What is 懴悔文 (Sange-mon)?: Letting go of distractions—that is Zen repentance

懴悔文 (Sange-mon): Opening the Door to the Dharma Realm of the Avatamsaka Sutra

What is 懴悔文 (Sange-mon)?: It is a verse for confessing the sins or mistakes that I made in the past before Buddha, and for asking for forgiveness with a sincere heart.

Key Point: Sange-mon is a verse chanted during the Tanbutsu ceremony in Zen Buddhism. Generally, It is a verse for confessing your past sins or mistakes before Buddha and asking for forgiveness with a sincere heart. The Sange-mon is quoted from the Avatamsaka Sutra. You can be in harmony with the Dharma Realm by keeping the precepts and performing the Sange.

The Sange-mon is a sutra verse during the Tanbutsu ceremony in Zen Buddhism. In general, it is a verse for confessing your past sins or mistakes before Buddha and asking for forgiveness with a sincere heart. Although the word “Sange” is read as “zange” in modern Japanese, it is read as “sange” in Zen Buddhism.

This text is a sutra, not a verse. It uses the climax of the Vows of Samantabhadra chapter in 華厳経 (the Avatamsaka Sutra). The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches the world of the Buddha Vairocana, where all lives and existences shine together by connecting with each other. In the story, 善財童子(Zenzai-doji,Sudhana) meets Manjushri, who is a symbol of wisdom. Then, he travels to meet many teachers to learn from them. At the end of his journey, Sudhana arrives at the place of 普賢菩薩 (Fugen-bosatsu,Samantabhadra), who is a symbol of practice. Sudhana wants to learn the practices of Samantabhadra. The following are the practices and vows of Samantabhadra.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra

1. To pay respect to all Buddhas. (礼敬諸仏願)

2. To praise all Buddhas. (称賛如来願)

3. To make offerings to all Buddhas widely. (広修供養願)

4. To repent of past bad deeds. (懴悔業障願)

5. To rejoice in the good deeds of others. (随喜功徳願)

6. To ask to hear the teachings of Buddha. (請転法輪願)

7. To ask Buddhas to stay in this world for a long time. (諸仏住世願)

8. To learn from Buddha always. (常随仏学願)

9. To follow and support all living beings. (恒順衆生願)

10. To share the merit with all living beings. (普皆廻向願)
    

Reference: Kaiju Jeon (2002). “ Fugen Gyogan ni Mirareru Kegon Shoki Shiso” [The Thought of “Kegon Shoki” (Manifestation of Buddha-Nature) Observed in the Samantabhadra’s Vows]. Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, 51(1), 161-164.

This sutra teaches us how to practice three of these vows: the vow to repent of bad deeds (懴悔業障願), the vow to rejoice in the good deeds of others (随喜功徳願), and the vow to share the merit with all living beings (普皆廻向願). In later times, this sutra was collected as the “Sange-mon.” It is used not only in Zen Buddhism but also in many other Buddhist schools(References1: Sange-e of the Jodo sect by Jodo Sect Net), References2: Sange-mon of the Zen sect by Soto Sect Tokai District Zen Center)).

我昔所造諸悪業 (Ga-shaku-sho-zō-sho-aku-gō)
皆由無始貪瞋痴 (Kai-yū-mu-shi-ton-jin-chi)
従身口意之所生 (Jū-shin-ku-i-shi-sho-shō)
一切我今皆懺悔 (Is-sai-ga-kon-kai-san-ge) 懺悔文 Original,reading

All the bad deeds I have committed since the distant past are caused by the three poisons—greed, anger, and ignorance—which have existed from time without beginning.
They were all created by my three actions: body, speech, and mind.
Now, I deeply repent of all those mistakes from the bottom of my heart, and I perform the Sange.
懺悔文 modern meaning

This text shows the foundation of Buddhism, and it is the base for funerals and prayers. A funeral is a ceremony to give the precepts after death, and a prayer is a ceremony to make the power of keeping the precepts and Zazen clear. Therefore, 戒 (Kai,the precepts) are important. The precepts can be classified by body, speech, and mind. The treatment of these precepts is slightly different in each school, but the contents are almost the same(Reference 1: Juzen-kai (Koyasan Kongobu-ji Temple), Reference 2: Juju-kinkai of the Jodo Sect (Jodo Sect Net), Reference 3: Juju-kinkai of the Zen sect(Engaku-ji Temple, Rinzai Zen)).

In this way, by keeping the precepts and performing Sange (repentance), it becomes possible to open the gates of the Dharma realm and resonate with the world of Buddha.

The Core

• “Sange-mon” is not merely a confession of past sins; it is a practice aimed at becoming aware of our delusions and harmonizing with the “Dharma realm”, where we are deeply connected to all things.
• By keeping the precepts and performing repentance, we can become one with the Dharma realm.
• To become one with the Dharma realm, it is necessary to practice both 禅 (the practice of enlightenment through Zazen) and 戒 (the practice of living by the precepts).

My experience: Zen and Precepts as One (禅戒一如) leads to the Dharma realm.

Key point: My distracting thoughts center on “past relationships” and “present relationships.” Zazen is effective for dealing with these distractions. In “present relationships,” which are the source of distractions, practicing the precepts and repentance prevents them from becoming mere distracting thoughts. Thus, it is necessary to practice 戒(the precepts), 懴悔(repentance), and 坐禅(Zazen) together.

My distracting thoughts in daily life are mostly about “dangerous past relationships.” I believe this stems from my brain’s survival instinct and its function of confirming “who I am” by referencing past memories. However, according to the philosophy of the Avatamsaka Sutra (華厳経), defining the self through such memories prevents one from becoming one with the Dharma realm (the world formed by interconnectedness).

In Zen, we see the concept of “sin” as empty because it does not have a real existence. Therefore, “懺悔” (Sange,repentance) in Zen does not mean a moral attitude of feeling sorry for one’s sins. Instead, it means to clear our minds and stop the thoughts of the past, the present, and the future. I did an experiment to see how many distracting thoughts I have in a day. I compared days when I practiced Zazen for one hour in the 結跏趺坐(Kekka-fuza position, Full Lotus position) in the morning with days when I did not practice Zazen at all. Based on my personal experience, I had fewer distracting thoughts on the days when I practiced Zazen than on the days when I did not.

This raises a question: In Zen, is the ritual of “Sange” unnecessary, and is it enough to just practice Zazen? However, this is true only if we practice Zazen all day long. This is because we have relationships with other people outside of Zazen, and these relationships can be dangerous.

Therefore, we need to keep the precepts. The precepts are the key to becoming one with the Dharma realm. By keeping the precepts every day, we can avoid the dangers in our current relationships and move toward the Dharma realm. In other words, Zazen suppresses the distracting thoughts caused by our survival instinct. On the other hand, the precepts prevent friction in our daily lives, which is the Dharma realm. This is why we need to perform “懴悔” (Sange,repentance) every day.