The core idea here is that our experiences in life, whether they're pleasant or not-so-pleasant, are actually the results of actions we've taken before. These actions can be physical, verbal, or mental, but they always start with a thought or intention in the mind. The Buddha, who had special clairvoyant powers, taught extensively about this law of cause and result, often sharing stories about why certain people were experiencing specific problems based on their past lives and actions. This powerful idea sets the stage for understanding why purification is so important. Just like we need to wash our clothes when they get dirty, we also need to clean our inner selves – our mental continuum – from the "dirt" of non-virtuous actions. Why? Because those actions have unpleasant results that we'd probably like to avoid experiencing! Developing the habit of regularly purifying our minds is seen as absolutely vital for spiritual development. And guess what? By engaging in practices like The Bodhisattva's Confession of Downfalls, especially when combined with specific powerful methods, we can purify not just the negative actions from this life, but also those accumulated over countless past lives in what's known as cyclic existence. Pretty amazing, right? This practice is considered essential for anyone on the path of mental or spiritual growth. The commentary we're exploring is based on The Sutra of the Bodhisattva's Confession of Downfalls, sometimes also called The Sutra of the Three Heaps, because it contains three main parts: confession, dedication, and rejoicing. At the very beginning of the practice, we pay homage, or prostrate, to the thirty-five tathāgatas (which is another name for buddhas), as well as gurus, special deities, and anyone else worthy of prostration. These objects are worthy because they possess incredible qualities like compassion, wisdom, and skill. Prostrations themselves are a fascinating practice that involve your whole being – body, speech, and mind. With your body, you touch five parts to the ground. With your speech, you might recite verses of praise. And with your mind, you generate faith by remembering and rejoicing in the wonderful qualities of those you're prostrating to. It's a way of showing deep respect. The Buddha taught eighty-four thousand collections of doctrine, which are essentially antidotes designed to counter the eighty-four thousand different types of afflictions, like attachment, anger, and ignorance. All these vast teachings can actually be boiled down and understood through a practice that's seen as the foundation, base, and root of it all: applying the four opponent forces. **The Four Opponent Forces: Your Purification Toolkit** Purifying negative actions and downfalls _requires_ using all four of these forces together. A "negativity" is a non-virtuous action of body, speech, or mind. A "downfall," which sometimes means transgression, literally means 'to fall down' and often refers to actions that break a vow, leading to potentially unpleasant results like rebirth in lower realms. Even minor faults should be confessed. So, what are these four crucial forces? 1. **The Force of the Basis:** This is like setting the foundation for your purification work. It involves two key things: - **Going for Refuge:** This means taking refuge in the Three Jewels – the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. You do this from the depths of your heart, believing they know all your negativities and can help you purify them. Going for refuge isn't just a one-time thing; you should recite refuge prayers and remember the qualities of the Three Jewels regularly to deepen your connection. - Let's break down the Three Jewels a little, because understanding _who_ and _what_ you're taking refuge in makes it much more powerful. - **The Buddha Jewel:** This refers to any fully enlightened being, like Shākyamuni Buddha, who has completely abandoned all faults and gained all realizations. More deeply, it includes a buddha's four bodies and all their incredible qualities of body, speech, and mind, developed over vast amounts of time. Conventionally, it also includes representations like statues and paintings. Buddhas are worthy of refuge because they have transcended suffering and attained enlightenment, destroyed the inner "foes" of afflictions, and achieved perfect qualities. - **The Dharma Jewel:** This is the path to liberation and enlightenment, the actual methods for abandoning suffering and the abandonment itself. Conventionally, it's represented by the Buddha's teachings in texts and books. The Dharma is what actually protects you from suffering. To put refuge in the Dharma into practice, you should avoid harming others by giving up the ten non-virtuous actions and practicing the ten virtuous ones, and respect all Dharma texts. - **The Sangha Jewel:** This refers to practitioners who have attained realizations, specifically