Overall Teaching

The Bodhisattva Ruciraketu learns of this confession from the beating of a drum emitting golden light in his dream. It removes evil through confession, wishing beings to be free from suffering, praising the buddhas, and wishing for all beings to become buddhas. Those who hear this confession have served thousands of past buddhas.

Summary

1.     Then Ruciraketu slept, and in his dream, he saw a golden drum shining like the sun, and in all directions, he saw incalculable buddhas sitting on beryl seats at the foot of jewelled trees, surrounded by assemblies, preaching the Dharma.

a.     He there saw a brahmin beating the drum, and from the sound of the drum he heard confessional verses.

2.     When he awoke he went to the Buddha and uttered the confessional verses. They involve the following by the beating of the drum:

a.     A wish that all beings in the lower realms have their woes suppressed.

b.     A wish that all beings be endowed with the virtues of awakening, have the voice of Brahma and turn the Wheel of Dharma, living for countless aeons.

c.     A wish that all beings in evil states hear the drum and say, “homage to the Buddha.”

d.     A wish that beings know their former births.

e.     A wish that beings will meet with the buddhas.

f.      A wish that beings will avoid evil.

g.     A wish that he will be become a refuge for beings and that the Buddhas will watch over him.

h.     That he will confess whatever evil he has done:

                                               i.     By not attending to his parents

                                             ii.     By neglecting the Buddhas

                                            iii.     By neglecting the good

                                            iv.     By being intoxicated by authority, high birth, or tender age

                                             v.     By badly doing deed, thought, or word, or not perceiving a mishap

                                            vi.     By ignorance or under the influence of a bad friend or by mental impurity or compulsion of sport or enjoyment, or by anxiety and anger, or unsatisfied wealth

                                          vii.     By association with ignoble people, by envy and greed, by guile or wretchedness

                                         viii.     By failure to gain mastery over desire because of fear at the time of approaching troubles

                                            ix.     By a flighty mind or under the influence of passion, anger, or being oppressed by hunger and thirst, for the sake of clothing, women, or afflictions of impurities

                                             x.     Whatever other action done by body, tongue or mind.

i.      Likewise, he will confess any disrespect to buddhas, teachings, or śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas.

j.      Likewise he confesses any rejection of the Dharma or disrespect to his parents.

3.     He then aspires to worship all buddhas and establish beings in ten directions up to the tenth stage of a bodhisattva, so they become buddhas, and only then will he become a buddha himself.

4.     He aspires to teach others this confession, which is the Golden Light (i.e. of the Drum) and to attain buddhahood himself.

5.     He then wishes for the Buddhas to forgive evil done by him in the past, as he is continually in fear of his evil acts and Buddhas remove fear, and he resolves not to engage in such acts in the future—instead upholding the ten wholesome acts attaining awakening through whatever merit he has gained.

6.     He confesses evil done in various forms of oppression (e.g. in existence, in foolish thoughts, in the influence of bad friends).

7.     He praises the qualities of the Buddha, particularly praising his brilliance and splendour like the sun and jewel-like appearance and the endlessness of his virtues.

8.     He again aspires to attain buddhahood and to always meet the buddhas by the virtue of his acts.

9.     He wishes for beings who are suffering in a variety of ways to all be free of their sufferings and that they all obtain an auspicious form and create light for each other. That things that they need be provided for them and fall from trees.

10.  He wishes that they will pay homage to the Dharma and proceed towards buddhahood, sitting on beryl seats beneath jewelled trees.

11.  He also praises any good acts done by them, and wishes that he attain awakening by that merit.

12.  Also, he wishes that these benefits come to any beings who uses this confession as a form of transfer of merit, and who praises the Buddha with joined palms, and that they will be worshipped as a king.

13.  Moreover, whoever hears this confession has already performed good under thousands of past Buddhas.