Chapter 8: Expiation of Sinful Actions
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- Chapter 1: Giving One's Body, Possessions, and Virtues
- Chapter 2: Upholding the Dharma from the Perfection of Discipline
- Chapter 3: Perfection of Discipline: Protecting the Dharma Teacher
- Chapter 4: Perfection of Discipline: Discussion of Major Harms in the Sūtras
- Chapter 5: Perfection of Discipline: Avoiding the Harms
- Chapter 6: Protecting the Body
- Chapter 7: Protecting the Possessions and Merit
- Chapter 8: Expiation of Sinful Actions
- Chapter 9: Perfection of Patience
- Chapter 10: Perfection of Effort
- Chapter 11: Praise of Wilderness
- Chapter 12: Purifying the Mind
- Chapter 13: Mindfulness
- Chapter 14: Purification of the Body
- Chapter 15: Purification of Possessions and Merit
- Chapter 16: Enhancement of Body, Possessions, and Merit
- Chapter 17: Benefit of Prostration and Other Practices
- Chapter 18: Recollecting the Three Jewels
- Chapter 19: Enhancing Merit
Having discussed the activities of giving and protection of one's body, possessions, and virtues in the previous chapters, Śāntideva presents the third activity of purification in this chapter. Dealing with the purification of the body, he says a proper cleansing of the body turns it into a beneficial possession, like clean and well-cooked rice. He cites The Sūtra on the Buddha's Secrets (Tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśasūtra) to explain how a bodhisattva works to help sentient beings who see, hear, or touch his body through the power of prayers. Even the countless animals, insects, and microbes that feed on the dead body of a bodhisattva in a cemetery would reap benefits of joy, happy rebirth, and enlightenment through the power of prayers made by the bodhisattva. A sprouting crop will not flourish if covered by weeds. Similarly, the body of a sprouting bodhisattva will not flourish if covered by afflictive emotions. Thus, the body must be purified from sinful actions and afflictive emotions.
In order to purify the body of sinful actions, Śāntideva delves into the practice of confession and atonement. He cites The Sūtra Setting Forth the Four Dharmas (Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra) to list the four essential features of a proper and powerful practice of confession and purification of negative actions. They are commonly presented as four powers or strengths and include: (1) the cultivation of utter remorse, (2) cultivation of remedial practice, (3) resolve for restoration or change, and (4) the support for expiation of negative actions. To cultivate remorse about one's actions, one ought to recognize the negative actions. Thus, Śāntideva refers to the confession section of The Sūtra of Noble Golden Light (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājasūtra) to provide a long list of negative actions and transgressions for which one must feel remorse. He also cites The Questions of Upāli Sūtra (Vinayaviniścayopāliparipṛcchāsūtra) to distinguish heavy and light sinful actions. Those negative actions motivated by attachment are considered less severe than those motivated by anger because attachment connects sentient beings, whereas anger forsakes sentient beings. Thus, not all negative actions done out of attachment are transgressions or downfalls. Those bodhisattvas who have skill-in-means fear the negative actions committed with hatred, and those beginners who lack skill-in-means fear actions committed with attachment. To clarify the point, Śāntideva says: "What is skill-in-means? It is ceasing to abandon sentient beings through wisdom and compassion."[1] On their own, both wisdom and compassion can end up abandoning sentient beings, as wisdom sees all suffering to be empty, and compassion, after a long period, can suffer from fatigue and decline.
The Sūtra on Skill-in-Means (Upāyakauśalyasūtra) compares the bodhisattva with skill-in-means to a magician with supernatural power tied in chains. A man with magical power tied in chains can break through the chains when he wishes to go free. Similarly, a bodhisattva with skill-in-means may be entangled in a world of sensory pleasures, but he can break free when he wishes. In contrast, the one with hatred or anger is deprived of such skill-in-means because he cannot have compassion at the same time as hatred and anger. Becoming angry, even to stop others from harm, is not permissible, as it diminishes the bodhisattva's power of compassion. Having said that, attachment and greed are also defects to be abandoned, and bodhisattvas cannot possibly enjoy sensual pleasures when sentient beings remain engulfed in the fire of suffering. Yet, engagement in sensual pleasures, including sexual intercourse, can be permitted for the sake of benefiting others. Even violating the four root precepts of a monk would not amount to a transgression for a bodhisattva monk who does so with skill-in-means.
