昨天我曾很简单地对大家解说一段〈忏悔文〉，只是解释到“狎近恶友，违背良师”，现在，我继续把它说下去：
Yesterday I briefly explained part of the repentance text for everyone, but I only explained up to “being intimate with evil friends and turning away from good teachers.” Now I will continue to explain further:
“自作教他”我们知道无论杀、盗、淫、妄、酒，都是不正当的行为，而每种罪业，又分有因、缘、法、业四种，譬如说杀吧，杀有“杀因”、“杀缘”、“杀法”、“杀业”，无论哪一种，又都离不了“自作”或“教他作”。
“I have done these myself, told others to do them, and rejoiced at seeing and hearing them done.” We know that killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and taking intoxicants are improper ways to behave. Each of those offenses are divided into four aspects: causes, conditions, dharmas, and karma. For example, with killing there are the causes of killing, the conditions of killing, the dharmas of killing, and the karma of killing. In any of these aspects, one either personally commits the offense, or tells someone else to do it.
“自作”，就是不假手旁人，亲自去做不正当的事。“教他作”，就是鼓励和教唆别人去做不正当的事，这种间接犯罪的方法，比直接的还要罪加一等，因为它在已有的罪上还加上狡诈的罪行，所以“自作”固然有罪，而“教他作”的罪行更大。
“Doing them oneself” means that instead of putting it into someone else's hands, one personally engages in the improper deed. "Telling others to do them" means encouraging and inciting others to do improper things. This way of indirectly committing an offense is more serious than directly committing it, because the offense of fraud is added to the original offense. Thus, if you do it yourself, it's already an offense, but if you tell others to do it, the offense is even greater.
什么是“见闻随喜”呢？就是知道别人在犯罪，而帮助他去犯，这就是古人所说的“助纣为虐”，我们试闭目想想，从无始劫以来，我们究竟犯了多少次这样的罪？我想不用说得那么久远，就在我们短短的一生中，所犯的也就不可胜数了。
What is “rejoicing at seeing and hearing it done?” It means you know someone else is committing an offense, and you help him to do it. The ancients called this “aiding the wicked King Zhou to do evil,” that is, adding bad to worse. We should close our eyes and think about it: since eons without beginning, just how many times have we created these offenses? We don't even need to talk about such a distant time. In this short life alone, we have already made uncountable transgressions.
所以〈忏悔文〉接着又说：“如是等罪。无量无边。”我们的罪是算数之所不能及，也可以说是大到无有边际的。既然知道了自己罪深障重，那么，我们应该怎样做才对呢？不用说，自然应该在佛前至诚恳切地忏悔。
So the repentance continues, “All such offenses, limitless and boundless...” Our offenses are not only beyond reckoning, they are indeed vast beyond all bounds. Now that we realize how deep our offenses are and how serious our obstructions are, what should we do? Without being told, you should naturally know to go repent sincerely before the Buddhas.
所以〈忏悔文〉又说：“故于今日。生大惭愧。克诚披露。求哀忏悔。”“克诚”二字，是忏悔的时候所必须具有的心。有些人对师父忏悔，非常地马虎，常常藏头露尾地把过错给遮掩，这表示他并没有诚意来忏悔自己的过失，像这样的忏悔，就算历尽百千万亿恒河沙劫，也不能把罪业消除干净的。
Thus the repentance text continues, “Therefore on this day, I bring forth great shame and remorse, confess sincerely, and seek to repent and reform.” In repentance, sincerity is essential. Some people are very casual about it when they repent to their teacher. They give only a partial account, covering up or glossing over their mistakes. This shows that they are not really sincere about repenting of their errors. If that's how they repent, then even after as many eons as there are sands in a hundred million Ganges Rivers, the karma of their offenses will not be cancelled.
所谓“直心是道场”，我们无论在谁的面前忏悔，也要把话说得清楚，不要说一些个模棱两可的话。譬如，问他有没有犯过这种过失，他就说“不记得”，或者说“可能有”等等，这种不彻底的忏悔，不但不能消除罪业，反而会种下恶因，因为佛法是丝毫也不能马虎的。可是有些人也会说：“某某人做了哪些恶业，可是现在却飞黄腾达，是不是没有因果，没有公理？”有一首偈颂这样说：
It's said, “The straight mind is the Way-place.” No matter in front of whom we are repenting, we must say our confession 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:
纵使百千劫，所作业不亡；因缘会遇时，果报还自受。
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，造业是必有报应的，只是时间的问题，看看因缘是否会合罢了。
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.
有人又会说：“纵使百千劫，所作业不亡；那么，是不是没有办法消除罪障了呢？”也不是没有办法，办法就是“惟愿三宝。慈悲摄受。放净光明。照触我身。”希望佛、法、僧三宝，能够本着慈悲的大愿，用清净无碍的大光明，照触到我们的身上，这种净光照后，能令我们三障消除，如云开见月般，复现出我们本来的清净心性，所以说：“诸恶消灭。三障蠲除。复本心源。究竟清净。”
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.”
说完了这首〈忏悔文〉以后，我希望大家都能明白不忏悔的害处，和能忏悔的益处。另外，还有一首〈忏悔文〉这样说：
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:
往昔所造诸恶业，皆由无始贪瞋痴；从身语意之所生，一切我今皆忏悔。
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.
这首〈忏悔文〉不但能忏悔罪障，而且能把我们所以造罪的原因说出来，所以我希望每个人天天都能在佛前，诚心地念诵三遍或数遍。现在，我也把它略略解说一下：
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，远的以前是无始劫以来，在这往昔的时光中，我们不但出牛胎，入马腹，一时姓张，一时姓李，轮转于六道之内，而且在这段时间中，我们又不知造了多少罪业。
“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?
为什么我们会造罪呢？〈忏悔文〉中说得清楚，“皆由无始贪瞋痴”，这意念上的贪、瞋、痴三毒，就是萌发无数罪业的根由。还有因为这三毒的作祟，我们的身体又做出了杀、盗、淫三业，在语言上也产生了妄语、绮语、恶口、两舌等罪，所以文中又说：“从身、语、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.”
无论是身体上犯的杀、盗、淫三业也好，还是语言上所犯的妄语、绮语、恶口、两舌也好，或者是在意念上所犯的贪、瞋、痴也好，我们都要恳切地忏悔，否则会如入泥沼，愈陷愈深，罪业愈来愈重，把我们压得喘不过气，无能自拔。
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，我相信大家都会不忘忏悔，而一定能够发愿把罪业忏悔和消除尽的。
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开示
A talk given on the morning of June 15, 1958
