Chapter 11 · The Golden Light Repentance — in Act and in Principle

Part Three · Contemplation and Practice

Some mistakes can still be corrected. With others, the people have scattered and events have been settled; it seems that nothing can be done in time. Once a wrong has been committed, what can repentance truly change? You need not voice the question yourself. At the opening of “Extinguishing Karmic Obstructions,” Chapter 5 of The Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King, Śakra asks it publicly before the Buddha:

「World-Honored One! When good men and good women aspire to unsurpassed complete awakening, practice the Great Vehicle, and embrace all sentient beings caught in wrong views and inversions, how should they repent of the offenses that are karmic obstructions which they committed in the past, so that those offenses may be extinguished?」 〔義淨譯《金光明最勝王經·滅業障品》·T16n0665 0413c25–28·本版《金光明》譯注品五〕 『World-Honored One, when good men and good women aspire to unsurpassed complete awakening, practice the Great Vehicle, and embrace all sentient beings caught in wrong views and inversions, how should they repent of the offenses that are karmic obstructions which they committed in the past, so that those offenses may be extinguished?』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

He does not ask whether an offense exists; it has already been committed. He asks how one repents after committing it so that it can truly be extinguished. This chapter follows two chapters of the Golden Light to read out their answer, then asks what Tiantai made from that answer: a place of practice into which an ordinary person can enter.

1 · The Drumbeat in a Dream

The answer begins in the preceding chapter, “Repentance in a Dream of the Golden Drum.” After hearing the Dharma, the bodhisattva Wonderful Banner has a dream during the night:

「During the night, he dreamed of a great golden drum whose brilliant light shone like the disk of the sun. Within this light, he saw immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions seated on lapis-lazuli thrones beneath jeweled trees, surrounded by immeasurable hundreds of thousands in great assemblies to whom they taught the Dharma. He also saw a brahmin striking the golden drum with a mallet. It produced a great sound, and within that sound a wondrous gāthā explaining the practice of repentance was proclaimed.」 〔同經·夢見金鼓懺悔品·T16n0665 0411a19·本版譯注品四〕 『During the night, he dreamed of a great golden drum whose brilliant light shone like the disk of the sun. Within this light, he saw immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions seated on lapis-lazuli thrones beneath jeweled trees, surrounded by immeasurable hundreds of thousands in great assemblies to whom they taught the Dharma. He also saw a brahmin striking the golden drum with a mallet. It produced a great sound, and within that sound a wondrous gāthā explaining the practice of repentance was proclaimed.』〔本版譯注品四·白話層〕

In this sutra, the practice of repentance is not a procedure devised by someone sitting at a desk. It is proclaimed spontaneously by a drumbeat in a dream. Wonderful Banner remembers it all when he wakes. At daybreak he goes to Vulture Peak and recites the entire gāthā before the Buddha. The drumbeat first declares its own power:

「The drum of Golden Light sends forth a wondrous sound that pervades the trichiliocosm; it extinguishes the gravest offenses of the three evil destinies and all the ordeals of suffering among humans.」 〔同品·0411b12〕 『The drum of Golden Light sends forth a wondrous sound that pervades the trichiliocosm. It extinguishes the gravest offenses of the three evil destinies and all the ordeals of suffering among humans.』〔本版譯注品四·白話層〕

2 · Open Disclosure

The drumbeat then turns toward the person—the one who has committed an offense. Four lines form the core:

「For the offenses I committed before, all those extremely grave unwholesome deeds, now before the Ten-Powered Ones I repent of them all with utmost sincerity.」 〔同品·0411c09〕 『For the offenses I committed before, all those extremely grave unwholesome deeds, now before the Ten-Powered Ones I repent of them all with utmost sincerity.』〔本版譯注品四·白話層〕

A long sequence of verses then names, one after another, the conditions through which people do evil: heedlessness based on lineage, wealth, and position; following unwholesome friends; fear; hunger and thirst; craving. Each passage closes with the same refrain: 「constantly committing unwholesome deeds,」 「I committed unwholesome deeds.」 When the reckoning is complete, the drumbeat gives its promise:

「If, for hundreds of thousands of eons, a person has committed extremely grave offenses, but for even a moment can disclose and repent of them, all those evils are extinguished. In dependence on this Golden Light, one practices repentance in this way. Through it, every karma of suffering can swiftly be exhausted.」 〔同品·0412a16–18〕 『If, for hundreds of thousands of eons, a person has committed extremely grave offenses, but for even a moment can disclose and repent of them, all those evils are extinguished. In dependence on this Golden Light, one practices repentance in this way. Through it, every karma of suffering can swiftly be exhausted.』〔本版譯注品四·白話層〕

Offenses accumulated for hundreds of thousands of eons are disclosed in a moment. To disclose means lifting what covers them, speaking them before the buddhas of the ten directions, and hiding nothing. In his Words and Phrases of the Golden Light, Zhizhe explains the two characters: 「Repentance means laying bare one's many failures, disclosing faults and offenses, and not daring to conceal them; remorse means cutting off the mind that would continue them」 〔T39n1785 0059a16–17·待譯〕. One speaks the wrong aloud and cuts the mind that would carry it on. The “Extinguishing Karmic Obstructions” chapter establishes this as a daily practice: 「They should urge themselves on. Six times by day and night, they should bare the right shoulder, place the right knee on the ground, reverently join palms, and collect the mind in single-minded attention.」 Then they speak. The heart of the six-times-daily repentance is held in these lines:

「I now take refuge and disclose them all before the buddhas, not daring to conceal anything. Offenses I have not committed I will never commit; offenses already committed I now repent of completely.」 〔同經·滅業障品·0414a29〕 『I now take refuge and disclose them all before the buddhas, not daring to conceal anything. Offenses I have not committed I will never commit; offenses already committed I now repent of completely.』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

3 · As Urgent as Extinguishing Fire on One's Head

Why six times by day and night? Why such urgency? The Buddha says, 「Anyone who commits an offense must not conceal it for even a single instant,」 and gives a simile:

「It is like a person whose head and clothing have caught fire. The person must act at once to extinguish it and cannot feel at ease while the fire remains. Anyone who commits an offense is the same and should repent immediately so that it may swiftly be removed.」 〔同品·0414b18–20〕 『It is like a person whose head and clothing have caught fire. The person must act at once to extinguish it and cannot feel at ease while the fire remains. Anyone who commits an offense is the same and should repent immediately so that it may swiftly be removed.』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

The fire has already reached the head. There is no tomorrow in which to deal with it. An offense borne in oneself is just such a fire. Repentance is not ceremonial display; it is putting out the flames.

4 · On What Ground Can It Be Extinguished?

Open disclosure is something one can do. But Śakra's question asks that the offenses 「may be extinguished.」 On what ground can speaking them aloud extinguish them? The sutra supplies its own basis:

「Good man! All dharmas arise from causes and conditions, as the Tathāgata teaches. They arise with different characteristics and cease with different characteristics because their causes and conditions differ.」 〔同品·0414c06〕 『all dharmas arise from causes and conditions, as the Tathāgata teaches. They arise with different characteristics and cease with different characteristics because their causes and conditions differ.』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

「All dharmas are empty. As the Tathāgata teaches, there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no living being; there is neither arising nor ceasing, nor any mode of conditioned activity.」 〔同品·0414c10〕 『all dharmas are empty. As the Tathāgata teaches, there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no living being; there is neither arising nor ceasing, nor any mode of conditioned activity.』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

Because causes and conditions differ, things arise with different characteristics and cease with different characteristics. Past dharmas have already ceased completely, and no karmic obstruction remains. All dharmas are empty: there is no self, person, sentient being, or living being. When one enters this wondrous principle and gives rise to trust and reverence:

「Because of this principle, repentance is said to extinguish karmic obstructions.」 〔同品·0414c15〕 『Because of this principle, repentance is said to extinguish karmic obstructions.』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

The sutra grounds the capacity of repentance to extinguish obstructions in dependent arising and the emptiness of dharmas. The meaning is deep, and this chapter does not unfold it further. The complete passage, source text and sentence-by-sentence vernacular, remains in the annotated Chapter 5.

