Fascicle 1

Opening the Rite of the Hall of Compassion With a single mind we take refuge in the Buddhas of the three times. Homage to the past Buddha Vipaśyin. Homage to the Buddha Śikhin. Homage to the Buddha Viśvabhū. Homage to the Buddha Krakucchanda. Homage to the Buddha Kanakamuni. Homage to the Buddha Kāśyapa. Homage to our fundamental teacher, the Buddha Śākyamuni. Homage to the future Buddha, the Honored One Maitreya.

All the Buddhas, mindful of living beings with compassion, have spoken this comprehensive rite of the Water Repentance. The Buddha said: living beings are heavy with defilement — who among them is without fault? Who is without transgression? The ordinary person acts foolishly, covered in the darkness of ignorance; drawing close to bad companions, their afflictions throw the mind into confusion; fixed in their nature and without understanding, they indulge the mind and rely only on themselves. They have no faith in the Buddhas of the ten directions, no faith in the venerable Dharma or the noble Saṅgha; they are unfilial to their parents and their kin. In the prime of life they grow reckless and arrogant, greedy for every kind of wealth, greedy for every kind of song and music, greedy for the beauty of every woman; desire and attachment arise in the mind, afflictions stir, and they draw close to unworthy and dissolute companions, not knowing how to repent. Some kill and harm every kind of living being; some grow stupefied with wine, lacking any wisdom of mind. Today we bare our sincerity and confess these, one by one. Every fault of the past, every evil act committed now — today, with utmost sincerity, we confess them all, and we dare not commit again what we have not yet committed. We disciples, today with sincere mind, take refuge in all the Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the whole reach of empty space, in all the great bodhisattvas, in the pratyekabuddhas and arhats of the four fruits and four approaches, in Brahmā and Śakra, and in all the noble assembly of the eightfold host of gods and dragons — may they bear witness and look upon us. Homage to the Buddha Vairocana. Homage to our fundamental teacher, the Buddha Śākyamuni. Homage to the Buddha Amitābha. Homage to the Buddha Maitreya. Homage to the Buddha King of the Dragon Race, Most Honored. Homage to the Buddha King of Sovereign Dragons. Homage to the Buddha Ratnaśrī. Homage to the Buddha King Ever Still in the Samādhi of the Awakening-Flower. Homage to the Buddha Banner of the Kāṣāya Robe. 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 of Great Adornment. Homage to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Having paid homage to the Buddhas, we next continue with confession. Whoever wishes to bow in repentance must first revere the Three Jewels. Why is this so? The Three Jewels are the good friend and field of merit for every living being; whoever can turn and take refuge in them will extinguish immeasurable faults and grow immeasurable merit, and can bring the practitioner out of the suffering of birth and death into the joy of liberation. For this reason, we disciples take refuge in all the Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the whole reach of empty space; we take refuge in all the venerable Dharma throughout the ten directions and the whole reach of empty space; we take refuge in all the noble Saṅgha throughout the ten directions and the whole reach of empty space.

The reason we disciples confess today is precisely this: since beginningless time, dwelling in the stage of the ordinary person, our faults — noble or humble makes no difference — have been without measure, whether arising from the three kinds of karma, or springing from the six sense-faculties, or born of the mind's own distorted thinking, or provoked by attachment to external conditions — extending in this way as far as the ten evils, and multiplying into the eighty-four thousand gates of worldly affliction. Yet although the marks of these faults are themselves without measure, in their broad outline they come down to no more than three: first, affliction; second, karma; and third, retribution. These three things are able to obstruct the noble path and every excellent, wondrous good in the human and heavenly realms, and for this reason the sūtras name them the three obstructions. This is why the Buddhas and bodhisattvas teach the skillful means of confession — for whoever confesses and eliminates these three obstructions, the six sense-faculties, the ten evils, and even the eighty-four thousand gates of worldly affliction are all made pure. For this reason, we disciples today set this exalted and excellent mind in motion to confess the three obstructions. If one wishes to eliminate the three obstructions, what state of mind must be used to make this elimination possible? One must first arouse a sevenfold mind as the skillful means, and only then can this obstruction be eliminated. What are the seven? First, shame; second, dread; third, revulsion; fourth, the arising of the awakening-mind; fifth, impartiality toward friend and enemy alike; sixth, remembering to repay the Buddha's kindness; and seventh, contemplating that the nature of fault is empty. First, shame: reflect that we and the Tathāgata Śākyamuni were once alike, both ordinary beings — and yet since the World-Honored One attained the Way, so many kalpas as numerous as motes of dust have already passed, while we ourselves remain steeped in attachment to the six sense-objects, turning through birth and death with never an end in sight. This is truly, in all the world, a thing to be ashamed of, a thing to feel shame and disgrace over. Second, dread: being ordinary beings, our deeds of body, speech, and mind are constantly bound up with fault, and because of this, when our lives come to an end, we are bound to fall into the hells, or among the animals, or among the hungry