Synopsis of The Sutra Adaptation of The Water Repentance Text

Synopsis of the Sutra Adaptation of the Water Repentance Text
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Tue, 18 Oct 2011 Tzu Chi Foundation Recommend 0
During the month of August 2011, Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan held the sutra adaptation of the Water Repentance text, bringing to life the more than 1,000 year old Buddhist text in a modern form of stage adaptation. The sutra adaptation expresses the teaching contained in the Chinese Buddhist text known as "Water Repentance" composed by Dharma Master Wu Da, and does so in the form of theatrical sketches, song, and sign language. This sutra adaptation shows the ways in which human beings have created negative karma as a result of their afflictions and inner impurities, and urges all to sincerely reflect and repent. The sutra adaptation is in Chinese. In providing an English synopsis of the sutra adaption, we hope that English viewers may also derive benefit from the sutra adaptation and learn the teaching of the repentance practice. Click here to see the video of the sutra adaptation of the Water Repentance text.
Content Act I: Prelude ( ) Scene 1: Introduction ( ) Scene 2: The story of Dharma Master Wu Da ( Scene 3: Introducing the practice of repentance (
Act III: The obstacle of unwholesome action ( Scene 1: The law of karma ( ) Scene 2: The three vices of bodily conduct ( Scene 3: The four vices of speech ( ) ) Scene 4: Repenting our wrong ways ( Scene 5: Making vows after repenting ( )
Act IV: The obstacle of karmic retribution ( Scene 1: The dream ( ) Scene 2: Living hell ( ) Scene 3: The realm of hungry ghosts ( ) Scene 4: The realm of animals ( ) Scene 5: The realm of asuras ( ) Scene 6: The human and heaven realms ( ) Scene 7: Calamities around the world ( ) Scene 8: The world climate is becoming abnormal ( Scene 9: The suffering of wars ( ) Scene 10: The suffering of hunger and famine ( Scene 11: Repenting for our karmic retributions ( Scene 12: Making vows after repenting ( ) Act V: Finale ( )
http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index.php?view=article&catid=118%3Asutra-adaptation-of-the... 21/10/2011
Act II: The obstacle of affliction ( ) Scene 1: Our mind is the source of our afflictions ( Scene 2: Desire ( ) Scene 3: Repenting for our afflictions ( ) Scene 4: Making vows and starting anew (

) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
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Compiled by the Jing Si Abode English Editorial Team Back to Top
Act I: Prelude Scene 1: Introduction Scene 2: The story of Dharma Master Wu Da Scene 3: Introducing the practice of repentance
Scene 1: Introduction
In the cosmos full of stars and planetary bodies, there is planet Earth. (Photo by Tseng Fang-jung)
Through song and sign language, this section introduces the following message: In the cosmos full of stars and planetary bodies, there is planet Earth. Our world, the Earth, is full of changes and impermanence, such as the changing seasons and the changing of day and night. Besides humans, there are also other creatures living on this Earth. Impermanence is the underlying principle of everything; nothing is permanent or in stasis. As causes and conditions come together, different things come into being, continue, decay, and go out of existence. Through unwholesome actions, negative karma is created, eventually bringing about karmic retribution. Yet, underlying all the changes is an eternal, never-changing naturethe Buddha natureour original pure nature. Back To Top Scene 2: The story of Dharma Master Wu Da Through artistic expression, this section introduces the message of how the human heart and mind can create karma, leading to karmic retribution in the cycle of rebirth:
(Photo by Yen Lin chao)
Since beginningless time, living beings have been reincarnating in the six realms in an endless cycle. Though living beings possess a pure nature to begin with, this pure nature gradually gets covered with impurities as they go through the cycle of
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rebirth. As a result, their hearts and minds become full of ignorance; they create karma and reap karmic retribution, suffering life after life. Onstage, the three people dressed in white symbolize human conscience, or the pure heart. The people dressed in black symbolize unwholesomeness, or the tainted heart. Next, the life story of Dharma Master Wu Da, the author of the Water Repentance text, is presented in a Taiwanese opera dramatization: Dharma Master Wu Da was a Buddhist monk in the Tang Dynasty. When he was young, he travelled around China to study Buddhism. On his travels, he encountered an ill Indian monk, Venerable Kanaka. Out of compassion, Master Wu Da tended to Venerable Kanaka and helped him recover his health. Before parting ways, Venerable Kanaka told Master Wu Da that if he should ever encounter problems, he could look for him in Western Sichuan, by the twin pines. Master Wu Da then continued on his journey. After many years of diligent cultivation and upholding precepts, he became a venerated Buddhist master. The emperor of China established him as the national master and bestowed a chair made of precious agarwood for him to sit on when preaching the Dharma. Upon receiving the chair, Master Wu Da gave rise to a sense of self-importance. As he was about to sit in the chair, he bumped his knee on it. The resulting bruise developed into a sore in the shape of a human face and caused Master Wu Da tremendous pain and suffering. No doctors were able to treat the sore.
