Guilt
Guilt (aparādha or vippatisāra) is an unpleasant or uneasy feeling caused by knowing or believing that one has done something wrong. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon word gylt meaning ‘to offend.’ In some religions guilt is encouraged as a means of controlling peoples’
behavior and as an appropriate punishment for misbehavior. In Buddhist psychology, guilt is seen as primarily negative because it involves dwelling on the past rather than being in and understanding the present. However, the Buddha said that a lively sense of shame (hiri) and [[self-
respect]] (ottappa) can sometimes be useful as being what he called ‘self-regulating factors’ (A.I,51). For a person who has not yet developed more mature spiritual qualities, shame (concern for the opinion of others) and self-respect (concern for one’s opinion about oneself) can give one added motivation to avoid wrong and do good.
The Bst. born has no feeling of guilt in the sense of fear of a God who will punish him for his wrong-doing. But he knows that he will by the law of Karma receive the effects of his wrong-doing and in this way suffer the effects of his sin (q.v.).
