The 35 Confessional Buddhas
The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas is one of the best methods to purify our negative karma and can lead to attainments on the path towards enlightenment
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor David)
The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas is one of the most long lasting purification practices that has been propagated since the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. The practice itself was derived from the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps, which in Sanskrit is known as Triskandhadharmasutra.
This text was originally spoken by Buddha Shakyamuni himself and was taught within the Ratnakutasutra, an ancient collection of Mahayana Buddhist sutras. In a commentary by Nagarjuna, the origin of the practice can be traced to 35 Bodhisattva students of Buddha Shakyamuni, who were implicated in the death of a beer-seller’s son. Having remorse, they confessed their downfall to the Elder Upali, who was exemplary in upholding his monastic vows and commitments. They pleaded for him to relay their confession to Buddha Shakyamuni and to request a teaching to purify their wrongdoing. Buddha Shakyamuni saw that these 35 Bodhisattva students were actually innocent in the case but for the sake of future practitioners, he taught the Triskandhadharmasutra as a means to purify the downfalls of practitioners.
One of the most famous examples of those who practised the 35 Confessional Buddhas is Lama Tsongkhapa. He is well-known to have engaged in a purification retreat during which he performed 3.5 million prostrations. This was made up of 100,000 prostrations to each of the 35 Confessional Buddhas. In a pure vision he was advised by Manjushri to engage in this retreat in order to establish a direct perception of emptiness. In the process of his extraordinary and intensive retreat, he left the imprint of his sacred body on the floor of his retreat cave due to his prostrations. Consequently, as he came close to the completion of his retreat, he beheld pure visions of the 35 Confessional Buddhas and the glorious Buddha Maitreya along with the direct or non-conceptual perception of emptiness.
The Law of Cause and Effect
Although karma is considered by many to be the mainstay of the Buddha’s teachings, the Buddha himself did not actually invent the doctrine of karma. He taught karma, or the law of cause and effect, based on his own observations in a similar manner to how Isaac Newton discovered gravity by observing the effects that gravity had on an apple falling from a tree.
For most people, the effects of karma can be perceived and understood through ‘inferential logic’ or observations based on reason. A simple example of inferential logic is when we see a column of smoke in the horizon. From that, we can deduce that there is a fire although it may be too far away for us to see with our naked eyes. Likewise, when we see inequality in this world – how some people are born in sheer poverty while others are born into the lap of luxury – we can deduce that there are factors at work driving this result. That factor is karma. The different circumstances that people are born into are due to the ripening of different karmas from previous lives. If we look at this objectively, we will see that the reasoning of karma is a compelling one and can effectively explain why we go through different types of experiences.
Contrary to what people think, Buddha Shakyamuni did not invent the doctrine of karma but came to the realisation that it exists and how it works. In order to help beings overcome the suffering caused by karma, Buddha Shakyamuni taught the Dharma which is the method to purify negative karma. One such powerful method of purification is the practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas.
Karma in ancient Sanskrit means the actions or deeds of our body, speech and mind. On the other hand, the effects of karma are called vipaka or the ripening or maturation of karma, that comes back to us through the results and effects that we experience. There are many factors behind every one of our actions that determines their consequences. The most important of these factors on the consequence of our actions is our intent. The intent or motivation behind our actions is a subject that is much discussed in Buddhist teachings. If understood, this is the very point that can turn our lives around. The intent also determines whether the action is going to be positive, negative or one that is to be added to our store of merits necessary for the attainment of enlightenment.
At this point, it is important to understand the distinction between karma and merit. Karma is ordinary negative or positive actions that have arisen from the self-cherishing mind and are motivated directly or indirectly towards one’s benefit. As a result, karma is finite and can eventually be exhausted especially through purification practices. On the other hand, merits are virtuous actions that are dedicated with a selfless intent and towards one’s enlightenment.
Therefore, the results of merit cannot be exhausted and will eventually lead one towards full enlightenment. Although merit cannot be exhausted it can be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of our negative karma, making it difficult for us to benefit from it. This again goes to show how important purification practices are to prevent our merits from being overwhelmed.
On the other hand, the law of cause and effect (karma-vipaka) has an inextricable link with our previous and future lives. In fact, the accumulation of karma in each life determines our next rebirth (known as throwing karma) and the circumstances of future lives (known as completing karma). Hence, we can reasonably interpret what our previous lives might have been like by looking at the circumstances of our current life and the interests we pursue. For example, a life of poverty is a direct result of miserliness and to have poor health in this life is due to the harming of other beings in previous lives. Hence, the results always resemble the causes.
Karma also has a strong effect on our minds and the way we operate. Unfortunately for us, negative karma multiplies over time due to our predominantly self-cherishing actions. Therefore, people are imbued with all manner of emotional and psychological afflictions such as aggression, greed, depression and so forth. This leads to more confusion and conflict that increases our sense of dissatisfaction and misery. The principal source of our pain and suffering actually stems from the mind and our outlook on life. If we reduce harmful mental factors (e.g., projections, expectations and mental afflictions), peace of mind, contentment and happiness will arise.
Confessional Practice
In Buddhism, the holding of vows is an important practice. There are three main sets of vows – the Pratimoksha vows of a layperson, monk or nun; the Bodhisattva vows; and the Tantric vows for those with higher tantric initiation. These vows coupled with commitments and refraining from committing unwholesome actions forms the basis of an effective practice that bears fruit leading to spiritual realisations.
Keeping our commitment to uphold our vows is an integral component of the practice. Therefore it is important to purify the negative karma and imprints that accrue from our transgressions by confessing them and promising not to repeat these downfalls again. In this way, we reduce or completely eliminate the strength of negative imprints from previous negative actions. The main component of purification is confession, which is to expose transgressions and lay them bare. Hence in Tibetan, confession is called shakpa or ‘laying it bare’. In Buddhist practice, keeping our transgressions a secret makes it difficult to purify, and the negative effects of the misdeed will continue. Hence, exposing our faults is what confession is all about; honesty and openness in all situations is the essence of Buddhist practice.
In order for the confession to truly purify the misdeed, it must be done in accordance with the Four Opponent Powers. The first of the Opponent Powers is that of regret. The power of regret is activated when we genuinely see the faults of our transgressions and realise that they will result in negative repercussions. When we do this we are filled with remorse. The second Opponent Power is that of reliance on an object worthy of refuge, in this case the 35 Confessional Buddhas. Each of these Buddhas is fully enlightened, and therefore any prayer, prostration, offering or confession that is offered to them will result in purification and the collection of merit.
The third Opponent Power is the determination not to repeat the downfall or misdeed. This follows the understanding of the faults of our downfall and that they lead to heavy negative repercussions. Hence, we make a firm resolution not to repeat the downfall. This leads to the fourth and final Opponent Power, which is that of the application of the remedy or counteracting measures to purify the karma. This is not blind penance for the wrongs that we have done but instead the remedies are performed with the understanding of the law of cause and effect, and with the purpose of counteracting the negative tendencies of the karma that is being purified.
The practice of prostrating or recitation of the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps contains the ‘remedy’ and ‘refuge’ components, and therefore if it is done with sincere regret and firm resolve not to repeat the transgression, it becomes very a potent counteracting measure to the negative karma that has been accumulated.
35 Confessional Buddhas
In the Tibetan edition of the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps, the term Dezhin Shegpa (Tathagata or ‘One thus gone’) was added as an honorific title before the names of each of all 35 Confessional Buddhas. This inclusion was made by Je Tsongkhapa after experiencing a vision of the 35 Confessional Buddhas without their heads. Upon praising them however, with the honorific ‘Dezhin Shegpa’ their heads miraculously appeared. Since then, a tradition was started by Je Tsongkhapa to recite the names preceded by the honorific title Dezhin Shegpa.