(Photo by Liao Hsiang lin)
Remembering the words of Venerable Kanaka, Master Wu Da went to seek his help. Upon seeing Master Wu Da, Venerable Kanaka told him to wash his sore in the spring at the foot of the mountain. Just as Master Wu Da was about to rinse the sore, he heard a voice. The voice spoke of the story of Yuan Yang and Chao Cuo from the Western Han Dynasty. Yuan Yang and Chao Cuo were senior officials serving in the government. Out of political motives, Yuan Yang had the emperor execute Chao Cuo. To take revenge for this, the soul of Chao Cuo followed Yuan Yang life after life. But, because for ten lifetimes, Yuan Yang had cultivated purity of conduct, there was no chance for Chao Cuo to take revenge. In this lifetime, Yuan Yang had become Master Wu Da. Because Master Wu Da gave rise to arrogance, Chao Cuo was able to take his revenge as a sore with a human face inflicting pain and suffering on Master Wu Da. The voice then told Master Wu Da that after Venerable Kanaka taught him the Dharma, he was willing to let go of his enmity. After the voice faded away, Master Wu Da rinsed the sore with the water, and the sore healed. Realizing that his suffering was the result of the negative karma he had created, Master Wu Da did not return to serve the emperor but instead built a cabin at the foot of the mountain to repent for his wrongs. There, he composed the Water Repentance text. Back To Top Scene 3: Introducing the practice of repentance
Dharma Master Wu Da in his cabin. (Photo by
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Yen Lin-chao)
This scene starts with Master Wu Da in his cabin, beginning to compose the Water Repentance text so that people can learn the law of karma and be aware of their own unwholesome behavior. With the understanding of the law of karma and the Buddha's teachings, people can transform themselves and end their vices which create negative karma. Through song and sign language, those onstage express the message that living beings exist as if drifting in a sea of suffering. By turning back toward the shore, they can return to the correct path in life and be liberated from suffering. Hence, all Buddhas earnestly call on living beings to awaken and return to the correct path.
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Act II: The obstacle of affliction Scene 1: Our mind is the source of our afflictions Scene 2: Desire Scene 3: Repenting for our afflictions Scene 4: Making vows and starting anew
Scene 1: Our mind is the source of our afflictions

The artist starts to paint over the painting... (Photo by Deng Wen sen)
This section describes the power of our mind: The scene opens with an artist and a painting of a tranquil lake. The artist starts to paint over the painting, turning the tranquil lake into countryside, then into a village. Not satisfied, he continually thinks of new, more complicated things to add, building one high-rise after another. His increasing desires drive him on in the pursuit of moremore buildings, more developments, more technological advancements, etc. until his mind becomes chaotic and he no longer has control over himself. The artist symbolizes our heart and mind, able to think and plan, and bring to life the images in our mind. But when our heart and mind are filled with desires, we can lose ourselves and suffer from afflictions. All our sufferings come from the three obstaclesour afflictions, our karma, and our karmic retribution. The repentance practice teaches us how to get rid of these three obstacles and liberate ourselves from suffering. The repentance practice is like water, able to cleanse away the impurities in our heart and mind.
Back to Top Scene 2: Desire
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Impermanence strikes. The man ends up losing his business and wealth, and suffers greatly. (Photo by Ho Ching-po)
This section illustrates the source of human sufferingdesire. It is presented through a theatrical sketch of a man who pursues wealth and success. As he focuses on climbing the career ladder and expanding his business, he becomes a changed man. But, impermanence strikes. The man ends up losing his business and wealth, and suffers greatly.
