Buddishm and guilt/sin

samati

Hi, New member here. I was raised as a Theravada buddist(Thai), and while a lot of my beliefs are based on Buddhism, I have limited knowledge as far as what's in the scriptures.

I'm curious about how Buddhist's views are on guilt and sin, particularly how it pertains to confessions and remorse. Giving an example, if one does something they regret, say stole something, hurt someone etc.

From my own perception, I feel karma has to take it's course no matter what, and the individual has no bearing in controlling what has already been done. But, on the other hand if one devote to the noble eightfold paths, there's should be some merit in that. I guess, in short I should be asking:

Does good karma eventually counter bad karma, or is there some sort of system of checks and balances that separates the two?

What are your thoughts?

thanks

Bunks

Hey Samati - I think it depends on the tradition.

The tradition I have had a bit to do with (New Kadampa tradition (mahayana)) have purifying exercises that they believe can remove negative karma built up in the past.

Also, as far as guilt goes, I have heard that there is no word in Tibetan for it. Can anyone confirm that?

As far as I am concerned, you can only work from this moment on. If you try and always do things with the "right intention" (see the Noble 8fold Path) then you should have no reason for guilt.

Not sure about sin. Sounds more of a christian concept. Not my speciality I'm afraid

Can't be of much more help than that at this stage mate - all the best!!

vinlyn

Bunks, while different schools may explain karma differently, karma still works however karma works. Karma doesn't work differently in Theravada than it does in any other Buddhist school. It's just that no one knows how it works...or at least if they do, they haven't done a very good job of explaining it.

Samati, welcome to the group. I lived in Thailand for a while. Where are you from?

Bunks

Bunks, while different schools may explain karma differently, karma still works however karma works. Karma doesn't work differently in Theravada than it does in any other Buddhist school. It's just that no one knows how it works...or at least if they do, they haven't done a very good job of explaining it.

very, very complex topic......I have hardly scratched the surface!

samati

Thanks for the replies

Also, as far as guilt goes, I have heard that there is no word in Tibetan for it. Can anyone confirm that?

.

ah, that makes sense... if one is to have "right view", then not having guilt, or any negative outlook, should fall into that.

Samati, welcome to the group. I lived in Thailand for a while. Where are you from?

This forum seems to be filled with great people with great views on Buddhism.

I was born in the US, but was living around Bangkapi while visiting family. Where did you stay?

vinlyn

I was born in the US, but was living around Bangkapi while visiting family. Where did you stay?

I rented a condo down off Sukhumvit, around Phrom Pong.

Dakini

The word for "guilt" in Tibetan translates as "shame". I think it's part of Asian cultures' aversion to "losing face". Not exactly guilt, I guess, but close.

Building up "good karma" by doing good deeds, helping others, saving lives (if only those of animals and insects) always helps. If you feel bad about a particular "error" ("sin"), you can get something like a purification ceremony, in the Tibetan tradition, anyway, I don't know about the others. Expressing remorse is helpful in the karma department, they say.

I don't know if Theravada, and specifically the Thai tradition, has anything like this.

Ficus_religiosa

I remember a consensus on this board some time back, that sin is not part of Buddhism.

Regarding guilt, I would say it's part of the karmic outcome. You do a bad thing, you then feel bad. You do a good thing, you then feel good. It fits quite well with the teachings on karma I've read - good actions -> good reactions. Fx Samyutta Sutta:

According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit you reap there from,
Doer of good will gather good,
Doer of evil, evil reaps,
Down is the seed and thou shalt taste
The fruit thereof.

Good actions are defined by Buddha in his teachings. A kind of road map is this:
Was the intention good? Did the action good? Was the outcome good?

seeker242

Does good karma eventually counter bad karma,

What are your thoughts?

thanks

Yes, if it didn't, then the 3rd Noble Truth could not be true, but it is true. This is a good article on it.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/kammafruit.html

Most writings on the doctrine of kamma emphasize the strict lawfulness governing kammic action, ensuring a close correspondence between our deeds and their fruits. While this emphasis is perfectly in place, there is another side to the working of kamma — a side rarely noted, but highly important. This is the modifiability of kamma, the fact that the lawfulness which governs kamma does not operate with mechanical rigidity but allows for a considerably wide range of modifications in the ripening of the fruit.

If kammic action were always to bear fruits of invariably the same magnitude, and if modification or annulment of kamma-result were excluded, liberation from the samsaric cycle of suffering would be impossible; for an inexhaustible past would ever throw up new obstructive results of unwholesome kamma. Hence the Buddha said:

"If one says that in whatever way a person performs a kammic action, in that very same way he will experience the result — in that case there will be no (possibility for a) religious life and no opportunity would appear for the complete ending of suffering.

"But if one says that a person who performs a kammic action (with a result) that is variably experienceable, will reap its results accordingly — in that case there will be (a possibility for) a religious life and an opportunity for making a complete end of suffering."

— AN 3.110

Like any physical event, the mental process constituting a kammic action never exists in isolation but in a field, and thus its efficacy in producing a result depends not only on its own potential, but also upon the variable factors of its field, which can modify it in numerous ways. We see, for example, that a particular kamma, either good or bad, may sometimes have its result strengthened by supportive kamma, weakened by counteractive kamma, or even annulled by destructive kamma. The occurrence of the result can also be delayed if the conjunction of outer circumstances required for its ripening is not complete; and that delay may again give a chance for counteractive or destructive kamma to operate.