of sentient beings and enable them to attain peace and happiness.

Moreover, the wisdom of the Buddhas is the wisdom of equality, and therefore the Buddhas teach and deliver sentient beings impartially. Thus, everyone reveres the World-Honored Shakyamuni as the One of Equality. With courageous vigor, he endured suffering to liberate sentient beings. We therefore know that the beneficent virtue of our Original Teacher is exceedingly profound.

Amid suffering and affliction, he was able to preach the Dharma and benefit all sentient beings. Sentient beings today have not attained liberation because, in the past, they did not hear the wondrous sound of the Buddha preaching the Dharma, and later they did not behold the Buddha’s nirvana. Because sentient beings are obstructed by karmic hindrances, they have become separated from the Buddha’s loving-kindness.

We should now bring forth together a mind of sorrowful remembrance. Because of this sorrowful remembrance, our wholesome minds become ardent and sincere. Amid suffering, we remember the kindness of the Buddhas, cry out to them in anguish, grieve and weep, bow with utmost sincerity, and prostrate ourselves with all five limbs touching the ground.

For the sake of the king and the king’s retinue; the land and its people; our parents and teachers; faithful donors and benefactors; wholesome and unwholesome spiritual friends; devas . . . immortals; intelligent and upright beings; heaven, earth, and empty space; the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world; those who govern the good and punish the evil; those who guard and uphold mantras; the Dragon Kings of the five directions; the dragon spirits and the eight classes of beings; and all the boundless and inexhaustible sentient beings throughout the ten directions, we vow to take refuge in all Buddhas throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space. (1 bow)

We take refuge in all the honored Dharma throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space. (1 bow)

We take refuge in all the Sangha of sages and noble ones throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space. (1 bow)

(All kneel with palms joined, contemplate these words, and continue chanting):

The Buddhas, great and holy honored ones,

Thoroughly comprehend all dharmas;

Guiding Teachers of devas and humans,

Therefore, we vow to take refuge.

– The honored Dharma, whose nature eternally abides,

The pure sutras (^[11]),

Can dispel the illnesses of body and mind;

Therefore, we vow to take refuge.

– The bodhisattvas of the great grounds (^[12]),

The four kinds of unattached shramanas (^[13]),

Can rescue beings from every suffering;

Therefore, we vow to take refuge.

– The Three Jewels save the world

For the sake of beings in the six destinies;

We now bow down in reverence

And take refuge on behalf of all in the world.

– Their loving-kindness and compassion shelter all,

Enabling all alike to attain peace and happiness.

Taking pity upon all living beings,

We together take refuge.

(All prostrate themselves with their bodies touching the ground and silently recite):

We pray that all the Three Jewels throughout the ten directions, through the power of loving-kindness and compassion, the power of their original vows, the power beyond conception, their immeasurable power of mastery, the power to liberate sentient beings, the power to protect and shelter sentient beings, and the power to comfort sentient beings, will employ these powers to enable all sentient beings to awaken. For the sake of these sentient beings, we, named . . . , today take refuge in the Three Jewels.

Through this merit, we pray that its power may enable all those sentient beings to have their wishes completely fulfilled.

If those sentient beings dwell among devas or immortals, may they bring all outflow-tainted karma to an end. (^[14])

If those sentient beings dwell among the asuras, may they relinquish their arrogant nature.

If those sentient beings dwell among humankind, may all their suffering come to an end.

If those sentient beings dwell among the hell beings, hungry ghosts, or animals, may they immediately attain liberation.

Furthermore, today, may those who hear the name of the Three Jewels, as well as those who do not hear it, all attain liberation through the Buddha’s spiritual power, fully accomplish unsurpassed bodhi, and, together with the great bodhisattvas, attain perfect enlightenment.

CHAPTER TWO

ENDING DOUBT

Today, may all in this Dharma assembly, united by common karma, calm your minds and listen attentively. A treatise states: Causes and effects follow one another like shadows and echoes; through mutual response, they give rise to one another. (^[15]) This is the natural principle and is never mistaken. Yet the karmic conduct (^[16]) of sentient beings differs from person to person, and therefore their retributions are also dissimilar: some are refined and some coarse, some noble and some lowly, some wholesome and some unwholesome, with myriad distinctions.

Since such differences exist, people do not understand the causes from which they arise. Because they do not understand, doubts and delusions arise. Some say: “Those who diligently cultivate and keep the precepts purely ought to enjoy long lives; why, then, do they die young?