5 · Four Counteragents

The Buddha also teaches four branches of the practice that extinguishes obstructions:

「There are also four antidotes to karmic obstructions. What are the four? First, approach all the tathāgatas throughout the worlds of the ten directions wholeheartedly and confess every offense. Second, for the sake of all sentient beings, request the buddhas to teach profound and wondrous Dharma. Third, rejoice in every sentient being's virtue. Fourth, dedicate every virtue and root of goodness to unsurpassed complete awakening.」 〔同品·0414c27–0415a02〕 『There are also four antidotes to karmic obstructions. What are the four? First, approach all the tathāgatas throughout the worlds of the ten directions wholeheartedly and confess every offense. Second, for the sake of all sentient beings, request the buddhas to teach profound and wondrous Dharma. Third, rejoice in every sentient being’s virtue. Fourth, dedicate every virtue and root of goodness to unsurpassed complete awakening.』〔本版譯注品五·白話層〕

Confessing faults, requesting the teaching, rejoicing, and dedication. The chapter then explains at length the merit of rejoicing, requesting, and dedication in turn. This chapter does not quote those deep and extended passages; follow the reference and read the complete annotated Chapter 5. Remember where this chapter stands: when Zunshi establishes the five repentances below, this is the text on which he relies.

6 · Zhizhe Establishes the Rite

The sutra supplied the Dharma: words of open disclosure, a practice six times by day and night, and the branches of counteraction. Tiantai Zhizhe turned them into a place of practice. The textual study in this edition's Chapter 4 records that the Golden Light repentance established by Zhiyi survives in the Guoqing bailu, compiled by Guanding. Beneath the title, the source has a ten-character interlinear note:

The Fifth Golden Light Repentance 〔直錄其事觀慧別出餘文〕 〔灌頂纂《國清百錄》·T46n1934 0796a04·待譯；〔〕內為底本隨文注〕 『In today's words: The Fifth Golden Light Repentance 〔只錄其事；觀慧另出他文〕.』

It records only the 「acts」: how to arrange the place of practice and what to do at each time. 「Contemplative wisdom」—how the mind contemplates—is set forth in another text. Act and principle follow separate tracks; the line beneath the title knowingly says so. The ritual is not long, and its complete text appears here. The source punctuation consists only of 「full stops」 and is reproduced as such; the line breaks are supplied for readability:

