F.2, Confess with the antidotal power of remorse:

As confession without remorse is impure,

I now confess all my previous faults

from their depth – like having eaten poison,

I confess with shame and fear and great remorse.

If there is no strong remorse, the negative karma cannot be cleaned off by just confessing verbally. Therefore, contemplate and imagine in your mind: the misdeeds committed in the past are like a healthy person being poisoned. I have committed such despicable evil deeds, and I should feel deeply ashamed. It is not shameful to be naked, or eat unclean feces in the world, but it is really shameful that, after receiving a precious human body, to commit such disgusting misdeeds without scruples. As it is said in "Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend": "Who will use a jeweled gold vessel, to clean filthy vomit? Reborn as a human but commit crimes, is more foolish than that." The "Jataka Tales" says: "Even if one commits crimes without others seeing it, it is like taking poison, how can he be happy? The devas and yogis, will definitely see it with their pure vision." Thinking that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would certainly know and humiliate me, one should have fear. Thinking about the retribution fruit of falling into the evil realms, one should be very scared, to the point of losing one's appetite and almost becoming mad and fainted. One should confess with such a strong remorse, must do it like the remorse King Ajatashatru felt after killing his father in the past.

F.3, Confess with the antidotal power of resolve to abandon misdeeds: 

As confession without taking further commitment,

will not clean off the negative karma completely,

I commit myself from now on, even in life-threatening situations,

to abstain from killing and all such unvirtuous deeds.

Just as when one takes a miraculous medicine to detoxify and cure a disease, he must not take poison again afterwards, even if one confesses with remorse, if he does not have a strong resolve of abstaining from it afterwards, his negative karma will not be cleansed. Therefore, we should vow: from now on until I attain Buddhahood, I will not commit misdeeds even if my life is in danger. For example: from now on, if one does not abstain from substances carefully, a single complete cure will not help. It is said in "The Way of the Bodhisattva": "Not willing to commit any misdeeds, is said to be the perfection of upholding precepts." If one vows not to commit misdeeds and only perform virtuous deeds, then even if he has not performed great virtuous matters, the virtuous deeds of his mind is extremely vast. So this is very important. If one does not have the motivation of not commiting misdeeds, even if he does not perform them with his body or speech, the misdeeds committed in his mind are extremely serious. As the verse says: "Virtuous or unvirtuous deeds, is accumulated by the mind."

F.4, Confess with the antidotal power of the meditational deity:

By the blessing of the Sugata Amitabha and his heirs, 

may I now be completely purified.

If one confess and repent with remorse and resolve to abandon, one must pray with strong respect and pious faith that "Amitabha and your retinues, may you purify the negative karma in the mind continuums of myself and others like wiping a mirror, and give blessings."

If one confesses and repents with the power of the four antidotes, no matter how serious the misdeed is, it will definitely be cleaned off. Because negative karma does not have inherent existence and is a conditioned phenomenon. As the great masters from the past said: "Although negative karma has no inherent qualities, capable of being removed by repentance is its function." It is said in the "Sutra on Pratimoksha Precepts"(?)(别解脱经): "Sin has no inherent qualities. For the benefit of all sentient beings, confess to and repent of the four root downfalls, and the five heinous crimes." If a person who had committed misdeeds repeatedly confesses and repents again and again, all the negative karma since the beginningless time can be eliminated. One sincere confession can also purify oneself of the misdeeds committed in thousands of kalpas. As the "Golden Light Sutra" says: "If someone commits serious crimes, in a thousand kalpas, by confessing once with all his strength, he can be cleansed of all the negative karma." "The Question of Maitreya"(?)(弥勒狮吼请问经) also says: "Misdeeds committed out of ignorance, one should confess to all of them. If a wise person confesses, the negative karma does not stay with him."

