Chan Master Nan Huai Chin
In the Tiantai school, before cultivating shamatha and vipashyana, one must go through the preliminaries. Besides taking refuge, one must diligently practice repentance and purification rituals. Why is this? If a person is not truly intent on cultivation, then it’s alright to skip this. But if you wish to wholeheartedly engage in the path, you must first remove obstacles.
You might say, "I haven't committed any major negative karma in this life." That may be true. However, we don't know what we have done over countless past lives. We could have slandered the Dharma. Slandering the Dharma is considered even worse than committing the five uninterrupted karmas. It’s possible that at some point in countless past lives, we have slandered the Dharma and consequently fell into the three lower realms, experiencing endless suffering through many rebirths.
We know from reading the sutras that the karmic consequences of slandering the Dharma are very long-lasting. The aftereffects follow us for a long time. For example, you might notice that whenever you listen to the Dharma, you feel sleepy, but when the teaching ends, you become wide awake. Or, when you resolve to practice Dharma, obstacles arise. These are signs of obstructions to the path. If you observe carefully, you'll notice that whenever your body, speech, and mind come into contact with the Triple Gems, there always seems to be a kind of force subtly hampering you. This is certainly connected to the karma of slandering Dharma in the past.
If you don't practice repentance, your cultivation will always be a case of "double the effort for half the result." No matter how hard you try, it's like a huge boulder blocking your way forward.
Therefore, Master Zhiyi (who founded the Tiantai school) advised practitioners to perform repentance thoroughly at least once in their lifetime. Of course, there's no fixed timeframe for doing repentance; it depends on how long you take to see the auspicious signs of purification.
You should diligently prostrate and repent by practicing the "Eighty-Eight Buddhas Repentance" or the "Great Compassion Repentance" until you see yourself bathing, or see flowers, lights, or in the best case, see Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in your dreams— these are all excellent signs. So that in this life you can fulfill the aspiration, “May I be without any obstacles at death."
But this aspiration is not going to happen just by hoping for it. It has to come from your cultivation. It is not a matter of luck. Ideally, before death comes, you spend a period of time diligently practicing repentance in a proper manner.
Master Hongyi (a famous high monk) said that if you set the goal of seeing auspicious signs as the time period for your practice of repentance, that might be too high a standard as it might take too long for the signs to come. He suggested simply dedicating a year to repentance practice. Practice prostrations based on the text once a day. You must concentrate wholeheartedly and continue for a full year. Even if you don't see auspicious signs, at least, your karmic obstacles will have been greatly reduced.
Being able to see the auspicious signs is the best. But what are we trying to avoid? We are afraid of obstructions on the Dharma path. What is the greatest fear in Dharma? It is the fear of obstacles on the path.
Once our minds have merged with the Dharma, your negative karma and obscurations are naturally purified. But before that happens, the biggest danger is that although you recite Amitabha, there is some kind of barrier between your mind and Amitabha’s name. Reciting Amitabha doesn’t merge with your mind. If this barrier isn't broken down, how are we to continue reciting?
Once your mind merges with Amitabha’s name, there is no more fear. Mind and Buddha becomes one. The mind merges with the path. And all samsaric karma can be purified. But before reaching this state, if you are blocked by your own karmic obscurations -- that is what we are most afraid of. This is why the Tiantai school emphasizes on practicing repentance.
(Note: The terms "slandering the Dharma" and "abandoning the Dharma" are the same, they are alternately used. This karma is very easy to commit. In some teachings, it is explained that, for instance, to create any obstacle for someone who is listening or practicing the Dharma, say by speaking to them or distracting them, would constitute the fault of abandoning the Dharma. Or if one reads or hears some Dharma that is not to one's liking and one gives rise to the thought to reject it, then it is also the fault of abandoning the Dharma. Amongst others, the practice of Akshobhya dharani can purify this type of karma. )
