..續本文上一頁onfession clearly. Don”t be vague and vacillating. For example, if you ask someone if he has ever committed a certain offense, he says, “I don”t remember,” “I might have,” or the like. Instead of eradicating the karma of one”s offenses, that kind of superficial repentance only plants evil causes, because in the Buddhadharma, one cannot be the slightest bit careless. Some people will always bring up certain examples, such as, “So-and-so created all that bad karma, but now he”s so successful. Does that mean there”s no cause and effect

　　 Is there no justice

　　” There”s a verse which goes:

　　Even in a hundred thousand eons,

　　The karma you create does not perish.

　　When the conditions come together,

　　You must still undergo the retribution yourself.

　　由此可知，造業是必有報應的，只是時間的問題，看看因緣是否會合罷了。

　　From this, we know the karma we create is sure to bring a result, a corresponding retribution. It”s only a question of time; it depends on whether the conditions have come together or not.

　　有人又會說：「縱使百千劫，所作業不亡；那麼，是不是沒有辦法消除罪障了呢？」也不是沒有辦法，辦法就是「惟願叁寶。慈悲攝受。放淨光明。照觸我身。」希望佛、法、僧叁寶，能夠本著慈悲的大願，用清淨無礙的大光明，照觸到我們的身上，這種淨光照後，能令我們叁障消除，如雲開見月般，複現出我們本來的清淨心性，所以說：「諸惡消滅。叁障蠲除。複本心源。究竟清淨。」

　　Now someone may ask, “If it”s the case that “even in a hundred thousand eons, the karma you create does not perish,” then is there no way to eradicate the karma of our offenses

　　” There is a way, which is to say: “I only hope the Triple Jewel will compassionately gather me in, and emit a pure light to shine on my body.” That is, one hopes the Triple Jewel─the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha─will, in their great vows of compassion, shine their pure, unobstructed, great radiance upon our bodies. When this pure light shines on us, it can remove the three obstructions and reveal our original pure mind and nature, just as the clouds disperse to reveal the moon. Then we conclude the repentance by saying, “All evil is extinguished, and the three obstructions are cast out. I return to the original mind-source, and am ultimately pure.”

　　說完了這首〈忏悔文〉以後，我希望大家都能明白不忏悔的害處，和能忏悔的益處。另外，還有一首〈忏悔文〉這樣說：

　　往昔所造諸惡業，

　　皆由無始貪瞋癡；

　　從身語意之所生，

　　一切我今皆忏悔。

　　Now that I”ve explained this repentance text, I hope everyone understands the harm of not repenting, and the benefits of being able to repent. Another verse of repentance says:

　　For all the bad karma created in the past,

　　Based upon beginningless greed, hatred and stupidity,

　　And born of body, mouth and mind,

　　I now repent and reform.

　　這首〈忏悔文〉不但能忏悔罪障，而且能把我們所以造罪的原因說出來，所以我希望每個人天天都能在佛前，誠心地念誦叁遍或數遍。現在，我也把它略略解說一下：

　　This verse of repentance not only allows us to repent of our offenses which have become obstructions, it also explains what caused us to create those offenses. So I hope everyone can sincerely recite it before the Buddhas each day, three times or limitless times. Now I will briefly explain it.

　　「往昔」，就是以前。近的以前是今生的以前，遠的以前是無始劫以來，在這往昔的時光中，我們不但出牛胎，入馬腹，一時姓張，一時姓李，輪轉于六道之內，而且在這段時間中，我們又不知造了多少罪業。

　　“In the past” includes the recent past, which is this life, and the distant past, which extends back to eons without beginning. In our past lives, we have turned in the six paths, leaving a cow”s womb, entering a horse”s womb, sometimes born in the Smith family, sometimes born in the Jones family. During all that time, who knows how much karma we created with our offenses

　　爲什麼我們會造罪呢？〈忏悔文〉中說得清楚，「皆由無始貪瞋癡」，這意念上的貪、瞋、癡叁毒，就是萌發無數罪業的根由。還有因爲這叁毒的作祟，我們的身體又做出了殺、盜、淫叁業，在語言上也産生了妄語、绮語、惡口、兩舌等罪，所以文中又說：「從身、語、意之所生。」

　　Why do we commit offenses

　　 The repentance verse says very clearly that it”s “based upon beginningless greed, hatred and stupidity.” The three poisons of greed, hatred and stupidity in the mind are the root cause from which immeasurable karma of offenses stems. And due to the evil influence of the three poisons, our bodies engage in the karma of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. In our speech, we engage in lying, frivolous talk, scolding, backbiting, and so on. Thus the verse says, “And born of body, mouth and mind.”

　　無論是身體上犯的殺、盜、淫叁業也好，還是語言上所犯的妄語、绮語、惡口、兩舌也好，或者是在意念上所犯的貪、瞋、癡也好，我們都要懇切地忏悔，否則會如入泥沼，愈陷愈深，罪業愈來愈重，把我們壓得喘不過氣，無能自拔。

　　Whether it”s the three offenses of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct which we commit with our bodies, or the lying, frivolous talk, scolding, and backbiting committed in our speech, or the greed, hatred and stupidity in our minds, we must sincerely repent of them all. Otherwise, we will be as if caught in quicksand, sinking deeper as the karma from our offenses grows heavier. We will be buried until we can”t breathe, unable to pull ourselves out.

　　在座各位都具上上的善根，我相信大家都會不忘忏悔，而一定能夠發願把罪業忏悔和消除盡的。

　　Everyone here has supreme good roots. I believe no one will forget to repent, and everyone will make a vow to repent of and eradicate all the karma of their offenses.

　　一九五八年六月十五日上午開示

　　A talk given on the morning of June 15, 1958

《教他作，罪加叁級 Telling Others to Do Something Increases the Severity of the Offense》全文閱讀結束。