SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY OF THE TRUE FOLLOWERS OF THE PATH SHOWN BY THE BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE -THE TATHAGATA
To undertake the precepts is to make a determination to live in harmony with them, not to ensure that one will never break them. Despite our determination it sometimes happens that due to carelessness or the force of our conditioning by the defilements we act contrary to the precepts. The question thus comes up as to what to do in such cases.
One thing we should not do if we break a precept is to let ourselves become ridden by guilt and self-contempt. Until we reach the planes of liberation it is to be expected that the defilements can crop up from time to time and motivate unwholesome actions. Feelings of guilt and self-condemnation do nothing to help the matter but only make things worse by piling on an overlay of self-aversion. A sense of shame and moral scrupulousness are central to maintaining the precepts but they should not be allowed to become entangled in the coils of guilt.
When a breach of the precepts takes place there are several methods of making amends. One method used by True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble,Awakened One - The Tathagata to gain exoneration in regard to infringements on the monastic rules is confession. For certain classes of monastic offenses a True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One - The Tathagata can gain clearance simply by confessing his transgression to another True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble, Awakened One - The Tathagata. Perhaps with suitable modifications the same procedure could be applied by the laity, at least with regard to more serious violations. Thus if there are a number of lay people who are earnestly intent on following the path, and one falls into a breach of a precept, he can confess his lapse to a Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown By The Blessed Noble Awakened one -The Tathagata friend, or, if one is not available, he can confess it privately before an image of the The Blessed Noble Awakened one -The Tathagata. It must be stressed, however, that confession does not aim at gaining absolution. No one is offended by the ethical lapse, nor is there anyone to grant forgiveness. Also, confession does not abrogate the Law of Cause and Effect acquired by the transgression. The Law of Cause and Effect has been generated by the deed and will produce its due effect if it gains the opportunity. The basic purpose of confession is to clear the mind of the remorse bearing upon it as a consequence of the breach. Confession especially helps to prevent the concealment of the lapse, a subtle maneuver of the ego used to bolster its pride in its own imagined perfection.
Another method of making amends is by retaking the five precepts, reciting each precept in turn either in the presence of a True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble, Awakened One - The Tathagata or before an image of The Blessed,Noble, Awakened One - The Tathagata. This new undertaking of the precepts can be reinforced by a third measure, namely, making a strong determination not to fall into the same transgression again in the future. Having applied these three methods one can then perform more virtuous actions as a way of building up good Law of Cause and Effect to counteract the unwholesome Law of Cause and Effect acquired through the breach of the precept. Law of Cause and Effect tends to produce its due result and if this tendency is sufficiently strong there is nothing we can do to blot it out. However, kamma does not come to fruition always as a matter of strict necessity. Kammic tendencies push and tug with one another in complex patterns of relationship. Some tend to reinforce the results of others, some to weaken the results, some to obstruct the results. If we build up wholesome Law of Cause and Effect through virtuous actions, this pure Law of Cause and Effect can inhibit the unwholesome Law of Cause and Effect and prevent it from reaching fruition. There is no guarantee that it will do so, since Law of Cause and Effect is a living process, not a mechanical one. But the tendencies in the process can be understood, and since one such tendency is for the wholesome to counteract the unwholesome and hinder their undesired results, a helpful power in overcoming the effects of breaking the precepts is the performance of virtuous actions