Back to Top Scene 3: Repenting for our affliction The message from the previous sections is that all our afflictions originate from the greed, anger, ignorance, and doubt in our heart and mind. If we can repent for having these unwholesome thoughts, our afflictions can be eliminated. The repentance is done through song and sign language, the lyrics expressing some of the things to repent for:
Let us repent for being stingy and uncharitable, and for not forming good affinities with people (Photo by Chi Wen-kuo)
Let us repent for our greed for fame, wealth, and power Let us repent for our anger and bad temper, which make us want to hurt people Let us repent for our ignorance and lack of understanding of the law of karma Let us repent for our arrogance, which makes us look down on others Let us repent for doubting the Buddha's teachings, which leads to deluded notions Let us repent for our attachment to "self" and our delusions of"permanence" in life Let us repent for taking up with unwholesome friends and doing bad deeds Let us repent for being stingy and uncharitable, and for not forming good affinities with people Let us repent for being domineering, unreasonable, forgetting to be gentle, and becoming angry easily Let us repent for being jealous of others and for unkind actions made in envy Let us repent for not following the Truth, which makes us drift in the sea of samsara Let us repent for our blindness and delusions, which make us undergo the suffering of rebirth in the six realms Back to Top Scene 4: making vows and starting anew
We
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vow to overcome our greed and selfish desires by sowing seeds of kindness in people's hearts (Photo by Huang Ying-ciao)
The repentance practice teaches that after repenting for our unwholesome thoughts, we can prevent repeating our errors by making vows to transform ourselves and begin anew. By replacing old unwholesome behaviors with wholesome ones, afflictions will not arise in our heart and mind again. In this section, vows are made through song and sign language: We vow to overcome our greed and selfish desires by sowing seeds of kindness in people's hearts We vow to work on our anger and bad temper by spreading love around the world We vow to dispel our ignorance and delusion by learning the Dharma and doing good deeds We vow to eliminate our ego and arrogance by cultivating humility and practicing precepts We vow to uproot our skepticism of the Dharma by developing genuine faith in the Buddha's teachings and the law of karma We vow to eschew wrong views by nurturing loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity in our hearts We vow to transcend our jealousy and narrow-mindedness by respecting and learning from people and emulating their good We vow to do good and cultivate ourselves diligently, as life is impermanent We vow to practice the 37 Aids to Awakening so we may purify our heart and mind We vow to develop the bodhi mind (the awakened mind) so we may have both compassion and wisdom to help all beings Back to Top
Act III: The obstacle of unwholesome action Scene 1: The law of karma Scene 2: The three vices of bodily conduct Scene 3: The four vices of speech Scene 4: Repenting our wrong ways Scene 5: Making vows after repenting
Scene 1: The law of karma
(Photo by Lin De wang)
Onstage, there are three people dressed in white and three people dressed in black. Originally, the six people were together on the same path. Gradually, the three in black were led astray by temptations and deviated from the right path. One of them comes to realize he has gone astray and tries to get back onto the right path. The other two try to stop him, but after much struggle, the repentant one succeeds in returning to the right path, even bringing the other two with him.
