慈悲水懺法

Because all Buddhas compassionately pity sentient beings, they taught the Water Repentance Dharma of the bodhimaṇḍa. Today, we offer our entire bodies and lives and turn toward all the Buddhas.

Homage to Vairocana Buddha.

Homage to the Fundamental Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha.

Homage to Amitābha Buddha.

Homage to Maitreya Buddha.

Homage to the Buddha Supreme Venerable King of the Nāga Lineage.

Homage to the Buddha King Sovereign in the Samādhi of the Flower of Enlightenment.

Homage to the Buddha Banner of the Kāṣāya.

Homage to the Buddha Lion’s Roar.

Homage to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.

Homage to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

Homage to the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta.

Homage to the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.

Homage to the bodhisattva Great Adornment.

Homage to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

Having bowed to the Buddhas, we next continue our repentance.

Above, we repented of the three karmas of the body and the four karmas of speech. We now repent of all karmic obstacles committed against the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

The Buddhist scriptures teach: “A human body is difficult to obtain; the Buddhadharma is difficult to hear; the Sangha is difficult to encounter; faith is difficult to arouse; complete possession of the six faculties is difficult to obtain; and a good spiritual friend is difficult to meet.” Today, because we planted many wholesome roots in past lives, we have obtained human bodies, possess all six faculties, have met good spiritual friends, and have heard the true Dharma. If at this time we do not practice diligently and wholeheartedly, we will surely sink afterward into myriad sufferings, with no knowledge of when we might escape. Therefore, today we sincerely implore repentance.

From beginningless time until now, we...................... have continually had our minds and inherent nature obscured by ignorance and our consciousness obstructed by afflictions. On seeing images of the Buddha, we have failed to show wholehearted reverence; we have despised the Sangha, harmed good spiritual friends, demolished stupas, destroyed monasteries, and burned scriptures and images, thereby damaging Buddhist scriptures.

We may have lived in fine houses while placing images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas in lowly, filthy places, exposed to smoke, scorching sun, wind, and driving rain, covered with dust, and gnawed by birds and rats. We may have enshrined them in sleeping quarters without ever paying homage; stood bare-bodied before Buddha images without arranging our garments solemnly and properly; or covered lamps, shut monastery doors, and obstructed the radiance illuminating the Buddha’s place.

For offenses such as these, today we sincerely repent.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until now, with regard to the Buddha’s Dharma, we have handled scripture volumes with dirty hands. While reading or reciting them, we may have spoken vulgar and improper words; placed scriptures at the head of a bed or sat upon them without reverence; kept them in chests and cases where worms ate and ruined them; rolled them up so that pages fell loose, were lost or damaged, and their sequence and classification became confused; or dragged them so that they caught and tore, damaging paper and text. We ourselves neither cultivated nor studied them and refused to circulate and transmit them. For offenses such as these, today we sincerely repent.

Furthermore, we have lain stretched out while listening to scriptures or reclined on our backs while reciting and reading them. We may have spoken and laughed loudly, disturbing those listening to the Dharma; misinterpreted the Buddha’s teachings and expressed meanings contrary to the intent of the sages; called what was not true Dharma true Dharma, and called true Dharma not true Dharma; declared a non-offense an offense and an offense a non-offense; called a light offense grave and a grave offense light.

In copying scriptures, we may have placed an earlier passage later and a later passage earlier; put passages from the beginning or end in the middle, or put passages from the middle at the beginning or end. We may have embellished the language of Buddhist scriptures to make books of our own; taught the Dharma for fame, profit, offerings, and reverence; debated meanings without concern for the Dharma, merely wishing to find faults in Dharma teachers; sought the Dharma not to increase understanding or attain transcendence, but only to make unreasonable accusations; disparaged the Buddha’s words and honored heterodox teachings; slandered the Mahāyāna and praised the Śrāvaka Vehicle.

