Appendix A · Academic Notes Index
The main text was written to be spoken to you. So the catalog numbers, the fascicle references, the source locations—all of these have been ushered out of its pages and gathered here.
This index serves two purposes. First, it lets the reader who wants to look closer go from any chapter of the book back to the exact place in the sūtras and treatises on which that chapter rests. Second, it gives a single overview of the principal scriptures and treatises cited across the book's twenty chapters. Nothing in this book is invented—every chapter's argument presses down on the original wording of the texts listed below. All quotations have been collated against the CBETA Electronic Tripiṭaka (the Taishō canon and the Manji Zokuzōkyō) and the Pali Text Society (PTS) / Mahāsaṅgīti editions of the Pāli canon.
Numbering conventions: T refers to the Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō (volume and text number); X to the Manji Shinsan Zokuzōkyō; PTS to Pali Text Society page references; Vin to the Pāli Vinaya. The Yuanheng Temple Chinese translation of the Pāli canon (the CBETA N-series) is a modern translation: throughout this book it is consulted for reference only, never quoted directly; quotations from the Pāli canon follow the PTS / Mahāsaṅgīti (CC0) editions instead.
1 · The Principal Scriptures and Treatises: An Overview
Vinaya Collections (the Pāli Vinaya and the Chinese Complete Vinayas)
| Text | Number | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Four-Part Vinaya (the complete vinaya) | T1428 (fascicles 35–38, the skandhakas on the precept-recitation and the invitation / fascicle 44, the saṅgha quorum / fascicle 45, the full mechanism / fascicle 46, the concealment skandhaka) | 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 |
| Four-Part Bhikṣu Precepts Manual (Sifen Biqiu Jieben) / Four-Part Saṅgha Precepts Manual (Sifen Seng Jieben) | T1429 / T1430 | 1.1, 1.2 |
| Five-Part Vinaya of the Mahīśāsakas | T1421 (fascicle 19, the invitation / fascicle 23, concealment) | 1.2, 1.3 |
| Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya | T1425 (fascicle 26, probation / fascicle 27, the invitation) | 1.2, 1.3 |
| Ten-Recitation Vinaya | T1435 (fascicle 23, the rule of dumbness and the invitation / fascicle 35, the uposatha / fascicle 54, the disqualifying impediments) | 1.2, 1.3, 4.2 |
| Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya Kṣudrakavastu | T1451 (fascicle 32, disclosure before another) | 3.1 |
| Pāli Vinaya, Mahāvagga / Cullavagga | Vin i / ii (Mahāvagga: the invitation khandhaka Kd 4 and the uposatha khandhaka Kd 2 / Cullavagga: the probation khandhaka Kd 12, the accumulation khandhaka Kd 13, the Council of Five Hundred Kd 21) | 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 |
Āgamas and Pāli Nikāyas
| Text | Number | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Saṃyuktāgama (the Chinese SĀ) | T0099 (fascicle 14, SĀ 346/347 / fascicles 21, 30, 41, the arising of the precepts of restraint / fascicle 45, SĀ 1212, the invitation / fascicle 47, the teaching on burning / fascicle 27, SĀ 713/714/715, the hindrance of restlessness-and-remorse) | 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 4.1 |
| Madhyamāgama | T0026 (fascicle 3, the Salt Simile discourse, the Rāhula discourse, and the Discourse on Intention / fascicle 4, the Pāṭaliya discourse and the entanglements / fascicle 5, the Śāriputra chapter / fascicle 29, the Campā discourse: the Buddha thrice declines to recite, "get far from here, foolish man," the head split into seven pieces / fascicle 55, the Sūtra on Keeping the Fast) | 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2 |
| Ekottarāgama | T0125 (fascicle 5, the verse on repenting grave offenses / fascicle 9, the drunken elephant Nāḷāgiri / fascicles 13 and 38, the five hundred cauldrons of food / fascicle 40, rootless faith / fascicle 44, Maudgalyāyana expelling the impure / fascicle 47, Devadatta's pratyekabuddhahood) | 1.1, 2.2 |
| Dīrghāgama, the Sāmaññaphala Sūtra | T0001 (fascicle 17, King Ajātaśatru's repentance; the limiting clause) | 1.1, 2.2 |
| Alternate Saṃyuktāgama (Bieyi Za Ahan Jing) | T0100 (fascicle 8, "constantly giving rise to the restless-remorseful mind") | 2.1 |
| Sūtra on the Fast (Foshuo Zhai Jing, tr. Zhi Qian of Wu) | T0087 | 1.3 |
| Jizhiguo Jing (an alternate translation of the Sāmaññaphala Sūtra) | T0022 | 2.2 |
| Saṃyutta Nikāya SN 8.7, the Pavāraṇā Sutta / Aṅguttara Nikāya AN 8.20, the Uposatha Sutta / SN 46.51 and 46.55, the awakening-factor collection / MN 61, the Advice to Rāhula | PTS (S i / S v / A iv / M i) | 1.3, 2.1 |
Mahāyāna Sūtras
| Text | Number | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra | T0277 (disclosing with one's own mouth; the samādhi of the presence before one / the real-mark repentance verse; the markless repentance / the six-faculty repentance, faculty by faculty / the five-part Dharma-body, then receiving the bodhisattva precepts) | 1.1, 4.2, 7.1, 7.3 |
| Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra, Disciples chapter | T0475 (the Upāli section; the nature of transgression neither within, nor without, nor in between; "is called a keeper of the Vinaya") | 7.1, 7.2 |
| Heart Sūtra (Banruo Boluomiduo Xinjing) | T0251 (all dharmas are marked with emptiness, neither arising nor ceasing; no knowledge, and no attainment; true, not false) | 7.1, 7.4 |
| Verses in Praise of Samantabhadra's Vows (Puxian Pusa Xingyuan Zan) | T0297 (tr. Amoghavajra; the verse of declaring transgression; the all-gathering verse) | 3.1 |
