佛之“法力”极大，而众生的“业力”却与之相等，所以说凡夫是“业重情迷”，而佛却是“业尽情空”，所以圣、凡之分，在于“业”是不是已经尽了，“情”是不是已经空了。又说：

觉者，佛也；
迷者，众生。

The Dharma-power of the Buddhas is tremendous, and yet the karma of living beings is equal to it. Thus living beings are said to be “weighed down by karma and confused by emotions,” whereas the Buddhas “have ended their karma and emptied their emotions.” So the difference between a sage and a commoner lies in whether one can end karma and empty out emotions. Another saying goes,

Enlightened, one is a Buddha.
Confused, one is a living being.

就好像上午所说的，众生因为背觉合尘，被一切尘劳五欲所转，所以业障愈来愈深，而佛能超脱一切五欲尘劳，不再造业。众生因为业重的缘故，所以凡是想成佛了道的，必须先要忏悔自己的罪业，如果不生忏悔心就想成佛，这就犹如“煮沙成饭”，虽然煮到恒河沙那么多的劫，也不可能成功的。

As we mentioned earlier, since living beings turn their backs on enlightenment and unite with defilement, being turned by the wearisome defilement of the five desires, their karmic obstacles become deeper and deeper. On the other hand, the Buddhas can transcend the sordid defilements of the five desires and avoid creating additional karma. Because living beings have such heavy karma, one who wishes to become a Buddha and realize the Way must first repent of his karmic offenses. If one hopes to become a Buddha without being repentant, it's like cooking sand and hoping to get rice. You can cook for as many eons as there are sands in the Ganges River, but you'll never succeed.

所谓“忏”，是忏其前愆；对以往所犯的罪业生大惭愧心。“悔”，是悔其后过；立定主意，改过自新，永远不再犯错，正如袁了凡居士所说：

以前种种，譬如昨日死；
以后种种，譬如今日生。

“Repentance” means repenting of past errors, feeling a great sense of shame and remorse for the transgressions we made in the past. “Reform” means turning away from future errors, resolving to turn over a new leaf, and never making those mistakes again. This is just what the layman Yuan Liaofan said,

Regard everything in the past as
if you died yesterday.
Regard everything in the future as
if you were born today.

如果我们不勤忏悔，那么，我们所造的罪业，就会使我们堕落，不知“伊于胡底，莫知所止”了。凡是佛教徒都会记得，在皈依时，把自己的姓名报上后，便忏悔说：

从于无始。以至今生。
毁坏三宝。作一阐提。
谤大乘经。断学般若。
弒害父母。出佛身血。
污僧伽蓝。破他梵行。
焚毁塔寺。盗用僧物。
起诸邪见。拨无因果。
狎近恶友。违背良师。
……

If we don't repent with diligence, then the karma from the offenses we committed will make us fall, and who knows when and where we will stop. All Buddhists should remember that when they first took refuge, they stated their full name and then repented by saying the following:

From time without beginning until the present life,
I have slandered the Triple Jewel, been an icchantika,
Slandered the Great Vehicle Sutras,
Cut off the study of Prajna,
Killed my father and mother,
shed the Buddha's blood,
Defiled the Sangharama,
Ruined the pure conduct of others,
Burned and wrecked stupas and temples,
Stolen the property of the Sangha,
Held deviant views, denied cause and effect,
Been intimate with evil friends,
Turned away from good teachers...

现在，为了重新唤回大家的记忆，我且把这段〈忏悔文〉，很简单地向大家解释一下：

Now, to refresh everyone's memory, I will very briefly explain this passage of repentance for everyone.

我们从无始劫以来，直至现在，所做的罪业，真是不可胜数。第一，是毁谤佛、法、僧三宝，其中又以毁谤“僧宝”的罪为最大，因为僧人是代表佛陀来传扬佛法的，所以，谤僧的罪是“不通忏悔”的。什么叫“阐提”？这是梵语，翻译成中文是“信不具”或“无善根”；譬如你对这种人说法，他不欢喜听，甚至于干脆就说：“我不信！”你说，这是不是把自己的善根都给断送了呢？

From eons without beginning, up to today, the karma from the offenses we have committed cannot be reckoned. First of all, we have slandered the Triple Jewel: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Among these, the offense of slandering the Sangha is the gravest, because the members of the Sangha represent the Buddha in propagating and transmitting the Buddhadharma. Therefore, one is not allowed to eradicate the offense of slandering the Sangha through repentance. What is an “icchantika”? It's a Sanskrit word which means “incomplete faith” and “lacking good roots.” If you try to speak the Dharma to these people, they don't want to listen. They may even tell you straight out,“I don't believe it.” Wouldn't you say they've cut off all their good roots?