Ordinary fools know that they have committed misdeeds but do not confess and repent. Instead, they regard them as merits. In this way, even insignificant misdeeds will lead them to the lower realms. Just like a small iron ball will sink to the bottom of the water. Wise people commit misdeeds due to lapses, regret it and know they should repent, so they will not fall into the lower realms. Just like an iron ball will not sink to the bottom of the water if it is hammered into a thin piece. In particular, what is discussed here is the antidotes of confession associated with bodhichitta, so even if one has committed a heinous crime, it can be suppressed or reduced. As stated in the Vinaya Sutra: "If one commits an extremely serious crime that is difficult to bear, one can alleviate it by reproofing oneself (practicing bodhichitta). Confess and repent intensely and abstain from repeating it, it will definitely be eradicated completely." 

In "The Way of the Bodhisattva", it is said: "Since virtuous deeds are always weak, the power of evil is extremely strong and difficult to resist, apart from this perfect bodhichitta, there is no other virtue superior to it." In the past, King Ajatashatru, King Gautamiputra, King Angulimala (finger necklace)#, etc. also committed serious crimes at first due to excessive indulgence and serious, coarse afflictions, but later they sincerely repented and finally realized the truth. As stated in the "Samvara Sutra"(?)(广戒经): "Whoever committed crimes, virtuous deeds can cover them, just like the sun and the moon without clouds, shining on this world." The Buddha said that two types of people, those who do not commit misdeeds and those who commit misdeeds but can confess and repent diligently, are both righteous people. Therefore, if these karmic obstacles are not removed, they will be big impediments to realizing the pure realms.

After contemplating on these arguments, then practice: first recite the "The Confession of Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas" once, the "General Confession"(?)(总忏文) once, and then recite: "All sentient beings headed by my parents... bless and purify my continuum." While prostrating, visualize the four antidotes. Then sit down and recite the Purification Mantra seven times: "om amogha shila / sambhara sambhara / bhara bhara / maha shuddha sito padma bibhu kheta bhudza / dhara dhara / samanta / avalokite hum phat svaha." Then recite: "Upholding the precepts intact, observing the pure precepts, abandoning pride as a precept of the mind, I wish to attain perfection of observing precepts" once, and then recite "stopping all harm to others, not having malicous thoughts even in dreams, never losing bodhichitta, I wish the vows to be perfect and all be auspicious" once. After confessing in this way, visualize: the deities of the refuge soothe us and say "Your have been purified of your negative karmas", and their bodies radiate light on us, finally all karmic obstacles are removed. 

E.4, (The branch of rejoicing in others' merit to remedy jealousy) in four parts: 1. The merits of rejoicing; 2. Rejoice in the pure and impure roots of virtue; 3. Separately rejoice in the roots of virtue of Mahayana; 4. Rejoice in the ten special virtuous deeds.

F.1, The merits of rejoicing:

To develop heartfelt joy when one hears

about the virtuous deeds done by others,

and to abandon the non-virtue of jealousy 

towards them is declared by the Buddha, 

to be a merit equal to that of the performers'.

First, the merits of rejoicing: When hearing or seeing others practicing virtuous deeds such as listening to, contemplating, and practicing the Dharma, making Buddha statues, printing Buddhist scriptures, building stupas, offering and giving, etc., if one can give up narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and the "jealousy" that worries that others' roots of virtue will surpass his own, as well as the competitive and unhappy feelings that one must be like that other, and think: I am so happy, it is really rare that he has done such a good deed. If one can sincerely and joyfully rejoice, the Buddha said that one can see and hear the other person perform it, or one can visualize all the virtuous deeds of the ten directions and three times, and then rejoice in them. He can also gain the same merits as the others'. This is a wonderful skillful means that does not require any human, material, or financial resources, but can gain great merits with only conceptual thinking. We should regret that we cannot accomplish virtuous deeds, and be happy when others perform virtuous deeds.

In the past, when King Pasenadi made offerings to the Buddha and his followers, a wandering beggar girl rejoiced in it happily and joyously. The Buddha asked King Pasenadi: "Do you want to dedicate the merits you have accumulated to yourself or to someone who has gained more merits than you?" King Pasenadi said: "I will dedicate it to whoever has greater merits." So the Buddha said the name of the beggar girl and made a dedication. The "Collection Sutra" says: "Three thousand Sumerus can be measured, the merits of rejoicing cannot be measured."