The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas as contained within the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps is a confessional practice. There are two forms of confession – ultimate and relative confession. The ultimate or greater confession is the meditation on the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena. The relative or lesser confession is the application of the four opponent powers combined with prostration and / or other practices while recognising the illusory nature of reality.
The following is the description of the 35 Confessional Buddhas:
Buddha Shakyamuni
1. The Tathagata, Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha Shakyamuni’s name is followed by several honorific epithets such as, Foe Destroyer and Completely Perfected One. These names refer to the Buddha’s special qualities that have arisen due to his enlightened nature. Buddha Shakyamuni here refers to the historical Buddha who achieved full enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. He is golden in colour and sits in full meditation posture with his hands in the earth-touching gesture, or Bhumisparsha mudra. He purifies all negative karma accumulated over 10,000 eons.
Buddha Vajrapramardi
2. The Tathagata, Complete Subduer With the Essence of Vajra (Vajrapramardi, Dorje Nyingpo Rabtu Jompa)
He is seated above Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Essence of Space’. He is blue in colour and he holds a golden vajra in his hands. ‘Vajra’ or adamantine refers to his primordial nature that is non-conceptual. ‘Essence’ in his sacred name refers to his excellent enlightened qualities, while him being a ‘Complete Subduer’ refers to his ability to destroy and purify emotional afflictions and 10,000 eons worth of negative actions.
Buddha Ratnacis
3. The Tathagata, Jewel of Radiant Light (Ratnarcis, Rinchen O’tro)
He is seated to the East in front of Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Endowed with Jewels’. He is white in colour and holds both a vajra and the sun in his hands. ‘Jewel’ in his name refers to his excellent qualities which is pristine awareness, much like the clear light that dispels the darkness of ignorance. The radiant light refers to his ability to reach out to eliminate the ignorance of sentient beings. Therefore, he purifies the negative actions accumulated over 25,000 eons.
Buddha Nageshvararaja
4. The Tathagata, Powerful King of the Nagas (Nageshvararaja, Luwang Gyi Gyalpo)
He is seated to the South-east of Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Pervaded by Nagas’. He is blue in colour and holds in his hands a branch of a Naga tree and a blue serpent. ‘Naga’ in his name refers to his primordial awareness that is cooling and also likened to a naga in the way it destroys the grasping at inherent existence. He is a glorious king in the transcendent manner of a fully enlightened being who has eradicated all traces of fear in his mind stream. He purifies negative actions accumulated over eight eons.
Buddha Virasena
5. The Tathagata, Leader of the Heroes (Virasena, Pawo De)
He is seated to the South of Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Pervaded by Heroes’. He is yellow in colour and holds in his hands, a Dharma text and a sword. The ‘Hero’ here refers to his primordial awareness, which is peerless, and the way he remains undefeated and victorious over all battles of the cycle of existence. ‘Leader’ in his name refers to the accumulations of excellence of a fully enlightened being. He purifies the negative karma of speech.
Buddha Viranandi
6. The Tathagata, Glorious Pleasure (Viranandi, Pawo Gye)
He is seated in the South-west region in the world called ‘Endowed with Pleasure’. He has an orange-coloured body and holds in his hands the sun and a red lotus. ‘Pleasure’ in his name refers to his great compassion to benefit sentient beings. He purifies negative karma of the mind.
Buddha Ratnagni
7. The Tathagata, Jewel Fire (Ratnagni, Rinchen Me)
He is seated in the Western region in the world called ‘Pervaded by Light’. He is red in colour and holds in his hands a precious jewel and a ring of fire. ‘Jewel’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness that is free from discursive thoughts. His excellent qualities arises from meditative equipoise and are complete in the accumulation of insight and merit. ‘Fire’ in his name refers to his great ability to benefit sentient beings through his awareness and, with the great energy, burn away all mental afflictions. He purifies the extreme negative karma of causing schism in the sangha.
8. The Tathagata, Jewel Moonlight (Ratnacandraprabha, Rinchen Da’od)
He is seated firmly in the North-western region called ‘Excellent Light’. He has a white body and holds in his hands a jewel and a moon. ‘Jewel’ in his name refers to his excellent state of primordial awareness, free of all negativities. ‘Moonlight’ refers to his awareness that is full, bright and cool. The light purifies the negative karma and afflictive emotions while lighting the path to enlightenment. He purifies negative karma that was accumulated over one single eon.
9. The Tathagata, Meaningful to Behold (Amoghadarsi, Thongpa Donyo)
He is seated in the Northern region in a world called ‘Drumbeat’. He is green in colour and holds the two eyes of a fully enlightened being. He possesses unobscured pristine awareness and also the excellent quality of having the eyes of wisdom (and great compassion) to perceive the nature of reality and the karma of sentient beings. He purifies the heavy negative karma of criticising superior beings.
10. The Tathagata, Jewel Moon (Ratnacandra, Rinchen Dawa)
He is seated in the North-eastern region in the world called ‘Adorned with Light Rays’. He is pale-green in colour and holds in his hands a precious jewel and a moon. The ‘Jewel’ in his name refers to his excellent quality of pristine awareness, free of obscuration. The ‘Moon’ refers to his awareness and great compassion. He purifies the heavy negative karma of killing one’s mother.
11. The Tathagata, Stainless One (Vimala, Drima Mepa)
He is seated directly below Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Pervaded by Dust’. He has an ashen-coloured body and he holds in his hands two stainless mirrors. The ‘Stainlessness’ in his name reflects his inner quality of pristine awareness that is without obscuration, and he purifies the karma of sentient beings so that they achieve the same ‘stainless’ state. He purifies the heavy negative karma of killing one’s father.
This concludes the first group of 10 Buddhas surrounding Buddha Shakyamuni. The subsequent 10 are visualised directly above the first group of Buddhas.
12. The Tathagata, Bestowed With Glory (Suradatta, Pa Jin)
He is firmly seated in the direction above Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Endowed With Glory’. He is white in colour, and he holds in his hands a branch of a tree that has leaves and fruits growing from it. ‘Glory’ in his name refers to his excellent quality of primordial awareness that is free of obscuration. He bestows upon sentient beings the complete accumulation of merit and insight along with happiness. He is a ‘bestower’ of transcendent pleasure and fulfillment of the wishes of all sentient beings. He purifies the heavy negative karma of killing an Arhat.
13. The Tathagata, Pure One (Brahma, Tsangpa)
He is seated in the Eastern direction in the world ‘free from obscuration’. He is orange in colour and he holds in his hands a lotus and a sun. He is called ‘Pure’ as a reflection of his innate pristine awareness that is unobstructed. He purifies all sentient beings from the karma affecting death and rebirth, and also the heavy negative karma of wounding a fully enlightened Buddha.
14. The Tathagata, Transforming With Purity (Brahmadatta, Shang Pey Jin)
He is seated firmly in the South-eastern direction in the world ‘Without Sorrow’. He is yellow in colour and holds in his hands a moon and a lotus. ‘Purity’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness that is without obstruction. Apart from purifying the karma of sentient beings, he is also able to bestow happiness to all. He wields the power to expiate the negative karma that was accumulated for over 10,000 eons.
15. The Tathagata, Water Deity (Varuna, Chu Lha)
He is seated in the Southern region in the world called ‘Stainless’. He is blue and has his hands in the gesture of bestowing the Dharma. ‘Water’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness, which is clear and unobstructed. The quality of water is also an epithet for his special ability to saturate the mindstream of sentient beings with the Dharma. The ‘Deity’ in his name represents his magical ability to create emanations in order to benefit sentient beings. He purifies the negative karma of raping nuns or Arhats.
16. The Tathagata, God of the Water Deities (Varunadeva, Chu Lha Yi Lha)
He is seated firmly in the South-western region in the world called ‘Perfectly Clear’. He is white in colour and holds in his hands a circle or mandala of the water deity and a mirror. Just like the previous Buddha, ‘Water’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness and ‘Deity’ refers to his ability to emanate in order to benefit sentient beings. He clears the heavy negative karma of killing Bodhisattvas.