Offenses such as these are measureless and boundless; today we repent of them all.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until now, we have created various karmic obstacles against the Sangha: killing arhats, disrupting the harmony of the Sangha, harming those who aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, severing the lineage of the Buddhas, and preventing the noble path from spreading. We may have stripped and wounded practitioners; interrogated śramaṇas; beaten, persecuted, and reviled them with coarse abuse; corrupted their pure observance of the precepts and caused them to lose all dignified conduct; urged others to abandon the Noble Eightfold Path; upheld and practiced the five heterodox methods; or disguised ourselves as monastics, stolen property belonging to the permanent Sangha, and spent it on personal affairs.

For offenses such as these, today we sincerely repent.

We may have appeared bare-bodied or in flimsy garments abruptly before Buddhist scriptures; entered Buddha halls wearing dirty shoes and stepped upon Buddha stupas; worn wooden clogs into monasteries; coughed up phlegm and spat in meditation halls, defiling the places where the Buddha and Sangha dwelt; or driven carts and ridden horses recklessly through monasteries and vihāras. The offenses we have committed against the Three Jewels are truly measureless and boundless. Today, with utmost sincerity, we turn toward the Buddhas of the ten directions, the honored Dharma, and the noble assembly and implore repentance.

Through the merit of this repentance, may we, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, always encounter the Three Jewels, revere and honor them, and never grow weary. May we possess fine brocades and silks, precious jeweled necklaces, hundreds of thousands of musical offerings, famous incenses, fresh and excellent flowers and fruits, and every possession in the world with which to make offerings. Whenever anyone is about to attain Buddhahood, may we go before that one and entreat the opening of the gate of amṛta to liberate sentient beings.

Whenever a Buddha is about to enter nirvana, may we present a final offering. As for the Sangha, may we practice the six principles of harmony and respect, attain the power of mastery, restore the Three Jewels, propagate the Buddhist path above, and transform and liberate sentient beings below.

We have repented of the grave and light offenses committed against the Three Jewels. We now repent in order of all remaining offenses. The scriptures state: “Two kinds of people are courageous: those who do not commit offenses themselves, and those who, having committed offenses, know to regret and repent of them.” There are also two purifying practices capable of enabling sentient beings to eliminate all obstacles: the first is knowing moral shame and refraining from evil oneself; the second is knowing moral dread and therefore not inciting others to do evil. Only one who possesses such shame and dread is called human; one who knows neither is no different from a beast. Therefore, today we sincerely take refuge in the Buddha and implore repentance according to the Dharma.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until now, because of superstitious belief in heterodox views, we have killed sentient beings as sacrifices to ghosts and spirits, demons and specters, seeking long life yet never obtaining it. Or we have falsely claimed to see ghosts and demons and pretended to be divine beings in order to deceive others. For offenses such as these, today we repent of them all.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until now, we may have acted insolently and been proud and arrogant; relied upon noble birth to despise others; relied upon our exalted status to scorn the lowly; relied upon strength to oppress the weak; or, after drinking alcohol, caused quarrels and fights without regard for whether people were close or distant kin, remaining drunk all day and recognizing neither rank nor proper order. For offenses such as these, today we repent.

Furthermore, we may have indulged immoderately in food and drink; eaten raw meat or raw fish; or consumed the five pungent plants, whose foul odors rose and defiled scriptures and images and drove away practitioners who purely observed the precepts. We have let our minds run wild, distanced ourselves from good people, and associated with evil companions. For offenses such as these, today we repent of them all. We have also been haughty, devised falsehoods, forced others to follow us, and grown ever more obstinate, believing ourselves superior. We have stubbornly opposed others without regard for human feeling, considered ourselves right and others wrong, and frequently placed hope in chance and fortune. For offenses such as these, today we repent.

When dealing with wealth, we have refused to yield, lacked integrity and shame, traded in alcohol and meat, and deceived living people. We may have lent at excessive interest, calculating it by the day and hour and accumulating wealth harshly and relentlessly, craving without satisfaction. We have enjoyed offerings without shame or, lacking the virtue of precepts, improperly accepted the gifts of the faithful. For offenses such as these, today we repent of them all.