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The lyrics in this section explain the law of karma: In the cycle of rebirth, we always carry with us the karma we created in our past lives. The sutras tell us that the karma we created brings karmic retribution, which comes to fruition in three ways: in our current lifetime, in our next life, or in our future lives. While we may not see the karmic retribution for the karma we created in this life, it will eventually come to fruition under the right conditions. Back to Top Scene 2: The three vices of bodily conduct
(Photo by Yen Tung liang)
Through a series of artistic and theatrical sketches, this section shows how people in our modern times commit the three bodily vices of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Sketch 1: Various acts of killing are presented through artistic expression: killing animals for food, killing another human being to take his possessions, killing for fun, stepping on insects or bugs, sacrificing animals for cultural or religious rituals, hunting for sport, killing oneself, or instigating others to kill. The Buddha tells us that all living creatures have the Buddha nature and therefore are equal. All creatures value their own life, just as humans do. Because humans do not see this, they take the life of other creatures without remorse. Sketch 2: One example of the act of stealing is presented. A government official and a businessman scheme to turn protected land to business use for their own personal profit. Through unscrupulous means, they take away an elderly couple's property to build a bus stop. The elderly couple's world is shattered as they lose the land they had lived on for most of their lives. Sketch 3: One example of sexual misconduct is presented. A womanizer angers a woman he was involved with when he pursues another woman. In revenge, she hires thugs to harm both him and his lover. In the end, the lives of all three are ruined. Through song and sign language, those onstage express the lesson to be learned: People should be aware of the harm of sexual misconduct and uphold their marriage vows. If people can carefully guard their minds from going astray, abide by their marital responsibilities, and respect family values, they can build a good, happy family. Back to Top Scene 3: The four vices of speech
A mischievous fairy wears a green vest with protruding
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knives, symbolizing unwholesome speech. (Photo by Liao Chun-chin)
This section shows the ways we can create negative karma with our speech, namely by using abusive words, propagating falsehoods, speaking with sweet but empty words, as well as bearing tales. These four kinds of unwholesome speech are like a sharp knife that can hurt people and cause harm. The message is conveyed by a mischievous fairy wearing a green vest with protruding knives, symbolizing unwholesome speech. She takes us through four theatrical sketches to show us how unwholesome speech can harm people, using examples from modern times. Sketch 1: The harm of speaking abusive words is presented. A tough businesswoman always speaks harshly to her family, hurting their feelings and causing her relations with her family to become strained. Sketch 2: The harm of lying and spreading false beliefs is presented. A man gives false predictions of misfortune and doom, causing fear among people who blindly believe him; he then sells them a "lucky charm" (in actuality, just a yellow slip) that supposedly will ward off the evil or misfortune. A righteous man with correct views guides people to stop believing in such superstitions. Sketch 3: The harm of sweet yet empty words is presented. Two people use sweet promises to attract consumers for their health and beauty product. Those who use the product later develop health problems. When the product is discovered to be harmful, the two people run away. Sketch 4: The harm of bearing tales is presented. The mischievous fairy with the knife vest goes between two people to bear tales, sowing discord. Back to Top Scene 4: Repenting our wrong ways The previous sections show how unwholesome conduct and speech can cause harm. In a formation representing the waters of the ocean, those onstage lead everyone to reflect and repent through song and sign language, the lyrics expressing some of the things to repent for: Let us repent for killing living creatures and committing acts of violence to harm others Let us repent for killing other creatures accidentally or for sport, and for abusing animals, not realizing that all creatures are equal Let us repent for giving rise to greed when enticed by money, and for failing to observe the precepts Let us repent for being deeply entrenched in desire and losing ourselves in the sea of lust Let us repent for lying to secure personal gains, and for speaking meanly to hurt others Let us repent for speaking insincere words of flattery and causing discord through gossip and tale-bearing Let us repent for giving rise to greed when our eyes have come in contact with pleasant sights Let us repent for letting our ears pursue pleasant sounds and sweet words which can cloud our good judgment Let us repent for giving rise to unwholesome thoughts when we come into contact with pleasant fragrances Let us repent for eating all kinds of living creatures in our attachment to taste and the desires of our palate Let us repent for our desire for fine and smooth textures as our body pursues the contact of touch Let us repent for having a deluded mind as we filled it with false views and perceptions and negative emotions Back to Top Scene 5: Making vows after repenting The repentance practice teaches that the true nature of every one of us is as pure as the Buddha'sthis is Buddha nature. Yet, we have lost touch with our Buddha nature as we go through life. Out of our ignorance, we create negative karma with our body and speech. After repenting for our unwholesome conduct and speech, we can prevent repeating our errors by making vows not to create more negative karma.