those who have directly realized emptiness (known as superiors). They are the virtuous friends who support you on the path. Conventionally, it can also mean a group of four or more fully ordained monks or nuns. To uphold refuge in the Sangha, you should avoid people who might negatively influence you and respect the ordained. - A simple analogy can help: You are a university student, the Buddha is the professor who knows the subject, the Dharma is the subject matter you study, and the Sangha are your classmates who help you. By studying and practicing the Dharma taught by the Buddha with the help of the Sangha, you can become like the professor yourself – you can attain buddhahood. - What motivates you to take refuge? Two main things: **fear** and **faith**. Fear isn't just being scared; it's recognizing the suffering inherent in cyclic existence, especially the lower realms, and truly wishing to be free from it. Faith comes from understanding that the Three Jewels _can_ protect you and lead you out of that suffering. - Did you know there are different _ways_ of taking refuge? There's causal refuge (relying on those who are already enlightened) and resultant refuge (relying on your own future potential to become enlightened). Reflecting on your own potential, or "buddha nature," for enlightenment can make your refuge practice even more dynamic. Every sentient being has this potential because the mind's basic nature is emptiness of inherent existence. If you make effort to purify negativities and accumulate merit, you _can_ definitely become a buddha. - **Generating the Mind of Enlightenment (Bodhichitta):** This is the heartfelt wish to attain complete enlightenment _for the sake of all sentient beings_. It's called the "force of the basis" because negative actions related to sentient beings are purified by this mind. Just as the ground supports you when you fall, the Three Jewels and sentient beings act as the basis for purifying negative actions committed against them. - How do you cultivate this incredibly powerful mind? The sources mention two main methods: - **The Seven Points (Six Causes and One Effect):** This starts by training in **equanimity**, overcoming bias toward friends, enemies, and strangers to see all beings as equal. Based on this, you meditate on six causes: (1) recognizing all beings as having been your mother in past lives, (2) remembering their kindness, (3) feeling gratitude, (4) developing love (wishing them happiness), (5) developing compassion (wishing them freedom from suffering), and (6) cultivating the special attitude of taking responsibility to bring them happiness and freedom. The effect of these six causes is the seventh point: generating the mind of enlightenment. - **Exchanging Self and Others:** This practice is about shifting your focus from cherishing yourself to cherishing others. It also begins with equanimity, but a deeper kind focused on wanting to equally benefit all beings. You contemplate reasons for equalizing self and others. Then comes the actual exchange, contemplating the disadvantages of self-cherishing (it causes all suffering!) and the advantages of cherishing others (it's the source of all happiness and qualities, even enlightenment!). You make the decision to abandon self-cherishing and cherish others. A key meditation technique for this is "taking and giving" (tonglen), where you visualize taking the suffering of others onto yourself (purifying your self-cherishing) and giving your happiness and good qualities to them. This meditation helps increase your good heart and decrease self-cherishing. - Interestingly, the sources highlight that cherishing others is the "profound practice of all bodhisattvas" and the path taken by all buddhas. It's seen as the "best tool" for achieving happiness for yourself and others. 2. **The Force of Applying All Antidotes:** This is where you actively _do_ things to purify the negativities. The sources list several types of antidotes: reciting sutras or mantras (like Vajrasattva's), meditating on emptiness, making offerings or statues, and reciting the names of buddhas. Any positive action done with the intention to purify can be an antidote. - In the context of this specific practice, a primary antidote is prostrating to and reciting the names of the thirty-five tathāgatas. This is incredibly powerful! Merely reciting or even _remembering_ the names of these buddhas is said to purify negativities accumulated over countless eons. For example, reciting Shākyamuni Buddha's name alone can purify negativities from ten thousand eons. Different buddhas' names purify different types of negativities, including very heavy ones like the five actions of immediate retribution (killing parents, etc.) or obscurations related to attachment, hatred, ignorance, jealousy, pride, misusing monastic possessions, disparaging others, abandoning the Dharma, or degenerating commitments to your