17. The Tathagata, Glorious Excellence (Sribhadra, Palzang)
He is seated firmly in the Western region in a world called ‘Blissful’. He is red in colour and holds a lotus and a branch of a wish-fulfilling tree. ‘Glorious’ in his name refers to his completely perfected mind for the sake of sentient beings. ‘Excellence’ refers to the pristine awareness. He purifies and delivers sentient beings to the state of full enlightenment.
18. The Tathagata, Glorious Sandalwood (Candanasri, Tsendan Pal)
He is seated in the North-western region in a world called ‘Pervaded by Fragrance’. He is orange in colour and his hands hold a branch of a Sandalwood tree and a glorious fruit. ‘Sandalwood’ in his name refers to his excellent quality to ‘cool down’ and purify emotional afflictions such as ignorance and so forth. The scent of Sandalwood pervades the whole room when it is lit and likewise, he is able to imbue sentient beings with his supreme qualities of perfection. He purifies the negative karma of stealing from the Sangha community.
19. The Tathagata, Endless Splendour (Anantatejas, Zijid Thaye)
He is seated in the Northern region in the world called ‘Endowed with Splendour’. He is red in colour and holds in his hands two suns and is surrounded by a retinue. ‘Splendour’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness and he is able to bring sentient beings to supreme clarity. ‘Endless’ refers to his boundless ability to liberate sentient beings and also refers to his innumerable excellent qualities. He clears the negative karma of destroying stupas.
20. The Tathagata, Glorious Light (Prabhasasri, O’pal)
He is seated in the North-eastern region in the world called ‘Meaningful’. He is white in colour and holds a ring of white light. ‘Light’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness which is like the sun that dispels the darkness due to obscurations, paving the way for liberation and omniscience. ‘Glorious’ refers to his excellent and perfect qualities of a fully enlightened being. He negates the negative karma resulting from committing actions out of hatred.
21. The Tathagata, Glorious Without Sorrow (Asokasri, Nyangen Mepa Pal)
He is seated below the Stainless One in the world called ‘Unobstructed’. He is pale blue in colour and he holds in his hands a branch of the Asoka tree. ‘Without Sorrow’ in his name refers to his primordial awareness that has overcome cyclic existence and is able to liberate sentient beings. ‘Glorious’ refers to perfection in his excellent qualities. He cleanses negative karma borne out of attachment.
22. The Tathagata, Son Without Craving (Narayana, Sidme Kyibu)
He is seated firmly in the region above Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘Free From Attachment’. He is blue in colour and his hands are in the gesture of Mount Meru while holding a lotus. ‘Without Craving’ in his name refers to his primordial awareness that is free from all negative afflictions and he liberates sentient beings from attachment to cyclic existence. ‘Son’ here refers to him being born from the awakened state of mind and also his quality of loving-kindness. He purifies the negative karma accumulated over 10,000 eons.
23. The Tathagata, Glorious Flower (Kusumasri, Metog Pal)
He is seated in the Eastern region in the world called ‘Increasing Flowers’. He is yellow in colour and holds in his hands a yellow flower and a glorious fruit. ‘Flower’ in his name refers to his blossoming pristine awareness that is beautiful and which unfolds excellent qualities in sentient beings. ‘Glorious’ refers to his bestowing complete perfection in sentient beings. He purifies the negative karma accumulated over 100,000 eons.
24. The Tathagata, Clearly Knowing Through Enjoying Pure Radiance (Tathagatabrahamajyotivikriditabhijna, Dezhin Shegpa Tsangpe Ozer Nampar Rolpa Ngonpa Khyenpa)
He is seated in the South-eastern region in the world called ‘Pervaded by Purity’. He is white and holds in his hands a lotus and pool of light. The ‘Tathagata’ or ‘Dezhin Shegpa‘ epithet is specifically attributed to this Buddha although it is also attributed to the remaining Buddhas. ‘Purity’ in his name refers to his primordial awareness and ‘pure radiance’ refers to his various excellent qualities. ‘Enjoying’ in his name refers to his great ability to emanate in order to benefit sentient beings. He dissolves the negative karma accumulated over 1,000 eons.
25. The Tathagata, Clearly Knowing Through Enjoying Lotus Radiance
(Tathagatapadmajyotivikriditabhijna, Dezhin Shegpa Padme Ozer Nampar Rolpa Ngonpa Khyenpa)
He is seated in the Southern region in the world called ‘Adorned with Lotuses’. He is red in colour and his hands are in the gesture of holding a lotus and a sun. ‘Lotus’ in his name refers to his primordial awareness that blossoms and inspires renunciation of worldly faults. ‘Clearly Knowing Through Enjoying Lotus Radiance’ refers to his various excellent qualities of an enlightened being. He purifies the negative karma accumulated over seven eons.
26. The Tathagata, Glorious Wealth (Dhanasri, Nor Pal)
He is seated in the South-western region in the world called ‘Endowed with Jewels’. He is bright red in colour and his hands hold two jewels. Jewels or wealth here refers to his pristine awareness, which has many excellent qualities that are increasing. He fulfills the wishes of sentient beings. ‘Glorious’ in his name refers to his ability to endow sentient beings with complete perfection. He purifies all negative karma arising from bad habituation.
27. The Tathagata, Glorious Mindfulness (Smrtisri, Drenpe Pal)
He is firmly seated in the Western region in the world called ‘Perfectly Clear’. He is yellow in colour and his hands hold a sword and a Dharma text. ‘Mindfulness’ in his name refers to his primordial awareness that does not forget and having attained the ability to recall all his previous lives. ‘Glorious’ refers to his ability to bestow sentient beings with complete perfection. He purifies all negative karma of the body.
28. The Tathagata, Glorious Name of Great Renown (Suparikrititanamaghepasri, Tshenpal Zhintu Yongdrag)
He is seated in the North-western region in the world called ‘Signless’. He is green in colour and his hands hold a crown of the Buddha above his head. ‘Name’ here refers to his primordial awareness that cognises reality; that is, phenomenon lacks inherent existence. ‘Great Renown’ refers to transcendent fame that pervades the three-realms of existence (Form, Formless and Desire realms). He purifies the negative karma of displeasing the Buddhas.
29. The Tathagata, King of the Victory Banner (Indraketudhvajaraja, Wangpe Togyi Gyeltsen Gyi Gyalpo)
He is seated firmly in the Northern region in the world called ‘Clear Sense Powers’. He is yellow in colour and his hands hold a victory banner along with its precious crown pinnacle. He is also known to be the Pinnacle of Sensory Powers, which refers to his primordial awareness which perceives reality. This is the highest wisdom which directly perceives emptiness and therefore, it is placed as the pinnacle. ‘Victory Banner’ proclaims his victory over cyclic existence and ‘king’ refers to his enlightened nature. He purifies the negative karma of actions that were committed out of jealousy.
30. The Tathagata, Glorious One Complete Subduer (Suvikranta, Shintu Nampar Nonpyi Pal)
He is seated firmly in the North-eastern region in the world called ‘Enjoyment’. He is white in colour and one of his hands is in the earth-touching gesture just like Buddha Shakyamuni. He is a ‘subduer’ of all emotional afflictions and malevolent forces. He neutralises the negative karma of ordering others to commit negative actions.
31. The Tathagata, Great Victor in Battle (Yuddhajaya, Gyule Shintu Nampar Gyalwa)
He is firmly seated in the region below and in the world called ‘Without Delusion’. He is black and his hands are holding a sword and a shield. He is known by his name ‘Great Victor in Battle’ because he is able to defeat the inner enemies of afflictive emotions and negative actions of sentient beings. He is victorious over cyclic existence and thus able to lead all sentient beings to liberation. He purifies the negative karma of actions committed out of pride.
