"Sins arise from the mind, so repent with the mind; when the mind ceases, sins also cease; when both mind and sins are extinguished, this is called true repentance." This Buddhist verse is not only a motto for practitioners but also the essence of Buddhist psychology and Zen philosophy. This article attempts toto consider the significance of the practice of "the cessation of mind and the extinction of sins" by starting from the "Eight Consciousnesses" and combining it with the "Twelve Links of Dependent Origination" theory.
「罪從心起將心懺，心若亡時罪亦滅；心亡罪滅兩俱空，是則名為真懺悔。」這段佛家偈語不僅是修行者的座右銘，更是佛教心理學與禪宗哲學的精髓。本文嘗試從「八識」出發，結合「十二緣起」理論，探討「心亡罪滅」的修行意義。
The Yogacara philosophy of Buddhist divides consciousness into eight levels that explains the inner mechanism by which karma is stored and matured through the eight consciousnesses, and providing us with a more detailed psychological framework:
佛教唯識宗將意識分為八個層次，解釋了業力如何透過八識儲存和成熟，並為我們提供了一個更詳細的心理學框架：
The first five consciousnesses: Our five senses, awareness of external objects.
前五識：我們的五感，對外在事物的覺知。
The sixth consciousness: Mental awareness, conceptual thinking, judgment.
第六識：心識，概念思維，判斷。
The seventh consciousness (Manas, please view my Previous article): Obsession on self desire, the grasps of “I” and "mine". It also governs actions or bodily responses.
第七識（末那識，請參閱之前我的文章）：對自我慾望的執著，對「我」和「我的」的執著。它也支配著行為或身體反應。
The eighth consciousness (Alaya): Where karmic seeds (good and bad) are deposited and ripen into future karmic experiences.
第八識（阿賴耶識）：業力種子（善業與惡業）在此積聚，並最終形成未來的業力體驗。
Together, these eight consciousnesses explain how perception, attachment, and karmic imprints accumulate, forming the basis of moral responsibility and future rebirth.
這八識共同解釋了感知、執著和業力印記如何積累，構成道德責任和來世輪迴的基礎。
Here is an example from daily life: A man walks down the street and sees a beautiful woman. He immediately feels lust, and his body even reacts naturally. This process can be explained using the eight consciousnesses:
在生活中的一例子：一個男人走在街上，看見一位美女，心中立即生起欲念，甚至身體自然出現反應。這個過程可以用八識來解釋：
The first five consciousnesses: The eye consciousness encounters beauty and transmits it to the mind.
前五識：眼識接觸到美色，傳入心中。
The sixth consciousness: The mind begins to discriminate, generating the thought "She is beautiful," thus arousing initial desire.
第六識：意識開始分別，產生「她很美」的念頭，引發初步的欲望。
The seventh consciousness: The Manas consciousness clings to the feeling of "self," believing it to be "what I want," strengthening the desire.
第七識：末那識執著「我」的感受，認為這是「我想要的」，加強了欲念。
The eighth consciousness: If these desires are continuously cultivated, they become seeds of karma, potentially driving actions and leading to sins deeds.
第八識：這些欲念若不斷熏習，便成為業種子，可能推動行為，造下罪業。
For example: A man sees a beautiful lady on the street and thus arise his physical reactions and inappropriate thoughts.In this example, the trouble did not arise from "seeing a beautiful lady," but rather from the attachment and growth of desires caused by deluded minds (mainly from the Seventh Consciousness), which left the "seed of desire" in the Eighth Consciousness.
舉例：一個男人在街上看到一位美麗的女士，因此產生了生理反應和不恰當的想法。在這個例子中，問題並不是因為「看見美女」，而是因為妄心（主要是第七識）導致的執著與欲念增長，才在第八識中留下了「欲望的種子」。
Next, move to the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, the chain that describes how suffering and rebirth arise:
接下來，看看十二因緣，一條描述苦難和輪迴生起的鏈條：
Ignorance: The lack of knowledge regarding the true nature (everything is impermanence and non-self, and depends on causes and conditions) of all phenomena and delusions on these appearances. This is the root of Samsara (the cycle of reborn).
無明：對一切現象的真實本質（一切事物都是無常、無我，取決於因緣）缺乏認知，並被這些表像所迷惑。這是輪迴的根本原因。
Volitional Formations: Good and bad karmic actions (the force of karma from past lives) performed due to ignorance .
行：由於無明而產生的善惡業力行為（前世業力）。
Consciousness: The initial thought of consciousness arising from past karma, leading to rebirth in the mother's womb.
