If We Correct Our Errors, They Disappear
聰明人，有過必改；愚癡人，有過不改。Intelligent people correct their errors; deluded people don't.
皆由無始貪瞋癡；
從身語意之所生，
All evil karma I did in the past,
Came from beginningless greed, anger,
and delusion,
And was made by my body, mouth and mind.
I now repent of it all and reform.
我為什麼在往昔的時候造了很多的惡業？仔細地分析，都是因為無始劫以來由貪瞋癡三毒所生出來的。從身生出殺、盜、淫的業；從口生出妄言、綺語、惡口、兩舌的業；從意生出貪、瞋、癡的業。這所有的業，我現在都要懺悔。所謂：
Why have we created so much bad karma in the past? Looking into it carefully, we can see that throughout beginning--less eons, the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion have been the reason. Our bodies kill, steal, and engage in sexual misconduct; our mouths engage in lying, frivolous speech, harsh speech, and divisive speech; and our minds indulge in greed, anger, and delusion. But now we want to repent of all our evil karma and reform. It is said:
Great offenses which fill the heavens
Are eradicated by a single thought of
心若滅時罪亦亡；
心亡罪滅兩俱空，
Offenses arise from the mind, and must be
repented in the mind.
When thoughts are gone,
offenses also disappear.
With thoughts forgotten and offenses gone,
both become empty.
That is called true repentance and reform.
罪從心生，罪從心滅，所以將心懺；用真心來懺悔所造的業，心裏把所造的過錯忘掉，罪業也沒有了。所謂：「過能改，歸於無」如果有過不改，把它藏起來，不教人知道，那才是罪上加罪。古時大英雄、大豪傑，都是勇於改過。古人云：
如日月之蝕焉。
過也，人皆見之；
Offenses come from the mind and disappear because of the mind, and so the mind must repent of them. Using your true mind to repent and reform of the karma you have created, the mistakes made can be dispelled from the mind. With that, the offenses also vanish.
It is said that if you correct your faults and errors, they vanish. But if you conceal your offenses, they double. The great heroes and outstanding people of ancient times were all courageous in correcting their errors. Thus the ancients said,
A superior person's error
is like a solar or lunar eclipse
which is seen by all.
If he immediately corrects it,
everyone looks up to him.
君子有了過錯，就好像日蝕和月蝕一樣，人人都能看見；若是能及時改過，則人人都會敬仰而羨慕。
A superior person's error is like solar or lunar eclipse in that everyone notices it. If he corrects himself right away, people then respect and admire him.
聰明人，有過必改；愚癡人，有過不改。所以古人又說：
Intelligent people correct their errors, deluded people don't. The ancients also said,
People aren't sages or worthies─
Who can be without faults?
To courageously correct one's faults
Is the greatest good of all.
有智慧的人，勇於改過，歡喜改過，所以人人都仰慕他，讚歎他，知道他是君子。古時子路聞過則喜，大禹聞善則拜，這些我們都應該引以為寶鑑。
Wise people vigorously change their faults and take delight in reforming themselves. That's why others look up to such people, praise them, and recognize them as great. In ancient times, Zi Lu [one of Confucius' disciples] rejoiced when people criticized him, and the Great Yu [Emperor of China, c. 2205 b.c.] bowed in respect when he heard of the goodness of others. Those two are good models for us.
A talk given on March 1, 1977,
at Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery, San Francisco