| Avataṃsaka Sūtra, forty-fascicle · Samantabhadra Practice-Vows chapter | T0293 (fascicle 40, the fourth vow, repenting the karmic obstacle; the four exhaustion-similes; moment after moment continuing, without interruption, no weariness) | 3.1, 3.2, 8.2 |
| Sūtra on the Definitive Vinaya (Jueding Pini Jing) / Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, the Upāli Assembly | T0325 / T0310 (the repentance before the thirty-five Buddhas; disclosure; restoration to purity) | 3.1 |
| Golden Light Sūtra, Repentance chapter | T0663 (the bodhisattva Ruci; the dream of the golden drum; the repentance verses) | 6.1 |
| Brahma Net Sūtra (Fanwang Jing) | T1484 (seeing an auspicious sign; without an auspicious sign, repentance is of no avail; self-vowed ordination) | 4.2, 5.2 |
| Upāsaka Precepts Sūtra (Youposai Jie Jing) | T1488 (concealment as self-deception; shame-and-scruple → repentance → joy; "this is called pure precepts") | 4.1, 4.2 |
| Zhancha Shan'e Yebao Jing (Sūtra on Divining the Retribution of Good and Evil Deeds) | T0839 (the sign of purity; what is not a wholesome sign; "having obtained the wholesome signs of the three acts, one may then receive") | 4.2, 5.2 |
| Diamond Sūtra (Jin'gang Banruo Boluomi Jing) | T0235 (giving without abiding in marks; delivering all beings, yet no being in truth delivered; giving rise to the mind that abides nowhere) | 4.1 |
| Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Northern edition), fascicles 19–20 | T0374 (Jīvaka's words; shame and scruple, the two bright dharmas; disclosing to others) | 2.2 |
Treatises and Commentaries
| Treatise / Commentary | Number | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra (attr. Nāgārjuna, tr. Kumārajīva) | T1509 (fascicle 7, the three events; the six periods of day and night / fascicles 11–12, the emptiness of the three spheres; giver, receiver, and gift unfindable) | 3.1, 4.1 |
| Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā (attr. Nāgārjuna, tr. Kumārajīva) | T1521 (fascicle 6, the six periods of day and night; three periods each of day and night, joined as six in one day and night) | 8.2 |
| Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna | T1666 (venerating the Buddhas in the six periods of day and night; repenting with a sincere heart; never resting or abandoning it) | 8.2 |
| Śikṣāsamuccaya (Dasheng Ji Pusa Xue Lun, by Śāntideva, tr. Richeng and others) | T1636 ("one should first repent"; through the purification of transgression the Buddhas appear before one; the three heaps = repentance, entreaty, rejoicing) | 3.1 |
| Putixing Jing (tr. Tianxizai; ascribed in its title to the noble Nāgārjuna's collected verses—in fact Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra) | T1662 (repentance leading as the forerunner; repentance in the six periods) | 3.1 |
| Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna (expounded by Zhiyi) | T1916 (fascicle 2, the three repentances; their support of morality, concentration, and wisdom; the three grades of offense; the three-medicine simile; deep contemplation of non-arising as most honored and most sublime; contemplating that transgression is non-arising) | 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.4 |
| Mohe Zhiguan (the Great Calming and Contemplation; expounded by Zhiyi, recorded by Guanding) | T1911 (fascicle 7b, setting body and speech in motion again to assist the mental act; adding the fivefold repentance; "repentance means laying out past evils, remorse means reforming the past and cultivating what is to come") | 6.1 |
| The Lotus Samādhi Repentance Rite (composed by Zhiyi, collated by Zunshi) | T1941 (the ten stages; the preliminary expedient; Samantabhadra as lord of repentance; the six-faculty repentance; setting aside what was practiced before) | 6.1, 6.2 |
| Guoqing Bailu, the Golden Light Repentance (compiled by Guanding) | T1934 (recording the proceedings directly; the contemplative wisdom set out separately) | 6.1 |
| Repentance Rite of the Compassionate Ritual Arena (the Liang Emperor's Jeweled Repentance; compiled by the assembled Dharma masters) | T1909 (the legend: Empress Xi transformed into a python / Repentance, section three: "in the ordinary it is called bondage" / untying enmity and loosening the knot / the prostration-repentance for the six destinies, "for oneself as well" / the concluding great vows) | 6.3 |
| Practice Rite of the Great Compassion Mantra of the Thousand-Hand-and-Eye One (the Great Compassion Repentance, compiled by Zhili) | T1950 (the ten stages; still drawing on the Lotus Samādhi to supply the supporting contemplation) | 6.1 |
| Annotated Vimalakīrti Sūtra (compiled by Sengzhao, with the comments of Kumārajīva, Sengzhao, and Daosheng) | T1775 (fixing the mark of transgression makes transgression grow; traced to the end, all is hollow; the sealing delusion binds itself) | 7.2 |
| Essentials of Repentance Practice (Xiuchan Yaozhi, by Zhili; preserved in the Siming Zunzhe Jiaoxing Lu) | T1937 (sign-based repentance sets the arising of the sign in the concentrated mind as its terminus; the practice happens at one time; non-arising is most essential, the sign-based comparatively lenient) | 5.2 |
| Jin Guangming Jing Wenju Ji (Zhili's Notes on the Words and Phrases of the Golden Light Sūtra) | T1785 (the sign-based repentance procedures; the twelve dream-kings of the Vaipulya; Ākāśagarbha's seal upon the arm) | 5.2 |
