Principle and Method of Sin Cleansing in Buddhism

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the doctrine of baptism or sin-cleansing and its method according to Buddhism’s perspective. The concept of sin-cleansing which people generally understand comes from textual and religious beliefs of Theism prevealed in ancient up to present concerning performances of sin-cleansing with incomplete reasoning. The doctrine of sin-cleansing is wrong view because such belief involves self-attachment or Sakkāyadiṭṭhi that prevented ignorants from achieving the realization. Such detention of mind with self-existent and other-existent clinging continue all the time by nature. Most of Buddha’s teaching aims at realizing the reality of self as I and others or mine based on three common manners by moral deeds and insight development to destroy ignorance and delusion. With such wrong faith and fears various masters taught that this self was sinful and imperfect when comparing to God or perfect self but it can be purified by sin-cleansing. The Buddha had discovered that sin-cleansing can be accomplished not just by ritual performances undermined by clinging and mistakes of individual but following insight development instead in order to uproot wrong views and clings. The true sin-cleansing is to build up insight knowledge with mindfulness and awareness for cessation of all defilements which cause all sins until it leads to path knowledge. The mindfulness development until entering Nibbana is the right way of sin-cleansing.