Special Topics
Repentance Prostration: A Millenia-Old Method of Practice
"I wholeheartedly pay homage to Shakyamuni Buddha. I wholeheartedly pay homage to the World Honored One Amitabha Buddha of the Western World of the Ultimate Bliss…" Through these chants at Dharma assemblies, we praise the Buddhas'merits, prostrate with repentance, and recite the Buddha's names, in the midst of a calming atmosphere that touches everyone. While being immersed in the ceremony's spiritually inspiring ambience, can we actually grasp the true meaning ...
Q1: What is the difference between repentance prostration rituals and regular Dharma assemblies?
Q&A Regarding the Practice of Repentance Prostration Can practicing repentance prostration really eradicate one's karmic hindrances? What is the difference between repenting and feeling remorse? This Q&A will help clarify frequently-asked questions regarding the Dharma method of repentance prostration, thereby resolving confusion about these practices. Q1: What is the difference between repentance prostration rituals and regular Dharma assemblies? Dharma assemblies are gr...
Q2: Is Repentance Equal to Regret?
Repentance and regret are not the same. Regret means suppressing upset feelings rather than facing them or dealing with them. When accumulated over time, these negative emotions are like the dirt and mud in drain pipes that have been deposited for years without being removed; over time, they accumulate a strong stench. A sense of remorse for continuing to make mistakes and dwelling on regrets will render you restless and pose obstacles to your Dharma practice. As for repentance, Mast...
Q3: Can Doing Repentance Prostrations Really Eliminate Karmic Obstructions?
Many people think that participating in the Great Compassion Repentance and the Emperor Liang Repentance service or admitting one's wrongdoings in mind is enough to purify negative karma. In fact, it is not the case that one's negative karma is simply dissolved after doing repentance prostrations. Rather, only after honestly admitting one's mistakes, taking due responsibility for them, and by making vows to correct them can the mind return back to its purity, and thus be relieved ...
Q4: What is the difference between repenting alone in front of a Buddha statue and participating in a repentance-prostration Dharma assembly?
When Master Sheng Yen underwent solitary retreat in Meinong, Kaohsiung, he performed the Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony by himself. In his book, Master Sheng Yen's Teaching on Guanyin Bodhisattva's Methods, Master Sheng Yen pointed out that solitary practice and repentance both require the ability to remain in concentration and rein in the mind. The practitioner is required to cultivate sufficient levels of skill and confidence; to be aware of the ebb and flow of their thoughts ...
Q5. What preparations should we make before taking part in repentance ceremonies?
Master Zhiyi of the Tiantai School of Chinese Buddhism mentioned, in the Manual of the Lotus Samadhi Repentance Ritual, that prior preliminary practices are necessary to cultivating any Dharma gate. If we walk into the site for spiritual practice in haste, without purifying our body and mind and making due preparations beforehand, we might not find it easy to calm our body and mind, to practice accordingly, and to obtain good results from our Buddhist practice. Therefore, before pa...
Q6: Why is It Necessary to Repent (Kṣama, in Sanskrit) before Receiving the Buddhist Precepts?
Before taking the Buddhist precepts-- be they the Three Refuges, the Five, Eight and Ten Precepts, or even the Complete Precepts and Bodhisattva Precepts--it is necessary for us to go through the repentance ritual first, in which we sincerely prostrate before the Buddha and recite the Repentance Verse: "All the negative karma I have created in the past came from beginningless greed, anger, and ignorance and was produced by body, speech, and mind. I now repent of it all." Only afte...