ghosts, to undergo immeasurable suffering. This is truly a thing to be alarmed at, a thing to fear and dread. Third, revulsion: let us together constantly contemplate that within birth and death there is only impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and no-self — impure and unreal, like a bubble on the surface of water, arising and vanishing in an instant, coming and going in a cycle like a turning wheel, with the eight sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death pressing in together without a moment's rest. Let us together simply contemplate our own bodies: from head to foot there are only thirty-six substances within them — hair, body-hair, nails, and teeth; rheum, tears, mucus, and spittle; grime, sweat, and the two excretions; skin, flesh, and blood; sinews, veins, bones, and marrow; fat, grease, brain, and membrane; spleen, kidneys, heart, and lungs; liver, gall, intestines, and stomach; red and white phlegm; the raw and the ripe storehouses of digestion — flowing constantly from the nine orifices in this way. This is why the sūtra says: this body is a heap of many sufferings, and all of it is impure. What person of wisdom could take pleasure in this body? Since birth and death contain so many kinds of evil in this way, they are truly worth being weary of and turning away from. Fourth, the arising of the awakening-mind: the sūtra says, one should delight in the Buddha's body. The Buddha's body is precisely the Dharma-body — born from immeasurable merit and wisdom, born from the six perfections, born from loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, born from the thirty-seven factors that aid awakening, born, in this way, from every kind of merit and wisdom, this body of the Tathāgata comes to be. Whoever wishes to attain this body should arouse the awakening-mind, seeking the fruit of omniscience — all-knowing wisdom, eternal, blissful, true self, and pure — purifying buddha-lands and bringing living beings to fulfillment, begrudging nothing of body, life, or possessions. Fifth, impartiality toward friend and enemy: arouse a mind of loving-kindness and compassion toward all living beings, without the notion of "other" or "self." Why is this so? To regard an enemy as different from a friend is itself discrimination; because of this discrimination, various attachments to appearances arise; because of the attachment to appearances, various afflictions arise; because of the afflictions, various evil karma is created; and because of that evil karma, a bitter fruit is obtained. Sixth, remembering to repay the Buddha's kindness: throughout immeasurable kalpas in the past, the Tathāgata gave up his head, eyes, marrow, and brain, his limbs, hands, and feet, his kingdoms, cities, wife and children, his elephants, horses, and the seven treasures, and practiced every manner of austerity for our sake. This kindness and this virtue are truly hard to repay — the sūtra says that even if one carried him on the crown of one's head or bore him on both shoulders for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the river, one still could not repay it. If we wish to repay such kindness, we should, in this present life, advance with courage and diligence, enduring hardship and bearing suffering without begrudging body or life, establishing the Three Jewels and spreading the Great Vehicle widely, broadly transforming living beings so that they enter true awakening together. Seventh, contemplating that the nature of fault is empty: fault has no nature of its own — it arises from causes and conditions, existing only through inverted thinking. Since it arises from causes and conditions, it can also be extinguished through causes and conditions. What arises from causes and conditions is this: drawing close to bad companions and committing acts without end. What is extinguished through causes and conditions is this: washing the mind clean through confession, here and today. This is why the sūtra says: the nature of this fault is not within, not without, and not in between. Hence we know that this fault, from its very root, is empty. Having aroused these seven kinds of mind, we turn our thoughts toward the Buddhas and sages of the ten directions, raise our clasped hands together, and lay bare our utmost shame, resolving to change — opening wide our very heart and liver, washing clean our very entrails. Confessing in this way, what fault could fail to be extinguished, and what merit could fail to be born? But if instead we drift along carelessly, indulging our thoughts, restless and agitated, what benefit is there in merely exhausting the body over such things? Moreover, human life is impermanent, like a candle guttering in the wind — let one breath fail to return, and the body is at once the same as ash and dust. The bitter retribution of the three evil destinies is received by this very body, and it cannot be bought off with money, treasure, or bribery; in that dim and hidden place there is no fixed term for a pardon, and one alone must bear that suffering, with no one to bear it in one's place. Do not say: in this present life I have no such fault, and so I need not earnestly implore and confess. The sūtra says: for the ordinary person, there is not a single step taken, not a single movement made, that is without fault. And moreover, in past lives we have each already accomplished immeasurable evil karma, which pursues the one who bears it as a shadow follows a form — and if one does not confess it, the fault only deepens day by day. Hence we know that to conceal one's own flaws is something the Buddha does not permit; to speak of repenting one's past faults is what Vimalakīrti himself esteemed. That we should sink for so long in the sea of suffering is, in truth, entirely because we have kept them hidden. For this reason, we disciples today lay bare our faults in confession, and conceal them no longer.