| Sifenlü Xingshichao Zichiji (Yuanzhao's subcommentary on the Four-Part Vinaya manual) | T1805 (phenomenal repentance, on obtaining the auspicious sign, extinguishes even grave offenses; "the sign-taking repentance of the northern teachings"; the fourfold analysis of repented offenses) | 4.2, 5.2 |
| Sifenlü Shanfan Buque Xingshichao (Daoxuan's Four-Part Vinaya practice manual) | T1804 ("in every case purity is required"; purified by the sign-based repentance, one is fit to count toward the quorum) | 4.2 |
| Chengguan, Xingyuanpin Shu (Commentary on the Practice-Vows Chapter) | X0227 (the summary of inexhaustibility; "the nine gates below follow this example of inexhaustibility") | 3.2 |
| Xingyuanpin Shuchao (Chengguan's commentary with Zongmi's subcommentary) | X0229 (tracing the four similes to the ten inexhaustible realms; the power of Samantabhadra's contemplative practice; the absence of contemplating transgression's empty nature, emptiness of nature taken as the foundation) | 3.2 |
2 · Chapter-by-Chapter Sources
Part One · Pāli Roots
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Repentance Was Three Things All Along | Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 4, the Pāṭaliya discourse ("I only pray, Gautama, that you receive my repentance"; seeing the offense, disclosing it, guarding against doing it again; thus the noble Dharma grows); Pāli Vinaya, Cullavagga Kd 21, the Council of Five Hundred (Ānanda's five disclosures, Vin ii 288); the satipaṭṭhāna corpus, MN 10 / DN 22, and Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 27 (restlessness-and-remorse as a hindrance); fascicle 47 (the teaching on burning); Four-Part Vinaya T1428, fascicles 35–36 (the disclosure procedure; the three questions at the uposatha; deliberate lying obstructs the path); Dīrghāgama T0001, fascicle 17, the Sāmaññaphala Sūtra (Ajātaśatru's offense diminished; had he not killed his father, he would have attained the pure Dharma-eye); Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 (disclosing with one's own mouth; the samādhi of the presence before one) |
| 1.2 As Many Days Hidden, So Many Days to Walk | Four-Part Bhikṣu Precepts Manual T1429 (the saṅghāvaśeṣa procedure: imposed parivāsa probation → six nights of mānatta → rehabilitation before a saṅgha of twenty; if even one is lacking, the offense cannot be removed); Four-Part Vinaya T1428, fascicle 45 (where neither offense was concealed, the saṅgha gives mānatta for both; probation according to the days concealed; reset to day one; the petition formula for rehabilitation; "done according to rule, the offense is lifted") / fascicle 44 (the four kinds of saṅgha; rehabilitation requires twenty) / fascicle 46 ("it must not be so"; concealing for fear the other monks will know); Five-Part Vinaya T1421, fascicle 23 (one night concealed → one night of probation); Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya T1425, fascicle 26 (ten nights → ten nights); Pāli Vinaya, Cullavagga Kd 12, the probation khandhaka (the three interruptions of the night-count; the announcement, ārocana), with Kd 13, the accumulation khandhaka (ekāhappaṭicchannāya, "concealed for one day"; reset to day one; abbhāna rehabilitation) |
| 1.3 Giving Yourself Up First | Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 45, SĀ 1212 (the Buddha in the rains retreat at the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove in Rājagṛha; the five hundred arhats, all save Ānanda; as the fifteenth of the month came, at the time of the meal, the seat spread; "receive me with forbearance: let nothing of body, speech, or mind deserving reproach go unsaid"; Śāriputra's invitation in return); Saṃyutta Nikāya SN 8.7, the Pavāraṇā Sutta; Ten-Recitation Vinaya T1435, fascicle 23, and Four-Part Vinaya T1428, fascicle 37 (the rule of dumbness; "like enemies dwelling together"; abolishing the rule of dumbness and instituting the invitation); Four-Part Vinaya T1428, fascicles 37–38 (the invitation formula by the seen, the heard, the suspected; the invitation is precisely the giving of leave; invite distinctly, enough for the other to hear; invite unhurriedly; the invitation counts as the recitation of the precepts); Five-Part Vinaya T1421, fascicle 19; Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya T1425, fascicle 27; Four-Part Vinaya T1428, fascicles 35–36 (the fortnightly uposatha; an offender may neither recite nor hear the precepts; those who assent stay silent); Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 29, the Campā discourse (the Buddha thrice declines to recite; Maudgalyāyana surveys the assembly and leads the impure monk out by the arm; "get far from here, foolish man"; the head split into seven pieces—the chapter's primary source for the driving-out scene); Aṅguttara Nikāya AN 8.20, the Uposatha Sutta (the assembly impure, the Buddha will not recite; Maudgalyāyana expels Aśvaka and Punarvasuka); Ekottarāgama T0125, fascicle 44 (the same episode; the first, middle, and last watches of the night; taking him by the hand and leading him out the door); Sūtra on the Fast T0087 and Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 55, the Sūtra on Keeping the Fast (the householder's six fast-days and eight precepts) |
Part Two · Remorse in the Āgamas
