CONFESSION IN BUDDHISM

Confession in Buddhism is somewhat different than in Catholicism as we can see in the story of
the fruits of the homeless life. (Sāmaññaphala Sutta - DN 2 *). In this story the conscience of
King Ajāttasattu is pricking him - after all he has killed his mother and father and usurped the
crown! He decides that a visit to a holy man might help him sleep better at night. After quizzing
his courtiers on who to visit he decides to go to see the Buddha. As they approach they must
abandon their transport and go on foot into the jungle. Since the Buddha is staying with a great
company of monks, the King thinks he should be able to hear them, but all is silent - the
murderer is worried about being assassinated himself! However they come into the presence of
the Buddha and after a long talk Ajāttasattu goes for refuge to the Buddha as a lay follower, and
then confesses his murderous actions. The Buddha's response, to the king in the first place, and
to the bhikkhus after he has gone, highlight the two very important aspects of confession in
Buddhism.
The Buddha says to the king:
"Indeed, King, transgression [accayo] overcame you when you deprived your father, that good
and just king, of his life. But since you have acknowledged the transgression and confessed is as
is right, we will accept it. For he who acknowledges his transgression as such and confesses it for
betterment in future, will grow in the noble discipline."
The word accayo literally means "going on, or beyond", and in the moral sphere, means acting
outside the established norms - so transgression is quite a good translation.
However once the king departs, the Buddha says to the bhikkhus:
"The king is done for, his fate is sealed, bhikkhus. If the king had not killed his father... then as he
sat there the pure and spotless dhamma-eye would have arisen in him."
The King leaves feeling much relieved, having unburdened himself, having experienced
remorse, and resolved to do better in the future. This is the benefit of confessing. It brings the
unskillful act to consciousness and helps us to see the consequences of the action, and by
reflecting like this we are less likely to act unskillfully in the future. The King is actually better
off that he was. On the other side the Buddha was able to just hear his confession. Perhaps not
everyone would be able to hear about someone killing their parents and maintain their
equanimity, but the Buddha can. He is able to see that despite the crime, that the King is
genuinely remorseful, and that it is important to witness that and encourage it. The past is gone,
we can't change it, but we can change now and experience liberation in the future.
However notice that Buddha does not absolve the King. He does not because he cannot. The
fruits of the action cannot be neutralised. Indeed if he had not committed the heinous act
(patricide was considered a very horrible crime in ancient India) he would have experienced
Insight (the opening of the dhamma-eye) after listening to the Buddha.
Equally the Buddha does not rub it in. He does not tell him, "OK you confessed, but you're still
going to suffer". The Buddha is not cruel, he acknowledges a small goodness for what it is, and
lets the King depart without much comment. However he does not let the opportunity pass to
reinforce his message for the bhikkhus. He did not want them to think they could simply
confess and get away with things. As a King, Ajāttasattu had a lot of responsibilities, and it is
clear that he placed these above self-knowledge or liberation. He wanted to be the king so badly
that he murdered his parents. The bhikkhus, however, have ostensibly abandoned worldly
concerns and are supposed to be devoting themselves to attaining liberation. They cannot afford
to be casual about the consequences of their actions. So the Buddha drives home the message by
pointing out that the King is "done for" - the implication is that the consequences of his actions
are going to be severe, that even a face to face meeting with the Buddha cannot save him from a
great deal of suffering in the future. Most likely he is repeatedly reborn in hell realms.
There is another important point here. At the beginning of the story the king is restless,
tormented by his conscience, and even a little paranoid. Unconfessed unskillfulness weighs on
our conscience. We feel guilty and we fear punishment. The Buddha knows there is no need to
punish Ajāttasattu as he is suffering in the present, and will continue to suffer in the future. This
is a very difficult idea for Westerners. We are inculcated with the idea that guilt demands
punishment. Society demands that someone who transgresses must have some harm inflicted
upon them. We do not believe in an ethical universe in which everyone must live with the
consequences of their actions, and in which evil definitely results in pain for the evil doer. This
is not enough. We want to see justice (ie punishment) in the here and now. Christians also
abrogate the notion that judgment for sins is God's prerogative. In fact the threat of punishment
makes confession, makes taking full responsibility for our actions, all the more difficult. It is
only when the threat of punishment is removed that we can fully confess our actions,
experience remorse, and take the necessary actions to make amends or to prevent a repetition.
Given that so few people wholeheartedly take on Buddhist ethical precepts, it may mean that
we have limited opportunities for confession in the Buddhist sense. We may also have to
exercise patience with those who seek to inflict harm on us as punishment. There is a lot more
that could be said on the issue of culpability and justice from a Buddhist point of view but it
must wait.
To sum up: in Buddhism one is encouraged to confess to someone who is able to receive the
confession, this is important. Our confessor should at a minimum understand the ethical
precepts we follow, and ideally should have some experience in following them. The point of
confession is to experience remorse, to reflect on the consequences of our actions, with the hope
that it helps us to restrain ourselves in future. In practice this results in a sense of relief.
Confession does not, and cannot absolve us from responsibility for our actions, the
consequences of which will still manifest. If we take Buddhist practice seriously then we try to
behave ethically. An important aspect of this is to acknowledge our failures and to learn from
them. Confession is indispensable in this process.

*translations are from Walsh, M. The Long Discourses of the Buddha. (Boston : Wisdom, 1995) p. 91ff.
There are some problems with the translation that I will regale you with in a separate essay. They don't
affect my conclusions.