The Punishment for Rehabilitation in the perspective of Buddhist philosophy

Abstract

This article aims to study the theory of the purpose of punishment in the perspective of Buddhist philosophy with the study method from related documents and research. The study results found that Buddhist philosophy supports the theory of punishment for rehabilitation rather than the theory of punishment for retribution. The supporting reasons are (1) Both perpetrators and victims share the exact Buddha nature that can develop themselves to be good people. (2) Greed, anger, and delusion often dominate humans. But humans can reduce their desires and set themselves to be good people. (3) The use of violence by the state cannot lead to solving the problem. However, using violence to solve problems will only create more problems, as mentioned in the Chakkawatti Sutta. (4) Punishment in the Sangha's Vinaya does not have physical punishment. But the Sangha's Vinaya emphasizes punishment to improve and provide education to offenders. And (5) Buddhist philosophy has the concept of rehabilitating serial killers, as shown in Angulimala Sutta. This suggestion of Buddhist philosophy can be applied to improve Thailand's punishment and justice system, which should give importance to restorative justice rather than retributive justice.