Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

prohibitive in character since they forbid certain acts.
b. Inwardly. Actions committed against the bodhisattva
samvara silas, and as these are so positively formulated,
one's faults lie in failing to do good, and thus not saving
others.
c. Secretly. This is found only in Vajrayana, and
concerns the precepts applying to the third initiation.
d. Most Secretly. Offences against the Four Conditions
of the Dharma-nature.
2. The Four Kinds of Power in Confession
a. Outwardly. This is kept by the "Power of Fear" and is
similar to the power of common persons who think, "If I
do a certain thing again, then this or that punishment
will result." One should maintain such a fear. It is still
useful, as it will eventually enable the meditator to
destroy the evil he fears.
A powerful spirit once wanted to subdue
Padmasambhava and so appeared as a layman in front
of the great yogi. He asked the sage, "What do you
fear?" Padmasambhava replied, "I fear sins (in Tibetan:
sdig-pa)." That spirit then reappeared in the form of a
sdig-pa (a scorpion with nine heads and one tail). Seeing
this, Padmasambhava stretched out his left hand and
lifted up the monster, which may still be seen in images
of the great guru.
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