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 2.1 One Remorse, Two Roads | Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 3, the Rāhula discourse (disclosure, plus relinquishing that past mental act) / MN 61; Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 4, the Gāmaṇi and Pāṭaliya discourses (seeing the offense, disclosing it, guarding against its recurrence—thus the noble Dharma grows); Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 41, SĀ 1138 (Panchou, a disciple of Ānanda, and Afupi, a disciple of Maudgalyāyana, quarreling over who knew more; Mahākāśyapa raises the matter; they rejoice, pay homage, and withdraw) / fascicle 30, SĀ 830 (the monk of the Kāśyapa clan in the Paṅkadhā grove; remorse arose in his mind; he followed to the Jeta Grove and repented); Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 27, SĀ 713 (that restlessness, that remorse, is precisely the hindrance) / SĀ 715 (its food: recollection with improper attention; its non-food: calming) / SĀ 714 (when restless, calm it—do not add fuel to the fire); Alternate Saṃyuktāgama T0100, fascicle 8 (constantly giving rise to the restless-remorseful mind; restlessness-and-remorse as a cause of scattering); Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 4 (the entanglement of restlessness-and-remorse; sorrow and pain arise in the mind); Saṃyutta Nikāya SN 46.51 (cetaso vūpasamo) / 46.55 (the simile of the stirred water and the reflected face); Pāli Vinaya, Cullavagga Kd 7, and the Sāmaññaphala Sutta DN 2 (the vuḍḍhi ariyassa vinaye growth formula) |
| 2.2 The Deepest Remorse | Dīrghāgama T0001, fascicle 17, the Sāmaññaphala Sūtra ("receive my repentance"; "one who can repent benefits himself"; "out of pity for you I receive your repentance"; the offense diminished, the heavy fault already drawn out; "had he not killed his father, on this very seat he would have attained the pure Dharma-eye"); Ekottarāgama T0125, fascicle 9 (the drunken elephant Nāḷāgiri; the strong wine; loosing the elephant against the Buddha) / fascicles 13 and 38 (sending five hundred cauldrons of food daily to Devadatta) / fascicle 40 ("had he not taken his father the king's life, this day he would have attained the first fruit of the renunciant"; rootless faith) / fascicle 47 (Devadatta's five heinous acts, falling bodily into Avīci for a kalpa; for uttering "namaḥ" he will become a pratyekabuddha named Namaḥ); Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 3, the Salt Simile discourse (an ounce of salt cast into a little water / into the Ganges) / fascicle 3, the Discourse on Intention (deeds done deliberately must be requited); Five-Part Vinaya T1421, fascicle 3 (the chain of Devadatta's coup); Ten-Recitation Vinaya T1435, fascicle 54 (one who has deliberately killed father or mother may not go forth or receive ordination); Jizhiguo Jing T0022 (the alternate translation's softer reading; "the Dharma-eye arose"; gaining patience); Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Northern edition) T0374, fascicles 19–20 (Jīvaka's words; shame and scruple, disclosing to others; consulted lightly as a Mahāyāna side-reference); the Pāli Sāmaññaphala Sutta DN 2 (khatāyaṁ rājā; imasmiññeva āsane dhammacakkhuṁ uppajjissatha) |
Part Three · The Sevenfold Worship and Samantabhadra
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Where Confession Stands Among the Seven Limbs | Verses in Praise of Samantabhadra's Vows T0297 (tr. Amoghavajra; "whatever evil deeds I have done, all sprang from craving, anger, and delusion"; worship, offering, and the declaring of transgression; the all-gathering verse); forty-fascicle Avataṃsaka T0293, fascicle 40 (Prajña's translation; the restatement verse "all of it I now wholly repent"); Ten-Recitation Bhikṣu Prātimokṣa T1436 ("disclosed, there is ease; undisclosed, the offense grows deeper"); Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya Kṣudrakavastu T1451, fascicle 32 (the "Noble One, bear in mind" formula; the fixed form of disclosure before another); Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra T1509, fascicle 7 (constantly practicing the three events in the six periods of day and night; "I, so-and-so, before the present Buddhas of the ten directions, repent, praying that it be extinguished and never done again"); Śikṣāsamuccaya T1636 (citing the Upāli-paripṛcchā, "one should first repent with utmost sincerity"; through the purification of transgression the Buddhas appear before one; concealment turns good into transgression; the three heaps = repentance, entreaty, rejoicing); Sūtra on the Definitive Vinaya T0325 / Mahāratnakūṭa, the Upāli Assembly T0310 (the repentance before the thirty-five Buddhas; the names; the disclosure "whether concealed or not concealed"; the restoration to purity, "the Buddhas show their bodies"; the sevenfold worship in miniature verse); Putixing Jing T1662 (repentance leading as the forerunner; universal repentance in the six periods of day and night—weaker structural evidence) |
| 3.2 From a Limb to a Vow | Forty-fascicle Avataṃsaka T0293, fascicle 40, the fourth of Samantabhadra's vows ("as for repenting and removing the karmic obstacle": from craving, anger, and delusion, issuing through body, speech, and mind; "if this evil karma had substance and mark, the whole realm of space could not contain it"; "never committing again, abiding ever in the pure precepts"; "when the realm of space is exhausted... and beings' afflictions are exhausted, only then is my repentance exhausted"; "this repentance of mine has no exhaustion; moment after moment it continues, without interruption; in acts of body, speech, and mind, no weariness"); Verses in Praise of Samantabhadra's Vows T0297 (the contrast: the praise-verses lack the no-exhaustion clause); Chengguan, Xingyuanpin Shu X0227 (the summary of inexhaustibility placed under the vow of worship at the head; "the nine gates below follow this example of inexhaustibility"); Xingyuanpin Shuchao X0229 (Zongmi; tracing the four similes back to the ten inexhaustible realms of the Daśabhūmika; the power of Samantabhadra's contemplative practice, not a sign-grasping within arising-and-ceasing; the merit of one moment of repentance standing equal to the karma of measureless kalpas—the simile of the lamp in the dark room; the absence of contemplating transgression's empty nature, emptiness of nature presupposed as the foundation) |