Butchers ought to die young; why, then, do they live long? The honest and incorruptible ought to enjoy wealth and honor; why, then, are they poor and deprived? The greedy, thieves, and robbers ought to suffer poverty and hardship; why, then, are they wealthy and live in abundance?”

Such erroneous doubts occur to everyone and are difficult to avoid. Because people do not know what they themselves have done throughout countless former kalpas, and because the seeds they have sown are not all of one kind, the results they receive today are likewise diverse.

The Prajnaparamita Sutra teaches: “If someone who reads and recites this sutra is despised and reviled by others, it is because that person committed grave karmic offenses in a previous life and deserved to fall into the unwholesome realms. Now, through being despised and reviled by others, that person’s karmic offenses from previous lives are extinguished.”

It is only because sentient beings do not wholeheartedly and deeply trust the Buddha’s teachings that doubts arise in their minds. Deluded by ignorance, which obscures their minds and intrinsic nature, sentient beings vainly give rise to such inverted doubts.

Sentient beings also do not believe that remaining within the three realms is suffering and that transcending the three realms is happiness. Those who are perpetually intoxicated by the world all regard worldly life as happiness.

Let us ask:

If worldly life were truly happiness, why would the very mind that knows happiness also know suffering?

Excessive eating and drinking immediately give rise to illness: rashes, coughing, shortness of breath, abdominal swelling, pain, and discomfort.

As for clothing, even more suffering can be seen. When it is cold and one receives a thin robe, one becomes ungrateful to the giver and entertains frivolous thoughts.

When it is hot and one receives a lined or woolen robe, one’s distress only increases. If clothing were happiness, why would it give rise to distress?

If one regards family and relatives as happiness, they ought to rejoice together forever, with their pleasure, songs, and laughter never ending. Why, then, does impermanence suddenly strike, and someone passes away in the blink of an eye? Present one moment, they are gone the next; alive in the morning and dead by evening.

Cries resound to heaven and earth, and hearts are torn asunder! Sentient beings do not even know where they came from or where they will go after death. The living weep for the departed, their hearts filled with grief.

They accompany one another in the funeral procession straight to the remote hills, join their palms in a final farewell, and part for ten thousand kalpas. How painful this is! Such things bring immeasurable grief and suffering, yet deluded and attached sentient beings regard them as happiness.

Conversely, when cultivating the causes of supramundane happiness, sentient beings regard all such practices as suffering.

When they see someone observing vegetarian fasts, sustaining the body from meal to meal on simple vegetables, not wearing silks and gauzes, but accustomed to wearing robes made from discarded cloth (^[17]) and coarse brown garments, sentient beings regard all these practices as self-mortification and hardship. They do not understand that such conduct plants the causes of liberation and sows the seeds of peace and happiness.

Or when they see someone practicing generosity, keeping the precepts, cultivating patience and diligence, performing walking meditation and prostrations, and diligently reciting and studying the scriptures, sentient beings regard it all as suffering. They do not understand that such conduct cultivates the supramundane mind in order to attain peace and happiness.

If they happen to see someone fall ill and die, they immediately give rise to doubt, saying: “That person compelled body and mind to labor excessively and never rested even briefly throughout the day. Human strength cannot endure such exertion. Had that practitioner not been so diligent and laborious, how could they have needlessly lost their life through such fruitless activity?”

Some people cling firmly to their own theories and consider themselves correct, without knowing how to trace effects back to their causes. They vainly give rise to deluded attachments and vainly commit erroneous deeds.

If they are fortunate enough to meet a virtuous spiritual friend, they may bring their delusion to an end. If, unfortunately, they encounter evil companions and heterodox teachers, their delusion becomes even more severe.

Because of doubt and delusion, they fall into the three unwholesome realms, where regret comes too late.

Today, all in this Dharma assembly, united by common karma, should clearly understand this.

Such doubts arise from immeasurable causes and conditions.

Moreover, even those cultivating to escape the cycle of rebirth in the three realms have not yet completely eliminated these seeds of doubt and delusion. How, then, could this ordinary body immediately remove them all? If we do not strive to eliminate them in this life, they will increase still further in the next.

All of us have only just begun to cultivate together, and the road ahead is still long. As we undertake ascetic practices, we should rely upon the Buddha’s teachings and cultivate in accordance with the Dharma. We should not harbor doubts or shrink from weariness and hardship.

The Buddhas and sages were able to transcend birth and death and reach the other shore of liberation because of their accumulated wholesome merit. Thus they attained the fruit of liberation, unobstructed and sovereign.

