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The Aura of Wisdom
- Book 154: The Aura of Wisdom
- Chapter 77:
Signs of Purification as Arisen from the Repentance Practice
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated and edited by True Buddha Foundation
- Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Victor Hazen, Dance Smith)
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Many people used to come to me and ask, `When cultivating the repentance practice, how does one know if one has been freed from one? karmic transgression?`
I replied, `Watch for the signs of purification.
I once told my disciples that should they see the principal deity appearing to touch their head while they are cultivating the repentance practice, it means that the Buddha and bodhisattva have forgiven their misdeeds. It means that they have received a sign of purification.
Many disciples, upon the completion of their repentance practice, dreamed of many tiny worms falling off when they combed their hair. This is another verification of receiving a sign of purification.
One disciple had a dream of flying towards space, bathing himself in the purity of the universe, cleansing himself of all dirt and impurities. This is also a sign of purification.
Other signs of purification include dreams and visions of consuming white stuff and vomiting dark matter; black worms crawling out of your pores; the principal deity giving you a discourse; swallowing the sun or moon; chasing away a black ox or a bad tempered horse; ascending to the lion`s throne; entering into the palaces of buddhas and bodhisattvas; seeing your body emitting white light; your body giving out a fragrance; ascending a white mountain and riding on a Dharma ship across the great ocean, and so forth.
When a person recites the Vajrasattva Hundred Syllable Mantra ten thousand times and still does not see any sign of purification, he may want to recite up to twenty thousand times. If he still does not see any sign of purification, he must then recite up to seven hundred thousand times. This is an indication that the individual has committed the five unpardonable sins in his past lives. However, should he complete his seven hundred thousand recitations, he shall see the signs of purification.
There are many repentance practices in Buddhism, spanning the Sutric and Tantric teachings. In the Sutric system, repentance practices include the Emperor Liang Precious Repentance, the Water Repentance, the Great Compassion Repentance, the Lotus Flower Repentance, and so forth. The main repentance practice found in Tantric Buddhism is the Vajrasattva Hundred Syllable Mantra Practice. When a person recites this mantra, he transforms all karmic transgression into emptiness, and dissolves all transgression into space.
There was this individual who used to slander Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu, and later he realized his mistakes and took refuge with the True Buddha School. As he was cultivating the Vajrasattva Practice, he saw a black snake being vomited from his mouth. After this experience, his saw great improvement in his cultivation practice, and presently his spiritual conviction is firm and his attainment is excellent.
When we sincerely repent, the buddhas and bodhisattvas, out of their compassion for us, will reveal to us the signs of purification.
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