F.2, Rejoice in the pure and impure roots of virtue:

Therefore I rejoice in all virtue,

performed by noble beings as well as ordinary beings.

Because rejoicing has such great merits, we should rejoice in all the virtuous deeds done by noble and ordinary people. Specifically, it refers to the merits of the Hinayana and Pratyekabuddhas saints who have accumulated merits, eliminated what should be eliminated, practiced and realized wisdom, and attained the state of incomplete Nirvana, which benefited sentient beings extensively; the merits of the Mahayana saints and bodhisattvas who, in many great kalpas, have accumulated merits and attained realization and liberation, as well as all the merits of the five stages and ten bhumis, and all the pure virtuous deeds that have perfected the two benefits (oneself's and others')#; as for the ordinary beings, as it is said that "they are called differing beings (unenlightened people), because they take different paths and are reborn in different forms and realms", they take different paths in the six realms due to different karmas and ignorance, we should rejoice in the virtuous deeds of both the ordinary people who have entered the path of liberation and those who have not entered the path.

F.3, Separately rejoice in the roots of virtue of Mahayana:

I rejoice in all the many deeds for the

benefit of sentient beings,

performed out of the generation of the

supreme bodhichitta.

We should rejoice in all the Buddhas’ initial generation of the unsurpassed, supreme bodhichitta, and with pure and supreme aspirations, they ripened the mind continuums of sentient beings through the six perfections and ten thousand practices over many great kalpas, and finally perfected, matuated, and purified the three merits, and attained and manifested the state of perfect enlightenment. After that, they appeared with the twelve activities and continuously and extensively benefited sentient beings in kotis of nayutas of worlds, as described in the "Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika" and the Jataka Tales in the collection of sutras, etc.

Even when the Buddha appeared as an animal, he still benefited sentient beings as ever. For example, when (our master Buddha Shakyamuni) was reborn as a turtle, he saved many merchants from danger in the sea; when he was reborn as a big fish in the river (by power of his aspiration to heal people)#, he eliminated people's diseases and plagues (by letting them eat his flesh)#; when he became a lion, he rescued merchants and saved them from a big python(#); when he became the Golden Goose King, he led King Brahmadatta and his companions to enter the path of the Dharma. There are many such koans.

After attaining Buddhahood, he also benefited sentient beings in various forms: for example, when King Kapphina of Suvarnabhumi (Land of Gold) was about to destroy King Pasenadi, our First Teacher (the Buddha) appeared as a wheel-turning king, and Venerable Maudgalyayana appeared as a minister to subdue King Kapphina and his companions.

If one feels joy for such boundless and immeasurable roots of virtue, (one will gain boundless merits.) As the sutra says: "The virtue of Buddha is inconceivable, the Dharma is inconceivable, the holy monks are inconceivable, if one has faith in these inconceivable matters, the fruit is inconceivable." Even in the state of an ordinary person, one can benefit sentient beings. Such as wishing to benefit sentient beings for just a moment, trying many means to make others happy, turning a sentient being's mind to the Dharma, completing a virtuous deed and dedicating it to sentient beings, etc. In short, all good deeds done without selfishness benefit sentient beings.

F.4, Rejoice in the ten special virtuous deeds:

I rejoice in the reversal of the ten

non-virtues into the ten virtues:

saving other’s lifes, giving in charity, and

keeping one’s commitment,

speaking the truth, reconciling conflicts,

speaking gently and straightforwardly,

speaking what is meaningful,

having small desire, meditating on

loving kindness and compassion, and

practicing Dharma activity. In all

these virtues I rejoice.

Among the ten common virtuous deeds, the first are the three virtuous deeds of the body: Generally speaking, if one vows to abandon the ten unvirtuous deeds, then it is the ten virtuous deeds. And here, if one performs ten virtuous deeds that are opposite to the ten unvirtuous deeds, they are called the ten special virtuous deeds.