Part Four · The Death-and-Rebirth Bridge
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 4.1 After the Loss of Self, Disclosure Becomes Real | Diamond Sūtra T0235 ("practice giving without abiding in anything"; delivering all beings, yet no being is in truth delivered; if there is a mark of self, that one is no bodhisattva; "give rise to the mind that abides nowhere"); Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra T1509, fascicles 11–12 (the emptiness of the three spheres; giver, receiver, and gift unfindable; "if the three are unfindable, how is the dāna-pāramitā called complete and full?"); Upāsaka Precepts Sūtra T1488, fascicle 6 (concealment as self-deception; "these people will surely see, hear, and know me"; dread and anguish; repenting with the whole heart, and having repented, joy arises in the mind); Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 14, SĀ 346 (the causal chain: shame-and-scruple → heedfulness → training in the precepts → right mindfulness → not clinging to the view of self) / SĀ 347, the Susīma discourse (seeing for oneself, knowing for oneself, repenting—merit grows and never recedes); Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 5, the Yamaka discourse, and fascicle 12, the Kātyāyana discourse (the self cannot be apprehended, yet it is not that there is nothing; leaving the two extremes, the middle way is taught); Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 (repenting all transgressions, declaring one's own faults, and only then receiving the bodhisattva precepts; the five-part Dharma-body; the recollections of giving and of the precepts set side by side) |
| 4.2 Then, Receiving the New Precept-Substance | Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 (then, in a quiet place, addressing the Buddhas of the ten directions; inviting Śākyamuni as preceptor and Mañjuśrī as ācārya; no preceptor needed, no masters, no formal motion—the five-part Dharma-body accomplished of itself; "the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are born from this Dharma"); Four-Part Vinaya T1428, fascicle 35 (lying obstructs the first dhyāna up through arhatship; "repentance brings ease") / fascicle 22 (without disclosure the offense is not removed) / fascicle 45 (rehabilitation done according to rule: pure, without violation, the offense lifted); Upāsaka Precepts Sūtra T1488, fascicle 6 (having repented, joy arises in the mind; guarding and upholding it carefully—"this is called pure precepts"; first receive the lesser regulation, then one can bear the greater); Brahma Net Sūtra T1484 (seeing an auspicious sign—the Buddha comes and rubs one's crown, one sees light, sees flowers; "without an auspicious sign, though one repents it is of no avail"—that person does not obtain the precepts in this body; after the Buddha's passing, self-vowed ordination: seeing an auspicious sign within seven days, one obtains the precepts); Zhancha Shan'e Yebao Jing T0839 (the wholesome sign appearing; if one has seen or heard of these matters beforehand, it is false, deceptive, counterfeit—not a wholesome sign; "having obtained the wholesome signs of body, speech, and mind, one may then receive"); Sifenlü Xingshichao Zichiji T1805 (Yuanzhao; phenomenal repentance, on obtaining the auspicious sign, extinguishes even grave offenses; "the sign-taking repentance of the northern teachings"); Sifenlü Shanfan Buque Xingshichao T1804 (Daoxuan; "in every case purity is required") |
Part Five · The Three Repentances
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Step Back and See the Whole Ladder | Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna T1916, fascicle 2 ("stated in essentials, three kinds: procedural repentance supports the Vinaya discipline; sign-contemplating repentance supports the methods of concentration; the repentance of contemplating non-arising supports the methods of wisdom"; the meaning runs through both the Tripiṭaka and the Mahāyāna, assigned by predominance; procedural repentance—"undoing the evil deed by doing the good deed," "karman is here rendered procedure," "with no regard for seeing signs, nor for contemplating emptiness"; the three grades of offense—the path-obstructing offense that violates the unmanifest, the offense by intrinsic nature, and the root offense of ignorance; ultimately removing the source and root of transgression; the senses of recovery, of surpassing the original, and of greatly surpassing the original, with the three-medicine simile of ginger-and-cassia, mineral powders, and the immortals' elixir; citing the Mahāyāna treatise, "one who breaks the precept against killing and repents recovers the purity of the precept, and the path-obstructing offense is extinguished—but the recompense for the killing is not extinguished") |