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In this section, a formation of the Tzu Chi logo with eight petals is presented, signifying the Eightfold Path of proper conduct in life. Vows are made through song and sign language:
We vow to protect life by not killing and by eliminating our hatred and resentment We vow to be vegetarian life after life so that animals do not have to be killed We vow to be content by reducing our desires and transcending thoughts of stealing, jealousy, and greed We vow to be generous and charitable by not being stingy and greedy. Through the practice of giving, we accomplish our spiritual cultivation We vow to uphold the precepts, to keep our heart pure, and to be free from lustful thoughts We vow to realize that desire acts like a shackle that restrains us, and to let go of our greed for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep We vow to avoid speaking gossip and abusive words, instead speaking good words in a gentle voice We vow to treat others with sincerity by not lying or spreading hearsay We vow to speak beneficial words that can bring harmony and reconciliation among people We vow to be humble and to be prudent in our speech, not exaggerating or using flattery We vow to purify our six sense organs so we won't be deluded when encountering the external environment We vow to end our unwholesome ways and prevent future unwholesome actions Back to Top
Act IV: The obstacle of karmic retribution

The black net symbolizes how living beings are trapped by their karma. (Photo by Liao Hsiang-lin)
This entire Act describes the workings of karma through theatrical and artistic expression. The Act begins with a theatrical sketch of a man and two women surrounded by people dressed in black holding a black net. One of the women tells the man she's pregnant with his child. Later, she learns there's another woman pregnant with the man's child. The first woman then kills herself, but her soul wants to take revenge on the man. Eventually, the man dies in a car accident. The black net symbolizes how living beings are trapped by their karma. While living beings undergo karmic retribution, they create new negative karma, leading to new karmic retribution, in the midst of which they continue to create more negative karma. It forms a vicious cycle, trapping them in samsara, the cycle of rebirth. The way to break out of this cycle is to be aware of the principle of karma and to stop creating new negative karma. The force of karma is very powerful. When karmic retribution becomes ripe, there's no way one can stop it from happening. Scene 1: The dream
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Scene 2: Living hell Scene 3: The realm of hungry ghosts Scene 4: The realm of animals Scene 5: The realm of asuras Scene 6: The human and heaven realms Scene 7: Calamities around the world Scene 8: The world climate is becoming abnormal Scene 9: The suffering of wars Scene 10: The suffering of hunger and famine Scene 11: Repenting for our karmic retributions Scene 12: Making vows after repenting
Scene 1: The dream
This section depicts the true story of a woman in 19th century China, who dreamed of an out-of-body-experience where her soul entered the bodies of animals about to be killed for her birthday feast. The woman was married to a wealthy man who was a devout Buddhist, a generous philanthropist and a longtime vegetarian. The wife, however, was very fond of meat and fine cuisine. For her birthday, she wanted to have a sumptuous meal to celebrate. Her servants purchased a live pig, chicken, duck, and fish for the occasion. When her husband learned of this, he tried to dissuade her and asked her to spare the lives of these animals. She refused as it was her birthday and she wanted to celebrate. The night before her birthday, she had a dream. In the dream, she entered the kitchen of her home, where the cook and servants were making preparations for her birthday feast. As the animals were about to be slaughtered, the wife felt her soul enter the body of their bodies in turn. She experienced the pain and suffering of the animals as they were being killed, cut into pieces, and boiled. When the cook was done slaughtering all the animals, a servant brought in a live fish. The wife's soul also entered the body of the fish. After killing the fish and scraping the scales off, the cook made it into fish balls, one of the wife's favorite dishes. The next morning, the maid brought in the dish of fish-ball soup for breakfast. When the wife saw it, she was filled with fright and ordered the maid to take the dish away. Feeling frightened, the wife told her husband about her dream and her deep remorse for eating meat. Back to Top Scene 2: Living hell
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The message of this section is that the law of karma is real. We cycle through the six realms of reincarnation due to karmic retribution. If we do not believe in karma, we might do things that lead us to be reborn in the realm of hell. In fact, we can experience a living hell in our everyday world. When we are under tremendous suffering or mental affliction, that's what being in hell feels like. This section continues the story of the wife, showing her struggles with her conscience over the killings she had done. Eventually she dies. We are then taken to see the realm of the hungry ghost. Back to Top Scene 3: The realm of hungry ghosts