32. The Tathagata, Glorious One Complete Subduer Passed Beyond (Vikrantagamsri, Nampar Nonpe Shegpai Pal)
He is seated in the Eastern region of Buddha Shakyamuni in the world called ‘the Glorious’. He is white in colour and his hands are in the earth-touching gesture and granting fearlessness. He is known as a subduer who has vanquished all inner enemies of emotional afflictions and contaminated actions. Meanwhile, he is called ‘Glorious’ because of his ability to lead sentient beings to complete perfection. He purifies the negative karma created from slandering.
33. The Tathagata, Glorious Array Illuminating All (Samantavabhasavyuhasri, Kunney Nangwa Kodpai Pal)
He is seated firmly in the Southern direction in the world called ‘Adorned with Light’. He is yellow in colour and he holds a sun and the stem of a precious jewel. ‘Illuminating All’ in his name refers to his pristine awareness that dispels ignorance of all sentient beings. He is called ‘Glorious’ because of his ability to lead sentient beings to complete perfection. He purifies the negative karma of rejoicing in evil deeds.
34. The Tathagata, Jewel Lotus Great Subduer (Ratnapadmavikrami, Rinchen Padmai Nampar Nonpa)
He is seated firmly in the Western direction in the world called ‘The Glorious’. He is red in colour and his hands hold a jewel and a lotus. ‘Jewel’ represents his excellent qualities of a fully enlightened being. The lotus represents the unstained nature of his mind. He is the great subduer of afflictive emotions and negative actions of sentient beings. He purifies the heavy negative karma of abandoning the Dharma.
35. The Tathagata, King of Mount Meru (Ratnapadmasupratisthitasailendraja, Dezhin Shegpa Dracompa Yangdagpa Dzogpai Sangye Rinpoche Dang Padma-la Rabtu Shugpa Riwang Gyi Gyalpo)
He is seated in the Northern region in the world ‘Precious Jewels’. He is sky-blue in colour and his hands support Mount Meru. He is also seated on a throne that is embellished with a lotus, moon, lions and precious jewels. The Jewel and the lotus refer to his throne and those of other Buddhas. This jewel also refers to his primordial awareness and his possessing excellent qualities of an awakened being. ‘Mount Meru’ in his name refers to his unshakeable quality like that of the king of mountains. He purifies the negative karma of breaking one’s commitments.
Visualisation
While there are several ways in which to engage in the visualisation of the 35 Confessional Buddhas, they are all centred around Buddha Shakyamuni as the main figure. The following visualisation is taught by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
You begin by visualising Buddha Shakyamuni slightly above yourself as the central figure. He is seated crossed-legged in an adamantine posture, on an elephant-supported pearl-white throne. Visualise Buddha Shakyamuni wearing the saffron robes of a fully ordained monk. His right hand is touching the earth and his left hand is cradling a begging bowl filled with wisdom nectar. From his heart, rays of light emanate out, 10 upwards and 10 downwards, seven to the left and seven more to the right. At the end of each ray of light emanates a pearl-white throne that is supported by elephants
The white pearl symbolises complete purification of our negative actions. On the other hand, the elephant that supports the throne is considered the strongest of animals and also symbolises great purification of negativities. On each throne sits a Buddha with their respective hand gestures and from each sacred Buddha, radiant light nectar shines forth and purifies your body, speech and mind from various negative karmas in the same manner as light dispels darkness. After visualising the 35 Confessional Buddhas in this manner, prostrate three times while reciting the following mantra:
OM NAMO MANJUSHRIYE
NAMO SUSRIYE
NAMO UTTAMASRIYE SVAHA
This mantra will greatly increase the benefits of your prostrations. Then, you can begin reciting the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps while continuing to prostrate. If you have not memorised the entire text, you may read through the text once and then begin prostrating while repeating the names of the 35 Confessional Buddhas. Upon completion of the prostrations, you can recite the entire text once again.
This purification of negative karma is especially efficacious if it is done early in the morning and just before going to sleep at night. It is the most effective way of making this life meaningful by engaging in this supreme purification. With this practice, one can purify tremendous amounts of negative karma without experiencing their results, or reducing the impact of the results and shore up tremendous amounts of merits to quickly achieve realisation. Therefore, the value of such a practice is beyond the most precious items in this world.
The Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps
One can combine the following recitation with that of Refuge, Generating Bodhichitta, Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa and the tea offering verses and mantra to solicit the great Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden and the recitation of General Dedication at the end.
The 35 Confessional Buddha Prayer Text
Homage to the Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls.
I, whose name is [say your name at this point], at all times go for refuge to the Guru, go for refuge to the Buddha, go for refuge to the Dharma, go for refuge to the Sangha.The Vajra family of Akshobhya (blue in colour)
1. To the Teacher, Blessed One, Tathagata, Foe Destroyer, Completely Perfected Buddha, Glorious Conqueror Shakyamuni, I prostrate.
2. To the Tathagata, Complete Subduer with the Essence of Vajra, I prostrate.
3. To the Tathagata, Jewel of Radiant Light, I prostrate.
4. To the Tathagata, Powerful King of the Nagas, I prostrate.
5. To the Tathagata, Leader of the Heroes, I prostrate.
6. To the Tathagata, Glorious Pleasure, I prostrate.
7. To the Tathagata, Jewel Fire, I prostrateThe Tathagata family of Vairochana (white in colour)
8. To the Tathagata, Jewel Moonlight, I prostrate.
9. To the Tathagata, Meaningful to Behold, I prostrate.
10. To the Tathagata, Jewel Moon, I prostrate.
11. To the Tathagata, Stainless One, I prostrate.
12. To the Tathagata, Bestowed with Glory, I prostrate.
13. To the Tathagata, Pure One, I prostrate.
14. To the Tathagata, Transforming with Purity, I prostrate.The Ratna family of Ratnasambhava (yellow in colour)
15. To the Tathagata, Water Deity, I prostrate.
16. To the Tathagata, God of the Water Deities, I prostrate.
17. To the Tathagata, Glorious Excellence, I prostrate.
18. To the Tathagata, Glorious Sandalwood, I prostrate.
19. To the Tathagata, Endless Splendour, I prostrate.
20. To the Tathagata, Glorious Light, I prostrate.
21. To the Tathagata, Glorious without Sorrow, I prostrate.The Lotus family of Amitabha (red in colour)
22. To the Tathagata, Son without Craving, I prostrate.
23. To the Tathagata, Glorious Flower, I prostrate.
24. To the Tathagata, Clearly Knowing through Enjoying Pure Radiance, I prostrate.
25. To the Tathagata, Clearly Knowing through Enjoying Lotus Radiance, I prostrate.
26. To the Tathagata, Glorious Wealth, I prostrate.
27. To the Tathagata, Glorious Mindfulness, I prostrate.
28. To the Tathagata, Glorious Name of Great Renown, I prostrate.The Karma family of Amoghasiddhi (green in colour)
29. To the Tathagata, King of the Victory Banner, Head of the Powerful Ones, I prostrate.
30. To the Tathagata, Glorious One Complete Subduer, I prostrate.
31. To the Tathagata, Great Victor in Battle, I prostrate.
32. To the Tathagata, Glorious One Complete Subduer Passed Beyond, I prostrate.
33. To the Tathagata, Glorious Array Illuminating All, I prostrate.
34. To the Tathagata, Jewel Lotus Great Subduer, I prostrate.
35. To the Tathagata, Foe Destroyer, Completely Perfected Buddha, King of Mount Meru seated firmly on a jewel and a lotus, I prostrate.O All you Tathagatas and all the others, however many Tathagatas, Foe Destroyers, Completely Perfect Buddhas, Blessed Ones there are dwelling and abiding in all the worldly realms of the ten directions, all you Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, please listen to me.