We have beaten servants and ordered children to perform heavy labor, giving no thought to their hunger, thirst, cold, or heat. Or we have destroyed bridges and culverts, obstructing travel. For offenses such as these, today we repent of them all.

Furthermore, we have allowed our minds to become heedless, unruly, and distracted, spending our time only on games of chance and chess. We may have gathered in groups and cliques to eat meat and drink alcohol, exchanging cup after cup and stirring one another into disorder; spoken idly or constantly discussed the affairs of the world, letting days pass uselessly year after year. During the three periods of each night, we have neither recited scriptures nor practiced meditation, but have been lazy and negligent, lying stretched out.

Throughout the day, we have failed to contemplate the six objects of mindfulness. Seeing others surpass us in some undertaking, we have grown jealous, harbored malice, and aroused every kind of affliction, allowing the whirlwind of sensual desire to blow upon the firewood of our offenses so that it burned ceaselessly, consuming the slight goodness of our three karmas. When these wholesome dharmas are exhausted, we become extreme icchantikas and fall into the great hells, with no appointed time of release.

Therefore, today we bow our heads toward the Three Jewels of the ten directions and repent of everything.

For all offenses from the past until now—whether light or grave, coarse or subtle; whether committed by ourselves, ordered to be committed by others, rejoiced in upon seeing others commit them, or forced upon others through our power; even offenses of praising those who do evil—today we sincerely repent of them all.

Through the merit of repenting of these evil offenses, may we, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, be gentle and compassionate, loyal and filial, humble, forbearing, and aware of integrity and shame. May we greet others first, conduct ourselves properly, be pure, benevolent, and righteous, and yield to others. May we distance ourselves from evil companions, always encounter wholesome conditions, restrain our six faculties, guard our three karmas, patiently endure hardship, and never retreat in mind. May we resolve to practice until we attain the path and never betray sentient beings.

Having made these vows, we offer our entire bodies and lives and reverently bow to the Buddhas.

Homage to Vairocana Buddha.

Homage to the Fundamental Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha.

Homage to Amitābha Buddha.

Homage to Maitreya Buddha.

Homage to the Buddha Supreme Venerable King of the Nāga Lineage.

Homage to the Buddha King Sovereign in the Samādhi of the Flower of Enlightenment.

Homage to the Buddha Banner of the Kāṣāya.

Homage to the Buddha Lion’s Roar.

Homage to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.

Homage to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

Homage to the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta.

Homage to the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.

Homage to the bodhisattva Great Adornment.

Homage to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

Previously, we repented of the obstacles of afflictions and the obstacles of karma. We now set forth in order the remaining obstacles of retribution and repent of them all.

The scriptures state: “When karmic retribution arrives, neither in the sky, nor in the sea, nor in mountain caves is there any place where one may escape it. Only through the power of repentance can it be eliminated.” How do we know this? When Śakra Devānām Indra saw the five signs of decline appear, fear arose in his heart and he sincerely took refuge in the Three Jewels. Those five inauspicious signs immediately vanished, and his lifespan was extended. The scriptures contain many such accounts, not merely one. Thus we know that repentance can eliminate calamities.

Yet if ordinary beings do not meet good spiritual friends to guide them, there is no deed they will not commit. When they are about to die and the dreadful scenes of hell appear before their eyes, only then do they regret and fear. Alas! Having failed to cultivate goodness before, how can repentance on the final day still avail them? Blessings or calamities were planted by themselves in the past. Now they proceed directly into hell, going alone to fall into cauldrons of boiling oil, their bodies and minds shattered and their spirits tormented. At that time, even if they wish to make one bow or utter one phrase of repentance, the opportunity is no longer easily obtained.

Therefore, everyone should refrain from relying upon youth, strength, wealth, or power and becoming lazy, negligent, and self-indulgent. Once the suffering of death arrives, all distinctions of old and young, poor and rich, noble and lowly vanish. The ghost of impermanence comes suddenly and gives no advance warning.