Adorn the place of practice. Separately establish a seat for chanting the sutra. Arrange banners, flowers, and the rest as in the preceding rite. Place the seat of the Goddess of Merit to the left of the Buddha's seat. If the place is spacious, also set up a seat for the Goddess of Eloquence. Put the seats of the Four Heavenly Kings on the right. At every seat burn incense and scatter flowers. Prepare fruits and vegetables to the fullest of your ability. Separately fill one dish with assorted fruits and vegetables to scatter in all directions. Each day bathe and put on new, clean robes. The sutra says that for seven days and seven nights one should observe the six fast days. At noon on the first day, each person holds an incense burner, and one person chants: Let all be reverent. Single-mindedly bow with the crown of the head to all the eternally abiding Three Jewels throughout the ten directions. All members of the assembly kneel in turn. Solemnly hold incense and flowers and make offerings in accordance with the Dharma. When the silent offering in the mind is complete, say aloud: May these clouds of incense and flowers fill the worlds of the ten directions, as in the preceding rite. After saying this, begin the invitations. Single-mindedly I reverently invite our original teacher, Buddha Śākyamuni. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Akṣobhya of the east. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Jeweled Appearance of the south. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Amitāyus of the west. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Wondrous Sound of the north. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the World-Honored One Jeweled-Flower Lapis Lazuli. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Jewel-Victory. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Stainless Blazing Jewel-Light King-Appearance. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Golden-Blaze Light. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Golden Hundred-Lights Illuminating Treasury. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Golden-Mountain Jeweled Canopy. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Golden-Flower Blazing-Light Appearance. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Great Torch. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Buddha Jeweled Appearance. Single-mindedly I reverently invite all buddhas in the Golden Light Sutra and throughout the ten directions and three times. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the twelve divisions of the ocean-like Great Vehicle scripture of Golden Light. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the bodhisattva mahāsattva Trust-Form. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the bodhisattva mahāsattva Golden Light. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the bodhisattva mahāsattva Golden Treasury. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the bodhisattva mahāsattva Ever-Sorrowing. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the bodhisattva mahāsattva Above-Dharma. Single-mindedly I reverently invite all bodhisattva mahāsattvas in the Golden Light Sutra and throughout the ten directions and three times. Single-mindedly I reverently invite Śāriputra and all noble members of the Saṅgha among the śrāvakas and solitary realizers. Single-mindedly I reverently invite the honored deity Great Brahmā, the devas of the Thirty-Three, the world-protecting Four Kings, Vajra-in-Secret, Pañcika, the Goddess of Eloquence, the Goddess of Merit, Hārītī, Mother of the Southern Ghost-Children, and their five hundred followers. All are great bodhisattvas. Also invite the local spirits and ghosts of this place, making the invitation three times. Then state the intention with which repentance is established in the mind, speaking freely according to what one's wisdom can express. When the statement is complete, invoke three times the World-Honored One Jeweled-Flower Lapis Lazuli, the Golden Light Sutra, and the Goddess of Merit. After the three invocations, scatter food from the dish in all directions. Recite Paripūrṇa, then say: From this time forward, may everything I seek be auspiciously obtained. When this is complete, chant “Let all be reverent” and in turn bow to each of the Three Jewels invited above. After bowing, circumambulate three times. After circumambulating, perform the three refuges. When the refuges are complete, all may sit down together to eat. This is the method for the time before noon. At the other times, proceed as usual, devoting them solely to chanting and reciting the Golden Light Sutra. 〔同前·0796a04–b21·全文·待譯〕 『In today's words: 〔儀文首尾行文之提挈；召請二十四唱依原文自明〕Adorn the place of practice and establish a separate seat for chanting the sutra; arrange banners, flowers, and the rest as in the preceding rite. Place the seat of the Goddess of Merit to the left of the Buddha's seat; if the place is spacious, also set up a seat for the Goddess of Eloquence; put the seats of the Four Heavenly Kings on the right. At every seat burn incense and scatter flowers. Prepare fruits and vegetables to the fullest of your ability, and fill a separate dish with assorted fruits and vegetables to scatter in all directions. Bathe each day and put on new, clean robes. The sutra says that for seven days and seven nights one should observe the six fast days. At noon on the first day, each person holds an incense burner and one chants, 「Let all be reverent. Single-mindedly bow with the crown of the head to all the eternally abiding Three Jewels throughout the ten directions.」 The assembly kneels in turn, solemnly holds incense and flowers, and makes offerings in accordance with the Dharma. When the silent offering in the mind is complete, say aloud, 「May these clouds of incense and flowers fill the worlds of the ten directions,」 as in the preceding rite. Then begin the invitations. After inviting three times, state the intention with which repentance is established—speaking freely according to what each person's wisdom can express. Then invoke three times the World-Honored One Jeweled-Flower Lapis Lazuli, the Golden Light Sutra, and the Goddess of Merit. Scatter food from the dish in all directions, recite Paripūrṇa, and wish that from this time forward everything sought may be auspiciously obtained. Chant “Let all be reverent,” bow in turn to each of the Three Jewels invited above, circumambulate three times, and perform the three refuges; when the refuges are complete, all may sit down together to eat. This is the method before noon. At the other times, proceed as usual, devoting them solely to chanting and reciting the Golden Light Sutra.』

One reading shows how plain it is: establish seats, make offerings, chant twenty-four invitations, state the intention to repent—「speaking freely according to what one's wisdom can express,」 with no fixed script—scatter food in all directions, bow, circumambulate, and take refuge. This is the method before noon; at other times, 「devote them solely to chanting and reciting the Golden Light Sutra.」 The words of repentance are already in the sutra. The acts of the place of practice simply make it possible for you to come before them.