Continuing with the topic of confession, The Questions of Upāli Sūtra elaborates on how more serious transgressions and downfalls must be confessed before any lighter offenses. Śāntideva then quotes in full the famous confession prayer known as The Sūtra of Three Heaps (Triskandhakasūtra), which includes paying homage to thirty-five buddhas of confession, making confessions of all negative actions, and dedicating all types of meritorious actions. It may be noted, however, that the enumeration of three heaps or sets varies, with most sources giving confession, rejoicing, and dedication of merit, or, alternatively, confession, dedication, and beseeching buddhas to teach. Śāntideva's own identification of the three heaps of merit is given later in chapter 16.
The second power, engaging in the remedial measures, is presented by quoting the passages on purificatory and corrective practices taught in various sūtras and dhāraṇīs. The first sūtra is The Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra), which, if acquired, held, read, or understood, can expiate negative actions expeditiously. Similarly, taking interest in and realizing the nature of emptiness is another way to overcome negative actions. The Sūtra of Treasury of the Buddha (Tathāgatakoṣasūtra) states that killing a father who is also a solitary realizer is the most heinous form of taking life, stealing what has been offered to the Three Jewels out of faith is the most heinous form of taking what is not given, sleeping with a mother who is also an arhat is the most heinous form of sexual misconduct, wrongly criticizing the Buddha is the most heinous form of speaking falsehood, denigrating the noble Sangha is the most heinous form of sowing discord, abusing the enlightened beings is the most heinous form of speaking harsh words, distracting those interested in Dharma is the most heinous form of idle gossip, thinking of committing one of the immeasurable sinful actions is the most heinous of malicious thoughts, thinking of depriving the renunciates of their provisions is the most heinous of covetousness, and holding an inflated view is the most heinous of wrong views. Such heinous actions can still be remedied by following the Buddha's teachings and thinking of the nature of nonself, nonarising, luminosity, and emptiness. In order to expiate negative actions, Śāntideva also recommends the recitation of the hundred-syllable mantra until signs of purification appear in a dream.
Creating statues of the Buddha, cultivating bodhicitta, becoming a renunciate, making offerings to the Buddha, venerating a stūpa, observing the precepts for lay or monastic persons, and venerating the Medicine Buddha and bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī are given as some of the other ways to expiate the sinful actions that Śāntideva presents based on different canonical sources.
Śāntideva is brief on the third power of restraining from offenses or resolve for restoration, citing only two sources: The Moon Lamp Sūtra (Candrapradīpasūtra, aka Samādhirājasūtra) and The Sūtra of Kṣitigarbha (Daśacakrakṣitigarbhasūtra). This power commonly deals with the cultivation of strong determination not to commit any negative actions in the future. However, in this text, Śāntideva highlights the benefit of eschewing negative actions. For example, a bodhisattva who avoids taking life amounts to giving protection to sentient beings, as beings will not fear such a bodhisattva. All beings, including gods and humans, will be pleased with such a bodhisattva, and his negative actions and impurities from the past will be cleansed by such a virtuous deed. The same applies to eschewing stealing, sexual misconduct, etc.
Discussing the fourth power of support for confession and atonement, Śāntideva hints that the Three Jewels, including the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, are excellent supports for confession. Those who take refuge in them do not fall to unhappy realms but ascend to celestial worlds. Similarly, he cites The Liberation of Maitreya (Maitreyavimokṣa) to point out that bodhicitta, which is like a cosmic fire to burn all negativity, is another excellent support or method through which to expiate negative actions. In eliminating sinful actions and turning them into qualities of buddhahood, bodhicitta is also compared to mercury, a single measure of which, according to ancient alchemy, can turn a thousand measures of iron into gold, but a thousand measures of iron cannot affect it or turn it into iron. Similarly, it is compared to a lamp that can immediately dispel the darkness that has existed in a room for a thousand years. Some of these analogies are used by Śāntideva in his praise of bodhicitta in the first chapter of his Way of the Bodhisattva.
If a bodhisattva commits an offense and violates a precept in the morning but cultivates bodhicitta in the evening for some time, his discipline is not affected and its fruits will remain limitless. This applies to other parts of the day. Unlike the case of hearers, in which a monk who commits a transgression or downfall and repeats it loses his vow, a bodhisattva can redeem himself even after repeating an offense by upholding bodhicitta.
Compassion is also presented as another tool for expiating negative actions and is compared to the wish-fulfilling jewel that the king of nāgas wears on his crown to ward off harm inflicted by others. Thus, to Śāntideva, the altruistic thought of bodhicitta and compassion are very powerful means to expiate negative actions, and the bodhisattva path is open to reparation and amendment as long as the core spirit of skill-in-means combining wisdom and compassion is not forsaken. The discussion on the second perfection of discipline ends with the presentation of confession and expiation of negative actions in the eighth chapter, and Śāntideva next turns to the perfection of patience.
Notes
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