Benefits of practice
No matter what vows you might have broken (tantric root vows, or pratimoksha vows, or bodhisattva vows, or Samaya vows) no matter what negative karma you have created, everything can be purified. Out of his incomparable kindness, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha revealed different purification methods, such as prostrations to the 35 Buddhas, who are all manifestations of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, and recitation of their names. Recitation of each Buddha’s holy name purifies all negative karma cultivated in the past. If for some reason you cannot do prostrations, it is still good to at least recite holy names of the 35 Buddhas every day. No matter how heavy the negative karma you have accumulated, the Buddha has revealed a method to purify it.
Four Opponent Powers:
“The power of regret for having done the destructive action.
The power of reliance: taking refuge, which restores our relationship with holy objects, and generating the altruistic intention, which restores our relationship with other sentient beings.
The power of the remedial action, e.g. prostration, offering, reciting the names of the Buddha, reading or contemplating the Dharma, etc.
The power of the promise not to repeat the action.”
The “Four Opponent Powers” — either in the form of 35 Confessional Buddhas, or Vajrasattva practice — is considered by many teachers to be the most effective for purifying past negative karma. Karma is nothing more than “cause and effect.” #35buddhas #confession #purification #buddhisim