In this life and in all my lives since beginningless time, in all my places of rebirth whilst wandering in Samsara, I have done negative actions, have ordered them to be done, and have rejoiced in their being done. I have stolen the property of the bases of offering, the property of the Sangha, and the property of the Sanghas of the ten directions, have ordered it to be stolen, and have rejoiced in it being stolen. I have committed the five unbounded heinous actions, have ordered them to be committed, and have rejoiced in their being committed. I have completely engaged in the paths of the ten non-virtuous actions, have ordered others to engage in them, and have rejoiced in their engaging in them.
Being obstructed by such karmic obstructions, I shall become a hell being, or I shall be born as an animal, or I shall go to the land of the hungry ghosts, or I shall be born as a barbarian in an irreligious country, or I shall be born as a long life god, or I shall come to have incomplete senses, or I shall come to have wrong views, or I shall have no opportunity to please a Buddha.
All such karmic obstructions I declare in the presence of the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, who have become valid, who see with their wisdom. I confess without concealing or hiding anything, and from now on I shall avoid and refrain from such actions.
All you Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, please listen to me.
In this life and in all my previous lives since beginningless time, in all my places of rebirth whilst wandering in Samsara, whatever root of virtue there is in my giving to others, even in my giving a morsel of food to one born as an animal;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my maintaining moral discipline;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my actions conducive to great liberation;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my acting to fully ripen sentient beings;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my generating a supreme mind of Enlightenment;And whatever root of virtue there is in my unsurpassed exalted wisdom; all of these assembled, gathered and collected together, by fully dedicating them to the unsurpassed, to that which there is no higher, to that which is even higher than the high, to that which surpasses the unsurpassed,
I fully dedicate to the unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment.
Just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones of the past, have dedicated fully, just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones who are yet to come, will dedicate fully, and just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones who are living now, dedicate fully, so too do I dedicate fully.I confess individually all negative actions. I rejoice in all merit. I beseech and request all the Buddhas.
May I attain the holy, supreme, unsurpassed, exalted wisdom.
Whoever are the Conquerors, the supreme beings living now, those of the past, and likewise those who are yet to come, with a boundless ocean of praise for all your good qualities, with my palms pressed together I go close to you for refuge.This concludes the Mahayana Sutra entitled “Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps”.
Conclusion
The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas is one of the most popular and perennial forms of purification practices. It is a practice popularised by great spiritual figures like Lama Tsongkhapa, who engaged in an extensive prostration retreat of the 35 Confessional Buddhas in order to purify and gain deeper insight into the teachings. The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas is considered one of the most potent forms of purification available for non-tantric practitioners.
In order for the practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas to be effective, it has to be done with the Four Opponent Powers strongly along with the accompanying visualisation. When it is done with the Opponent Powers, you are not just purifying the symptomatic problem of a few transgressions but you are purifying the root of the problem itself, which is the self-cherishing mind. It is the self-cherishing mind that fuels our negative afflictions. Hence, the 35 Confessional Buddhas is a very powerful practice to lessen the effects of harmful mental afflictions like ignorance, hatred and desire and thus allowing spiritual attainments to surface.
Hence, 100,000 prostrations to the 35 Confessional Buddhas is one of the preliminary practices (ngondro) in preparation to receive highest tantric initiations. This is to purify negative karma as much as possible while accumulating as much merit so that when one is qualified to receive highest tantric initiation such as Vajrayogini, attainments arise swiftly.
For more interesting information:
- Vajrasattva and Prostrations Practice
- An important purification practice
- Tisarana and Purification of Mind
- Vajrasattva’s Purification Practice
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Reading this post to learn and understand more about it. A very precise teachings indeed all about the practice of purification by confession and making prostrations to these Buddhas. If we recite Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s name just once, we purify thousands of aeons of negative karma. More so when we recite the name of any of the 35 Buddhas purifies many thousands of aeons of negative karma. Simply by reciting the names of the 35 Buddhas, we can achieve unbelievable purification by doing with correct visualisation . There are benefits simply from pure recitation only and added benefits if we combined with prostrations. When we recite it every day, it helps to develop a direct perception of emptiness in this life, also to not encounter harm or obstacles.
Thank you Rinpoche for this precise teaching and I am trying my best in this practice.
It is very easy to understand especially liked the explanation on why we should confess and expose our faults laying it bare. Now I know why always likes to expose our misdeeds and not allow it hide and allow our negative karma to continue to multiply.
This isvery powerful practice to prepare us for higher practices and also ensure our spiritual path is free from our problems and difficulties from the manifestation of karma.
Tri Ratna Saranam? I have a question actually. I’ve been doing purifications practices such as 35 confessional along with vajarasatta. It’s been a couple of week that I’m getting nightmares continiously. No good dreams anymore. I wonder does that mean I’m doing it all wrong or just a coincidence? Many thanks.
Hi Nijala, thank you for your question. I think the nightmares could be part of the purification as the negative karma is pulled up from the “dormant” state. Hence, it is important to complement purification practices with Dharma Protector practices like Setrap and Dorje Shugden, so that you are kept safe while the negative karma is manifesting. Congratulations on the success of your purification practices, and I wish you well and all the very best on your spiritual journey ❤️.
Thank you Pastor David for sharing this great and detailed write-up on The 35 Confessional Buddhas. This is indeed a very powerful practice for us to purify our negative karma. Lama Tsongkhapa is well-known to practice the 35 Confessional Buddhas and performed 3.5 million prostrations. This practise is a wake up call for us to realised all the harm and mistakes that we have done . We need to be mindful of creating further negatives karma by practicing in this powerful practice.
Thank you Pastor David Lai for writing and sharing the blog post about the 35 Confessional Buddhas. After reading this article and participated in the blog chat yesterday evening, it has clearly answered to my question that although we can collect merits through our Dharma practice at this point of time, we can still face and experience many obstacles if our accumulated huge amount of bad karma from the past lives has overwhelmed the small amount of merits we have collected in this life. As such, it would be the best for us to engage with the 35 Confessional Buddhas purification practice everyday as we might not aware even if we have collected the negative karma through our body, speech and mind unintentionally due to our habitual behavior since we were born. I have to further to remind myself not to take things for granted and purify my own bad karma as much as I can before it is too late as time will not turn back for me as time will only draw me closer to my own death.
Thank you with folded hands,
kin hoe
The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas goes back to the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. He is said to have taught it to 35 Bodhisattva students ,upon their request for a teaching to purify a transgression which they were thought to have committed.
Lama Tsongkhapa went into a purification retreat to purify accumulated negative karma. He did 100k prostrations to each of the 35 Confessional Buddhas and recited the 35 Confessional Buddhas ! When he was nearing the completion of his retreat, he beheld a vision of the 35 Confessional Buddhas and glorious Maitreya.
Buddha Shakyamuni discovered the Law of Cause and Effect in much the same way that Isaac Newton discovered the Law of gravity -through observations and ”inferential logic” . The Law of Karma has compelling reasoning to explain why there are different types of experiences.Most important factor determining the consequences of our action, and whether it is positive or negative , is intention.Positive and negative actions arise from our self-cherishing mind. Merit cannot be exhausted and will lead to full enlightenment.
Transgression of three sets of vows -Pratimoksha, Bodhisattva and Tantric – are the main types of negativities we are purifying, alongside other harming actions.
The Four Opponent Powers must be applied so that the 35 Confessional Buddhas’ Practice is effective in purifying transgressions. These four are -regret, reliance , resolve and remedy.Recitation of the prayer together with prostrations is powerful for purifcation. These four purify even the root of our problems and transgressions.
Performing the 35 Confessional Buddhas will lessen the harm of negative mental factors(projections, expectations , perceptions) and mental afflictions and is a preliminary practice to do well to qualify us for the highest tantric practices, such as Vajrayogini.
