The 108 Prostrations of Repentance

Invocation

   We honor with all our hearts the Buddha who gives us direction through his great selfless compassion for all sentient beings. He provides us with great joy and happiness, for he is the one who is adorned with the marks of a Buddha, with Great Wisdom and Great Light. (1st bow)

   With all our hearts, we take refuge in the Supreme-Diamond Teacher (2nd bow)

   And we take refuge in the Three Jewels ? the Buddha, the Teachings and the Community. (3rd bow)

   Now that we have found the aspiration for Enlightenment, we pay homage not in hopes of being reborn in a human ? or deva-realm, nor do we honor to become enlightened as a Sravaka, a Pratyekabuddha, or as a Bodhisattva of the provisional teaching. We aspire for enlightenment by relying only on the Incomparable Teachings, wishing that all sentient beings may simultaneously reach Anuttarasamyak-sambodhi. (4th bow)


Prostrations to the Buddhas

   All Buddhas, as limitless as space in the ten directions (5th bow)

   All Noble Teachings, as limitless as space in the ten directions (6th bow)

   All realized beings, as limitless as space in the ten directions (7th bow)

   Tathagatha, Arahant, All-knowing, Accomplished, Sugata, Knower of the worlds, Incomparable Guide, Teacher of men and gods, Buddha, Bhagavat. (8th bow)

   Vast Light Buddha (9th bow)

   Vast Brightness Buddha (10th bow)

   Vast Purity Buddha (11th bow)

   Cinnamon-Scent Buddha (12th bow)

   Sandalwood Light Buddha (13th bow)

   Mani (-jewel) Banner Buddha (14th bow)

   Enjoying to store Mani-jewels Buddha (15th bow)

   Supreme effort of delighting in all worlds Buddha (16th bow)

   Mani-Banner-Lantern Light Buddha (17th bow)

   Shinning Wisdom Torch Buddha (18th bow)

   Ocean of Merit Light Buddha (19th bow)

   Vast golden Light of the indestructible Diamond Buddha (20th bow)

   Great fierce Effort Buddha (21st bow)

   Light of great Compassion Buddha (22nd bow)

   King of Loving-kindness Buddha (23rd bow)

   Store of Loving-kindness Buddha (24th bow)

   Victoriously adorned Sandalwood Groove Buddha (25th bow)

   Head of Nobility and Virtue Buddha (26th bow)

   Virtuous Thought Buddha (27th bow)

   Greatly adorned King Buddha (28th bow)

   Golden Flower Light Buddha (29th bow)

   Freedom of illuminating the Sky with Jewels Buddha (30th bow)

   Jewel-Sky-Flower Light Buddha (31st bow)

   Crystal adorned King Buddha (32nd bow)

   Light of the pervading Form-body Buddha (33rd bow)

   Unmovable Wisdom Light Buddha (34th bow)

   King that subdued Mara Buddha (35th bow)

   Skillful Light Buddha (36th bow)

   Victorious Wisdom Buddha (37th bow)

   Sage Maitreya Buddha (38th bow)

   Royal Wisdom of the tranquil Moon Buddha (39th bow)

   Light that purifies the world Buddha (40th bow)

   Exalted Dragon King Buddha (41st bow)

   Sun and Moon Light Buddha (42nd bow)

   Sun and Moon Jewel-Light Buddha (43rd bow)

   Victorious Wisdom Banner King Buddha (44th bow)

   Spontaneous Lion¡¯s Roar King Buddha (45th bow)

   Victory of the secret Sound Buddha (46th bow)

   Eternal-Light Banner Buddha (47th bow)

   Torch that observes the World Buddha (48th bow)

   Royal Torch of Wisdom and Dignity Buddha (49th bow)

   Dharma Victory King Buddha (50th bow)

   Sumeru Mountain Light Buddha (51st bow)

   Sumana Flower Light Buddha (52nd bow)

   Extraordinary Udumbara Flower King Buddha (53rd bow)

   King of great Wisdom Strength Buddha (54th bow)

   Joyous Light of Akshobya Buddha (55th bow)

   Immeasurable-Sound King Buddha (56th bow)

   Skillful-Light Buddha (57th bow)

   Golden-Ocean-Light Buddha (58th bow)

   Spontaneous Wisdom that penetrates Mountains and Oceans Buddha (59th bow)

   Great-Penetrating-Light Buddha (60th bow)

   Forever-abundant-with-Dharma King Buddha (61st bow)

   Shakyamuni Buddha (62nd bow)

   Indestructible Diamond Buddha (63rd bow)

   Jewel-Light Buddha (64th bow)

   Noble Dragon King Buddha (65th bow)

   Army of Mighty Effort Buddha (66th bow)

   Joyous Effort Buddha (67th bow)

   Jewel Fire Buddha (68th bow)

   Jewel Moon Light Buddha (69th bow)

   Manifesting No-Foolishness Buddha (70th bow)

   Jewel Moon Buddha (71st bow)

   Stainless Buddha (72nd bow)

   Removed the Stains Buddha (73rd bow)

   Courageous Giving Buddha (74th bow)

   Pure Buddha (75th bow)

   Giver of Purity Buddha (76th bow)

   Sa-ryu-na Buddha (77th bow)

   Water-Deva Buddha (78th bow)

   Firm Virtue Buddha (79th bow)

   Sandalwoood Virtue Buddha (80th bow)