識：源自前世業力的初始意識，導致在母胎中輪迴。
Name and Form: The stage in which consciousness (name) and the physical body (form) gradually develop in the womb.
名色：意識（名）和肉身（色）在子宮內逐漸發育的階段。兩者的完整性皆受前世業力所影響。
Six Sense Bases: The stage in which the six sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) gradually develop, preparing for birth. It corresponding to the first five consciousnesses and the sixth consciousness in the Eight Consciousness.
六入：六種感官（眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意）逐漸發育，為出生做準備的階段。它對應著八識中的前五識和第六識。
** The integrity of Name and Form, and the Six Sense Bases, is affected by karma from past lives.
** 名識與六入的完整性，皆受前世業力的影響。
Contact: The stage after birth where the six sense organs come into contact with the six sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects). This is the function of the Sixth Consciousness.
觸：出生後，六根與六根物件（色、聲、香、味、觸、意）接觸的階段。這是第六識的作用。
Feeling: The feeling of pleasure, pain, or neutral sensation arising from contact with external objects. This is the initial reaction of the seventh consciousness.
受：因接觸外在物體而產生的愉悅、痛苦或中性感覺。這是第七識的初始反應。
Craving : Intense craving and attachment arising from feelings (The seventh consciousness response is strengthened).
愛：因為感受產生的強烈渴望與執著（第七識反應強化）。
Grasping: The pursuit and grasping of what is loved even more intensely because of craving. This stage refers the related experiences begin to be stored in the eighth consciousness and being transfre to act.
取：因渴愛而更強烈地追求和執取所愛之物。這階段指的是相關的體驗開始儲存在第八識及轉化為行動。
Existence: The karma created through craving and grasping (the role of the eight consciousnesses.the cause of future karma), which determines coming results in this life and the next results.
有：由渴愛和執取所造的業力（第八識的作用，未來業力的根源），決定了今生或來生的結果。
Birth: The birth of future life caused by present karma (the result of future actions).
生：因現在的業力而導致未來生命的誕生（未來果）。
Old age and death: The aging and death of future life, and all sorrow and suffering.
老死：未來生命的衰老、死亡，及一切憂悲苦惱。
Sins arises when the sixth and seventh consciousnesses generate craving and ego-clinging, planting negative seeds in the eighth consciousness. These seeds activate through the Ignorance on the twelve links, leading to new existence and suffering. Rebirth is thus the unfolding of karmic seeds stored in the eighth consciousness, propelled by ignorance and craving in the twelve links.
罪業的產生源自於第六識和第七識生起貪慾和執著，在第八識中種下負面的種子。這些種子透過十二因緣的無明激活，導致新的存在和痛苦。因此，輪迴是儲存在第八識的業力種子在十二緣起中被無明和貪欲所驅動而展開的過程。
"Emptiness", a topic I have briefly introduced in another article, is a highly effective remedy for deluded minds. It helps us understand that all phenomena in the world arise from causes and conditions (all phenomena are based on the fulfillment of conditions). It is thus breaking down our craving and ego-clinging, thereby severing our Ignorance.
「空性」是我在另一篇文章中簡要介紹過的一個概念，它是對治妄心的有效方法。它幫助我們理解世間萬物皆由因緣而生（所有現像都是基於因緣（條件）的滿足）。因此，它能夠破除我們的貪愛和執著，從而斬斷無明。
While we are breaking down our deluded mind by "emptiness", we can also enhance our spiritual strength and social awareness by "The Noble Eightfold Path" that I mentioned in other articles.
當我們透過「空性」來打破我們的妄心時，也可以透過我在其他文章中提到的「八正道」來增強我們的精神力量與社會意識。
"When the mind ceases, sins also cease" does not deny Cause and Effect, nor does it refuse to acknowledge past words and deeds. Rather, it points out that the root of sins lies in the mind. When the deluded minds do not arise, sins naturally dissolve, and we may naturally understand the teachings of the Buddhas: "Do no evil; do good; purify your mind". Repentance is enlightenment, and enlightenment is freedom. This is what Buddhism calls "true repentance."
「心若亡時罪亦滅」並非否定因果，更不是拒絕承認之前的言行做作，而是指出罪業的根源在心。當妄心不起，罪業自然消融，我們也自然能理解諸佛所教的「諸惡莫作，諸善奉行，自淨其意」。懺悔即是覺悟，覺悟即是自由。這才是佛教所說的「真懺悔」。