The seventeenth invitation says, 「Single-mindedly I reverently invite the bodhisattva mahāsattva Trust-Form.」 Trust-Form is the name in Dharmakṣema's translation for the bodhisattva who dreams of the golden drum; Yijing's newer translation calls him Wonderful Banner. The textual study in this edition's Chapter 4 records them as 「different names for the same person (Wonderful Banner / Trust-Form).」 One rite of repentance thus spans two Chinese translations of the Golden Light. In the next section, Zunshi himself explains that span.

7 · Zunshi's Ten Sections

In the Song, the Tiantai monk Zunshi of Dongye Mountain composed the Supplementary Rite for the Golden Light Repentance. At the opening he first asks: if the ritual acts are already in the Hundred Records and contemplative wisdom is directed to another text, what remains to supplement?

「Question: The ritual acts are already recorded in the Hundred Records, while contemplative wisdom is directed to another text. Beyond these two approaches, what remains to be supplemented?」 〔遵式《金光明懺法補助儀》·T46n1945 0957b07·待譯〕 『In today's words: Someone asks: the ritual acts are already recorded in the Hundred Records, while contemplative wisdom is directed to another text. Beyond these two approaches, what remains to be supplemented?』

One part of his answer is to unfold Zhizhe's concise text into ten sections:

「Although the text of the ritual acts in the Hundred Records is extremely concise, close examination of its meaning opens it into ten sections. It lacks only the single item of the five repentances. What are the ten? First, purifying and preparing the chamber. Second, purifying the three kinds of action. Third, making offerings of incense and flowers. Fourth, inviting and reciting spells. Fifth, praising and stating one's intention. Sixth, invoking names and presenting offerings. Seventh, revering the Three Jewels. Eighth, cultivating the five repentances. Ninth, circumambulating and taking refuge. Tenth, chanting and reciting the scripture.」 〔同前·0957c03〕 『In today's words: Although the text of the ritual acts in the Hundred Records is extremely concise, close examination of its meaning opens it into ten sections. It lacks only the single item of the five repentances. What are the ten? First, purifying and preparing the chamber; second, purifying the three kinds of action; third, making offerings of incense and flowers; fourth, inviting and reciting spells; fifth, praising and stating one's intention; sixth, invoking names and presenting offerings; seventh, revering the Three Jewels; eighth, cultivating the five repentances; ninth, circumambulating and taking refuge; tenth, chanting and reciting the scripture.』

Of the ten sections, nine are already implicit in the Hundred Records; 「it lacks only the single item of the five repentances.」 Where are the five repentances that he adds placed?

「As for the five repentances, they are now established in reliance on the “Extinguishing Karmic Obstructions” chapter.」 〔同前·同段〕 『In today's words: The five repentances are now established in reliance on the “Extinguishing Karmic Obstructions” chapter.』

This is precisely the chapter read in Sections 4 and 5 above. Zunshi also states the basis of his whole work:

「The present text relies directly on the Hundred Records and the older and newer sutras, while also drawing on passages from the Lotus Samādhi, to form the ten sections of ritual acts.」 〔同前·0958c17–18·§題「總示事理觀慧所依」在 0958c16〕 『In today's words: The present text relies directly on the Hundred Records and the older and newer sutras, while also drawing on passages from the Lotus Samādhi, to form the ten sections of ritual acts.』

「The older and newer sutras」 means the following. The older sutra is Dharmakṣema's Golden Light Sutra, the source available to Zhizhe; when discussing the ritual acts, Zunshi says 「the ritual acts already come from the older sutra」 and names 「Master Dharmakṣema.」 The newer sutra is Yijing's Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King, the basis of this edition's annotated translation. From the Sui to the Song, the scriptural source moved from Dharmakṣema's translation to Yijing's, and the rite came to rely on both. Those four words of Zunshi explain the span described in the preceding section.

