Wake Up and Laugh!

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 4 of 5)

Evil thoughts and actions do not just appear on their own.
They emerge according to the thoughts I give rise to.
Thus, when those thoughts disappear
bad karma also vanishes.

As with all of these, try to recite these a few times each day, whenever you have a chance to. It really does help dissolve the momentum and fixed ideas we get stuck in.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 3 of 5)

With one thought,
evil karma accumulated over endless eons disappears,
leaving nothing behind,
like dry grass in a fire.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions (part 2 of 5)

I now deeply repent of having spoken ill of others and caused discord among people.
I now deeply repent of having spoken harshly.
I now deeply repent of having been overcome with desire and attachments.
I now deeply repent of having been angry.
I now deeply repent of having been ignorant and deluded.

Most of the time, it isn’t enough to just regret something. That tend to end up vague, and although well-intentioned, doesn’t have much power in our lives. But when we clearly state it out loud, then, somehow, it has much more power to affect us. Likewise, clearly stating a positive intention, and then letting that sink down within, has much more power than just vaguely wishing things were different.
I personally don’t see the “why” behind this. I can speculate, but I’d get a bit far out ahead of my own practice and experience, and don’t want to accidently mislead someone. Instead, let me say that I just sense the effect. I put ‘A’ into the machine, and then ‘C’ comes out.” I can only guess what ‘B’ might be, but in a way, I don’t need to know. If I reliably know that if I start with ‘A’, I’ll end up with ‘C’, then that’s enough to go with.
The best analogy I can come up with is sitting at a table with someone else and being thirsty. I can sit there all evening, wishing someone would give me some more water (and likely go thirsty all evening!), or I can just say out loud, “could I have some more water?” Once I do that, the people around me, the energy around me responds.

Repenting of the Ten Evil Actions

I now deeply repent of having killed.
I now deeply repent of having stolen.
I now deeply repent of sexually improper thoughts and behavior.
I now deeply repent of having lied.
I now deeply repent of having spoken manipulating words.

Thoughts are such strange things. Perhaps it’s my own leanings towards the material world, but thoughts seem like almost nothing. Yet, they are so subversive. They put things in motion that will hold us tighter than a vise. All from something no more substantial than smoke.
And if we change a thought around, so much becomes unstuck. Think about the example of “I’m sorry.” We feel so different once we stop rationalizing and just say, “I’m sorry.”
This is also why there’s so much power when we give rise to a positive intention, a positive thought, and entrust it inwardly to our foundation. Now that harmonious energy begins working in the same way. This also applies to finding our own direction, overcoming hardships, and learning what we need to do, as well as any type of investigation or growth.
And, what we can do for ourselves, we can also do for other people. There are some limitations to this because you can’t overrule another person’s own path, and it needs to connect with your foundation. You can, however, give them light and warmth and energy to help find their own way.

When we raise a thought for someone’s well-being, and entrust that to our foundation, that underlying intention never disappears and is never used up. This is different from helping people through material things. This is the unconditional love that Bodhisattvas have for all beings. This mind is the compassion that rises when all beings and myself are one, when the suffering of others is my suffering. This is the power that leads us to the truth.
— Daehaeng Kun Sunim, No River to Cross, page 34

Experience what happens when you recite these verses out loud. 🙂

Homage to the Twelve Buddhas who Dissolve All Karma (conclusion)

The Supreme Buddha
one with everything
who applies the treasure of one mind to all things
without the least discrimination.

Homage to the Twelve Buddhas who Dissolve All Karma (part 4 of 5)

The Buddha who is infused with the fragrance
of limitless and omnipresent mind.

The Buddha who thoroughly knows
all states of existence and nonexistence.

The Supreme Buddha
who takes bright and bright mind as his center,
and so is never entangled by anything.

Homage to the Twelve Buddhas who Dissolve All Karma (part 3 of 5)

The Buddha who venerates the Dharma,
transmitting the truth
of bright and wide one mind.

The Buddha whose bright and joyful mind
touches every place.

Homage to the Twelve Buddhas who Dissolve All Karma (part 2 of 5)

The Buddha endowed with every kind of
fragrant and gentle compassion.

The Buddha who makes decisions
of vast and inconceivable importance.
The Buddha endowed with the virtue and merit
arising from a broad and harmonious mind.

The Buddha of great determination,
who subdues all obstacles,
and destroys mountains of karma.

This is a section of the Thousand Hands Sutra that can people read differently, depending upon their own experience and their good fortune in meeting an awakened teacher. If you haven’t guessed by now, the real Twelve Buddhas are the functioning of our own one mind, our own true nature.
“Dissolving karma” sometimes confuses people, but it’s important to remember that even karma isn’t a fixed and unchanging thing. Roughly speaking, think of it as momentum, where there are things that are pending, things that have manifested, and then the reactions arising afterwards. All along that course, changes we make will affect what happens, and what new directions arise. If we dissolve or untangle something before it manifests, then that changes. If, when something happens, we react gently instead of getting angry or contemptuous, understanding that we had a role what happened, then right there, with those reactions, we change the future results.
Daehaeng Kun Sunim said it’s a lot harder to change something once it’s manifested, but even then, if we are letting go of our frustration, anger, and justifications, we are changing our future. The important point here is that we don’t have to be prisoners to our pasts. Through continuous entrusting to our foundation, we can dissolve old hindrances and set a new course for ourselves. When we let go of things and let our one mind, our foundation, take care of things, it manifests as these twelve Buddhas.

Homage to the Twelve Buddhas who Dissolve All Karma

The Buddha whose deep humility
gives rise to virtue, upright behavior,
and actions grounded in the Dharma.

The Buddha who uses the treasure of one mind
to gently observe and take care of all beings.