All evil karma ever created by me since of old,
On account of my beginningless greed, anger, and ignorance,
Born of my body, mouth and mind...
Now I repent of it all and reform.

Why have we created so much bad karma in the past? It's all because of the greed, anger, and ignorance that we have carried around since time without beginning. Our bodies kill, steal, and engage in sexual misconduct; our mouths engage in lying, frivolous speech, harsh speech, and divisive speech; and our minds indulge in greed, anger, and ignorance. But now we want to repent of all our evil karma and reform.

Great offenses which fill the heavens
Are eradicated by a single thought of repentance.
Offenses arise from the mind, and must be repented in the mind.
When thoughts are extinguished, offenses also disappear.
With thoughts extinguished and offenses eliminated, both are empty.
This is called true repentance and reform.

The mind gives rise to offenses, and so the mind must repent of them. If you sincerely repent of the karma you have created and then reform, your mind will forget the past offenses and they will vanish.

If you correct your faults and errors, they vanish. But if you conceal your offenses, they double. The great heroes and outstanding people of ancient times were all courageous in correcting their errors. Thus the ancients said,

A great man's error
is like a solar or lunar eclipse
which is seen by all.
If he immediately corrects it,
everyone looks up to him.

A superior person? error is like solar or lunar eclipse in that everyone notices it. If he corrects himself right away, people then respect and admire him.

Intelligent people correct their errors, ignorant people don't. The ancients also said,

People aren't sages or worthies-
Who can be without faults?
To courageously correct one's faults
Is the greatest good of all.

A wise person vigorously changes his faults and takes delight in reforming himself. That's why people look up to such people, praise them, and recognize them as great. In ancient times, Zi Lu [one of Confucius' disciples] rejoiced when people criticized him, and Great Yu [Emperor of China, c. 2205 B.C.] bowed in respect when he heard of the goodness of others. These two are good models for us.