Saving lives: Although the merits of saving the lives of other sentient beings such as wild animals, livestock, prisoners, etc. that are hunted or doomed to die have been mentioned above, here it is explained further with examples:

In the past, a wealthy patron in Savatthi gave birth to a son of beautiful appearance. Friends and relatives gathered together by the river for a banquet. Because the child was extremely handsome, everyone passed the child to each other, and accidentally dropped the child into the river and was washed away by the current. He was not drowned because he had great merits, but was swallowed by a big fish and stayed alive in the fish's stomach. There was a patron who had no children downstream of the river. One day, he cast a net and caught the big fish. When he cut open the fish's belly, he found a child with a dignified appearance inside. He was very happy and raised the child carefully. After the child grew up, he became a monk and eventually attained Arhathood. The bhikkhus asked the Buddha, "What is the reason for this?" The Buddha said, "In the past, the Buddha Krakucchanda taught the many merits of stopping killing. After hearing this, a patron took the precept vow of not killing. As a result, he had a dignified appearance in all his lives. Although he got into the mouth of a whale in this life, he was spared from death. Because he had offered a gold coin to the Buddha Krakucchanda, he became a wealthy person wherever he was born. Now he has become a monk and attained Arhathood."

In addition, a patron in Rajagriha had no children. One day he went to a temple and said to the deity, "If you don't give me a son, I will destroy this temple and smear you with filth." The deity in the temple was horrified after hearing this and told the matter to the Vaisravana (asking for help). Vaisravana was also unable to help the patron have a son, so he went to seek help from Indra. Indra said to a dying deva, "Please be reborn in the home of that patron." The deva said, "I want to be a monk. If I am reborn in his home, I will encounter obstacles and my wish will not realize." Indra then said, "You can rest assured to be reborn in his home. If there are obstacles, I will help you." So the deva was reborn as the son of the patron. After he grew up, he wanted to be a monk. But his parents disagreed. He thought: If I can't become a monk, then there is no point in being a human being. It is better to die and be reborn. So he jumped from the top of a cliff, but he did not die. Then he jumped into the river, but he was washed to the shore and was not drowned. Then he took poison, then jumped into the fire, and still couldn't die. Finally, he thought: This King Pasenadi is a tyrant and very cruel. I should violate the king's law. So he stole the clothes of the queen and the court ladies while they were bathing, and then walked out with a swagger. The guards found him, caught and brought him to the king. The king himself shot arrows at him, but all the sharp arrows returned and none of them hit him. The king was shocked, and asked him how this happened. He told him why he did that and the king personally allowed him to become a monk. He eventually attained Arhathood. This was because he had saved a man sentenced to death when he was born as a minister of King Brahmadatta, so he was not harmed by any adversities for five hundred lifetimes.

In addition, the great bodhisattva (referring to Buddha Shakyamuni ) saved the life of a dying hunter when he was reincarnated as a brown bear.

When he was transformed into the wild beast Genda(?)(根达) with beautiful golden fur, King Brahmadatta said to the hunters, "If you cannot get the skin of that beast, I will kill all the hunters." A hunter wandered in the arid wilderness in search of the beast and was close to death. The wild beast Genda found him and felt compassion. It saved him with with clean water and fruits, and stripped off its skin to give it to him. There are many such koans.

If we can abstain from killing even in danger of death, and try our best to save and protect sentient beings, our lives will be as strong and healthy as the devas. The "Satipatthana Sutra" says: "Among all the precepts, the one that leads to the upper realms, is this precept of giving life."

Giving: As Milarepa said, "One should take the food out of one's mouth and give it to others." Even as small as giving a small chunk of food to animals like a chicken or a dog, or as big as giving the wish-fulfilling jewel to the sentient beings of Jambudvipa to eliminate their poverty after getting it (from the sea)# by Prince Sudana and the merchant Shinpa(?)(新巴商主); offering the park to the Buddha and his followers by the patron Anathapindika; King Open Eyes(?)(睁眼国王) giving his eyes; Prince Savior of Beings(?)(救众王子) giving his property, prince, and queen. If one can give so diligently, one will gain great benefits in the current and future lives, will not suffer from poverty, will not be reborn in the realm of hungry ghosts, and will ultimately attain Buddhahood.

