昨天我曾很簡單地對大家解說一段〈懺悔文〉，只是解釋到「狎近惡友，違背良師」，現在，我繼續把它說下去：

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」我們知道無論殺、盜、淫、妄、酒，都是不正當的行為，而每種罪業，又分有因、緣、法、業四種，譬如說殺吧，殺有「殺因」、「殺緣」、「殺法」、「殺業」，無論哪一種，又都離不了「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，親自去做不正當的事。「教他作」，就是鼓勵和教唆別人去做不正當的事，這種間接犯罪的方法，比直接的還要罪加一等，因為它在已有的罪上還加上狡詐的罪行，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.

什麼是「見聞隨喜」呢？就是知道別人在犯罪，而幫助他去犯，這就是古人所說的「助紂為虐」，我們試閉目想想，從無始劫以來，我們究竟犯了多少次這樣的罪？我想不用說得那麼久遠，就在我們短短的一生中，所犯的也就不可勝數了。

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〈懺悔文〉接著又說：「如是等罪。無量無邊。」我們的罪是算數之所不能及，也可以說是大到無有邊際的。既然知道了自己罪深障重，那麼，我們應該怎樣做才對呢？不用說，自然應該在佛前至誠懇切地懺悔。

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〈懺悔文〉又說：「故於今日。生大慚愧。克誠披露。求哀懺悔。」「克誠」二字，是懺悔的時候所必須具有的心。有些人對師父懺悔，非常地馬虎，常常藏頭露尾地把過錯給遮掩，這表示他並沒有誠意來懺悔自己的過失，像這樣的懺悔，就算歷盡百千萬億恆河沙劫，也不能把罪業消除乾淨的。

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.

所謂「直心是道場」，我們無論在誰的面前懺悔，也要把話說得清楚，不要說一些個模稜兩可的話。譬如，問他有沒有犯過這種過失，他就說「不記得」，或者說「可能有」等等，這種不徹底的懺悔，不但不能消除罪業，反而會種下惡因，因為佛法是絲毫也不能馬虎的。可是有些人也會說：「某某人做了哪些惡業，可是現在卻飛黃騰達，是不是沒有因果，沒有公理？」有一首偈頌這樣說：

縱使百千劫，所作業不亡；
因緣會遇時，果報還自受。

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:

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「惟願三寶。慈悲攝受。放淨光明。照觸我身。」希望佛、法、僧三寶，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，能令我們三障消除，如雲開見月般，復現出我們本來的清淨心性，所以說：「諸惡消滅。三障蠲除。復本心源。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〈懺悔文〉以後，我希望大家都能明白不懺悔的害處，和能懺悔的益處。另外，還有一首〈懺悔文〉這樣說：

往昔所造諸惡業，
皆由無始貪瞋癡；
從身語意之所生，
一切我今皆懺悔。

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〈懺悔文〉不但能懺悔罪障，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，誠心地念誦三遍或數遍。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，輪轉於六道之內，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?

為什麼我們會造罪呢？〈懺悔文〉中說得清楚，「皆由無始貪瞋癡」，這意念上的貪、瞋、癡三毒，就是萌發無數罪業的根由。還有因為這三毒的作祟，我們的身體又做出了殺、盜、淫三業，在語言上也產生了妄語、綺語、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、淫三業也好，還是語言上所犯的妄語、綺語、惡口、兩舌也好，或者是在意念上所犯的貪、瞋、癡也好，我們都要懇切地懺悔，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懺悔，而一定能夠發願把罪業懺悔和消除盡的。

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