This is the one practice I’d always wanted, I know my karma is thicker than the Bible and if this practice can lead me out of samsara I’ll treasure it. After years of finding what I want, now it’s finally in front of me. Thank you Tsem Rinpoche and Kechara.
There are two forms of confession – ultimate and relative confession. The ultimate or greater confession is the meditation on the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena. The relative or lesser confession is the application of the four opponent powers combined with prostration and / or other practices while recognising the illusory nature of reality. – Hope one day I will be able to meditate on the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena.
谢谢黎国圆讲法师的分享。
这是我第一次看到如此完整的35佛忏悔法门的解说。 35佛忏法门由释迦牟尼佛所宣说。最有名的 35佛忏修持者就是宗喀巴大师。 大师总共向每位佛做了十万次大礼拜。 宗喀巴大师完成35佛忏及曼达拉供养闭关后就可以直接见到文殊菩萨得到教诲。 这也可见35佛忏是如此的殊胜。
最令我震撼的就是35佛里也有几位佛是可以对治五无间罪： 殺母， 殺父， 殺阿羅漢
出佛身血， 破和合僧。 还有其他可以对治我们上万劫的罪业。
虽然文中没有说可对治的程度有多少， 不过这样也可以表示这个法门的殊胜之处。
谢谢
This is a comprehensive post about one of the important preliminaries practise we should engage in if we wish to excel and improve on our path to enlightenment. A few years ago, five of us got together to engage in the prostration retreat and achieve 100,000 prostrations collectively. Rinpoche has kindly composed the prayers for our retreat which includes the 35 Confessional Buddhas prayers. Rinpoche has mentioned it would be good if we can recite each of the 35 Buddhas’ name as we prostrate which is extremely powerful and efficacious in clearing our negative karmas that arise from our three doors.
After reading the brief descriptions of the 35 Buddhas, it is obvious that all our negative karmas are caused by the six root of afflictions which is the roots of all our sufferings. As long as we do not purify the karmas arise from the six together with transforming our mind while receiving higher practices, there is no way for us to completely be liberated from sufferings.
The thought of the number of negative karmas we accumulate every second with the present of the afflictions, especially ignorance, is very scary. It is like we continuously drinking poison while expecting our health to remain in the tip top condition. For those of us who focus on secular activities, unless we have merits and a huge amount of positive karmas, we are basically expediting the manifestation of our negative results. It is logical therefore to focus more on beneficial and meritorious activities while engaging spiritual and purification practices. As long as we continue to improve spiritually, there is definitely hope for us to be ultimately freed from samsara. The very least we can keep things at bay.
Thank you Pastor David for this blog post. I especially liked the systematic easy to read order and how you have explained everything from the origin to karma, the cause of our suffering and how we can do something about this, which is to do the purification practice.
You have made it very easy to understand I especially liked the explanation on why we should confess and expose our faults – laying it bare. Now I know why Rinpoche always likes to expose our misdeeds and not allow it hide and allow our negative karma to continue to multiply. Exposing one’s faults/misdeeds may be very painful and very embarrassing, the medicine may be bitter and harsh, but anything good is always harsh.
Hence, we should in fact be grateful that Rinpoche cares enough to point and expose our faults, because now I know, it helps us to purify faster as Rinpoche is always concern about our spiritual progress, which Rinpoche wants us to achieve fast and to be a qualified vessels to receive higher practices. Real Gurus do this because they gain nothing from us, they are not here to stroke our ego, instead to break it.
A very powerful practice to prepare us for higher practices and also ensure our spiritual path is free from neverending problems and difficulties from the manifestation of karma. One thing we need to realize this is not our first life in samsara, and the fact is most of us never applied sufficient awareness and effort to practicing hence we are still stuck in samsara. Hence we most likely has had countless lifetimes doing actions, based on attachment, aversion and ignorance. Well thats a lot of karma there.
I’ve always wanted to know more about the 35 Cofessional Buddhas! This is a great summary of the 35 Cofessional Buddhas. There is also explanations on karma and how we could purify our negative karmas by praticing the 35 Cofessional Buddhas, just like the King of Dharma, Lama Tsongkhapa.
It seem like every Buddha has their very own expertises in helping every sentient beings to purify our negative karmas and ultimately to help us to find enlightenment! However, they are all sharing the same mindstream which is to save us from our samsara. Hence, we should not delay further to do our Dharma practice regardless of our living conditions. By practicing Dharma with full faith, I believe, the Buddhas will able to see our sincerely and assist us via his Wisdom ways. Moreover, we should not expect to experience instant results from practicing Dharma, but to pratice Dharma to transform ourselves to be a better person, to able to benefit other sentient beings and eliminate all self-cherishing behaviours.
Thank you, Tsem Rinpoche and the writer team for working intensively to share Dharma with people who are from all around the world. Thank you for making an easy access to Buddhadharma, thus, we can look for Dharma at any time and location.
Greeting from Korea,
Mingwen
Lord Buddha not only talked about the truth, He also gave us the remedy for us to purify our karma. If we do it correctly with Four Opponent Powers strongly along with the accompanying visualisation, we can even remove our root karma. Such a great bargain! what else we can ask for?
In order to gain result, we must understand the root of Karma which is motivated directly or indirectly towards one’s benefit. On the other hand, merits is a selfless intent and towards one’s enlightenment. Hence anything we do deep inside of us thinking for other’s benefits. We all know that compassion must followed by wisdom in order to truly benefit other for long term.
Thank you for sharing.
Lord Buddha Shakyamuni spoke 84000 teaching in order to help sentient being can liberate suffering from the negative karma. In the sutra way,The Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps are one of the powerful way to purify our negative karma by reciting 35 confession name and did prostration at the same time.
Many years ago, i had engaged the prostration retreat by reciting 35 confession buddha to purify my heavy body karma from the killing many fishes. Prostration retreat also one of the preliminary practice we must engage in order to purify our negative karma from our body, speech and mind. Which prepare us at the future able received higher yoga initiation such as Yamantaka, Kalachakra, Vajrayogini and etc.
I am glad Pastor David article can reach out more and help those who are serious on their spiritual practice.
How compassionate and kind Buddha Shakyamuni was to teach this practice so that people like us may learn to purify the negative deeds we have transgressed. And Lama Tsongkhapa with equal compassion and kindness elucidated the teaching through his writing and retreat practice. Such are the enlightened qualities of these highly attained Beings who always work to benefit others through their profound wisdom, unconditional love and great compassion
Karma is something that created by ourself through our action. From endless of previous lives we have created much negative karma that need to be purified. It’s important for us to understand about karma or the law of cause and effect as from here we are able to control our action from further creating negative karma.
By saying so the negative karma we created from the past it is necessary to be purify and from this article it has shown clearly how we can practice the 35 Confessional Buddhas to do so. Even Lama Tsongkhapa show us with his action by doing 35 Confessional Buddhas for purification.
I personally very honoured to have done this practice which given by Rinpoche. I believe in this practice and also the advice by my guru.
This is a precious and powerful article on a practice back until Buddha Shakyamuni’s time. It is very fortunate to have such a practice but it is most important to have the correct motivation instead of focussing on the number of recitations. When we do the prayers together with the four opponent powers it will even purify the root cause of our delusions, the self-cherishing mind. The 35 confessional Buddha prayer is recited every month during the renewal of the vows for the pastors in Kechara.
Thank You for this most beneficial article. We need to remember that karma can end and we can clear our negative karma with good motivation, effort and time.
Great spiritual figures like Lama Tsongkhapa doesn’t just teach dharma but they themselves are the ones engaged in the most extensive dharma practices.
It seems to me dharma is impossible as just an academia, it cannot be just a form of study in words and texts. It is very much action. Almost like it is something that cannot be read to be understood, it has to be experienced. Is it possible for a blind person to understand what the world really looks like from description given by others? What is in the mind of this blind person, what do they actually “see” when someone explains about the sky and the trees.
