The Way Buddhism Views the Concept
of Washing Away One’s Sin
There are many religions on earth, but if we count only major religions that have provided a refuge to humankind and have a large number of followers all over the world, there are only three main religions. These include Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The fundamental teachings and practices of each of these religions differ tremendously from one another.
Many religions on earth teach that God creates everything and provides a prophet to wash away the believers' sin. Believers can wash away their sin by confessing them or by bathing in a sacred river. A question has often been raised about whether it
is true that one's sin can really be washed away. Therefore, the Buddhist view on the concept of washing away one's sin will be presented in this chapter.
Actually, the term 'washing away one's sin' was never mentioned in the Lord Buddha's Teachings because He stressed the importance of keeping one's action, words, and thoughts pure in order to ultimately remove one's defilements. Once a misdeed is committed, it incurs ill consequences as dictated by the Law of Kamma and such consequences cannot be washed away.
Sin or demerit means evil, wickedness. In Buddhism, sin or demerit has three meanings, as follows:
1. As applied to the state of mind: a sad and gloomy mind.
2. As applied to its cause: all forms of misdeed.
3. As applied to its consequences: all forms of suffering.
From the above description of the meaning of sin or demerit, it can be concluded that sin or demerit means the spoiled states of the mind. When the words washing and sin or demerit are combined together, the term means the complete removal of defilements which are the causes of all sin or demerit. The fruit of such lofty endeavor is an ever increasing improvement of the mind which causes the body, the words, and the mind to be cleaner and purer until such time when all defilements can be completely removed. The term 'one who has washed away his sin' is mentioned in the Dutiya-soceyaya Sutta, as follows:
"Behold, monks, the word 'Soceya' means the three types of cleanliness. When an individual is clean in the body, in the word, and in the mind, he is without defilements and is clean with the cleanliness of virtue. The sages call such an individual a person who has washed away his sin."
From this verse in the Sutta, 'a person who has washed away his sin' means an individual who is able to destroy all defilements and is therefore clean and pure in the body, word, and mind. Washing away one's sin according to this Sutta implies the complete removal of all defilements which in turn gives rise to a person's cleanliness and purity.