Human life is impermanent, like a drop of morning dew. Though an outward breath is present, there is no certainty that the inward breath will follow. Why, then, do we not repent?

If the messengers of the five heavens or rākṣasa ghosts suddenly arrive, no matter how young and strong one may be, escape is impossible. At that time, fine houses and lofty mansions are of no benefit; excellent carriages and swift horses cannot be taken along; wives, children, and relatives are no longer one’s intimates; and the seven precious treasures are left for others to enjoy. From this we see that worldly rewards are false and unreliable.

Although the heavens are truly pleasurable, that pleasure will ultimately dissolve. When the celestial lifespan ends, one must still fall into the three evil destinies. Therefore, the Buddha told Sudatta: “Your teacher Udraka Rāmaputra was sharp-witted and intelligent.

He subdued his afflictions and reached the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception, yet after his life ended he still fell into the animal realm and became a flying fox—how much more so other people?” Thus we know that until the noble fruit is attained, one continues revolving through the evil destinies. If we are not careful, one day our own bodies will suddenly undergo such suffering; it would truly be a cause for regret.

Consider how, today, when an offense brings someone before the authorities, this is only a minor suffering, yet the person’s mind is already terrified and the family is frightened and seeks rescue in a hundred ways. The sufferings of hell are hundreds of millions of thousands of times greater and cannot be compared with it.

Together, throughout countless kalpas, we have amassed offenses as high as Mount Sumeru. Hearing this, how could we remain calm, without fear or terror, and later incur such sufferings? How grievous that would be! Therefore, today we sincerely implore repentance.

Furthermore, from beginningless time until now, we……………………. have incurred many obstacles of retribution, the gravest of which is the Avīci hell. As clearly taught in the scriptures, we shall now briefly describe the appearance of Avīci hell.

Around the hell are seven layers of iron walls. Seven layers of iron netting completely cover it above, and beneath are seven tiers of sharp blades, dense as a forest, together with innumerable fierce flames that burn without cease. The length and breadth of this hell are eighty-four thousand yojanas.

It is filled with offenders, yet owing to the conditions of their sinful karma, they do not obstruct one another. Fire descends from above, fire rises from below, and it spreads throughout the four directions—east, west, south, and north. Those suffering in this hell are like fish fried in a pan, their oil and fat flowing out.

At the four gates of the walls are four bronze dogs, each body four thousand yojanas in length and breadth, with long fangs, sharp claws, and eyes bright as lightning. There are also innumerable iron-beaked birds that beat their wings, fly up, and peck and tear the flesh of offenders. The ox-headed infernal wardens resemble rākṣasas.

They have nine tails like iron tridents and nine heads. Upon their heads are eighteen horns, each horn bearing sixty-four eyes. From every eye issues scorching heat that burns the offenders.

Whenever they become enraged, they roar with a sound like thunder. There are also innumerable wheels of blades that fly down from the sky, bore into the crowns of offenders’ heads, and spin all the way through their bodies before emerging from their feet. The pain penetrates their bones and marrow and torments their hearts and livers.

They undergo this for an unknowable number of years, unable to obtain life and unable to obtain death. Ashamed of such karmic retributions, today we bow our heads and implore repentance.

Next, we repent of the karmic retributions whereby our heads and bodies are severed and scattered in the hells of blade mountains and sword trees; whereby we are scorched and roasted in the hells of boiling cauldrons and charcoal furnaces. We repent of the offenses whereby we are burned upon iron beds and bronze pillars in the hells; the karmic retributions whereby we are crushed, ground, cut, and cleaved in the hells of blade carts and flaming carts; and the karmic retributions whereby our tongues are pulled out and plowed by oxen.

