Can I Repent Again… and Again?
Question: If I have committed observe the Five Precepts but repeatedly break one of them despite having practised repentance, can I still repent again effectively?
Answer: To answer the question, I need to know how many times more the precept is intended to be broken! You need to remember that true repentance means genuine regret for a mistake done and resolving your best to never repeat it again. Repeated repentance over the exact same mistake can only be as effective as your sincerity to really turn over a new leaf. It is never too late to repent… sincerely.
What do you mean by how many times more the precepts is intended to be broken ?
If the person can know the number of times it will be broken in future, he would not have broke it as he is aware of breaking it is incorrect.
Can you explain on this sentence “To answer the question, I need to know how many times more the precept is intended to be broken!”.
“To answer the question, I need to know how many times more the precept is intended to be broken”.
In my opinion the writer asked the above question in hope to remind us that one should honour his/her beliefs. No point crying over spilt milk. One should also take repentence seriously, why repent when you know you will be doing the mistake again and again.
The precepts are to guide oneself on the path and with one’s correct determination we try one’s best not to break it.
it cannot be view as like you shall be punish if you break it .it is our own Karma, it is just a way of correct conduct laid down as we strive to be a better practising buddhist. the key is practice and in practice we do bound to make mistake unintentionally. it is not easy in this illusionary world we are living not to, we just have to be honest with ourself and practice sincerely. do not be discourage but strive to better ourself each day. repent but also be determine. repent again and be more determine then the previous .. until determination is the eventual wimner.. then we need not repent anymore but instead rejoice.
Sometimes after too many times of repent, one feels that he is too used to repent and repeat the mistake, to a stage that he feels it is useless to repent. If he does not repent in front of Buddha but refrain from repeating the mistake, does this consider turn over to a new leaf ?
Would he still have to bear the negative karma created from breaking the precepts (many times repeadly) ?
The more times you expect yourself to break a precept repeatedly, the greater the determination and mindfulness there must be to observe it. The more mindfully we observe a precept, the less will it be broken – even if ‘accidentally’.
Each round of repentance must be more firm than the previous one. When we are equally or less firm as the previous time, there will be no breakthrough. There is no such thing as ‘too used to repent and repeat the mistake’ if there is SINCERE repentance. We repent repeatedly because we are not sincere enough in wanting to change our ill ways. It is useless to repent insincerely; only useful to repent sincerely. Counselling for why the mistake is repeated might be good too.
Repentance need not not always be before the Buddha, as long as it is sincere. Negative karma is created from intentional evil, which includes from the breaking of precepts. It has to be beared – but SINCERE repentance and the doing of more good to make up for the mistakes helps to alleviate the negative consequences. Karma works whether we believe in it or not.