   Immeasurable Gold-Flower Light Buddha (81st bow)

   Bright Virtue Buddha (82nd bow)

   Virtue of Nonagitation Buddha (83rd bow)

   Narayana Buddha (84th bow)

   Flower Virtue Buddha (85th bow)

   Spiritual Power of the Lotus-Flower-Light Buddha (86th bow)

   Skillful Virtue Buddha (87th bow)

   Virtuous Mindfulness Buddha (88th bow)

   Renowned Virtue Buddha (89th bow)

   Banner of the red-flame Emperor Buddha (90th bow)

   Roaming in Virtue Buddha (91st bow)

   Hero in warfare Buddha (92nd bow)

   Well gone Buddha (93rd bow)

   Adorned and Surrounded by Virtue Buddha (94th bow)

   Strolling on Jewel Flowers Buddha (95th bow)

   Sala-Tree that rests on a Jewel-Lotus-Flower Buddha (96th bow)

   Ultimate Dharma-Body of Amitabha Buddha (97th bow)

Supplication

   To the innumerable Buddhas of the past, present and future, we ask that you remain with us always and that you compassionately look over us. In this life as well as in lives through time immemorial, we have performed all kinds of seriously unwholesome karma.

   We have performed this karma ourselves, we have made others perform it, and we have delighted in seeing others perform it.

   We have stolen sacred objects, we have made others steal them, and we have delighted in seeing others steal them.

   We have performed karma unwholesome enough to drive us into endless hells, we have urged others to perform such karma, and we have delighted in seeing others perform such karma.

   We have performed the ten kinds of unwholesome karma, we have made others perform such karma, and we have delighted in seeing others perform such karma.

   We are aware of some of this awesome karma, but we are unaware of much of it, for it is buried in the karmic store house. And for all this karma, we deserve such retribution as to fall into hells, into the realm of hungry ghosts, or into the realm of animals, Even if we were to reincarnate in the human realm, we would deserve to be born in unbearable circumstances ? in terrible isolation or among savages. We now repent for all of this unwholesome karma. (98th bow)

   We ask all the Buddhas of the universes to verify this repentance, and we ask that you look over us with your great compassion. Furthermore:

   In the past, if we have achieved merit through selfless generosity, through keeping the Precepts, through feeding even a single leaf to a hungry animal, through purity of action helping others to achieve the Way, through training on the Path, or through great wisdom, we now gather all of this merit together, and before the Great Wisdom of Enlightenment, we transfer it just as all the Buddhas of the universes transfer their merit.

   Through the merit achieved by repentance, and merit achieved by imploring the Buddhas of the universes to spread the Dharma throughout the universes for eons, we hope to achieve incomparable wisdom.

   We now take refuge in and honor the Buddhas of the past, present and future, Buddhas who are the seas of noble and endless virtue for suffering sentient beings.

(From The Vows of Practice of Samantabhadra)

   ¡°I now honor, with pure body, speech and mind all of the past, present and future Buddhas of the universes. I honor all of the Buddhas, who through the wondrous power of Smantabhadra, are as numerous in a single atom as there are atoms in the Dharma realm.¡± (100 bow)

   ¡°I laud, through all eternity, the Buddhas who are as numerous in a single atom as there are atoms, and who, surrounded by Bodhisattvas, pervade the Dharma Realm, speaking in mysterious and wondrous ways throughout eternity.¡± (101st bow)

   ¡°I offer such adornments as the finest of flowers and garlands, of musical instruments and perfumes and parasols. I offer a mountain of robes and the finest of fragrances, of powered incense, sticks of incense and lamps, all as high as Mt. Sumeru. I deeply believe in the Buddhas of the past, present and future, the magnificent teachers of wisdom; and I make offerings to the Buddhas through the great powers of Samantabhadra.¡± (102nd bow)

   ¡°I repent for all my unwholesome karma of the past which was rooted in the Three poisons of avarice, aversion and delusion, karma which I performed mentally, verbally and physically.¡± (103rd bow)

   ¡°I take joy in all the virtuous deeds of sentient beings, of the educated and the uneducated, of noble beings, and of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.¡± (104th bow)

   ¡°I implore to hear the Dharma Teachings of the Enlightened Ones, the Lights of all the worlds.¡± (105th bow)

   ¡°I implore the Buddhas who are striving for Final Enlightenment to remain with us for our benefit.¡± (106th bow)

   ¡°And all merit from honoring, lauding and making offerings to the Buddhas; all merit and joy from imploring the Buddhas to remain with us and teach us; and all merit derived from repentance ? all of this I transfer to all forms of life throughout the universes.¡± (107th bow)

   And should there be any additional merit for transferring this merit, I again transfer this to the Incomparable Eternal Dharma. I also transfer the great sea of merit obtained through the single-minded absorption beyond dualities of mind and phenomena, of Buddhist Law and the secular world.

   And may the retribution I have acquired from finding fault with others for their misdeeds and for criticizing their misdeeds, and the retribution I have acquired from illusions produced by attachment to the self and to Dharmas be dissipated. With each thought I will spread great wisdom throughout the Dharma Realm and rescue all sentient beings.

   I vow that I will transfer all merit as endlessly as the Void is endless, as endlessly as sentient beings are endless, as endlessly as the karma of sentient beings is endless, as endlessly as agonies are endless. (108th bow, last one)