We repent of the karmic retributions whereby our five viscera are burned away in the hells as we swallow red-hot iron balls and drink molten copper; the karmic retributions whereby our flesh and bones are shattered in the hells of iron pillars; and the karmic retributions whereby skin, flesh, bones, and marrow fall away in pieces in the hells where bodies are wound with burning iron cords. We repent of the offenses whereby we are torn apart and suffocated in rivers of ashes and excrement; the offenses whereby our skin freezes and splits in hells of salty water and solid ice; the karmic retributions whereby beings maul one another in the hells of wolves, iron birds, and hunting dogs;

and the karmic retributions whereby beings stab, slash, claw, and tear one another in the hells of weapons and talons.

We repent of the karmic retributions whereby we are roasted in fiery pits; the karmic retributions whereby our bodies are pulverized between two crushing rocks; the karmic retributions whereby we are flayed as rocky mountains press inward from all sides; the offenses whereby we are chopped apart in the hells of dark mountains of flesh; the offenses whereby we are severed by saws and spikes; and the offenses whereby we are cut open while hanging upside down from iron staffs.

We repent of the tormented karmic retributions of the burning and wailing hells; the karmic retributions whereby we endure a long, dark night without the light of sun, moon, or stars between the greater and lesser Iron Encircling Mountains; and the offenses punished in the Arbuda hell, the Nirarbuda hell, the Aṭaṭa hell, and the Hahava hell. Associated with all such hot and cold hells are eighty-four thousand subsidiary compartmental hells.

The painful sufferings there include being fried and boiled, flayed and stripped of flesh, having one’s bones split and marrow smashed, and one’s intestines drawn out and lungs compressed. The many other sufferings can neither be borne in hearing nor expressed in words. Homage to the Buddha! Those now falling into such places may be our parents or relatives from beginningless kalpas. After we die, we too may fall into such hells.

Today, we cleanse our defiled minds, bow our heads toward the Buddhas of the ten directions and the great bodhisattvas, and implore repentance, so that all those karmic retributions may be eliminated.

Through the merit of repenting of karmic retributions in the hells, may we break apart the iron walls of Avīci and transform it into a Pure Land. May even the name “evil destiny” cease to exist. May all the pain and terror of the hells become conditions of joy; may mountains of blades and forests of swords become jeweled groves; may fiery furnaces and boiling cauldrons become lotus flowers; and may the ox-headed infernal wardens abandon brutality, arouse loving-kindness and compassion, and no longer harbor evil thoughts. May sentient beings in the hell realm escape the fruit of suffering, create no further evil causes, enjoy peace and happiness like those in the Third Dhyāna Heaven, and simultaneously arouse the aspiration for unsurpassed enlightenment.

Having completed our repentance and vows, we wholeheartedly bow to the eternally abiding Three Jewels.

Homage to Vairocana Buddha.

Homage to the Fundamental Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha.

Homage to Amitābha Buddha.

Homage to Maitreya Buddha.

Homage to the Buddha Supreme Venerable King of the Nāga Lineage.

Homage to the Buddha King Sovereign in the Samādhi of the Flower of Enlightenment.

Homage to the Buddha Banner of the Kāṣāya.

Homage to the Buddha Lion’s Roar.

Homage to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.

Homage to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

Homage to the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta.

Homage to the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.

Homage to the bodhisattva Great Adornment.

Homage to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

Having bowed to the Buddhas, we next continue our repentance.

Previously, we repented of karmic retributions in the hells. We now repent of evil karmic retributions in the three evil destinies. The Buddhist scriptures state: “Because people have many desires and greedily seek gain and offerings, their suffering and distress are also great.” One who knows contentment is happy even when lying upon the ground; one who does not know contentment remains dissatisfied even in heaven.

When people in the world suddenly encounter an urgent calamity, they commonly abandon all their property, regardless of how much or little it may be. Yet they do not understand that when this body falls into the abyss of the three evil destinies, if a single breath fails to return, they must fall. If a wise person should advise them to perform meritorious deeds and store up wholesome dharmas for future lives, they stubbornly cling to stinginess and refuse to act according to what is right.

