The Sanfeng heshang xin chan 三峰和尚心懺 (Master Sanfeng Hanyue's Mind Repentance Ritual) is a Buddhist rare text from the Ming dynasty. The only existing copy is held at Xiyuan Monastery in Suzhou. The Mind Repentance Ritual is a ritual manual compiled by the Chan master Hanyue Fazang 漢月法藏 (1573-1635) at the Sanfeng 三峰 Chan monastery in Changshu around 1618-1619. It consists of a preface written by Hanyue's disciple Sengrui 僧叡 (active 1610-1643), the ritual itself, and a colophon. Around 1618-1619, during Hanyue's tenure as abbot of the Sanfeng Chan Monastery, a large number of monastics from different places were attracted to the monastery to practice Chan under Hanyue. Hanyue observed that although these practitioners were enthusiastic, they not only suffered from various difficulties (＂Chan diseases＂) during retreats, they also had obstructions caused by bad karma from previous lives. Hanyue compiled his Mind Repentance Ritual in order to eliminate these problems and help them to achieve enlightenment. In the context of Ming dynasty Chan Buddhism, Hanyue's Mind Repentance Ritual represents a fully developed repentance ritual, containing both repentance of principle and repentance of phenomena. The text is also consistent with the Ming dynasty trend of syncretism, as it maintains a Chan perspective while incorporating ideas and practices from Ming dynasty Pure Land and Esoteric traditions.
