Repentance practices

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frantisek
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Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:50 pm

Repentance practices

Post by frantisek »

Hey there!

My practice is weak, I am indolent and don't set aside time which is properly due to practice, even though i recognize constantly that "time flies faster than an arrow, and life is more transient than the dew … A hundred years lived to no purpose are days and months to be regretted. It is to be but a pitiful bag of bones."

I am constantly reminded of a Psalm from back when I was Christian, "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me", not in the sense that I am dead unto sin or what have you, but rather, after seeing and hearing the Dharma, I know the diagnosis and prescription to solve my problems, I know why I feel bad and what I can do to stop it, I just don't seem to be able.

I think I know the answer to my problem but I don't know how to go about it consistently, I would like to sit but I am unable, and even saying that is simply feeding the feedback loop!

It's a continuous cycle of feeling that good old samvega, and then being motivated towards sitting, and doing it for a day or so, and then falling back away—

To mix my own personal problems with a more theoretical question, are there any historical practices or modern practices in Zen/Chan etc. traditions writ large that emphasize repentance? Not in the sense that we must "atone" for something, but more as a practice of self-effacement and recommitting ourselves to the Dharma?

If all else fails I'll just supplement my inability to do things with reading this forum regularly to remind me hahahahahah

Thanks so much if y'all do respond
Soma999
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by Soma999 »

I find the repetence of emperor of Liang a deep practice.

For purification practice, there are many. The fpmt offer different practices, for exemple this mantra :
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/edu ... mjun03.pdf
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by FiveSkandhas »

In the latter part of his life, Master Dogen put a special emphasis on the practice of repentance. He stated that he felt he had neglected this aspect of Buddhism during his religious career.

You might find this piece of interest:

http://www.chzc.org/pat58.htm

Also, the Repentance Verse (懺悔文) is part of the official Soto Zen sectarian liturgical material, which you can access here:

https://www.sotozen.com/eng/practice/su ... tures.html

Beyond Zen per se, various repentance practices play an important role across Mahayana Buddhism traditions more broadly.
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
Matylda
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by Matylda »

In soto zen every 2 weeks monasteries may held repentance ritual called TAN BUTSU E... it is sort of long and elaborate ritual may last 2 hours if has version of 88 buddhas, shorter with 35 buddhas. Originally is based on the sutra of 3000 buddhas and this number of prostrations is required. If so then practice takes 3 days, each day for 1000 buddhas. 3000 means 1000 buddhas of the past, 1000 of the present kapla and 1000 of the future.

But I never seen any English translation of the ritual...

Here is a video from the shortest version.

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KeithA
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by KeithA »

Must have missed this post, but prostrations can be useful in situations like this:

108 Bows of Repentance

There are lots of versions of this. You could also just do bows as regular practice, without the words.
When walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking,
being silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without interruption - what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.

New Haven Zen Center
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Dan74
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by Dan74 »

You already got some good answers to your query about repentance.

As for the deeper question. Well, we are all flawed. Ignorant and deluded. So what? You can mull it all over in your head, rerun your favourite narratives about yourself, or you can just do something different!

A time comes when we get sick of the same ol' and we just plunge into it. Into practice. Whatever form it takes. It doesn't all have to be on the cushion. Not everyone is made for the cushion. But a wholesome activity. Out of the vicious cycles and cultivating something good. Trust your hear. Listen to it. Don't rerun the old stories. Toss them out and plunge into a sincere open practice, whatever form it takes.
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Astus
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by Astus »

Repentance (chanhui 懺悔) is quite central all over in East Asian Buddhism, including Chan.

'What is it that is called ‘repentance’ (chan)? What is it that is called ‘remorse’ (hui)? Repentance is to repent past licentiousness. One should repent completely for all one’s evil actions from the past, one’s transgressions of stupidity, pride and deception, jealousy, and so on, so that they will never arise again. This is called ‘repentance.’ Remorse is to have remorse for future errors, those from now on. Since you have become enlightened [to them] now, all one’s evil actions from the past, one’s transgressions of stupidity, deceitfulness, jealousy, and so on, are eradicated forever, never to be committed again. This is called ‘remorse.’ Therefore, it is called ‘repentance and remorse’ (chanhui).
Ordinary people are stupid and only know they should repent for their past licentiousness—they do not know they should feel remorse for future errors. Because they do not have such remorse, their previous licentiousness is not extinguished and future errors continue to be generated. With previous licentiousness not extinguished and future errors continuing to be generated, how can this be called repentance?'

(Platform Sutra, ch 6, BDK ed, p 48)

'If subsequent sentient beings of the degenerate age of dull faculties desire in their hearts to attain the Way, but somehow always fall short of their goal, it is because of karmic hindrances from the past. They must strive for penance and confession and continuously re-arise their hopes. They must first sever love and hatred, jealousy, envy, flattery and calumny and strive for the unsurpassed state of mind. Since the three types of meditation are all the investigation of the same single matter, if one meditation doesn't work, try again with one of the others. Don't let your mind dissipate, and gradually strive for actualization.'
(Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, ch 11)

'The function of repentance is to initiate a relentless process of self-reflection and self-discipline, to develop vigilance based on selfawareness, and to purify one’s mind with self-respect, so as to prevent the occurrence of the same mistake. As long as one has the determination to start afresh, and realizes that the past is gone and there is no point in dwelling on it, one’s mind will be relieved from the feeling of guilt and will regain serenity. This is the function of repentance. The wrongdoing has to be honestly revealed (to the community, or to several persons, or to one person, or to one’s own conscience, in accordance with the category and degree of wrongdoing, followed by genuine regret and a resolution ​not to repeat it).26* Otherwise the shadow of the misdeed will be hidden permanently in the mind, and will develop into karmic seeds that invite retribution later. Repentance immediately dissolves from one’s consciousness the seeds produced by the misdeed.
However, the purpose of repentance is to cleanse one’s mind to prevent reoccurrence of wrongdoing. If one repeatedly misbehaves, repents, and then misbehaves again, then the efficacy of repentance will be lost. Moreover, the repentance of Buddhists is quite different from that of Christians, who pray to God for absolution. Buddhists do not believe any god has the power to absolve sin. To Buddhists, the real meaning of repentance is to cleanse the contaminated mind in order to restore its purity.'

(Orthodox Chinese Buddhism, p 46)
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
tingdzin
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Re: Repentance practices

Post by tingdzin »

As a practical matter, you could start to overcome your overintellectualized "smart ego" sloth by setting very modest goals (e.g. 5-10 min of practice every day), but then doing it without fail, and gradually building from there. Or you could totally disrupt your life pattern in such a way that your habitual tendencies can be outflanked. Spending a good period of time in a Zen practice center under the supervision of a good geko could help with that.

Repentance is fine and necessary, but as a substitute for practice, it's very Judeo-Christian.

In the end it all depends on how serious you are, and how important you think practice really is.

To be thoroughly Zen, you have to recommit and repent moment by moment, but that's just talk for a beginner.
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