Today, we have not yet escaped birth and death; reflecting upon this, we are indeed deserving of compassion. How could we still crave continued existence in this defiled and evil world? Fortunately, our four great elements have not yet deteriorated, our five blessings remain abundant, we can come and go with ease, and we can move freely. If we do not strive to cultivate now, what are we waiting for? In previous lives we did not behold the Path. If this life also passes in vain without any realization, how shall we liberate sentient beings in future lives?

Looking into our own minds, this is truly heartbreaking. Today, everyone should encourage one another to strive in diligent cultivation. We should not say that we will cultivate only after receiving some sign of realization, for the Buddha’s path is long and cannot be completed in a single day. If we continue waiting for a sign—one day after another—when will we ever attain the fruit?

Some people today, after reciting sutras, practicing seated meditation, and diligently undertaking ascetic practices, develop a slight illness and immediately say: “This illness arose because I recited and studied too diligently and practiced austerities too intensely.” Those who speak thus do not understand themselves. Had they not practiced in this way, they might already have died prematurely. It is because cultivation generates merit and virtue that they have been able to live until today.

Furthermore, illnesses caused by imbalances of the four great elements are normal; even aging and death cannot be avoided. Once born into this world, everyone ultimately reaches the end of their allotted lifespan. If one wishes to attain the Path, one must cultivate according to the Buddha’s teachings. There is no principle by which one could attain the Path while going against the Buddha’s words.

Because sentient beings go against the Buddha’s words, they revolve through the three unwholesome realms and undergo every kind of intense suffering. If they were to cultivate unceasingly in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings, diligently advancing as though extinguishing a fire blazing upon their heads, how could they allow an entire lifetime to pass in vain without benefit? Let everyone, with one mind and utmost earnestness, bow their heads in sincere prostration like Mount Tai toppling, vowing to make prostrations on behalf of the following persons.

From the time consciousness first arose until the present day, our parents through many lives, relatives through many kalpas, preceptors, acaryas, venerable witnesses of the same ordination platform, those seated in the higher, middle, and lower places, faithful donors and benefactors, good and harmful spiritual friends, devas, immortals, the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, preside over good, and punish evil, guardians and upholders of mantras, the Dragon Kings of the five directions, dragon spirits, and the eight classes of beings throughout the ten directions, inexhaustible and without end, together with all sentient beings, take refuge in the Great Compassionate Father of the world:

Homage to Maitreya Buddha

Homage to Vipasyin Buddha

Homage to Sikhin Buddha

Homage to Visvabhu Buddha

Homage to Krakucchanda Buddha

Homage to Kanakamuni Buddha

Homage to Kasyapa Buddha

Homage to Sakyamuni Buddha

Homage to the Bodhisattva Infinite Body

Homage to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

Again, we likewise take refuge in all the Three Jewels throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space. We pray that the Three Jewels, through the power of loving-kindness and compassion, will together bestow their care and receive us; through the power of spiritual penetration, shelter and rescue us; and enable us, from this day forward until the day we attain the Way, always to manifest the four immeasurable minds (^[18]) and the six paramitas (^[19]), to attain the four unobstructed wisdoms (^[20]) and the powers of the six spiritual penetrations (^[21]), and to gain mastery in accordance with our wishes; to cultivate the bodhisattva path, enter the wisdom of the Buddhas, transform and liberate beings throughout the ten directions, and attain perfect enlightenment.

Today, all members of this Dharma assembly who share common karma should once again gather their minds well and reflect carefully:

Having together given rise to faith, we should maintain pure intentions and take this as our guiding path, allowing neither internal nor external dharmas to obstruct us.

If we do not clearly understand how something should be done, or are unable to do it ourselves, then whenever we see someone performing a meritorious and wholesome deed, we should simply encourage them, join our palms, and praise their merit. We should not give rise to an obstructive mind that causes the practitioner to lose heart.

If that person does not lose heart but continues to practice diligently as before, their work will not be diminished; only we ourselves will lose merit and vainly provoke disputes. What benefit could there be in this for us? If we do not obstruct wholesome deeds, we may be called people who accord with the Way, great persons possessing strength. If in this life we obstruct the meritorious and wholesome deeds of others, how can we penetrate the Buddha Way in a future life?

Reasoning according to principle, the harm is extremely grave. To obstruct another's roots of goodness is an exceedingly great offense.

As taught in the Sutra on Guarding the Mouth:

“There was a hungry ghost whose body was so hideous and evil that all who saw it shuddered and were terrified. Fierce flames issued from its body like a great conflagration. Maggots and worms continually crawled out of its mouth; foul-smelling blood and pus covered its entire body, and the stench it emitted was so strong that no one could approach. Its mouth spewed fire, flames burned every part of its body, and it wailed and wept as it ran everywhere.

