Lion's Roar

  • Meditation
  • Buddhist Wisdom
  • Life & Culture
  • The Magazine
  • Buddhadharma
  • Store

Lion's Roar

DONATE SUBSCRIBE
  • Meditation
  • Buddhist Wisdom
  • Life & Culture
  • The Magazine
  • Buddhadharma
  • Store
LR

Do Buddhists believe in sin?

by Lion's Roar Staff| July 1, 2019

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Illustration by Nolan Pelletier.

The dictionary defines sin as a violation of religious or moral law. Since the Buddha was not God and he didn’t hand down any commandments, the first part of the definition doesn’t apply. You’re not damned if you don’t do what the Buddha said. More broadly, good versus evil is not the central issue in Buddhism. It’s ignorance versus wisdom. Because we do not understand our own nature and the reality we inhabit, we create suffering for ourselves and others. This is the Buddha’s second noble truth—that the real cause of suffering is the ignorance that solidifies ourselves and our world and creates the three poisons of attachment, aggression, and ignorance (in the sense of ignoring or not caring about what doesn’t affect us personally). Good and evil—suffering and not suffering, if you will—is the result, not the first cause. Moral or ethical living is of course very important in Buddhism—it’s a big part of the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path to end suffering. But the ultimate antidote to suffering is wisdom. When we understand our true nature—which is open, interdependent, ever-changing, and has buddhanature—we can relax the harmful struggle to maintain the fictitious sense of self created by ignorance. That would be good.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Can you help us at a critical time?

COVID-19 has brought tremendous suffering, uncertainty, fear, and strain to the world.

Our sincere wish is that these Buddhist teachings, guided practices, and stories can be a balm in these difficult times. Over the past month, over 400,000 readers like you have visited our site, reading almost a million pages and streaming over 120,000 hours of video teachings. We want to provide even more Buddhist wisdom but our resources are strained. Can you help us?

No one is free from the pandemic’s impact, including Lion’s Roar. We rely significantly on advertising and newsstand sales to support our work — both of which have dropped precipitously this year. Can you lend your support to Lion’s Roar at this critical time?

SUPPORT LION’S ROAR

Lion's Roar Staff

About Lion's Roar Staff

Lion's Roar is the website of Lion's Roar magazine (formerly the Shambhala Sun) and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, with exclusive Buddhist news, teachings, art, and commentary. Sign up for the Lion's Roar weekly newsletter and follow Lion's Roar on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Topics: Beginner's Mind, Ethics and Morality, Evil and Sin, FAQs, Lion's Roar - Sept '18, Pan-Buddhist, Practice in Everyday Life, Teachings

Related Posts...

This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty
by Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Hands.The Miracle of Everyday Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Ethical North Star: The Five Buddhist Precepts for Modern Times
by Rebecca Li

Welcome to LionsRoar.com

By Lion's Roar Staff

We’re glad to have you here. But first: who are “we”? You may very well know us as the publishers of two Buddhist magazines, the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma. Then again, you may not know us at all. Either way, please allow us to re-introduce ourselves: We’re the Shambhala Sun Foundation. We [...]

  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscriber Services
  • Privacy
  • BUDDHIST DIRECTORY
  • About Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
TEACHINGS
  • Chan & Zen
  • Nichiren
  • Pure Land
  • Shin
  • Theravada & Insight
  • Vajrayana & Tibetan
  • More…
LIFE
  • Death & Dying
  • Difficult Times
  • Everyday Life
  • Food & Eating
  • Love & Relationships
  • Wellness & Psychology
  • More…
EXPLORE BUDDHISM
  • By the Numbers
  • FAQs
  • For Beginners
  • Glossary
  • How to Meditate
  • The Buddha
  • More…
NEWS
  • Breaking News
  • Climate Change
  • Contemporary Art
  • Current Events
  • Politics & Society
  • Teachers & Centers
  • More…

© 2021 Lion's Roar | Email: [email protected] | Tel: 902.422.8404 | Published by Lion's Roar Foundation