The Supreme Merits of the Sutra of the Three Heaps
【Explanation of the confession to the 35 Buddhas practice - Notice 5】The Supreme Merits of the Sutra of the Three Heaps
By Teacher Zhen-Ru, 15/12/2017
With reference to the book “Explanation of the Confession to the 35 Buddhas Practice”, page 84, from L11:
In the Tibetan Tripitaka, the 35 Buddhas practice was found in the Tengyur, translated and written by the Indian Masters. It has a title which literally meant “Bodhi Repentance”, or also known as The Sutra of the Three Heaps. Tibetan Patriarch (Masters) such as Master Fo Zhi, later titled it as The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls To The Thirty-Five Buddhas; and in the Chinese regions, it is popularly known as The Confession to the 35 Buddhas Practice. What is the significance of naming this practice The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls to the 35 Buddhas or also The Sutra of the Three Heaps? Nāgârjuna Bodhisattva in his annotations proclaimed that, in this, it says the three heaps are: pay homage, confession, infinite merits accumulation and so on. These are the three small heaps, not the superior heaps. In Confession of Moral Downfalls, the practice of generating bodhicitta is the root cause necessary for attainment of Great Bodhi, the rest of the text focuses on developing altruistic intentions for the welfare of all sentient beings, and restraining from or confessing of ethical downfalls (misdeeds), thus it is titled as, Confession of Moral Downfalls, wherein the three heaps are combined together.
Here’s the explanation where the verse means, in this sutra, one cultivates the practice through paying homage, confession and so on, which are the three heaps. Hence, it is titled as The Sutra of the Three Heaps. However, this is in relation to a discourse by the Buddha found in another sutra, The Stack of Jewels Sutra, so these are three small heaps and thus called, The Sutra of Three Small Heaps. Whereas in The Stack of Jewels Sutra, it is the Mahayana practice of three superior heaps and also titled, The Sutra of Three Superior Heaps. Is this a little clearer?
Nāgârjuna Bodhisattva only explained briefly on the three heaps as “pay homage; confession and infinite merits accumulation and so on”, he did not explain further in detail. For this, Master Gyaltsab Je classified the three as “accumulating of merits; purifying of obstacles, and increasing of virtues (dedications) and etc.” Therefore, for “confessing all individual negativities”, which of the three heaps does it belong to? It belongs to the second heap, i.e. purifying of obstacles. “Rejoicing in all merits” belongs to the first heap, i.e. accumulation of merits. Similarly, “May I attain the holy, supreme, unsurpassed, exalted wisdom”, belongs to the third heap, i.e. making dedication to increase virtues, and hence, the title Sutra of the Three Heaps. This was what Master Gyaltsab Je had explained. Master Fo Zhi, however, explained as to why it is called Sutra of the Three Heaps: Instead of naming “the heap of confession”; “the heap of dedication”, and “the heap of rejoicing”, it is thus titled, Sutra of The Three Heaps.
【三十五佛忏讲记—预告 5】功德超胜的《三聚经》
参考书本位置：《吾愿无悔：三十五佛忏讲记》第 84 页第 11 行起
下面再讲一下《三十五佛忏》这个名称，还有它的意涵。在藏文大藏经的《丹珠尔》，也就是印度论师的著述当中，称这一篇叫《菩提堕忏》，或称为《三聚经》。后来的藏地祖师，譬如佛智大师，称此为《菩萨堕忏》；汉地则普遍把这一篇叫《三十五佛忏》。这一篇经文被称为《菩萨堕忏》、《三聚经》，到底是什么样的原因呢？龙树菩萨在他的注释当中写道："此中亦说三聚，礼拜、或忏罪等、无边福聚等，是三聚小者，非大者。名菩提堕忏者，菩提为大菩提因，此中薩埵为余文，抑或从菩提而衰损，故名菩提之堕，结合为三。"
下面解释一下。这段经文的意思就是：此篇经文当中宣说了礼拜或者忏悔等三聚，所以称之为《三聚经》。但是相对于佛陀所宣说的另一本《圣三聚经》而言，这一篇叫《小三聚经》，而《圣三聚经》称为《大三聚经》。这有点清楚了吧？
这三聚，龙树菩萨的解释当中，也只说到了一句："礼拜、忏罪等、无边福聚等"，而没有做特别详尽的解释。对此，贾曹杰大师解释为集资、净障、增长善根（回向）等。所以"一切众罪各各忏悔"属于《三聚经》中的哪一聚？忏罪聚，第二净障聚。 "一切福德悉尽随喜"属于第一集资聚。 "愿我证得无上最胜智"为第三聚，回向增长善根聚，这是贾曹杰尊者解释的。佛智大师则解释说，这个经典又一个名字叫《三聚经》，"以其宣说忏悔聚、回向善聚、随喜聚三者，故名《三聚经》。" 这是为什么它又叫《三聚经》。