As for what is called the three obstructions: the first is named affliction, the second is named karma, and the third is retribution. These three things depend upon one another in turn — because of affliction, various evil karma arises; because of that evil karma, a bitter fruit is obtained. For this reason, we disciples, with utmost sincerity, confess today — and first of all we should confess the obstruction of affliction, for this affliction arises entirely from the mind. Why is this so? Because it is the karma of mind that arises first, and the body and speech move in accordance with it afterward. The karma of mind is threefold: first, stinginess and greed; second, hatred and anger; third, delusion and darkness. Because of delusion and darkness, various wrong views arise, and various unwholesome deeds are committed. This is why the sūtra says: the karma of greed, hatred, and delusion can cause living beings to fall into the hells, among the hungry ghosts, and among the animals, to undergo suffering; and if born among humans, they receive the afflicted retributions of poverty, destitution, viciousness, obstinacy and dullness, and foolish confusion without understanding. Since the karma of mind bears such evil fruit, we disciples today, with utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Buddhas, and beg for mercy in confession. Now, this affliction has been reproached in many ways by the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and sages who have entered into the principle. It is also called an enemy, because it can sever the very root of beings' life of wisdom. It is also called a thief, because it can plunder away all the wholesome qualities of beings. It is also called a raging river, because it can sweep beings away into the great bitter ocean of birth and death. It is also called a halter and chain, because it can fetter beings within the prison of birth and death so that they cannot escape. This is why the six destinies drag on without release, the four modes of birth never cease, evil karma is endless, and bitter fruit never rests — know that all of this is the fault and calamity of affliction. For this reason, today we set this exalted, wholesome mind in motion, and beg for mercy in confession. We disciples, from beginningless time until this very day, whether receiving retribution among humans and gods or in the six destinies, have carried this same consciousness, forever harboring folly and confusion that fills the breast — whether committing every fault rooted in the three poisons, or committing every fault caused by the three fluxes, or committing every fault caused by the three sufferings, or committing every fault conditioned by the three inversions, or committing every fault through craving the three realms of existence — faults of this kind are immeasurable and boundless, vexing and confusing all beings of the six destinies and the four modes of birth. Today, in shame, we confess them all. Furthermore, we disciples, from beginningless time until this very day, whether committing every fault caused by the four abodes of consciousness, or by the four floods, or by the four kinds of grasping, or by the four attachments, or by the four conditions, or by the four elements, or by the four bonds, or by the four cravings, or by the four modes of birth — faults of this kind are immeasurable and boundless, vexing and confusing all beings of the six destinies. Today, in shame, we confess them all. Furthermore, we disciples, from beginningless time until this very day, whether committing every fault caused by the five afflictions of the abiding-grounds, or by the five hindrances, or by the five kinds of stinginess, or by the five wrong views, or by the five defiled mental states — afflictions of this kind are immeasurable and boundless, vexing and confusing all beings of the six destinies. Today, we lay them all bare in confession. Furthermore, we disciples, from beginningless time until this very day, whether committing every fault caused by the six sense-roots, or by the six consciousnesses, or by the six perceptions, or by the six sensations, or by the six formations, or by the six cravings, or by the six doubts — afflictions of this kind are immeasurable and boundless, vexing and confusing all beings of the six destinies. Today, in shame, we lay them all bare and confess them. Furthermore, we disciples, from beginningless time until this very day, whether committing every fault caused by the seven fluxes, or by the seven latent tendencies, or by the eight inversions, or by the eight defilements, or by the eight sufferings — afflictions of this kind are immeasurable and boundless, vexing and confusing all beings of the six destinies. Today, we lay them all bare in confession. Furthermore, we disciples, from beginningless time until this very day — whether committing every fault caused by the nine vexations, the nine fetters, or the nine conditions; or by the ten afflictions, or the ten entanglements; or by the eleven pervasive latent tendencies; or by the twelve sense-fields; or by the sixteen forms of knowledge-and-view; or by the eighteen elements; or by the twenty-five forms of self; or by the sixty-two views; or by opening every gate of the fluxes through the ninety-eight latent tendencies and the hundred-and-eight afflictions that blaze day and night in the truths as directly seen and as further cultivated — vexing sages and every mode of birth alike, filling the three realms entirely