guru. - When doing this practice, you visualize the thirty-five buddhas in front of you, led by Shākyamuni Buddha. You prostrate physically (touching five body parts), recite their names with speech, and remember their qualities and the benefits of the practice with your mind. You can even visualize emanating countless bodies to prostrate along with you, multiplying the merit immensely. Prostration is also listed as an antidote to pride. - The practice also implicitly includes **offering**. This can be offering material things, mentally imagined beautiful things, or even your Dharma practice and virtues. In tantra, you can even offer the objects of your afflictions like attachment and hatred to help diminish their power. Making offerings is an antidote to miserliness. 3. **The Force of Total Repudiation:** This is about feeling deep, sincere **regret** for the negative actions you've committed. It's not just guilt, but a strong sense that what you did was wrong and harmful, like realizing you've swallowed poison. - As part of this force, you openly **admit and confess** your negative actions in the presence of the buddhas. You don't hide or conceal them, because the buddhas know anyway – they are described as having "exalted wisdom" (knowing all phenomena), "eyes" (directly seeing your actions), "witnesses," and "valid" persons who can distinguish right from wrong. Hiding makes things worse and displeases them. - What kinds of negativities should you confess? All of them! From this life and all beginningless past lives. This includes everything from the ten non-virtuous actions (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh words, idle talk, covetousness, malice, wrong views) to very heavy ones like the five actions of immediate retribution (killing parents, killing a foe-destroyer, causing a buddha to bleed, creating a schism in the sangha), the five secondary actions of immediate retribution, misusing the possessions of the Buddha, Dharma, or Sangha, and other downfalls involving vows or specific situations. You confess actions done directly, indirectly (causing others to do them), or by rejoicing in others doing them. - Why is confessing so urgent? Because if unconfessed, these negative actions can "project" you into rebirth in the eight leisureless states, where there's no opportunity to practice Dharma. These include rebirths in the hell realms, as hungry ghosts, or as animals (the three bad migrations), or even in certain states among gods (long-life gods who are unconscious for eons) or humans (in barbaric border areas, with impaired faculties, holding wrong views, or in a dark eon where no buddha arises). To avoid these states, purifying negativities is crucial. Confession is seen as an antidote to the three mental poisons of attachment, hatred, and ignorance. 4. **The Force of Turning Away from Faults in the Future:** This isn't just saying sorry; it's making a firm, sincere **resolution** to try your best not to repeat the negative action again. You decide, "From now on, I will stop and refrain from them". While you might not be able to vow never to do it again, the intention to restrain yourself and make an effort is key. **The Efficacy of Purification** The text emphasizes that if you apply these four opponent forces diligently with sincere regret, you can purify countless negativities, no matter how many you've committed. Your mind, previously polluted, can become like the moon appearing beautiful in a clear sky once the clouds are gone. Powerful examples are given of individuals like Nanda, Aṅgulimālā, King Ajātashatru, and Shaṅkara, who committed very serious negative actions but were still able to purify their minds and attain high realizations through deep regret and purification practices. This shows that even the strongest afflictions can be overcome. The core essence of confession is realizing you've done something negative, feeling regret, resolving not to repeat it, going for refuge, generating bodhichitta, and applying an antidote like prostrating and reciting names. Faith in the practice's efficacy is important, though results might not be immediate. **Beyond Confession: Accumulating Merit** The Sutra of the Three Heaps isn't just about cleaning up past mistakes; it's also about building positive potential. The second "heap" is **dedication**. After creating any virtue, you should dedicate it. You appeal to the buddhas to witness your dedication. The main idea is to dedicate your virtuous actions – all the "roots of virtue" from practicing the six perfections (generosity, morality, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom) from this life and all past lives – for the purpose of attaining unsurpassed, perfectly complete enlightenment for yourself and all sentient beings. - This dedication is like putting a drop of water into the ocean; until the ocean dries up (until enlightenment is attained and all beings are