Repentance: The Great Compassion Repentance and the Repentance Method of Worshipping Avalokitesvara

The Great Compassion Repentance 

The Great Compassion Repentance and the Great Compassion Mantra share the same origin, both deriving from the Avalokitesvara Perfect Unobstructed Great Compassion Dharani Sutra. The Great Compassion Repentance was developed, compiled, and structured by the Song Dynasty Master Zhili based on this sutra. It includes the Great Compassion Mantra and the core teachings of the sutra, while also encompassing various procedures and rituals for setting up the ceremony hall, establishing boundaries, making offerings, entering and initiating the repentance ceremony, as well as repentance and contemplation. The version currently in circulation is a simplified one compiled by the Qing Dynasty Master Duti and Master Jixian. Reciting the Great Compassion Mantra once takes only a few minutes, whereas chanting the Great Compassion Repentance often takes about two hours.
 
The Great Compassion Repentance is a form of repentance practice, the most widely performed Dharma assembly in Han Chinese regions. Through sound, chanting, a solemn ritual setting, and the devotion of participants, it collectively resonates and expresses religious faith and sentiment. Therefore, it is also a form of group practice.
 
Although the Great Compassion Repentance belongs to the repentance practice, the two-hour ritual is not merely passive repentance, nor is it limited to seeking personal blessings and worldly benefits. As an "Avalokitesvara Dharma Method," it encompasses the Prajna wisdom and compassionate skillful means of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The ultimate significance of this repentance lies in the purification of one's own mind. Through personal enlightenment and liberation, one generates a vast Bodhicitta that resonates with the compassion of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. In doing so, one takes the Bodhisattva as a model and guide for "purification," and uses various skillful means to benefit and assist sentient beings in realizing the Dharma nature.

Repentance Method of Worshipping Avalokitesvara
 
Besides the Great Compassion Repentance, Master Ouyi of the Ming Dynasty proposed the "Repentance Method of Worshipping Avalokitesvara" in Volume 2 of Lingfeng Zonglun, which is also a highly auspicious repentance practice. This repentance ritual was created by Master Ouyi based on the Verses of Worshiping Avalokitesvara written by Chan Master Dahui Zonggao of the Song Dynasty, with the addition of the Verses in Praise of Avalokitesvara, the Great Compassion Mantra, and prostrations to Avalokitesvara. The steps of the practice are as follows:
 
1. In the quiet of the night, offer incense before the image of the Bodhisattva.
2. Recite the Great Compassion Mantra three or five times.
3. Join your palms and recite the Verses in Praise of Avalokitesvara once.
4. With utmost sincerity, prostrate thirty-two times to Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.
5. Kneel and recite the Verses of Worshiping Avalokitesvara (see right page), dedicating the merit.
 
There are many versions of the Verses in Praise of Avalokitesvara. This article presents the verses composed by Master Zhili of the Song Dynasty in his Thousand-Hand Thousand-Eye Avalokitesvara Great Compassion Heart Mantra Practice:
 
Homage to Saddharmavidya Tathagata of the past, who is the present Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. He has perfected wondrous merits and is endowed with great compassion. Within a single body and mind, he manifests a thousand hands and eyes, illuminating and perceiving the Dharma realm, and protecting all sentient beings. He inspires the arising of vast bodhicitta and teaches the practice of the perfect spiritual mantra, helping sentient beings be permanently freed from the evil realms and attain rebirth in the presence of the Buddha. He eliminates even heavy transgressions or chronic illnesses that afflict the body, which no one else can cure or alleviate. He causes samadhi and eloquence, as well as the aspirations in this present life,  to be fulfilled without doubt. He enables the swift attainment of the Three Vehicles and early entry into the stage of Buddhahood. His power is inexhaustible; therefore, with a single devoted heart, I take refuge and prostrate in reverence.

BOX: Verses of Worshiping Avalokitesvara by Master Dahui
 
With pure body, speech, and mind, I prostrate and take refuge in the Compassionate and Miraculous Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the Father of the Ten Directions. I have heard that the Bodhisattva entered samadhi through hearing, contemplating, and practicing--thereby attaining two kinds of accordance, four inconceivable qualities, fourteen forms of fearlessness, nineteen methods of expounding the dharma, and the power to resolve seven calamities and fulfill two kinds of aspirations. With thirty-two manifestations and immeasurable merit, he exerts great power and makes a great vow. He flows with the nine realms, the six destinies, and the four types of birth within the cycle of samsara. Throughout kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, he employs skillful means through virtuous deeds, thereby rescuing all sentient beings without respite. I now implore him with a heartfelt plea: may he surely grant his empowerment.
 
I, [Name], through the fortunate merits of past lives, have been born to encounter the Buddhadharma. Although I have renounced the secular life, my mind is not yet fully imbued with the Dharma (for lay practitioners: "My body is constrained by worldly conditions, my mind is filled with many distractions"). I am deluded and hold mistaken views; my faculties are clouded and obstructed. Although I have studied both the internal and external scriptures, I have not yet understood their profound meaning.
 
I also fear that my merit is shallow and my lifespan short and that I have entered the monastic life in vain (for lay practitioners: "that I have obtained a human body in vain"), living and dying fruitlessly. I now cleanse my mind and weep tears of blood, prostrate myself with utmost sincerity. Day and night, I hold the holy countenance in my thoughts, uphold the holy name, and worship the holy image. I only pray that the Bodhisattva, with the divine ear that hears all sounds, will compassionately relieve my suffering, bestow mercy, and grant empowerment. May you emit great divine light to illuminate my body and mind, and pour forth great nectar upon the crown of my head, washing away the grievances and transgressions accumulated over countless lifetimes, purifying my body and mind, and eliminating all demonic obstacles.
 
Throughout both day and night, and whether sitting or lying down, may I perceive the Bodhisattva emitting great divine light, awakening my wisdom and enabling me, [Name], to immediately manifest clear supernormal power. May my intellect be sharp, naturally retaining all the scriptures and spontaneously penetrating all the teachings. May I attain great eloquence, profound cognition, long life, and great peace of mind. In practicing meditation and the Path, may there be no demonic obstructions. Realizing the profound insight into the non-arising of phenomena, may I follow the Bodhisattva path throughout every rebirth. May the four kinds of kindness be fully repaid, the three realms of existence be universally supported, and all sentient beings of the Dharma realm perfect the wisdom of all aspects.

This is a practice suitable for solitary cultivation. Modern office workers, busy with work and unable to attend the Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony, can adopt this "Repentance Method of Worshipping Avalokitesvara" as a regular practice. Requiring only about thirty minutes a day, it allows practitioners to receive the same protection and blessings from Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.



Related articles:

The Avalokitesvara Method: Opening Up All Skillful Means

Reciting the Name: Namo Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva

​Reciting Mantras: Six-Syllable Mantra, White-Robed Avalokiteshvara Mantra, Ten-Phrase Avalokiteshvara Sutra for Prolonging Life, Great Compassion Mantra, Eleven-Faced Avalokiteshvara Mantra

Repentance: The Great Compassion Repentance and the Repentance Method of Worshipping Avalokitesvara

​Scripture Reading: The Universal Gate Chapter and the Heart Sutra

Chan Contemplation: Perceiving the Emptiness of the Five Aggregates and the Perfect Penetration Method through the Ear Faculty

The Three Guanyins of Dharma Drum Mountain



Resource: Issue 340 of Humanity Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Photo: 江思賢
Translation: James 
Editing: Venerable Yan Hsiang (演香法師), Keith Brown