Beerish

Second Lesson

The Method of Repentance

In the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history, during the Chiu Dynasty (800-400 B.C.), there were many officials who had the ability to predict one’s future just by observing one’s words and behaviour. As recorded in history, they were also very accurate. Generally one’s future whether it will be good or bad begins first in one’s heart/mind, and then it is expressed in one’s behaviour. If one looks kind and sincere and one’s behaviour is good, one will receive great fortune. However, one who looks very cruel and behaves without consideration for others usually is inviting trouble, so thre is no mystery in this. One’s heart/ mind is connected with heaven. If one wants to invite good fortune and not trouble, the first thing one has to do is to repent, even before performing good deeds.

There are three ways to repent. The first way is to have a conscience or shamefulness. When we think about our ancestors, the sages of the ancient times, they were also human and yet their teachings have lasted thousand of years. We are only attached to sensual pleasure, fame and wealth, and we have no discipline in our behaviour. We commit disgraceful acts behind others’ backs, thinking that on one else can see. Gradually one only becomes an animal dressed in human clothing. This behaviour is the most shameful.

Mencius has said that a sense of conscience or shamefulness is the key to becoming a saintly person. If one does not know anything about a consience or shamefulness, then one is like an animal, and so the first step in repentance is the start of a conscience and this is what distinguishes humans from animals.

The second way is to have respectfulness. This regards beings in the heavens and beings in other realms. We cann decieve them. Even if we have made a mistake, the heavenly beings and other beings in other realms will know about it. And if we have made a big mistake, the heavenly will bring about a major punishment. Even if one is in a dark room, one’s every thought is known to the heavens. Even if one tries to hide, one cannot hide one’s thought, for these thoughts can be communicated. As long as one has breath left, one can repent, however serious the previous mistakes. There are accounts of people who have done a lifetime of evil, yet at the time of death, they suddenly become awakened and repented and passed away in peace. There is a Buddhist saying,”As soon as you out down the butcher knife, you can become a Buddha.” So, regardless of one’s mistakes, large or small, the main thing is to be able to change and repent.

The third way is to have courage and determination. Oftentimes one cannot change one’s ways because one does not have the courage and determination to stop wrong behaviour or to change a mistake. One should regard a small mistake as a bamboo sliver sticking into the skin and one should quickly remove it. And if it is a big mistake it should be like being bitten by a poisonous snake and one should cut the finger without any hesitation. If one can follow the three ways, then repentance will come as easily as ice melting in the spring.

There are three stages in repentance. The first is changing one’s behaviour; the second is altering one’s mental understanding from a mental change; and the third is changing from the level of the heart. Each stage is practised differently, with different degress of success. An example of the first one would be if one has killed on a previous day, one vows not to kill on the present day. Or, if one had become very angry on a previous day, one could calmly govern one’s inner thoughts on the present day. This is changing one’s behaviour. However, if one just does this simply from this level it is an oppressive method and it is very hard to truly accomplish a level of repentance.

A more appropriate way to repent is though understanding from the mental level. For example, if one wants to change the habit of killing one thinks about how all living things value life; we should ask ourselves that if we kill to feed ourselves how can we be at peace? And besides, the pain of boiling water and hot oil must penetrate through the bone and marrow. The secret of health is in balancing one’s inner life energy and not being dependent on obtaining precious food from the mountains and oceans. After one eats it is no different from getting nutrients from the humble vegetables. Why let one’s stomach become a graveyard, reducing one’s merit? Furthermore, if one considers that all beings with blood and flesh have consciousness, then the fact that we cannot let them be like children playing close to us is already shameful. How can we further hurt them and cause them to hate us? If we think about all this, then we would be unwilling to kill them for food.

To change one’s bad temperament is also the same. One thinks about how everyone is different and how everyone has their strengths and weakness; and so we should be tolerant of one other. And when others cannot do things according to our wishes, or if they do things against the principles, that is their mistake. It has nothing to do with us, so what is there to be angry about? If things do not come our way, usually it is because we have not accumulated enough merit. So, if we think about this, and even if we are slandered. It should be like fire burning in empty space. It will burn itself out. If we hear ourselves being slandered and try to defend ourselves, it would be like a silk-worm making a cocoon, and we would be isolating ourselves. In any case, killing and anger are actions that harm us.

There are other mistakes that we can all change along the same lines. If we understand the reasoning behind the need for change we will not make the same mistakes again. Generally, although one has made many hundreds of mistakes, when you come down to it, it all comes from the heart/mind. If the mind does not generate thoughts that are rooted in selfishness, then we will not have evil thoughts. This is the most basic way of repentance from the level of the heart. All mistakes come from the mind, from thoughts, and so if we want to thoroughly remove the cause of these mistakes it is like digging up the root in order to chop down a poisionous tree. So to change at the level of the mind, one should be conscientious in every thought. As soon as we generate a negative thought, we should watch and eliminate it. This is the best method. If we cannot do it at this level, then we do it from the level of understanding, and if we cannot do it from that level then we do it from the behavioural level. But the most thorough way is to combine watching one’s thoughts with understanding. For those who have made the determination to improve themselves, it is best to have friends and relatives to constantly remind them, or to invite heavenly beings to be a witness and to sincerely repent day and night without rest. After a while we will start to get results, then we feel more at peace and wisdom will begin.

We can expect some of the following signs. Even if we are in a very disturbing environment, we will not get upset. If we see an enemy, instead of getting angry we actually become very happy. When we dream that we are spitting out black things, or dream that the saintly beings have come to promote us, or dream that we are flying in the sky, although many of these occurences are unusual phenomena they are only indications that we have resolved our past negative mistakes, and that we have some progress. This is not a time to become complacent.

We average persons make as many mistakes as the many spiny needles on the porcupine. If we quiet our mind down and still cannot see a mistake, it is because our mind is too coarse and we cannot see it. Those people who have accumulated a lot of demerit usually show certain symptoms. The mind is cloudy, forgetful, worrying when there is nothing to worry about, and one appears to be very embarrassed when meeting honest and saintly people, appearing to be unhappy when hearing the truth spoken. Sometimes when people give them things, instead of feeling grateful they would actually become very upset of angry. In their dreams they always have many nightmares. They also complain all the time. These are all the symptoms of someone who has accumulated a lot of demerits; when the symptoms appear, one should proceed to repent.

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