At that time, the arhat Man Tuc asked the hungry ghost:

“‘What offense did you commit in the past that you now suffer in this way?’

“The hungry ghost replied:

“‘In the past I was once a sramana, but I was attached to material support, remained miserly and greedy, failed to uphold proper deportment, and spoke harsh and malicious words.

“‘Whenever I saw people diligently upholding the precepts, I immediately reviled them and glared at them with scorn. Relying on my wealth and power, I imagined that I would live long and never die, and thus created immeasurable fundamental evils. Recalling this today, regret is of no avail. I would rather take a sharp knife and cut out my own tongue, willingly enduring suffering from kalpa to kalpa, than utter a single word slandering another person's deeds.

“‘I beseech you to return to the human world and use my hideous and evil appearance to admonish the bhiksus and Buddhist disciples. Guard the opening of the mouth well and do not carelessly utter malicious words. Whether you see someone who upholds the precepts or someone who does not, you should still proclaim that person's virtues.

“‘I have been a hungry ghost for several thousand kalpas, enduring every kind of pain and suffering throughout each day and night. When this retribution ends, I shall enter hell.’”

When the hungry ghost had spoken these words, it cried and wailed, then cast itself to the ground like Mount Tai collapsing.

Today, all members of this Dharma assembly who share common karma, having heard this teaching from the sutra, should be deeply afraid.

Merely because of offenses of the mouth, one may bear guilt for many kalpas; how much more so when there are so many other evils? Casting off this body and receiving another, we undergo suffering entirely because of the evil karma we ourselves have created. If we had not created the cause, how could we experience the result?

Once the cause has been created, its result must certainly be repaid. Offense and merit are never far away: what we ourselves do, we ourselves must undergo, just as a shadow follows its form and can never be separated from it. What arises through ignorance is also extinguished through ignorance.

In this life and future lives, it is always so. Never has anyone seen an indulgent and indolent practitioner attain liberation. Conversely, those who diligently guard themselves and cultivate the Way gain immeasurable merit and virtue.

Today, everyone should feel shame, cleanse body and mind, and repent of former offenses. When former offenses have been exhausted and no new offenses are created, one receives the praise of all Buddhas. From this day forward, whenever we see someone performing a wholesome deed, we should not say whether it will succeed or fail, or whether it will last long or not. Even if that person practices goodness for only a single thought, a moment, an instant, a day, a month, half a year, or one year, this is already better than doing nothing.

Thus the Lotus Sutra teaches: “If a person with a distracted mind enters a stupa or temple and utters but once, ‘Homage to the Buddha,’ that person has already attained the Buddha Way.” How much more is this so for someone who brings forth a vast resolve and diligently performs meritorious and wholesome deeds? If we do not rejoice in them, the sages will regard us with great compassion.

We, disciples named . . ., reflect that from beginningless time until the present day, we must have given rise to immeasurable malicious thoughts that obstructed the good and wholesome deeds of others. How do we know this? If it were not so, why are our wholesome deeds today so often obstructed?

We are unable to practice meditation and concentration or cultivate wisdom and knowledge. As soon as we begin to bow in homage, we say that it is too painful. As soon as we pick up a sutra, we become weary of it.

Throughout the day, we delight only in laboring to create evil karma, preventing this body from attaining liberation. Like silkworms spinning cocoons, we bind and fetter ourselves; like mayflies entering a flame, we scorch and burn ourselves. Such obstructions are immeasurable and boundless: they obstruct the bodhicitta, the bodhi vow, and the bodhi conduct.

All such obstructions arise from malicious thoughts and from slandering the wholesome deeds of others. Only now have we awakened to this. Filled with shame, we bow our heads and repent of these offenses.

We pray that all Buddhas and great bodhisattvas, with loving-kindness and compassion, will together bestow their spiritual power so that all the offenses repented of by the disciples named . . . may be eliminated and all acts of repentance may become pure. May immeasurable obstructions and immeasurable karmic offenses all be completely purified through this repentance.

Let everyone, with one mind and profound earnestness, prostrate with all five limbs touching the ground and take refuge in the Great Compassionate Father of the world:

Homage to Maitreya Buddha

Homage to Sakyamuni Buddha

Homage to Good Virtue Buddha

Homage to Sorrowless Virtue Buddha

Homage to Sandalwood Virtue Buddha

Homage to Precious Giving Buddha

Homage to Immeasurable Light Buddha

Homage to Flower Virtue Buddha

Homage to Reflection Virtue Buddha

Homage to Three-Vehicle Practice Buddha

Homage to Vast Multitude Virtue Buddha

Homage to Radiant Virtue Buddha

Homage to Lion's Play Bodhisattva

Homage to Lion's Vigorous Advance Bodhisattva

Homage to the Bodhisattva Infinite Body

Homage to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

Again, we pray to take refuge in all the Three Jewels throughout the ten directions to the limits of empty space.

