Zechariah 3:4 · World English Bible
He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take the filthy garments off him.” To him he said, “Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich clothing.”
Kilesa: Defilement A stain in cloth is the plain sense of the word. Wrongdoing leaves that kind of mark: it clings, it shows, and it makes a man unfit for the altar he is standing at.
From the Buddhism reading below.
The same verse, read by one tradition.
BUDDHISM
Kilesa: Defilement A stain in cloth is the plain sense of the word. Wrongdoing leaves that kind of mark: it clings, it shows, and it makes a man unfit for the altar he is standing at. Anyone who has walked into a room with a spot on their shirt knows how the whole hour gets arranged around hiding it, which is why the order to the attendants concerns the clothes before it concerns the man.
Pabhassara citta: Luminous mind Brightness is the mind's own condition, and defilements arrive as visitors. Strip the garments away and Joshua is still standing there, the same man who was called to serve; the filth came in with the cloth and can go out with it. Dirt lifts from a shirt because it never was the weave, and that is why the attendants can obey at all.
Kukkucca: Remorse Worry over what was done and left undone is counted among the hindrances. The accuser has just been rebuked and silenced, yet that voice goes on working inside a person long after sentence has been lifted. Guilt that will not sit down blocks the mind the way an argument in the next room keeps you awake, and the reply to it here is simply an instruction to get dressed.
Kamma: Action and its fruit Deeds ripen on their own terms, and no one hands another person a clean record by decree. Still, iniquity caused to pass from a man points at something workable: a lump of salt ruins a cup of water and does nothing to a river. The deed stays in the account; whether it can crush a life depends on the size of the heart receiving it, and Joshua is given that room rather than earning it.
Sīla: Virtue Steady conduct is the old ornament said to suit every wearer better than jewelry. Rich clothing on a cleaned man is working dress: vestments mean the priest can stand in the temple again and carry out the duty he was called to. The washing serves the work, and he is made presentable so he can be sent back in.
Buddhism lens
What are you still wearing that was handled a long time ago?
The rabbis held that the gates of return are never closed and that one who turns is counted as new, with the door open on the last day as on the first. The past deed stays in the record and stops ruling the person.
Even someone whose life has been badly spent, turning now with their whole heart, is to be counted among the good. The turn is the thing, not the accumulated file.
He called out to come back no matter how many times you have broken your word, because this is not a gate where promises are checked. The invitation is to come as you are and be dressed for the work.
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Buddhism