There are a few differing Buddhist views on sin. American

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

author Brad Warner states that in Buddhism there is no concept of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, ...

at all. The Buddha Dharma Education Association also expressly states "The idea of sin or original sin has no place in Buddhism." Zen student and author Barbara O'Brien has said that "Buddhism has no concept of sin."

Walpola Rahula Walpola Rahula Thero (1907–1997) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to hold a professorial chair in the Weste ...

also disagreed with the notion of sin, saying "In fact there is no 'sin' in Buddhism, as sin is understood in some religions." Ethnologist

Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf or Christopher von Fürer-Haimendorf FRAI (22 June 1909 – 11 June 1995) was an Austrian ethnologist and professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London. He spent forty years studying ...

explained,

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa ( Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987) was a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, a tertön, sup ...

specifically disagreed with the notion of "

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

" saying

Anantarika-karma

Anantarika-karma in

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

is a heinous crime, which through karmic process brings immediate disaster. In

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

these five crimes are referred to as pañcānantarya (Pāli), and are mentioned in ''The Sutra Preached by the Buddha on the Total Extinction of the Dharma'', They are considered so heinous that a Buddhist or a non Buddhist should avoid them. According to Buddhism committing such a crime would prevent him or her attaining the stages of Sotapanna,

Sakadagami In Buddhism, the Sakadāgāmin (Pali; Sanskrit: ''Sakṛdāgāmin'', ), "returning once"Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 660, entry for "Sakadāgāmin" (retrieved 26 Sep 2007 at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:2653. ...

, Anagami or

Arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

in that lifetime. The five crimes or sins are: # Injuring a

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...

# Killing an

# Creating

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

in the society of

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context ...

Matricide Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother. Known or suspected matricides * Amastrine, Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC. * Cleopatra III of Egypt was assassinated in 101 BC by order of her son, Pto ...

Patricide Patricide is (i) the act of killing one's own father, or (ii) a person who kills their own father or stepfather. The word ''patricide'' derives from the Greek word ''pater'' (father) and the Latin suffix ''-cida'' (cutter or killer). Patricid ...

References

{{reflist Buddhist belief and doctrine Sin Point of view