(Together kneel with palms joined, contemplate, and recite):

We, your disciples, named . . . from beginningless time until this day, have not yet been able to attain the Way. Having received this retributive body, we have clung to the four kinds of offerings and have never relinquished them. Greed, anger, and jealousy—the three poisons blazing fiercely—have produced all manner of evil karma.

Seeing others practice generosity and uphold the precepts, while unable to do so ourselves, we have failed to rejoice in their merit. Seeing others practice patience and diligence, while unable to do so ourselves, we have failed to rejoice in their merit. Seeing others sit in meditation and cultivate the karma of wisdom, while unable to do so ourselves, we have failed to rejoice in their merit.

Such offenses are immeasurable and boundless. Today we repent of them and pray that they may be eradicated.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until this day, when seeing others perform wholesome deeds and cultivate merit and virtue, we have failed to rejoice in their merit. Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, throughout these four deportments we have known no shame, have not reflected upon impermanence, and have not understood that after relinquishing this body we must enter the hells.

We have given rise to evil thoughts concerning the physical forms of others. We have obstructed those who built and made offerings to the Three Jewels, and obstructed those who cultivated every kind of merit and virtue.

Such karmic offenses and obstructions are immeasurable and boundless. Today we repent of them and pray that they may be eradicated.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until this day, we have not believed that the Three Jewels are the refuge. We have obstructed those who left the household life, obstructed those who upheld the precepts, obstructed those who practiced generosity, obstructed those who practiced patience, obstructed those who practiced diligence, obstructed those who sat in meditation, obstructed those who recited sutras, obstructed those who prepared vegetarian offerings, obstructed those who made sacred images, obstructed those who made offerings, obstructed those who practiced austerities, and obstructed those who practiced the Way.

We have even obstructed the slightest wholesome deed performed by others. We have not believed that leaving the household life is the Dharma of detachment; have not believed that patience is the practice of peace and bliss; have not understood that equality is the path to bodhi; and have not understood that freedom from deluded thoughts is the supramundane mind. Because of these offenses, wherever we are born today, we encounter many obstructions.

Such karmic offenses and obstructions are immeasurable and boundless; only the Buddhas and great bodhisattvas can see and know them all.

According to what the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have seen and known concerning the greater or lesser measure of our offenses, today, filled with shame, we reveal and repent of them. We pray that all causes of offense and all painful results may be eradicated. From this day forward until the day we attain the Way, may we cultivate the bodhisattva path without ever becoming weary. May our giving of material wealth and giving of Dharma be inexhaustible and without end. May we accomplish all things through wisdom and skillful means. May all who see or hear us attain liberation.

Together, with utmost sincerity, we bow our heads in homage, prostrate with all five limbs touching the ground, and pray that all Buddhas throughout the ten directions, all great bodhisattvas, and all sages and holy ones will compassionately bestow their spiritual power together, enabling all beings in the six realms, through the power of this repentance, to eliminate all offenses and suffering, leave behind all conditions of delusion and inversion, give rise to no evil thoughts, relinquish the karma of the four evil destinies (^[22]), develop wisdom, and cultivate the path to bodhi without ceasing or resting; may their practices and vows swiftly be perfected, may they quickly ascend to the Ten Grounds, enter the vajra mind, and attain complete and perfect enlightenment.

CHAPTER THREE

REPENTANCE

Today, let all members of the assembly who share common karma in this Dharma assembly listen attentively to the following teaching from the sutras:

“So long as one remains an ordinary being, it is called bondage. Once one has realized the fruition of a sage, it is called liberation.”

Bondage is the evil result of violent actions committed through the three evil karmas. Liberation is the wholesome recompense of unobstructed freedom produced through the three wholesome karmas.

All sages set their minds upon the path of liberation. Through spiritual powers, wisdom, and immeasurable Dharma gates, they see all the wholesome and unwholesome karmic retributions of every sentient being.