“谤大乘经”，就是诽谤大乘经典；譬如有人说佛经的道理是假的，或者说大乘经是魔王所说的等等，这也是一种“不通忏悔”的罪行。至于“般若”也是梵语，翻译成中文是“智慧”。般若，又分实相般若、观照般若、文字般若三种，可是无论哪一种都好，若是断学（不去学），就会愚痴。愚痴的果报，是会沦为畜生道。

“Slandered the Great Vehicle Sutras” means, for instance, saying that the principles in the Buddhist Sutras are false, that the Great Vehicle Sutras were spoken by demon kings, and so forth. This sort of offense cannot be pardoned through repentance.“Prajna” is also Sanskrit and means “wisdom.” There are three kinds of Prajna: Real Mark Prajna, Contemplative Prajna, and Literary Prajna. If you don't study any kind of Prajna, you will be stupid. The retribution of stupidity is that you will fall into the destiny of animals.

“弒害父母”，这一句包含了杀阿罗汉和杀圣人的罪；譬如，提婆达多杀四果阿罗汉，这就是其中的一个例子。

“Killed my father and mother” also includes the offenses of killing an Arhat and killing a sage. One example is Devadatta killing a Fourth Stage Arhat.

其次，“出佛身血”，也是一种“不通忏悔”的罪过，可是有许多人误解了，以为这只是指佛在世时，用刀割截佛陀的身体，才算是犯了这条罪行。其实在佛灭度后，凡是有毁坏佛像者，都算在内；譬如故意去剥落佛像的金漆、损毁佛像等都是。虽然，这不是损害佛的肉体，可是，这个罪却和用刀宰割佛的真身一样。

Next, “shedding the Buddha's blood” is also an offense for which repentance is not accepted. Many people wrongly think this offense only means actually cutting the Buddha's body with a knife when the Buddha was in the world. In fact, after the Buddha entered Nirvana, damaging Buddha images in any way also counts as this kind of offense. This includes peeling the gold paint off the Buddha images, ruining Buddha images, and so forth. Although this does not harm the Buddha physically, it is equivalent to cutting the Buddha's body with a knife.

“污僧伽蓝”，是指亵渎了寺门梵寺；譬如，在寺庙上住的在家夫妇，若在庙内做出不正当的事，吃肉杀生等等。至于“破他梵行”，是引诱本来清净不染的出家人破犯戒律，这也是“不通忏悔”的。

“Defiling the Sangharama” means profaning the pure temple. An example would be if married couples living on temple grounds engage in indecent activities, eat meat, kill living creatures, and so on.“Ruining the pure conduct of others” means inducing left-home people who were pure and undefiled to break the precepts. Repentance is not allowed for this either.

“焚毁塔寺”的意义很明显，就是说焚烧及毁坏寺门佛剎；譬如，昔日冯玉祥火烧白马寺和少林寺等。“盗用僧物”，就是用不正当的手段来夺取常住的财物，这种人心里所存的，都是一些邪知邪见，自以为是，常常说着无因果的曲调，于是倒行逆施，无恶不作，无所不为，这样又怎能不堕落呢？

“Burning and wrecking stupas and temples” means setting fire to and damaging Buddhist temples, just as Feng Yuxiang set fire to White Horse Monastery and Shaolin Monastery in the past.“Stealing the property of the Sangha” means using improper methods to seize the wealth and property of the permanent dwelling. The people who do that all hold deviant knowledge and views. They think they are right, and they insist that there is no cause and effect. Acting rebelliously, they stop at no evil. There's nothing they won't do. How can they not fall?

最后，要说到“狎近恶友，违背良师”了，“恶友”，在儒家称为“损友”，好像时下的“阿飞”，以及黑社会的人物等，我们都不应该与之为伍，因为这都是恶友之类。有些人交上了这些损友，就渐入歧途，不听师长的劝告，为非作歹，黑白不分，冠履倒置，你说多么可怜！

Finally, we'll talk about “being intimate with evil friends, and turning away from good teachers.” In Confucianism, evil friends are called “harmful friends.” For example, we should not associate with tramps, gangsters, and so forth, because they are considered evil friends. Some people associate with such harmful friends and gradually stray onto the wrong road themselves. Refusing to listen to their teachers' exhortations, they will do all kinds of evil. They can't tell the difference between right and wrong, and they act in upside-down ways. Wouldn't you say they are pitiful?

以上所说的这种种罪愆，都是非常要不得，但却很容易犯的，那么，若是不幸地已经犯了又怎样呢？也不要灰心，所谓“弥天大罪，一忏便消。”罪，本来是无形的，如果能真正生出忏悔心，也未尝没有商量之处。大家切不可自暴自弃，自甘堕落啊！

The various offenses mentioned above are all extremely serious, yet very easy to commit. If one has unfortunately committed them already, what should be done? Don't be disheartened, because “Offenses may fill the skies. Repent, and they disappear.” Offenses have no shape or form, and if one is truly repentant, it can certainly be worked out. No one should give up on himself and be resigned to falling!

一九五八年六月十四日下午开示