How foolish and deluded such people truly are! Why? The Buddhist scriptures state: “At birth, one does not bring a single coin; at death, one cannot carry a single coin away.” People in the world labor painfully to amass wealth, only increasing their worry and distress.

It brings them no benefit, and others enjoy it all. With not the slightest wholesome condition or the smallest merit upon which to rely, at death they must fall into an evil destiny. Therefore, today we sincerely entrust our bodies and lives to the Three Jewels and implore repentance.

Next, we repent of the karmic retributions of ignorance and darkness in the animal realm; the karmic retributions of carrying heavy loads and pulling plows to repay old debts in the animal realm; the karmic retributions of being animals without legs, with two legs, four legs, or many legs; and the karmic retributions of having fur, wings, shells, or scales, with countless small creatures biting and gnawing within our bodies. There are innumerable karmic retributions such as these among animals; today we sincerely repent of them all.

We also repent of the karmic retributions of constantly suffering hunger and thirst in the realm of hungry ghosts, passing hundreds of thousands of millions of years without even hearing the names of food and water; the karmic retributions of consuming blood, pus, and filthy excrement in the realm of hungry ghosts; the karmic retributions whereby, whenever the body moves, all its joints burst into flames in the realm of hungry ghosts; and the karmic retributions of having enormous bellies and narrow throats in the realm of hungry ghosts. There are innumerable karmic retributions such as these among hungry ghosts; today we bow our heads and repent of them.

We also repent of the karmic retributions of flattery and arrogance among asuras, ghosts, and spirits; the karmic retributions of carrying sand and stones to dam rivers and block seas among ghosts and spirits; and the karmic retributions of consuming blood and flesh and enduring every kind of ugliness among rākṣasas and kumbhāṇḍa ghosts. Among ghosts and spirits there are measureless and boundless karmic retributions such as these. Today, we turn toward the Buddhas of the ten directions and the bodhisattvas of the great earth and implore repentance, so that all these karmic retributions may be eliminated.

Through the merit of repenting of karmic retributions in the animal realm, may we, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, completely eliminate all ignorance, know the karmic conditions that are our own, possess luminous wisdom, and never take bodies in the evil destinies.

Through the merit of repenting of karmic retributions in the realm of hungry ghosts, may we, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, be free from the sufferings of stinginess, hunger, and thirst, and always consume the amṛta-flavored Dharma of liberation.

Through the merit of repenting of karmic retributions among asuras, ghosts, and spirits, may we, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, be honest and upright in nature, remain far removed from causes of wrong livelihood, eliminate all unpleasant retributions, and bring abundant blessings and benefits to humans and devas.

We.............................. vow that from now until we reach the bodhimaṇḍa, we will no longer undergo the karmic retributions of the four evil destinies. The sole exception is that, out of great compassion to liberate sentient beings and through the power of our vows, we may dwell among them without ever growing weary.

We............................... have repented of karmic retributions in the three evil destinies. We now implore repentance, in sequence, of karmic retributions among humans and devas.

Together, we have received our lives and bodies in this Jambudvīpa. Although people speak of living one hundred years, few complete that span. During those years, the number of young people who die prematurely is beyond calculation.

Suffering and distress continually scorch and oppress the body, while anxiety and fear never cease for a moment. This is because our wholesome roots are very few and our evil karma exceedingly abundant, so that even in this present life nothing we do accords with our wishes. We should know that these are residual retributions from evil karma committed in past lives.

Therefore, today we repent of the measureless residual retributions in the human and heavenly realms from beginningless time through the present and into the future. We repent of karmic retributions in the human realm involving calamities from past debts, disabilities and myriad illnesses, and incomplete six faculties; karmic retributions of birth in desolate wilderness far from other people, constantly beset by wrong views, the eight difficulties, and the three evils; karmic retributions of frequent illness, emaciation, premature death, and unjust death; karmic retributions whereby relatives and kin cannot gather together; karmic retributions of suffering as friends disperse and loved ones are separated; karmic retributions of meeting enemies and experiencing sorrow and fear;

and karmic retributions of danger from fire, thieves, bandits, and weapons, and of terror and helplessness in the human realm.