They can manifest immeasurable bodies from a single body and immeasurable forms from a single form. They can shorten an eon into a single day and lengthen a single day into an eon. If they wish to sustain their lifespans, they never enter cessation; if they wish to manifest impermanence, they enter nirvana. With spiritual powers and wisdom, they enter and depart in perfect freedom, fly wherever they wish, and sit or lie down in empty space. They walk and stand upon water as though upon dry land, encountering no danger. They take tranquil, perfect, quiescent nirvana as their resting place; penetrate the myriad dharmas; clearly understand existence and nonexistence; perfect eloquence; and possess unobstructed wisdom.

These wholesome qualities do not arise from evil karma, nor do they arise from greed, anger, or jealousy. They do not arise from ignorance or wrong views; they do not arise from laziness; and they do not arise from arrogance, conceit, or self-importance. These wholesome qualities arise solely from being vigilant and refraining from evil; they all arise from wholesome karma.

Nowhere is there anyone who cultivates wholesome karma and follows the Buddha’s teaching yet incurs evil retribution—poverty, ugliness, disability, illness, loss of freedom, lowly status, contempt from others, or speech that no one ever trusts or heeds.

I now offer my own body as witness to this (the author’s words). If anyone follows the Buddha’s teaching, cultivates merit and virtue, and neither acts selfishly nor harms others, yet receives evil retribution, then I would rather fall into the Avici Hell and endure its agony than allow that person who performs wholesome deeds to suffer evil retribution, for that would be contrary to reason.

Today, if the members of the assembly who share common karma in this Dharma assembly wish to leave behind the ordinary state and become sages, they should follow the Buddha’s teaching and practice in accordance with the principle. They should not shrink from a minor hardship and give rise to laziness, but should exert themselves and diligently repent until their offenses are extinguished.

In the sutras, the Buddha taught: “Offenses that arise through causes and conditions are also extinguished through causes and conditions.”

So long as we retain the body of an ordinary being, encounters with external conditions cause delusion to arise in the mind. Therefore, apart from the method of repentance, there is no better method by which to seek liberation.

Today, all members of the assembly must together give rise to a courageous and vigorous mind and bring forth the resolve to repent.

The power of the Dharma of repentance is inconceivable. How do we know this? King Ajatashatru committed the grave offense of the five rebellious acts (^[23]); but afterward, because he gave rise to shame, reproached himself, and repented, his grave offense was made light.

Moreover, this Dharma of repentance brings peace and joy to those who practice it. If anyone personally establishes a regular schedule, exerts themselves wholeheartedly, bows their head in prostration, repents, and takes refuge until they become completely purified, it is impossible that they should fail to move the Buddhas of the ten directions.

Evil karma and its retribution follow one another and mutually exert their influence without the slightest error. Therefore, we must be deeply fearful and earnestly endure hardship in order to repent.

Everyone should single-mindedly and earnestly cast themselves to the ground as though Mount Tai were collapsing, contemplate these words in their hearts, and speak them aloud, thereby beseeching the Buddhas of the ten directions to regard us with compassionate concern:

We pray that the Buddhas will rescue us from suffering and distress, and with great compassion shelter all beings everywhere. May they emit pure light that illuminates the ten directions, dispelling all confusion and removing the darkness of ignorance. May they be mindful of us and of all sentient beings who have fallen into and are suffering in the hells. We pray that the Buddhas will come here and rescue us, bestowing happiness upon us so that we may escape suffering.

With one mind, we bow our heads in homage to the Great Compassionate One, who, upon hearing our cries, immediately rescues us from suffering. We now single-mindedly take refuge in the Great Compassionate Father of the World.

Namo Maitreya Buddha

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha

Namo Indestructible Vajra Buddha

Namo Jewel Light Buddha

Namo Dragon-Honored King Buddha

Namo Army of Diligence Buddha

Namo Joy of Diligence Buddha

Namo Jewel Flame Buddha

Namo Jewel Moonlight Buddha

Namo Manifest Freedom from Ignorance Buddha

Namo Jewel Moon Buddha.

Namo Stainless Buddha

Namo Free from Defilement Buddha

Namo Lion Banner Bodhisattva

Homage to Lion's Roar Bodhisattva

Homage to Boundless Body Bodhisattva

Homage to Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva

Thus again we take refuge in all the Three Jewels throughout the ten directions to the utmost reaches of empty space. We pray that the Three Jewels will assuredly come here and rescue us, who are tormented and made to suffer by greed, hatred, and delusion. May we attain peace and happiness and attain great nirvana. We pray that the water of great compassion may wash away our transgressions, purify us, and enable us swiftly to realize the fruit of bodhi. Among the four kinds of beings within the six realms, if any being is burdened by transgressions, may all, through the Three Jewels, attain purity; may all accomplish the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi, attain perfect enlightenment, and be completely liberated.