and stretching across all six destinies, with nowhere to escape. Today we implore, turning toward the Buddhas, the venerable Dharma, and the noble assembly of the ten directions, and in shame we lay bare and confess all of this. We pray that, by the merit born of confessing the three poisons and every affliction, we disciples may, in life after life, gain brightness in the three kinds of wisdom and clarity in the three penetrations, extinguish the three sufferings, and fulfill the three vows. We pray that, by the merit born of confessing the four abodes of consciousness and every affliction, we may, in life after life, extend the four immeasurable minds, establish the four bases of confidence, extinguish the four evil destinies, and attain the four fearlessnesses. We pray that, by the merit born of confessing the five hindrances and the other afflictions, we may cross over the five destinies, raise up the five faculties, purify the five eyes, and perfect the five dharma-bodies. We pray that, by the merit born of confessing the six sensations and the other afflictions, we may, in life after life, be fully endowed with the six supernormal powers, fulfill the practice of the six perfections, never be confused by the six sense-objects, and constantly practice the six wondrous conducts. We further pray that, by the merit born of confessing the seven fluxes, the eight defilements, the nine fetters, the ten entanglements, and every other affliction, we may, in life after life, sit upon the seven pure lotus-flowers, be washed by the water of the eight liberations, be endowed with the wisdom that cuts off affliction at the nine stages, and accomplish the practice of the ten grounds. We pray that, by the merit born of confessing the eleven pervasive latent tendencies, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, and every other affliction, we may be freed through the eleven emptinesses, dwell the mind always at ease, turn the twelvefold wheel of the Dharma, be endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of a Buddha, and bring every immeasurable merit to complete fulfillment. Having made this vow, we take refuge in and pay homage to the Buddhas. Homage to the Buddha Vairocana. Homage to our fundamental teacher, the Buddha Śākyamuni. Homage to the Buddha Amitābha. Homage to the Buddha Maitreya. Homage to the Buddha King of the Dragon Race, Most Honored. Homage to the Buddha King of Sovereign Dragons. Homage to the Buddha Ratnaśrī. Homage to the Buddha King Ever Still in the Samādhi of the Awakening-Flower. Homage to the Buddha Banner of the Kāṣāya Robe. 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 of Great Adornment. Homage to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

Having paid homage to the Buddhas, we next continue with confession. As for confession itself: at its root it is simply this — to correct what is past and cultivate what is to come, to extinguish evil and raise up good. Living in this world, who among us can be without fault? Even a learner in training, losing mindfulness for a moment, still gives rise to affliction; even an arhat, through the lingering habits of past afflictions, still stirs deeds of body and speech — how much more, then, should an ordinary person expect to be without fault? Yet the wise, awakening to this early, are able to correct and repent, while the foolish conceal their faults and so let them spread and grow, so that the habits accumulate through a long night with no time of dawning ever in sight. If one can confess in shame and lay one's faults bare, this is not only enough to extinguish fault — it will also make immeasurable merit grow, and set up the wondrous fruit of the Tathāgata's nirvāṇa. Whoever wishes to practice this rite should first, outwardly, make solemn one's bearing and gaze reverently upon the sacred image, and inwardly arouse a reverent mind directed toward the Dharma, earnestly and sincerely giving rise to two kinds of thought. What are these two? First, reflect to oneself: this body and life of mine are hard to keep for long — once they scatter and are destroyed in a single morning, I do not know when this body may be regained. And if I should then fail to encounter the Buddhas and sages, and instead suddenly meet with bad companions and commit every kind of evil karma, I would again fall into a deep pit, into a perilous destiny. Second, reflect to oneself: although in this life I have been fortunate enough to encounter the Tathāgata's true Dharma, I have not, for the sake of the Buddha-dharma, continued the lineage of the sages, nor kept myself dwelling in wholesome ways with body, speech, and mind purified. And yet now we secretly commit evil and then conceal it, saying that others do not know, supposing that they do not see — hiding our wrongdoing in the heart, arrogant and without any shame. This is truly, in all the world, the very height of foolish confusion. For even now, the Buddhas of the ten directions, the great bodhisattvas, and all the gods and spirits — when have they ever failed to see, with their pure heavenly eye, every evil deed that we have done? And moreover, the hidden and manifest numinous spirits record fault and merit without the smallest discrepancy. Consider, then, the one who has committed a fault: when his life comes to an end, the ox-headed jailers of hell will seize his spirit, and bring it before King Yama's tribunal to be examined and judged, right and wrong. At that time, every wronged party will