次第行忏悔|Practice Repentance in Stages

忏悔分为“有相忏”和“无相忏”两种。

    有相忏：所造一切能忆念的犯戒罪堕，以及无始时来至今未能忆及的破戒罪堕和烦恼习气，在与金刚萨垛等殊胜三宝对境前忏悔。

    无相忏：一切罪堕乃无始以来所造戏论之法，即二取分别念。然于执受本体中，显现一切烦恼妄念均成本体之庄严，故一切无念、有念烦恼及习气于显现当下即获解脱，此乃真实究竟之忏悔。

    然对于初学者来说，必须要从有相忏等七支供开始趋入，未能生起真实的忏悔心清净业障，则无相忏的见解便无从生起。就像别人口中食糖，你只是听他说那种甜，却不能真正了知甜的真实味道，你若想品尝必须将皮去除、将糖放入口中，才知糖之味。因此，一切都要次第而行，但不要执着于任何一种见解，你手中拿着带皮的糖并不是糖的甜，去除的皮和去除皮的过程也不是，将糖放入口中还不是，只是品尝之后才是最后的结果，在这个过程中就是要不断的推翻立足点，才能不断从自我认定的框架中逐步解脱，这才是忏悔的真实意趣。

Repentance can be divided into two categories: repentance with forms and repentance without forms.

Repentance with Forms: For all those degenerations of violation of the precepts that we can recollect, together with afflictions, habitual tendency and those degenerations committed since the beginning-lessness till now that we cannot recollect. And now in front of the Buddha Vajrayana and the like, we repent.

Repentance without Forms: All degenerations are idle theories created through the beginning-lessness, also known as the grahya and the grahaka. On the other hand, in the Ontology body, the manifestation of everything afflicted and illusory is actually ornaments of the Ontology body(gātra). Therefore, afflictions with or without thoughts and habitual tendency are liberated at the moment they manifest. This is the ultimate and real repentance.

In Buddhism practice, Beginners must start from repentance with forms and other practice in seven limbs for purification and accumulations to generate a real sense of repentance. If the sense of repentance does not arise to clear obstacles, insights on repentance without forms could never be developed.

Take candy tasting as an example, others may tell you how sweet a piece of candy is after they taste it. You just heard about the concept of sweetness, but still cannot understand the candy’s real sweet taste. In order to know it, you must tear the candy wrapper, put the candy in your mouth and try it. Then, the sweet taste of the candy can be perceived.

Therefore, follow the stages of Buddhism practice but never attach to any viewpoint. In other words, the wrapped candy in your hand is not the sweet taste of the candy. Neither the torn candy wrapper nor the process of tearing the wrapper is the sweet taste. Even the act of putting the candy in your mouth is still not the taste. Only after trying the candy could you draw the conclusion.

In this process, your viewpoints should be reframed continuously so that you could liberate yourselves from different forms of self-identification. This is the true meaning of repentance.

Khenpo Jamyang