| 5.2 Crouch Down at the Middle Rung | Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna T1916, fascicle 2 (sign-contemplating repentance: "within the stilled mind one sees the various signs," "all of this is done within the concentrated mind"; the four settings in which signs are seen—in dream, while circumambulating, while seated, in inner realization; Māra too can produce such signs, the true and the false are hard to tell apart, no sign may be seized as definitive—only a good teacher can recognize them; judge by this: if the mind dwells on the sign-event and grasps at it, māra-affairs will surely multiply; the practitioner should search the sūtras for himself and practice according to the text); Essentials of Repentance Practice T1937 (Zhili; sign-based repentance sets the arising of the sign within the concentrated mind's directed contemplation as its terminus; "though the methods are three, the practice happens at one time"; one may lack the earlier, but must never slight the later—non-arising is most essential, the sign-based comparatively lenient); Brahma Net Sūtra T1484 (the auspicious sign: the Buddha comes and rubs one's crown, one sees light, sees flowers); Zhancha Shan'e Yebao Jing T0839 (what is not a wholesome sign); Jin Guangming Jing Wenju Ji T1785 (Zhili; the sign-based repentance procedures; the twelve dream-kings of the Vaipulya; Ākāśagarbha calling out and pressing the seal upon the arm; the phenomenal function gained alongside); Sifenlü Xingshichao Zichiji T1805 (Yuanzhao; the fourfold analysis of repented offenses: pure by the transformative teaching yet impure by the regulatory / pure by the regulatory yet impure by the transformative; "the sign-taking repentance of the northern teachings") |
Part Six · The Chinese Repentance Liturgies
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 6.1 What a Repentance Rite Looks Like | Golden Light Sūtra, Repentance chapter, T0663, fascicle 1 (the bodhisattva Ruci in Rājagṛha; he dreamed of a golden drum, its brightness shining everywhere like the light of the sun; a brahmin struck the drum with a mallet, and from its great sound issued verses proclaiming repentance; when night had passed, at dawn he left Rājagṛha for Gṛdhrakūṭa, to the Buddha, and recited them; in the verses, "all evils of the past I now wholly repent; transgressions of the present I disclose with a sincere heart; what is not yet done I dare not do; deeds already done I dare not conceal," "washing them clean with the water of great compassion," "homage to the ocean of Buddhas"; offering, rescue, dedication); Mohe Zhiguan T1911, fascicle 7b (the foremost repentance takes the real mark as its object; the mind's workings are subtle and hidden, hard to open all at once; so body and speech are set in motion again to assist the mental act, and the fivefold repentance is added; "repentance means laying out past evils; remorse means reforming the past and cultivating what is to come"); Guoqing Bailu, the Golden Light Repentance, T1934 (Guanding; recording the proceedings directly, the contemplative wisdom set out separately); the Lotus Samādhi Repentance Rite T1941 (the contemplative-practice repentance type); the Repentance Rite of the Compassionate Ritual Arena T1909 (the liturgical repentance type); the Practice Rite of the Great Compassion Mantra T1950 (Zhili; designed in the spirit of contemplative practice, yet popularly current as a mantra-recitation liturgy) |
| 6.2 Walking into the First Ritual Arena: The Lotus Samādhi Repentance | The Lotus Samādhi Repentance Rite T1941 (twenty-one days, the six periods of day and night, single-minded diligence; the preliminary expedient—seven days of first taming the mind; even one who in this life has committed the five heinous acts or the four grave offenses, and wishes to be restored to the full discipline of a renunciant, should likewise practice it; the ten stages: consecrating the arena / purifying the body / the threefold-act offering / inviting the Three Jewels / praising the Three Jewels / venerating the Buddhas / repentance / circumambulation / reciting the Lotus Sūtra / contemplating the one real realm; the ten methods fall into three classes of use—grasp the intent well, not all need be recited together; in consecrating the arena only a single copy of the Lotus Sūtra is installed; if one cannot pull out one's own goods for the offering, grave offenses are not extinguished—how then could samādhi arise; "single-mindedly venerate the bodhisattva Samantabhadra"—he is the lord of repentance of the Lotus rite, the other Buddhas standing as witnesses; though the nature of karma is empty, its fruit is not lost—one who knows emptiness does not even do good, much less commit transgression; therefore give rise to great shame and scruple, disclose and repent; the six-faculty repentance, faculty by faculty—"declaring such-and-such offense, daring not conceal it"—praying that the Dharma-water of the wisdom-eye wash it away; in the six periods neither the phenomenal nor the principial side may be left lacking; practicing by the six periods is to teach new bodhisattva-learners not yet able to enter deep samādhi to first tame the mind with phenomenal methods; one who would enter deep samādhi must then set aside what was practiced before); Zunshi's preface to the collated original edition (a later hand added a recent sentence at the seated-contemplation section that crept into the main text) |
