Can Repentance Eliminate Sins?

Repentance may or may not be able to eliminate karmic offenses. Repentance at the shallow level of the mind consciousness cannot eliminate karmic offenses and has little effect; only deep-level repentance in which the manas and the mind consciousness repent together can eliminate karmic offenses. The degree to which offenses are eliminated depends on the sincerity of the manas. Because the mental activity of the manas determines the karmic seeds—the manas used the six consciousnesses to create karma and deposited the seeds of unwholesome karma—the manas must personally repent and change its mental activity in order to eliminate part or all of the seeds of unwholesome karma. Repentance by the mind consciousness cannot eliminate the influence of the karmic seeds; the seeds still remain, and the suffering in future lives cannot be avoided.