Can Repentance Eliminate Karmic Offenses?

Repentance may or may not be able to eradicate karmic offenses. Repentance at the shallow level of the mind consciousness cannot eradicate karmic offenses and has little effect; only repentance at the deep level, where the manas and the mind consciousness repent together, can eradicate karmic offenses. The degree to which offenses are eradicated depends on the sincerity of the manas. Because the mental activities of the manas determine the karmic seeds—when the manas uses the six consciousnesses to create karma, the seeds of unwholesome karma are stored away—the manas must personally repent and change its mental activities 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.