I think human has a strange habit of needing to worship something, that is why even in the most remote places on Earth, where we find human we are likely to also find them worshipping some “god”.
Buddha did not create karma, nor did Buddha create enlightenment. Buddha observed and came to realization about something.
While the origin of mankind, the origin of our universe is one of the most common question asked by many, no science nor religion has truly given a convincing and conclusive answer.
All the wisdom and knowledge of all the combined religions since the beginning of time. Why the mystery? Why keep the knowledge “hidden” or is the answer so obvious and in our face but we are just somehow blinded to it. Maybe because we are like the blind person, it is simply impossible to explain to us in our current state of mind/existence the origin of the universe.
I’ve heard someone said this before, that among so many purification prayers, 35 confessional Buddhas practice is one of the best for purifying our negative karma. The 35 Buddhas has done many eons of purifying prayers during their lifetimes, hence after their enlightenment, their name contains power of purification.
Many people do not understand what is good Karma and what is Merits. We often mix up this two, this article is very good as Pastor David explained the differences. By knowing this, we will be clearer on our path, and to take a better action and motivation for generating more merits.
I like this article very much for explaining so detail on all the 35 Confessional Buddhas, when we know more about the Buddha we are praying to, it increases our faith to the practice and generating a better result in our practice.
I believe this article will definitely benefit a lot of people who want to enter into their purification prayers.
I really like this post! The way it was explained was easy to understand. I am actually inspired to do prostrations to the 35 Buddhas.
The interesting art is how one can actually purify the negative karma of committing 5 of the heinous crimes. As we have been around for beginningless time till now, we would not know the extend of our negative karma building up every day, hence this practice is really good for purification practice. Thank you PDL for writing an in-depth post!
Thanks Rinpoche and Pastor David for the clear explanation on The 35 Confessional Buddha.
Buddha is very kind and skillful to give this practice to us in order to clear our blockage to enlightenment. We collect much negative karma through countless life times, this is a practice that we can purify it without experience it through the ripening such as taking rebirth in hell and very terrible condition. The practice is like a highway for sentient beings to achieve enlightenment.
Buddha not only shows that being zero suffering is possible, He even creates method for us to do it. I am so grateful to get to know this practice, and may more people benefitted by this post and practice.
Thank you.
我们无始以来都造过很多恶业，此生为避免來世墮入三惡道和成就圓滿任何事業，就必须將過去所累積的罪業加以淨除，三十五佛禮懺法其中之一能净除一定的罪业，如文章所说再加上修四力（依止力、對治力、拔除力、防護力）恆常不斷地做懺悔，方能將業障淨除。
在《宗喀巴大师应化因缘集》 里说到
宗喀巴大师礼拜三十五佛时，常感三十五佛现身加持。然而他每次所见到的三十五佛，却全部没有头部。他觉得很奇怪，因此就此事请问本尊。本尊回答说：
“因为你所称念的佛号不具全，忆念佛的功德不圆满，所以无法见到诸佛之圆满相。以后你必须在佛号前面，加诵‘如来、应供、正遍知、明行足、善逝、世间解、无上士调御丈夫、天人师、佛、世尊’，如此方能见到全身的佛相。”
大师自此以后，每次修忏时，都遵照本尊所教，如法念诵，果然每次都可看到三十五佛的圆满相，尊尊光明相好，庄严无比。于是大师依此，造三十五佛忏的修观仪轨。所以这三十五佛忏仪轨是多么殊圣。
From our own experience, we know that under the influence of the afflictions disturbing attitudes and negative emotions we act in ways that harm ourselves and others. The results of these actions can go on a long time after the action itself has stopped. These two afflictions and actions (karma) are the true origins of our suffering, and we need to eliminate them.
So the more we do purification practice, the more we learn to be honest with ourselves. We stop denying our internal garbage, come to grips with what we’ve said and done, and make peace with our past.
Thank You
Eric kksiow
At my point of view : 35 confessional Buddha practice It helps us to change our bad habits and subdues obstacles to long life and success in our spiritual practice.
We should learn and understand what is karma and how does it work. For example, the person who is compassionate and kindness is born long-lived or suffer less from illnesses. Whereas the one who kills living beings is born short-lived or suffer much from illnesses.
As far as we know, we have accumulated very much negative karma in previous lifetimes, which will inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives. Hence, before the karma ripen, we should get rid ourselves of negative karmic potential.
In order to overcome the suffering caused by karma, it is necessary to do purification. Buddha Shakyamuni taught that one of the powerful methods of purification is the practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas. Lama Tsongkhapa is well-known to practice the 35 Confessional Buddhas and performed 3.5 million prostrations (100,000 prostrations to each of the 35 Confessional Buddhas) during his purification retreat. This showed that this is important for us to practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas which is one of the best methods to purify our negative karma and can lead to attainments on the path towards enlightenment.
Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor David for sharing this meaningful article.
Thank you PDL for this information filled and well explained article. I felt great joy reading this article.
I remember once Rinpoche mentioned that out of all the purification practices, Rinpoche felt closest and liked the 35 Confessional Buddhas best.
I like how you explained about karma and merits. I remember reading it in Rinpoche’s book ‘The Living Buddha Within’. Its very nice to be reminded of these points, which is so essential as Spiritual practitioners, but so easily forgotten as we live our day to day life. I guess as long as we forget the effects of karma especially when we’re in challenging situations, we have not truly internalized the teachings but merely scrape the surface with superficial knowledge. I have always thought, what good is having knowledge but never had it applied or lived our life in accordance to the knowledge we have. What good is having knowledge too, if it is not shared with others for their benefit. Having knowledge and what we do with it are two different things.
I also like how you explain about purification. I think for many (myself included) we are always quite confused about how purification works. If the Buddha can’t forgive our sins, then how can we be free of these negative karma by doing purification practice towards a Buddha image? I had confidence and faith that the practice actually is effective, very much like the inferential logic you mentioned, but if you asked me to explain it, I wouldn’t be able to. Your explanation about confessional practice, how openly admitting to our faults and applying the 4 opponent powers can purify any negative karma.
As to how important it is to openly confess our faults, I remember a story I heard about Lama Atisha, in which during his whole journey to Tibet, he would stop the whole entourage just to confess out loud his transgressions. It reached to a point where his disciples begged Atisha not to do this, because the trip was still long and on top of that, whatever he ‘confessed’, it didn’t appear as a transgression to them. Even Lama Atisha, the great pandita, took this seriously and practiced admitting ones faults. It is said that for every deed we keep quiet about, the bigger it grows, regardless if the deed is positive or negative. The opposite is same for deeds we proclaim to the world. This is why I think Gelugpas often practice humility.
I also remember Rinpoche mentioned, that it is important to conduct purification practice. Even if our transgression is so small at the moment of execution, if we do not purify them, it will multiply and in the end the karmic weight of that once small transgression ends up so huge, as if one has killed a Buddha.
Sorry, a correction to my comment on the total number of prostrations by Lama Tsongkhapa. He did 3.5 million prostrations in retreat: 100,000 for each one of the 35 Confessinal Buddhas.
Thank you P David for this illuminating article on this powerful purification practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas.
As the Dharma has shown us, we have committed innumerable transgressions over countless lifetimes. If these transgressions go unpurified, the operation of the Law of Karma as such will lead us inevitably to suffer the consequences of our negative actions. If our purification is done effectively, in that we fulfill the four opponent powers -reliance on the THree Jewels and on Bodhicitta, regret, resolve and remedy(antidote),we will have our negative karma ripening under controlled conditions or in dreams where we purify the karma there and then. WE will clear all negativities and obscurations of the mind, and we will gain powerful attainments and realise emptiness
Je Tsongkhapa shows us how important it is to practice this purification practice. It was so powerful for Lama Tsongkhapa that, after he had completed his 1.5 million prostrations and his practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas in retreat, all his mental obscurations were removed. He realised emptiness. He received visions of Maitreya and the Thirty-five Confessional Buddhas themselves!