The message of this section is that there are many people in our world who suffer from starvation and malnutrition. They are like the manifestation of the hungry ghost realm. The theatrical sketch centers on two gourmands (people who pursue good food) who, not satisfied with eating fowl, want to eat meat from other kinds of animals. After eating these, they become sick, can no longer take in any food, and suffer greatly. Two men, one dressed in white and one dressed in blacksymbolizing the messengers of deathappear with a long white sheet. One of the gourmands dies. Which realm he is reincarnated in his next life will depend on his karmic retribution. We are then taken to see another realm, the realm of animals. Back to Top Scene 4: The realm of animals
This section depicts the animal realm and shows how animals get abused and killed for their skin or meat, undergoing much pain and suffering. The theatrical sketch shows women in a fashion show wearing fur and animal skins. Four women buy the fur clothing;
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after they die, they are reborn as the type of animal whose fur they'd worn in their previous life. Being animals, they have to labor for humans, enduring beatings and other abuse. The messengers of death then come and take one of the "animals" away, and where it will be reborn next will depend on its karmic retribution. We are then taken to see another realm, the realm of asuras. Back to Top Scene 5: The realm of asuras
This section depicts the asura realm. Asuras are bad-tempered beings who have a lot of anger and arrogance. They can be found in any of the five realms: heaven, human, animals, hungry ghost, or hell. The theatrical sketch shows three gangsters and a couple. One gangster gets into an argument with the man, which quickly turns into an all-out brawl. One gangster sets a fire, killing the couple. The leading gangster becomes terribly frightened by the consequences, and eventually is caught for the crime and jailed. The messengers of death then come to take his life away. Where he will be reborn next will depends on his karmic retribution. Next we are taken to see two realms, the heaven realm and the human realm. Back to Top
Scene 6: The human and heaven realms This section depicts the human and heaven realms. In the realm of heaven, heavenly beings enjoy pleasure and happiness. Those in our world who are wealthy, can get whatever they want, and have their desires fulfilled enjoy a kind of heaven on earth. The theatrical sketch shows a rich man who indulges himself in the pleasures of food and women. He then develops a disease which makes all his friends shun him. A fire burns down his house, and he finds out he has contracted a sexually transmitted disease. While getting treatment, the two messengers of death come, signaling the next stage of his karmic retribution. Back to Top Scene 7: Calamities around the world
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This section shows a video of the Earth undergoing destruction due to natural disasters and human activities. Our Earth used to be a beautiful planet, with clean rivers and beautiful mountains, where people lived in harmony with Mother Nature. But now humans are destroying mother earth, causing global warming, which brings about natural disasters around the world. Such is the result of the collective negative karma created by humans. Besides natural disasters, man-made disasters, such as war, also cause much suffering to people. Back to Top
Scene 8: The world climate is becoming abnormal
This section shows the natural disasters that ravage our planet, with four different color flags representing disasters of earth, water, fire, and wind. When natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, snow storms, tornados, or forest fires happen, they can cause a lot of destruction and casualties, bringing considerable suffering. Back to Top Scene 9: The suffering of wars
This section expresses the suffering of war, doing so through video and a theatrical sketch of a battlefield where people pick up the dead and the injured. The man in the center of the stage performing with a Chinese Yo-Yo represents the throwing of bombs. Wherever the bombs land, war and destruction occur. Back to Top
Scene 10: The suffering of hunger and famine This section uses video and a theatrical sketch to express the suffering caused by famine and starvation. In the sketch, people who had died in the previous scenes "wake up" to find themselves reborn in places of famine, where they have to scavenge for food, surviving on grasses or tree roots. Back to Top
Scene 11: Repenting for our karmic retributions The previous sections show how for countless lives, living beings have been cycling through the six realms, enduring much suffering, without being able to liberate themselves because they do not realize the law of karma and continue to create negative karma. Nevertheless, if people can repent for their unwholesome ways which bring about such karmic retribution, there is hope to break out of this vicious cycle.