We repent of karmic retributions of danger from flood and fire, thieves, bandits, and weapons, and of terror and helplessness in the human realm; karmic retributions of loneliness, hardship, exile, wandering, and forgetting one’s homeland; offenses punished by imprisonment, confinement standing in dark cells, beating, and interrogation; karmic retributions of being falsely accused and ensnared by public and private slander; karmic retributions of prolonged illness that confines one helplessly to bed and mat; karmic retributions of winter and summer epidemics and of virulent, toxic, cold-induced illnesses; offenses involving exposure to poisonous winds, swelling, bloating, and obstructions; offenses whereby evil spirits seize opportunities to inflict calamity;

karmic retributions whereby ominous birds fly near and cry out hundreds of strange portents, or corpse-raising ghosts produce uncanny phenomena; karmic retributions of harm by fierce beasts such as jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards; karmic retributions of throwing oneself into deep ravines or fiery pits, leaping into rivers, or casting oneself down from heights; karmic retributions of lacking authority, virtue, and reputation; karmic retributions of privation and dissatisfaction in the use of food and clothing; and karmic retributions whereby entering, leaving, traveling, and undertaking any task are difficult or obstructed by others.

Such unforeseen calamities, infectious diseases, adversities, decline, and afflictions in the present and future human and heavenly realms are too numerous to recount. Today, with utmost sincerity, we turn toward the Buddhas of the ten directions, the honored Dharma, and the noble assembly, imploring repentance and praying that all may be eliminated.

Previously, we repented of all obstacles of affliction and obstacles of karma involving the six faculties and three karmas, and all obstacles of retribution throughout the six destinies and four modes of birth. We now make vows and dedicate the merit in sequence.

We...................................... vow to dedicate the merit from repenting of these three kinds of obstacles so that all sentient beings may likewise repent together. May we and all sentient beings in the present life enjoy peace and happiness in body and mind. May the three calamities, eight difficulties, and all inauspicious matters be entirely eliminated.

May food and clothing be abundant and sufficient, and may all have right faith in the Three Jewels. After relinquishing this body of retribution, may we be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, draw near to Amitābha Buddha, and receive a prediction of enlightenment, so that in a future life we may encounter Maitreya Buddha, hear and understand the true Dharma, and practice accordingly. Life after life and kalpa after kalpa, wherever we are born, may we always encounter kings who restore the Three Jewels, and may we never be born into families of heterodox teachings and wrong views.

We further vow that, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, wherever we may be, we will be born by transformation from lotus flowers, belong to noble lineages, enjoy peace and happiness, and naturally possess food and clothing. We further vow that, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, wherever we may be, we will possess loving-kindness, loyalty, and filial devotion, aid sentient beings with an impartial mind, and never arouse thoughts of rebellion or harm.

We further vow that, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, wherever we are born, we will always be protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas, constantly subdue māras, enemies, and all heterodox paths, dwell together with bodhisattvas, and follow the path of bodhi single-mindedly without interruption. We further vow that, life after life and kalpa after kalpa, wherever we are born, we will reveal and proclaim the Buddhadharma, practice according to the Mahāyāna teachings, manifest innumerable bodies to liberate sentient beings, and proceed directly to the bodhimaṇḍa, Buddhahood, without ever retreating.

Just as the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have made vows to cultivate merit and wisdom and have dedicated their merit, so too do we vow to cultivate merit and wisdom and dedicate them in the same way.

The realm of space may be exhausted; the realm of sentient beings may be exhausted; the karma and retributions of sentient beings may come to an end; and the afflictions of sentient beings may be extinguished. Yet our practice and dedication of merit will never be exhausted.

Having completed our vows and dedication, we wholeheartedly bow; we wholeheartedly bow to the eternally abiding Three Jewels.