Everybody knows wrongdoing. But how do we forgive our own wrongdoing in the past, present, and future? Repentance isn't a medieval hair whip, it is a wonderful purification of the heart and a sincere effort to know our own misdeeds and to practice restraint in the face of habit.
We often don't want to acknowledge our own wrongdoing. Sometimes we send ourselves straight to the dungeon of shame when we see it. It can be painful to say to ourselves 'wow, did I mess up and hurt somebody'. Once we have insight, how do we heal from the past harms we have caused, and how do we stop the future ones?
Zen practice has a repentance ceremony, often at the time of the full moon. Sometimes people ask everyday to be released from 'their ancient twisted karma' and acts of harming. Once I asked a wise person how to heal some painfully bad habits. He said 'Just don't make trouble'. This was sage advice which none can follow perfectly, yet the effort to scan our heart and behavior for self revealing harmful activity keeps us honest. The effort to catch ourselves out when we go on automatic pilot can quickly return us to kindness. Hui-Neng speaks of 'formless repentance', an act that covers not only the past, but the present and the future. Formless repentance acknowledges our interdependent hearts and lives and offers up the wish to act in accord with peaceful and loving intentions.
Repenting for Harmony