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The scene shows Dharma Master Wu Da's cabin rising up from the center stage. People dressed in black crawl toward the cabin, reaching for Dharma Master Wu Da, seeking liberation from their sufferings. In a formation representing an ocean, those onstage lead us to repent through song and sign language, the lyrics expressing some of the things to repent for:
Let us repent for the wrongs we've committed through our body, speech and mind, leading to the karmic retribution of reincarnation in the hell realm Let us repent for committing unwholesome acts instead of practicing goodness, leading to the karmic retribution of reincarnation in the animal realm Let us repent for our killing, our self-indulgence and greed, leading to the karmic retribution of reincarnation in the hungry ghost realm Let us repent for leading an unwholesome life and acting arrogantly, which lead us to develop the personalities of asuras. Let us repent for pursuing profit and self-gain, thus giving rise to unwholesome thoughts which dispel wholesome thoughts Let us repent for being cruel to animals by hunting and harming them; one day we will reap karmic retribution Let us repent for breaking the law, being undisciplined and rebellious, and not being filial to our parents nor abiding by moral ethics Let us repent for not respecting the Buddha or his teachings and for doubting that the Dharma can liberate living beings from suffering Let us repent for the obstacles of affliction, unwholesome action, and karmic retribution that we have created; and let us dedicate any merit we have to all living beings Back to Top Scene 12: Making vows after repenting
This section presents a representation of a Dharma ship, symbolizing the ship of Dharma which can rescue people from the sea of suffering and take them to the safety of the shore. The message is that though living beings have gone astray before, now that they've encountered the Dharma, they can turn themselves around. After repenting, all make vows to create a better world with less suffering. Vows are made through song and sign language: We vow to turn the realm of hell into a Pure Land by eliminating karmic obstacles We vow to turn our animosity to goodwill and transform violence into kind actions We vow to help all living beings in need so they can attain peace and happiness We vow to harbor no thoughts of killing, and help all creatures co-exist in harmony We vow to get rid of our bad habitual tendencies and our deluded thoughts and perceptions We vow to mitigate disasters and epidemics so people won't suffer from pain, illness, and loss We vow to help provide abundant supplies of food and clothing
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so people won't suffer from starvation and cold We vow to bring harmony and peace to society so there'll be no wars in this world We vow to spread the teachings of the Buddha so people can understand life's principles and eschew misguided views We vow to walk the Bodhisattva Path and help inspire the mind of awakening in people Back to Top
Dharma Master Wu Da (center). (Photo by Tseng Fang jung)
Act V: Finale In this section, Dharma Master Wu Da walks out of his cabin and visits the various people who had done wrong in the previous acts. As he visits each, he spreads the teaching of repentance, and people rectify the wrongs they had committed so that they instead of continuing the cycle of negative karma into the next life, they can begin to turn things around in this life. Venerable Kanaka appears on stage. Those who had done wrong in previous scenes take off their colored costumes, revealing white clothing underneath, symbolizing the purification of their hearts. The message of this section is that since beginningless time, we've been undergoing the cycle of rebirth, suffering in the six realms without being able to liberate ourselves. The Buddha came to this world to teach us the Four Noble Truths, which show us a way we can end our suffering. If we can learn the Buddha's teachings, we can cleanse our heart and mind. The world is full of changes and impermanence. Yet, underlying all the changes, even through the cycle of rebirth, our everlasting, non-changing Buddha nature is always with us. But people cannot see this and they go after things that are ephemeral, such as fame and personal gain. In the process, they create negative karma and plant karmic seeds in their consciousness, which then ripen into karmic retributions and trap them in the cycle of rebirth. Through the Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-Arising, they suffer endlessly.
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Dharma Master Wu Da, with the rise of arrogance, brought to fruition the retribution from karma he had created ten lifetimes before. With the help of Venerable Kanaka, Dharma Master Wu Da was able to resolve his negative karma. Thereafter, he composed the Water Repentance text to tell people how to get rid of the three obstacles of affliction, unwholesome action, and karmic retribution through the practice of repentance. These timeless teachings remain beneficial to humanity to this day. Drifting in the vast sea of suffering, we should turn back toward the safety of the shore. All Buddhas earnestly call on all living beings to awaken and return to the correct path.
Towards the end, Dharma Master Wu Da as well as everyone onstage sing the four verses of great repentance: In times of crisis, we must recognize right from wrong In times of great calamities, we must bring forth great compassion In times of great blindness and ignorance, we need to exercise great wisdom In times of great turmoil and unrest, we must deeply reflect and repent Back to Top
Related news items: The Way to Enjoy Life Making Vows after Repenting: Part VI of the Repentance Series Repenting Obstructions from Afflictions: Part V of the Repentance Series Understanding Desire's Pivotal Role: Part IV of the Repentance Series

Synopsis of The Sutra Adaptation of The Water Repentance Text

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Synopsis of the Sutra Adaptation of the Water Repentance Text