come forward as witness, each one saying: "You once slaughtered my body, roasted, boiled, steamed, and broiled it," or "you once stripped away all my wealth and separated me from my kin — today at last I have gotten hold of you." At the moment such evidence stands before him, how could he dare deny it? He can only resign himself and accept his share of that long-standing calamity. As the sūtra makes clear, within the hells no one is punished unjustly. And even if a person has, in ordinary life, forgotten in his own mind the many faults he has committed, then when his life is about to end, every scene and mark of the place where the evil was done will appear before him all at once, each one saying: "Long ago, beside me, you committed such-and-such a fault — how can you deny it now?" At that time, the one who committed the fault has nowhere left to hide. Thereupon King Yama, gnashing his teeth in reproach, hands him over to the hells, from which he seeks release through immeasurable kalpas and finds no way out. This matter is not far off, and it concerns no one else — it is precisely one's own self, acting and receiving the consequence oneself. Even between father and son, the closest of kin, once this reckoning arrives, there is no one to bear it in another's place. We who together have obtained this human body, our bodies free of every affliction, should each strive with all our strength while we still contend for our very life — for once the great terror arrives, regret will come too late. For this reason, with utmost sincerity, we beg for mercy in confession. We disciples, from beginningless time until this very day, have accumulated ignorance that has obstructed and darkened the eye of the mind, and, following the nature of affliction, have committed faults across the three periods of time — whether through the affliction of craving and greed, born of indulgent attachment; or the affliction of hatred and rage, harboring the intent to harm; or the affliction of a mind confused and befuddled, unable to understand; or the affliction of pride and arrogance, exalting oneself and despising others; or the affliction of hesitation, doubting the true path; or the affliction of wrong view, denying cause and effect; or the affliction of clinging to a self, not recognizing conditioned things as provisional; or the affliction of clinging to annihilationism or eternalism, confused about the three periods of time; or the affliction of the view of grasping at views, arising from consorting with evil teachings; or the affliction of the view of grasping at wrong precepts and observances, arising from wrongly following a false teacher — extending even to every kind of affliction born of the four false attachments and misguided reckoning. Today, with utmost sincerity, we confess all of these. Furthermore, from beginningless time until this very day, we have given rise to the affliction of miserliness, clinging tightly and holding fast; the affliction of dissipation, failing to restrain the six faculties; the affliction of cruelty, a mind and conduct too wicked to bear; the affliction of idleness, slack and unrestrained, without diligence; the affliction of restless deliberation, doubt-ridden and agitated; the affliction of ignorance, confused whenever meeting any object; the affliction of self-and-other, following after the eight worldly winds; the affliction of flattery, praising to the face without an upright heart; the affliction of obstinacy, harsh and unyielding, refusing to be reconciled; the affliction of easy anger and hard-won pleasure, quick to hold a grudge; the affliction of jealousy, cutting and contentious in nature; the affliction of cruelty and violence, savage and poisonous; the affliction of clinging to appearances, turning one's back on the noble truths; the affliction of inverted thinking regarding suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path; the affliction of turning through the twelve links of dependent origination in the cycle of birth and death; extending even to the afflictions, numerous as the sands of the river, of the beginningless ground of ignorance, and the afflictions born from the four abiding-grounds that construct the bitter fruit of the three realms — immeasurable and boundless, vexing and confusing the sages and the six destinies and four modes of birth alike. Today we lay them bare, and before the Buddhas, the venerable Dharma, and the noble assembly of the ten directions, we confess them all. We pray that, by the merit born of confessing every affliction arisen from the karma of mind — greed, hatred, delusion, and the rest — we disciples may, in life after life, break the banner of arrogance, exhaust the waters of craving and desire, extinguish the fire of hatred, and shatter the darkness of delusion; uproot the very root of doubt, and tear apart every net of wrong view; understand deeply that the three realms are like a prison, the four elements like poisonous serpents, the five aggregates like enemies and thieves, and the six sense-fields like an empty village feigning friendship and deceiving affection; cultivate the eightfold noble path, cutting off the source of ignorance, and turn straight toward nirvāṇa without ceasing and without rest, the thirty-seven factors of awakening arising moment after unbroken moment in the mind, and the ten perfections ever present before us. Having confessed, with utmost sincerity we take refuge in and pay homage to the ever-abiding Three Jewels.