This, to me, is a healthier outlook than the western view of sin. In the western view a sin is a crime against God. Some sins, even in Christianity, are considered unforgivable. Which to me denies the awesome power of the Atonement. Some sins are considered deal breakers.
But in the eastern view delusions or false beliefs are their own punishment just as sin is it's own punishment so no added punishment is needed or warranted.
But in our western mindset many feel it necessary to pile on additional punishments for breaking the rules that are often man made.How much healthier would it be if more people recognized sins as unhealthy speech or action rather than view them as rule breaking crimes against God?Dr. Martin Luther King said this "Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."That quote tells me that punishment for sins is not as effective as discovering the reason the sin was commuted and to address the disease rather than the symptom. Because without addressing the core of the issue other sins will bubble over.And that is something we all must do within ourselves to further purify ourselves and our lives.A Native American analogy I heard goes like this; There are two wolves living inside us, fighting for control. One is love, compassion, forgiveness and understanding. The other is fear, rage, bitterness and hate. The wolf who wins? The one we feed.We can't control who we've been but we can control who we become. A man named Saul was responsible for the Jewish persecution of the first generation of Christians following the crucifixion of Christ.Though his sins were great, though he was responsible for murder and great persecution, he was forgiven of his sins and he became the Apostle Paul who went on to be the most influential missionary in history and write 2/3 of the New Testament.My point is that those with the ugliest pasts are capable of creating the most beautiful and amazing futures for themselves and others.Looking as sin as something that is unhealthy I think is better and healthier than looking at it as some sort of crime, punishable by death like say stoning an adulteress to death.