Observing the precepts: Here, it means not only not committing sexual misconduct, but also observing the pure conduct of celibacy. It means not even looking covetously at or touching a woman. For example, when the arhat Mahakasyapa was reborn as the Brahman youth Pippali, Bhikkhuni Bhadda Kapilani (Golden Bhikkhuni) was the daughter of the Sakya Brahman. The two were forced to marry each other against their will by their parents’ orders. They lived together day and night for twelve years, but they never even had any desire for each other, let alone any impure conduct. They were true Dharma practitionaer who knew the merits of oberving the precepts and the harms of desire. Therefore, although their parents asked them to sleep in the same bed, they did not do so. Instead, when one of them slept the other would be standing up, and they took turns sleeping. Once, when Kapilani fell asleep, her arm was exposed and a snake was wrapped around her arm. Seeing this, Pippali used the handle of a fan to pick the snake up, which woke Kapilani up. She said, "What, did you touch me?" Pippali quickly replied, "I didn't touch you, but your arm was wrapped around by a snake, and I picked it with the handle of the fan to protect you, the handle hit you ." Kapilani said, "It's okay to be wrapped around by a venomous snake, but I must never be touched by a man." The two of them kept the precepts in this way. Later, when Pippali became the Dharma Prince Mahakasyapa of the Buddha, Kapilani became the Arhati Golden Bhikkhuni. There are also noble people who observe the precepts in this way in the world.

Therefore, we should delight and rejoice in others' observing and strive to observe the precepts in this way ourselves. Lay people should be satisfied with their wives and give up sexual misconduct. After becoming a monk, those who like women with desire and do not observe the precepts are not only not worthy of being called followers of the Buddha, but are just like yellow jackals. As the verse says: "Those who pretend to be a follower of Buddha Sakyamuni, are like yellow jackals."

(On the contrary, the merit of observing the vow precepts is also very great.) The sutra says: Observing the precepts of pure conduct for thousands of kalpas in other pure lands is not as great as the merit of observing one precept such as not harming sentient beings for just one morning in this degenerate age now. In this degenerate age of turbidities, when the Dharma is about to disappear, the merit of observing one precept such as not killing in one day is greater than the merits of offering to kotis of nayutas of Buddhas for the number of sands of the Ganges River kalpas. Therefore, we should not underestimate even one precept, but should keep and protect it. And we should also be happy when others have even one virtue in their mind continuum.

For lay men and women, even observing the sojong vow can bring great merit. If one strictly observes the eight-branched sojong vow, one will be reborn in the realms of heavens, etc. The detailed benefits can be learned from other sutras and treatises.

If one breaks even one precept, one will experience the alternating retribution of suffering and happiness: Once upon a time, a poor Brahmin saw the patron Anathapindika repeatedly offering food to monks and lay people who observed the sojong vow, so he also took the sojong vow. During this time, one day, he came to a mountain village, and stayed at a Brahmin's house after nightfall. The family invited him to dinner. He said, "I have taken the sojong vow and cannot eat after noon." The host said, "If you don't eat, don't stay in our house. " After hearing this, he was very scared and ate. As a result, he broke the vow. He could have been reborn in the Thirty-three Heavens after his death, but because he broke the fast, he was reborn in the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings. He was given the bad name "The Deva Who Broke the Vow". He felt ashamed because his fortunes and prestige were inferior to those of other devas.

Another case: an old woman with serious karmic obstacles took the vow for three days. She ate a small amount of food on the first day, drank water on the second day, and strictly observed the vow on the third day. After her death, she was not reborn in the three evil realms but became a prince of a king because of the merits of observing one day of vow strictly. Because of eating on one day (breaking the precepts), the prince had an ugly face, and because of drinking water on one day, her mood fluctuated like a madman. Therefore, we should strive to observe the precepts purely.

Speaking the truth: If one can stop saying lies even when joking, and in addition try our best to speak the truth (in appropriate occasions)#, it will be of great significance. As it is said in the "Chapter on Causes and Conditions": "True words are like nectar, true words are unsurpassable, keep speaking the truth, the Buddha said that is honesty. "Honest people are like pure gold, trusted and welcomed by everyone.