| 6.3 Walking to the Other Pole: The Liang Emperor's Jeweled Repentance | The Repentance Rite of the Compassionate Ritual Arena T1909 (the legend: Empress Xi, jealous of the six palaces, died and became a python; she laid herself bare before the emperor, begging one deed of merit for her rescue; Master Zhigong gathered the Buddha's words, pruned away the idle phrases, and made the repentance rite for her; by the emperor's merit she was born in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven—the legend itself admits it stands several centuries after the Liang; the current ten-fascicle text was enlarged by later generations; the tradition that Emperor Wu compiled it for Empress Xi is not reliable history; its proper title is the Repentance Rite of the Compassionate Ritual Arena / Repentance, section three: "in the ordinary it is called bondage; in the sage it is called release" / displaying karmic recompense, the suffering marks of the six destinies / untying enmity and loosening the knot: "from inequality arises the I-and-mine mind, giving rise to thoughts of foe and kin"; "with the mind of compassion, free of thoughts of foe and kin, equal to the mind of the Buddhas" / the prostration-repentance for the six destinies: "universally for those of the six destinies who have already suffered and who have yet to suffer, begging mercy in prostration and repentance—and for oneself as well" / the concluding great vows, extending universally to the limits of the realm of space); the Lotus Samādhi Repentance Rite T1941 (the contrasting inward pole) |
Part Seven · The Repentance of Non-Arising: Transgression Has No Own-Being
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 7.1 The Sun of Wisdom Shines Once, and the Frost and Dew Are Gone | Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna T1916, fascicle 2 (the repentance of contemplating non-arising supports the methods of wisdom; "deep contemplation of non-arising is called the great repentance, the most honored and most sublime among repentances; in all the Mahāyāna sūtras that expound the method of repentance, this contemplation is everywhere the principal"; "neither apprehending transgression nor non-transgression; contemplating that transgression is non-arising shatters all transgression—for all transgressions are rooted in emptiness, and are ever pure"); Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 (the real-mark repentance verse: "The sea of all karmic obstruction is born from deluded thought; if you would repent, sit upright and contemplate the real mark. The host of transgressions are like frost and dew; the sun of wisdom can dissolve them. Therefore, with all your heart, repent the six sense faculties."; the markless repentance: "contemplate the mind as no-mind; it arises from inverted thought"; "my mind being itself empty, transgression and merit have no owner"; "this is called the repentance free of the mark of transgression"); Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra T0475, Disciples chapter (the nature of that transgression is neither within, nor without, nor in between; as the mind is, so too is the stain of transgression—neither departs from suchness; "one who knows this is called a keeper of the Vinaya"); Heart Sūtra T0251 (all dharmas are marked with emptiness; neither arising nor ceasing, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing). Note: "most honored and most sublime" is a Tiantai doctrinal-classification stance, not self-evident in the sūtras; the gathering of the three sources under "the repentance of non-arising" is a Tiantai synthesis. |
| 7.2 Vimalakīrti Rebukes Upāli | Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra T0475, Disciples chapter (two monks who had broken the precepts, holding their shame, went to Upāli; "Upāli, do not pile further transgression upon these two monks; you should remove and extinguish it directly, not disturb their minds"; the nature of transgression is neither within, nor without, nor in between; deluded thought is the stain, absence of deluded thought is purity; grasping at self is the stain, not grasping at self is purity; like an illusion, like lightning, like a dream, like a mirage-flame, like the moon in water, like an image in a mirror; "one who knows this is called a keeper of the Vinaya"—and is called one who understands well; the two monks' praise: "supreme wisdom!—this is beyond the foremost upholder of the Vinaya, who could not have spoken so"; they gave rise to the mind of anuttarā samyak-saṃbodhi, vowing that all beings should gain such eloquence); Annotated Vimalakīrti Sūtra T1775 (Kumārajīva: "fix the mark of his transgression and press him further, and the mind is disturbed and the transgression grows; let him hear the real mark, and the mind turns profound, abiding nowhere—the burden of transgression dissolves of itself"; Sengzhao: "the burden of transgression arises formed of causes and conditions; seek its real nature and it lies in none of the three places; formed of assembled conditions, traced to the end it is all hollow"; Daosheng: "the sealing delusion comes from the person—how could that transgression itself exist? Can transgression reach one who has already left transgression's domain?") |