Let the entire assembly, united in earnest single-mindedness, bow their heads in reverence, while thinking and reciting these words:

We, your disciples named . . . from beginningless time until this day, have had our mind-nature obscured by ignorance and have been bound by defiled attachment. Thus our spirits have fallen into the net of delusion, wandering through the three realms and throughout the six paths, submerged in the ocean of suffering with no day of escape. We have been unable to know our own karma from previous lives or understand the causes and conditions of the past. We may have destroyed our own lives and the lives of others. We ourselves have violated pure conduct and caused others to violate pure conduct. We ourselves have broken the pure precepts and caused others to break the pure precepts.

Such evil transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today, with shame and remorse, we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again prostrate ourselves with utmost sincerity, our heads touching the ground, and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless time until this day through the ten evil karmas of body, speech, and mind.

With the body, we killed, stole, and engaged in sexual misconduct; with the mouth, we spoke falsely, spoke frivolously and ornately, spoke divisively, and spoke harshly; with the mind, we harbored greed, hatred, and delusion. We ourselves committed the ten evils, taught others to commit the ten evils, and praised those who committed the ten evils. Thus, in a single instant, within a single thought, forty evils arose.

Such transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again prostrate ourselves with utmost sincerity, our heads touching the ground, and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless time until this day.

Relying upon the six faculties, we produced the six consciousnesses and grasped the six sense objects. The eyes were captivated by forms, the ears delighted in sounds, the nose was attached to fragrances, the tongue delighted in flavors, the body delighted in smoothness and softness, and the mind delighted in mental objects. The six faculties gave rise to countless evil karmas, opening the gates to the eighty-four thousand defilements. Such evil transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again bow with utmost sincerity and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless time until this day through the many inequities created by body, speech, and mind: knowing only our own bodies and not the bodies of others; knowing only our own suffering and not the suffering of others; knowing only that we ourselves seek peace and happiness and not that others also seek peace and happiness; knowing only that we ourselves seek liberation and not that others also seek liberation.

We knew only our own families and kindred and did not recognize the families and kindred of others. When our own bodies itched slightly or ached slightly, we could not endure it; yet when we caused pain to the bodies of others, we feared that they did not hurt enough, suffered too little, or did not feel it deeply enough. We knew only to fear a little suffering in the present life, but did not know to fear the suffering of measureless kalpas in future lives.

Because those who commit evil must, after death, fall into the hells and undergo every kind of torment, we should fear as well the measureless suffering in the realm of hungry ghosts, the animal realm, and the asura realm, yet we did not know to fear it.

The human and heavenly realms also contain measureless suffering, yet we were unaware of it. Solely because our minds lacked impartiality, discriminated between self and others, and conceived thoughts of enemies and loved ones, we caused enmity and resentment to pervade the six realms.

Such transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again bow with utmost sincerity and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless time until this day. Because our minds were inverted, we constantly distanced ourselves from good friends and spiritual teachers and drew near to evil companions. We turned against the Noble Eightfold Path and cultivated the eightfold wrong path. We called what was contrary to the Dharma the true Dharma and called the true Dharma contrary to the Dharma; we called what was unwholesome wholesome and what was wholesome unwholesome. We raised the banner of arrogance, spread the sails of delusion, and followed the current of ignorance into the ocean of birth and death.

Such transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again bow with utmost sincerity and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless time until this day. Because of greed, hatred, and delusion, we gave rise to the four inverted views (^[24]), committed the five heinous offenses, and performed all ten evils. The three poisons blazed fiercely, and the eight sufferings multiplied.

We planted the seeds of the eight cold and eight hot hells; planted the seeds of the 84,000 partitioned hells; planted the seeds of birth as animals; planted the seeds of birth as hungry ghosts; and planted the seeds of birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress in the heavenly and human realms. Thus we incurred painful karmic retributions that cannot be fully recounted, endured, witnessed, or heard.

Such evil transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again bow with utmost sincerity and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless kalpas until this day. Because the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion operated within the three realms and throughout the twenty-five forms of existence (^[25]), we gave rise to evil transgressions everywhere and, carried along by the winds of karma, . . . remained unaware of them.

We may have obstructed others from keeping the precepts, cultivating meditative concentration, cultivating wisdom, cultivating meritorious virtues, or cultivating supernormal powers. Such obstructive transgressions are measureless and boundless. They obstructed the mind of bodhi, the vows of bodhi, and the practices of bodhi.

Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples named . . . again bow with utmost sincerity and pray to repent of the transgressions committed from beginningless kalpas until this day. Because of minds filled with greed, hatred, and delusion, we activated the six consciousnesses (^[26]), pursued the six sense objects (^[27]), and committed transgressions against sentient beings. We may have committed transgressions in relation to sentient beings; committed transgressions in relation to nonsentient things; committed transgressions against those who are free from outflows (^[28]); or committed transgressions against the undefiled Dharma (^[29]).

Such evil transgressions are measureless and boundless. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

Furthermore, because of our deluded minds, we engaged in inverted practices, trusted false teachers, accepted the doctrines of erroneous teachings, clung to annihilationism (^[30]), clung to eternalism (^[31]), clung to the self (^[32]), and clung to views (^[33]). Acting in accordance with delusion, we gave rise to measureless transgressions.

These causes and conditions obstructed the mind of bodhi, the vows of bodhi, and the practices of bodhi. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples, named . . . again bow down with utmost sincerity and beseech repentance for all offenses committed from beginningless kalpas until this day: the three evil karmas of the body, the four evil karmas of speech, the three evil karmas of the mind, the afflictions of the abiding ground of beginningless ignorance, the afflictions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, the superior afflictions of cessation, the superior afflictions of contemplation, the afflictions of the four abiding grounds, the three poisons (^[34]), the four graspings (^[35]), the five hindrances (^[36]), the six sensations (^[37]), the seven outflows (^[38]), the eight defilements (^[39]), the nine fetters (^[40]), and the ten tempters (^[41]).

These afflictions are immeasurable and boundless; they obstruct the bodhi mind, the bodhi vow, and the bodhi conduct. Today we repent of them and pray that they may be eradicated. We, your disciples, named . . . again bow down with utmost sincerity and beseech repentance for all offenses committed from beginningless kalpas until this day: failing to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion, failing to cultivate sympathetic joy and equanimity, failing to cultivate generosity, failing to cultivate moral discipline, failing to cultivate patience, failing to cultivate diligence, failing to cultivate meditative concentration, failing to cultivate wisdom, and failing to cultivate all the practices that assist bodhi.

For this reason, we have lacked skillful means and wisdom, thereby obstructing the bodhi mind, the bodhi vow, and the bodhi conduct. Today we repent and pray that these obstructions may be eradicated.

We, your disciples, named . . . again bow down with utmost sincerity and beseech repentance for all offenses committed from beginningless kalpas until this day. Because of our sinful karma, we have continually revolved within the three realms, passed through all six paths, and assumed bodies born in the four modes of birth—whether male, female, or neither male nor female—everywhere committing immeasurable offenses. At times, as beings with enormous bodies, we devoured one another; at other times, as beings with tiny bodies, we devoured one another. Such offenses of killing are immeasurable and boundless; they obstruct the bodhi mind, the bodhi vow, and the bodhi conduct. Today we repent and pray that they may be eradicated.

We, your disciples, named . . . again bow down with utmost sincerity and beseech repentance for all offenses committed from the time consciousness first arose until this day, while passing through the six paths and assuming bodies born in the four modes of birth. Within these four modes of birth, we have committed immeasurable and boundless evil deeds.

Such evil deeds can be fully seen and fully known only by all the Buddhas and great bodhisattvas of the ten directions. The measure of these offenses—whether many or few, light or grave—is just as the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have seen and known. Today, with utmost sincerity, we bow our heads in homage and, filled with shame and remorse, beseech repentance.

May all the offenses we have committed be utterly extinguished; as for offenses not yet committed, we dare not commit them.

Today we pray that all the Buddhas of the ten directions, moved by great loving-kindness, will permit us, your disciples, named . . . to repent with sincere hearts. We pray that they will wash away our offenses and transgressions with the water of great compassion, so that we may become entirely pure and proceed directly to the bodhimanda, never again encountering obstruction.

We further pray that all the Buddhas of the ten directions, through their inconceivable power, the power of their original vows, the power to liberate sentient beings, and the power to protect and sustain sentient beings, will enable us, your disciples, named . . . today to make solemn vows and arouse the bodhi mind.

From this day forward until the day we attain Buddhahood, may our resolve for the Path be firmly established, and may we never again fall back or descend into the lower realms.

May our solemn vows be the same as the solemn vows practiced and fulfilled by the Buddhas and great bodhisattvas. We pray that all the Buddhas and great bodhisattvas of the ten directions will together extend their compassion and gather in and accept us, named . . . so that we may attain all that we vow and fulfill our bodhi vows. May all sentient beings likewise attain all that they vow and fulfill their bodhi vows.

VOLUME ONE

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