Pacifying discord: To be a mediator not for status or material gain, but with good intentions to resolve enmity, pacify wars, conflicts, and other unvirtuous deeds, so this is an important key to rejoicing (that is, we should rejoice in such good deeds). The "Satipatthana Sutra" says: "Friends and relatives, when they have discord with one another, if one makes an effort to mediate, he will be reborn in the heavenly realms."

Gentle and honest speech: Not harboring greed and anger, and speak gently and honestly. People with gentle hearts and speak gentle words possess the merits of the Mahayana type. They are also rare and pleasant. As the Vinaya says: "Rabbit horns are extremely rare, turtle hair is also rare, prostitutes are rare to be alone, honest speech is rare." This teaching can also be added to the true words mentioned above. Therefore, we should always try to eliminate false words as much as possible.

Speaking meaningful words: We should only speak meaningfully---to comfort the sorrowful, to generate faith and confidence in liberation in others, and to lead sentient beings to follow the true Dharma. Asanga said: "Talking too much can lead to unvirtuous deeds. Even if it doesn't time is wasted. Unless it is definitely beneficial to oneself and others, it is very important to diligently keep silent." Therefore, we should motivate ourselves to listen to, comtemplate, and practice the Dharma.

Desiring less: It is the so-called "One gains wealth without seeking if he has the merits. One hardly gains anything even if he seeks it if he does not have the merits." Therefore, do not be dissatisfied with what you have and still seek more deliberately. One should be happy with what one has, feel content, and desire less. As it is said in the "Chapter on Causes and Conditions": "Even if a person possesses, as much as gold as the size of a snow mountain, he is still not satisfied with it. One should realize and be content." There are many people who enjoy and feel happy by consuming and possessing what they have, but it is rare for somenone to enjoy and feel happy about their contentment and moderate desires. As Shantideva said: "Those who enjoy the happiness of contentment, are rare even among the heavenly kings. "Therefore, being content with one's own possessions and not desiring others' is a virtue.

(There was such a case): A rich man offered the Buddha a delicious Lade (food name) of a hundred beautiful flavors. A beggar asked the Buddha for it. The Buddha said: "You say 'I don't want it' first and then I will give it to you." The beggar said: "I don't want it." The Buddha gave him all the Lade food. When the patron Anathapindika saw it, he thought: The Buddha should not have no food to eat. If there is the Lade, the Buddha will enjoy it. So he bought the Lade food from the beggar with a thousand taels of gold and offered it to the Buddha again. The bhikkhus asked the Buddha: "What is the reason?" The Buddha said: "In many lives, this beggar has always been greedy for other people's money and property. He has never been satisfied and has never said 'I don't want it'. Therefore, he has often become a beggar. Now he just said 'I don't want it' and immediately gained some fortune. With this root of virtue, he will become a monk and attain Arhathood when Buddha Mountain Branch(?)(山部如来) emerges in the future."

Being satisfied with just having enough food and clothing is crucial for both lay people and monks and nuns.

Practicing compassion: Even if one is facing the enemy who killed his own father, one should not have the intention to do harm to him. Instead, think: How happy I would be if all sentient beings were happy! How wonderful it would be if they could be rid of suffering! Just practicing compassion and loving-kindness like this once will bring one incredible merits. The sutra says: "To have compassion once, is better than giving to all sentient beings." The "Chapter on Causes and Conditions" says: "making a thousand offerings every month, for a hundred years, is not one-sixteenth as good as, feeling compassion for sentient beings."

Practicing the Dharma: If one sincerely believes in karma cause and effect, follows and practices the Dharma, he will be happy in the current and future lives. The Buddha once said: "Those who practice the Dharma will be happy." The Dharma has no owner, just like flowing water in a stream. Anyone can consume it freely. Therefore, for those who truely believe in karma cause and effect, the Dharma can satisfy them; while those who do not sincerely believe in karma cause and effect are like hungry ghosts, and the Dharma cannot satisfy them. So we must eliminate wrong views, protect and maintain correct views, stop nonvirtues and perform virtues according to the Dharma, and with this, benefit sentient beings.