| 7.3 Six Gates, One Sun of Wisdom | Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 (Samantabhadra as the teacher of repentance; the six recollections as the foundation laid in advance; the faculty-by-faculty format of the six-faculty repentance—"prostrating the five limbs to the ground, rightly mindful of the Mahāyāna: this is called the method of repenting the transgressions of such-and-such faculty"; the eye faculty and craving for forms; the ear faculty, hearing sounds and clinging in delusion, like glue sticking to grass; the nose faculty—"the cause of the Mahāyāna is the real mark of all dharmas"; the tongue faculty—false speech, frivolous speech, harsh speech, divisive speech: the thorns of evil karma issue from the tongue-root; body and mind treated together—like a monkey ranging everywhere through the six sense faculties, its branches, flowers, and leaves filling the three realms; contemplate the mind as no-mind; transgression and merit have no owner; the repentance free of the mark of transgression; the closing verse, "the sea of all karmic obstruction is born from deluded thought"; hearing the emptiness of the ultimate meaning, one at that moment enters the true rank of the bodhisattva; the method of repentance practiced by the Buddhas of the ten directions and the great bodhisattvas); Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra T0475 (transgression has no own-being—cross-reference); Annotated Vimalakīrti Sūtra T1775 (fixing the mark of transgression makes transgression grow—cross-reference); Heart Sūtra T0251 (all dharmas are marked with emptiness—the signpost) |
| 7.4 Laying the Whole Volume on the Heart Sūtra | Heart Sūtra T0251 (Avalokiteśvara bodhisattva, practicing the deep prajñāpāramitā, clearly saw that the five aggregates are all empty, and crossed beyond all suffering and distress; form is emptiness; all dharmas are marked with emptiness, neither arising nor ceasing; therefore in emptiness there is no form—no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no knowledge, and no attainment; because there is nothing to attain, the mind has no hindrance—ultimate nirvāṇa; the Buddhas of the three times, relying on prajñāpāramitā, attain anuttarā samyak-saṃbodhi; it can remove all suffering—true, not false); Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 ("transgression and merit have no owner"—one of the three sources); Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna T1916 (contemplating that transgression is non-arising—one of the three sources). Note: "repentance as the Heart Sūtra's emptiness" and the mapping of the Six Practice Gates onto five movements and one emptiness are this series' interpretive frame—neither explicit in the sūtra's text nor a consensus of the commentaries. |
Part Eight · The Modern Diagnosis, and Daily Use
| Chapter | Principal sources |
|---|---|
| 8.1 Taking Off the Three Pairs of Spectacles | (This chapter is a diagnostic gathering-in of the first seven parts; it introduces no new scriptural evidence—everything cited is a recapitulation.) Saṃyuktāgama T0099, fascicle 27, SĀ 713–715 (wholesome remorse ends of itself; restlessness-and-remorse ruminates—carried from 2.1); Dīrghāgama T0001, fascicle 17 ("one who can repent benefits himself"; to receive is not to absolve—carried from 1.1 and 2.2); Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra T0475 and Heart Sūtra T0251 (emptiness is not absolution; no one is bound—carried from Part Seven); Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 (the repentance free of the mark of transgression; the sun of wisdom's seeing is not emotional relief—carried from 7.1); Madhyamāgama T0026, fascicle 4 (the distinction between shame and guilt—carried from 2.1); Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna T1916 and Annotated Vimalakīrti Sūtra T1775 (acknowledging things as they are is not nailing them down and castigating oneself—carried from Part Seven) |
| 8.2 Returning to Daily Use (Final Chapter) | Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā T1521, fascicle 6 ("not only recollecting, invoking the name, and venerating—one should further repent, entreat, rejoice, and dedicate before the Buddhas"; three periods each of day and night, joined as six periods in one day and night, single-mindedly recollecting the Buddhas); Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna T1666 ("in the six periods of day and night venerate the Buddhas, repent with a sincere heart, entreat, rejoice, and dedicate toward bodhi, never resting or abandoning it—one escapes the obstacles, and the good roots grow"; the received text reads "never resting or abandoning," not "ceasing"—the Shi Moheyan Lun T1668 quotes the variant "ceasing"; this book follows the text of the Awakening of Faith itself); forty-fascicle Avataṃsaka T0293, fascicle 40 (moment after moment it continues, no weariness—relying on the power of Samantabhadra's contemplative practice; carried from 3.2); Four-Part Vinaya T1428 (the institutional rhythm of the uposatha and the invitation—carried from 1.2 and 1.3); the Lotus Samādhi Repentance Rite T1941 (the fivefold-repentance structure, from repentance to vow—carried from 6.2); Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Practice of Samantabhadra T0277 and Stages of the Perfection of Dhyāna T1916 (the empty summit of the repentance of non-arising; summiting does not dismantle the stairs—carried from Part Seven); Dīrghāgama T0001, fascicle 17 (to receive is not to be absolved; emptiness is not absolution—carried from 2.2 and 7.1) |
This index has been collated against the CBETA Electronic Tripiṭaka (Taishō T / Manji Zokuzōkyō X); Pāli quotations follow the Mahāsaṅgīti (CC0) edition, with PTS references given in parallel. The Yuanheng Temple Chinese translation of the Southern Canon (the N-series) is a modern translation, consulted but never quoted. Every doctrinal claim in this book presses down on the original texts listed above; the reader may trace any chapter back to its sources.