Thank you Pastor David for this write up about this powerful practice. I have a question on the visualisation part are we not suppose to visualise the colour of each family ? That is what we have been taught about this visualisation .
Dear Pastor David
Thank you for this insightful post about the 35 Confessional Buddha practice. I remember way before I met Rinpoche, when I first learned about Dharma, I immediately interested in the practice of the 35 Confessional Buddha and started doing the prostration based on the books.
Then, small little incidents started to happen and I got scared and stopped. Little that I knew that the little incidents were purification of negative karma.
When I met H.E. 25th Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, he put me on purification practice and explained that the incidents that I experienced before were indications that the purification practice work as it should.
It is nice to be able to understand more about the nature of the 35 Confessional Buddha through this post. Thank you again Pastor David.
Valentina
Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor David for this important teaching on the 35 Confessional Buddha. Everyone, without fail, is subjected to the law of cause and effect, which explain why we have all sort of different experiences. As we have accumulated countless karma, good and bad, we will not know when the bad karma will ripen and causes suffering and pain in our life. Therefore it is important to purify our negative karma so that the good karma or even the little bit of merits that we had collected can be optimized for us. Buddha had compassionately taught the 35 Confession Buddha to purify the downfalls of practitioners. In order for the confession prayers to be effective, we must understand and apply the Four Opponent Powers. The first of the Opponent Powers is that of regret and subsequently develop remorse towards our actions. The second Opponent Power is that of reliance on an object worthy of refuge, in this case the 35 Confessional Buddhas. The third Opponent Power is to promise NOT to repeat the downfall or misdeed, as well as the understanding that the misdeeds lead to heavy negative consequences. And the fourth and final Opponent Power; the application of the remedy or counter-measures to purify the karma. The remedies are performed with the understanding of the law of cause and effect, and with the purpose of counteracting the negative tendencies of the karma that is being purified. As all the 35 Buddhas are fully enlightened, therefore any prayer, prostration, offering or confession that is offered to them will result in purification and the collection of merit.
Thank You Pastor David for this great and helpful article.
The practice of The 35 Confessional Buddhas is one of the main practice of our tradition as shown by Lama Tsongkhapa, to purify our negative karma that is being committed since beginningless lifetimes and are continued to be generated in this lifetime.
Only by purification of karma are we able to benefit from other practices for selflessness, hence it is a very needed practice. Otherwise many obstacles will arise.
Thanks Again!
Dear Pastor David,
I have been reciting this Sutra when I first encountered it last one or two years ago. Lately, due to timing, I have to forego it. Looks like I have been throwing my treasure away and letting bad karma to build up. Thanks for this article. Will recite it again. Please continue to share more Dharma with us.
Thanks again.
Great write-up on The 35 Confessional Buddhas and I love the nice images of each of the 35 Buddhas. This will greatly help in the visualisations for this practice.
There are many salient points in this article but the 3 things that stood out for me are:
1) Through this practice, we can reduce or completely eliminate the strength of negative imprints from previous negative actions. This is particularly important as although negative karma has been exhausted, the negative imprints may still linger in one’s mind stream.
2) This is something new that I learnt –>> The ultimate or greater confession is the meditation on the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena. The relative or lesser confession is the application of the four opponent powers combined with prostration and / or other practices while recognising the illusory nature of reality.
3) This is such a powerful practice as one can purify tremendous amounts of negative karma without experiencing their results, or reducing the impact of the results. Plus it enables one to generate vast amounts of merits to quickly achieve realisation.
Thank you for such a beneficial write-up, Pastor David.
Thank you for everybody’s kind comments about this article. What’s amazing is that I based some of my explanations here based on a translation of Acharya Nagarjuna’s own writings on the practice. Even the great Nagarjuna stresses this practice and has actually written a commentary to explain and encourage this practice shows how important and efficacious it is.
The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddha according to Rinpoche is a highly effective purification method and especially good for those had done a lot of negative things in the past, hurt others, slaughtered animals, vermin and so forth.
I recall clearly that Rinpoche had recommended it to one of his old students to complete 100,000 in conjunction with the 35 Confessional Buddhas or he would not see his life improve. If I recall correctly, he did pest control before and killed lots of insects, rats and so forth. Unfortunately, this student was lazy and didn’t appreciate rinpoche’s words and he never finished 100,000 and therefore, he had many obstacles come up one after another. He ran away many times and the last time he did, his behaviour degenerated very badly.
This goes to show the multiplying effects of our negative karma and that purification practices is essential to prepare ourselves for higher practices and on a daily basis, it is to stave off our negative karma.
Dear PDL,
This is indeed a very powerful practice that allows us to achieve results that benefit. I have personally experienced its effects after just practicing for a few months.
For some reasons (lack of time excuse and the “tiredness” of doing min. 35 prostrations, I have slacked off and now is reciting the Vajrasattva verses.
This practice is indeed very useful and will definitely bring results to sincere Dharma practitioners.
Thank you.
Lum Kok Luen
Thank you Pastor David for this clearly explained article on the 35 Confessional Buddhas and prostration. The four opponent powers and the visualisation will certainly be helpful in my prostration practise and I especially love your sharing of the beautiful pictures of the 35 Confessional Buddhas. Now I know what I looked like and will print out a copy to look at during my recitation.
We confess to sins that we have done, induced others to do and how we had rejoiced in the sins (from this life and the past lives). This practise really make us recall all the harm that we have done as we recite the prayer and the consequent bad rebirth. We then ask for mercy using the merits we had collected from all our past and present lives. It really bring to front of our rebirths and how our actions accumulate life after life. This practise had also taught me perseverance and to be mindful of creating karmic consequences.
Thank you Pastor David Lai for this great article of 35 Confessional Buddhas. This write up can really give us all a better knowledge and understanding about this practice.All these while I have been doing this practice without much knowledge and understanding about it. Now I have a clearer understanding. Hope to read more great stuffs from you! _/\_ 🙂
Thank you Pastor David for your explanation of the 35 Confessional Buddhas especially on the four opponents and visualization which I have not done before this. I like the high resolution colored images of the 35 Buddhas which I hope would help me remembering them better.
There is just so much precious teachings on Tsem Rinpoche’s blog now and this is certainly a fantastic and very beneficial article! Thank you Pastor David for this.
This is one of my favorites, especially the confessional in the last section. The recitation of the 35 Confessional Buddhas done together with prostrations is a powerful practice and instills so much humility along the way.
In repeatedly prostrating before the 35 Buddhas, we repeatedly submit our ego to be smashed, and the more our ego diminishes, the weaker the potency of the negative karma it has created. The more significant the ‘Self’ is, the more powerful the karma that the ‘Self’ created and this applies conversely as well.
I guess to get the full benefit of this practice, we must set a proper motivation and remember the Four Opponent Powers at all time lest this becomes merely a physical exercise.
Thank you, Pastor David for the detailed explanation to the practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas.
The physical act of the prostrations may seem simple but taken in together with all our negative karma it will seem like climbing Mount Everest in 1 day. Recitation of the prayer will seem such a very difficult task. But, if we put our mind to it, it will get done slowly but surely.
The visualizations and incorporation of the four opponent powers are important and thank you for the instructions for the visualization.
I’m sure whosoever wishes to start their ngondro now will have a better idea of how to go about it.
Thank you Rinpoche for just precious teaching of how we can purify our karma. Does this prostrations need to take place in front of the altar or it can be done anywhere nearby the altar?
Great article on the 35 Confession Buddhas Pastor David :D! A simple practice with positive results. Only takes a short amount of time to do when adding it to another practice like the Medicine Buddha Sadhana. Thank you for your in depth analysis. Great information! Please keep writing your articles are always wonderful to read!