free), your merit won't be lost. - You can dedicate virtues created by yourself ("assembled") and those created by all others ("gathered"), combining them together ("combined together") for dedication. - Other powerful dedications include dedicating for the flourishing of the Dharma and for always being cared for by holy gurus. - The _best_ dedication is to unsurpassed complete enlightenment, just as the buddhas of the past, present, and future do. - The importance of dedication is greatly emphasized; it's considered the "heart of auspiciousness". Even everyday actions done with a good motivation and followed by dedication can become powerful virtues. Dedication helps prevent anger or other negative states from destroying the merit you've accumulated. Dedication is the seventh limb of the seven-limb prayer. The third "heap" or limb is **rejoicing**. This means genuinely feeling happy about the virtuous actions and merit accumulated by yourself and others. Rejoicing is listed as an antidote to jealousy. The remaining limbs of the seven-limb prayer, also included in this practice, are: - **Urging:** Exhorting the buddhas to teach the Dharma ("turn the wheel of Dharma"). This is an antidote to having abandoned the Dharma. - **Requesting:** Requesting the buddhas not to pass away but to remain as long as cyclic existence continues. This is an antidote to negative actions related to one's guru. So, the seven limbs are prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, urging, requesting, and dedication. Practicing all seven together is a powerful way to purify negativities and accumulate merit. Each limb counteracts a specific mental affliction: prostration (pride), offering (miserliness), confession (attachment, hatred, ignorance), rejoicing (jealousy), urging (abandoning Dharma), and requesting (negativities with guru). **Signs of Purification** How do you know if your purification practice is working? Sometimes there are signs! The sources mention that signs of purification can occur in dreams. These include things like vomiting bad food, drinking pure liquids like yogurt or milk, seeing the sun or moon, flying in the sky, seeing fire, defeating dark figures, seeing monks or nuns, climbing trees that produce milk, riding certain animals, climbing mountains or mansions, or listening to Dharma teachings. Seeing these signs confirms your negativities are being successfully purified. **Overcoming Afflictions More Broadly** Besides purification, it's also crucial to understand how afflictions like attachment, hatred, and ignorance arise in your mind so you can apply their specific antidotes _before_ they lead to negative actions. For example, meditating on how everything exists as a dependent relation is an antidote to ignorance. Understanding dependent arising leads to realizing emptiness – the ultimate nature of phenomena, which is that things lack inherent existence. The wisdom realizing emptiness directly counters the ignorance that grasps at a truly existing self, which is the root of all suffering. The union of this wisdom and the mind of enlightenment (compassion) is like the mother and father giving birth to a bodhisattva. Breathing meditations can also help quiet the mind and reduce doubts. The goal is to diminish faulty states of mind and develop positive, quality states. In conclusion, The Bodhisattva's Confession of Downfalls, rooted in the understanding of karma and the power of purification, offers a comprehensive approach using the four opponent forces and the seven limbs to cleanse our minds and accumulate the merit necessary for spiritual growth and ultimately, enlightenment. It's a vital practice for anyone wishing to overcome suffering and realize their full potential, just like the inspiring examples of practitioners throughout history. **Some further ideas and questions to explore:** - How might regularly contemplating the disadvantages of not purifying negativities (like the eight leisureless states) impact our motivation to practice purification? - The text mentions different types of "downfalls" and "obscurations." Could exploring these in more detail help us identify areas where we might need more focused purification? - How does the practice of "taking and giving" in the Exchange of Self and Others meditation connect with the concept of purifying self-cherishing? - Considering the power of simply reciting the names of the buddhas, what might be the deeper meaning behind these names and the specific negativities they purify? - Are there modern equivalents or interpretations of the dream signs of purification mentioned in the text? - How can we consciously integrate the "force of turning away from faults in the future" into our daily lives, making sincere resolutions a consistent practice? This practice is a profound doorway to transforming our minds and our experiences. May this brief overview spark your interest to delve deeper!.