8 · Repentance in Act and Repentance in Principle

Finally, the chapter title must be explained. The two terms come from an interlinear note in the Mohe Zhiguan:

「Repentance in act repents the path of suffering and the path of karma; repentance in principle repents the path of affliction.」 〔《摩訶止觀》·T46n1911 0013c22–23·底本隨文注·待譯〕 『In today's words: Repentance in act repents the path of suffering and the path of karma; repentance in principle repents the path of affliction.』

Zhizhe's line-by-line commentary on the “Repentance” chapter in Dharmakṣema's translation—the older sutra just mentioned—has its own framework:

「Repentance has three forms: first, by rite; second, by obtaining a sign; third, through non-arising. These three apply to both the Lesser and Great Vehicles.」 〔智者《金光明經文句》·T39n1785 0060b28·待譯〕 『In today's words: Repentance has three forms: first, by rite; second, by obtaining a sign; third, through non-arising. These three apply to both the Lesser and Great Vehicles.』

「Moreover, the three forms of repentance together remove the obstruction of retribution; repentance by obtaining a sign removes karmic obstruction; repentance through non-arising removes the obstruction of affliction.」 〔同前·0060c27〕 『In today's words: Moreover, the three forms of repentance together remove the obstruction of retribution; repentance by obtaining a sign removes karmic obstruction; repentance through non-arising removes the obstruction of affliction.』

Open disclosure, the daily practice, the place of practice, and chanting belong to act. Dependent arising, the emptiness of dharmas, and wondrous principle belong to principle. The rite 「records only the acts」 and lets 「contemplative wisdom appear in another text.」 Zunshi's section bears the title 「General indication of the basis for acts, principle, contemplation, and wisdom.」 An interlinear note in the Zhiguan speaks of the error of lacking both act and principle:

「If one has no contemplation in principle and no repentance in act, yet recklessly hopes for the Buddha's seal and schemes after profit and fame—there is no possibility that the Buddha would give such a seal.」 〔《摩訶止觀》·T46n1911 0094b28–c04·底本隨文注·待譯〕 『In today's words: If one has no contemplation in principle and no repentance in act, yet recklessly hopes for the Buddha's seal and schemes after profit and fame—there is no possibility that the Buddha would give such a seal.』

This chapter does not unfold the proper doctrinal reading of repentance in act and principle. The four characters 「repentance in act」 and 「repentance in principle」 occur within the Three Great Works only in an interlinear note to the Mohe Zhiguan; here their source is simply recorded. The three kinds of calming-and-contemplation in Chapter 9 are an entry into the study of contemplative wisdom. Its full compass awaits the future translation of the Three Great Works.

9 · The Drumbeat Reaches This Page

At the end of Chapter 4, Wonderful Banner's gāthā speaks of how difficult it is to hear this Dharma:

「It is not by cultivating roots of goodness before only one or ten buddhas that one now comes to hear this; only after planting roots of goodness before hundreds of thousands of buddhas can one hear this practice of repentance.」 〔同經·夢見金鼓懺悔品·0413b26–27〕 『It is not by cultivating roots of goodness before only one or ten buddhas that one now comes to hear this. Only after planting roots of goodness before hundreds of thousands of buddhas can one hear this practice of repentance.』〔本版譯注品四·白話層〕

After hearing it, the Buddha praises him:

「You should now know that this excellent deed is entirely due to the causes and conditions of your praises and vows cultivated in the past, as well as the empowering protection of the buddhas. I will explain these causes and conditions to you.」 〔同品·0413c02〕 『You should now know that this excellent deed is entirely due to the causes and conditions of your praises and vows cultivated in the past, as well as the empowering protection of the buddhas. I will explain these causes and conditions to you.』〔本版譯注品四·白話層〕

Once a wrong has been committed, what can repentance truly change? The answer has now been read from end to end: disclose it without concealment, with the urgency of extinguishing fire on one's head; in principle, dependent arising and the emptiness of dharmas; in practice, the four counteragents; Zhizhe establishes a place of practice, and Zunshi opens it into ten sections. The drumbeat traveled from dream to paper, from the Sui to the Song, and onto this page. The sutra says that those who can hear it have planted roots of goodness before hundreds of thousands of buddhas.

Author · Shi Huijing CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · 二〇二六 · 夏