Biblical: sin sdig pa/ is an offense against God and his perfect moral law: ngan pa yin pa ngas byas te/,,khyed gcig por ngas sdig pa byas/ against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil (Ps. 51:4). From a Biblical standpoint, all sin is ultimately directed at God and is an offense to his holiness. It is thus more than just selfishness bdag 'dzin pa/ or a negative act las ngan/ committed in a moral vacuum. Sin is an act that brings God's wrath dkon mchog gi thugs khro/ upon sinners, and leads to spiritual death: sdig pa'i 'bras bu ni 'chi ba yin/ the wages [lit. fruit, result] of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). It can be forgiven sdig sel ba/ through faith in Christ.
Buddhist: sdig pa/ is what is non-virtuous or evil (TDC 1462); in the Tibetan popular mind the term is strongly associated with the killing of animals. The classic list of sins is the so-called ten non-virtues or sdig pa mi dge ba bcu/ one list of which includes: srog gcod pa/ killing; ma byin par len pa/ theft; log g.yem/ sexual misconduct; brdzun/ lying; khra ma/ slander; tshig rtsub/ harsh speech; ngag 'khyal/ gossip; brnab sems/ covetousness; gnod sems/ intent to harm others; and log lta/ wrong [i.e. non-Bst.] views. In Bsm. sin is a negative or unskillful action which is punished by karma las/ (see fruit) and is thus a totally individual concern: sdig rang bsags rang khur/ each one must carry the burden of his own sin (TQP 123), hence the Bst. claim is that it is not necessary to feel guilty for sin, as no supernatural authority or being has been offended by it, and there is no judge to punish it (MTB 63). Eventual punishment for sin through the action of karma las rgyu 'bras/ is, however, inevitable and inescapable: gang du sdig pa'i las kyis mi tshugs pa'i/,,sa phyogs de ni yod pa ma yin te/,,bar snang la med rgya mtsho'i dbus su med/,,ri bo'i sul dang brag gi khongs su med/ where can we go where our sins will not harm us? No place on earth - not in the heavens, not in the middle of the sea, not in the rocky clefts of mountains (DMP 66; cf. Ps. 103:12). In most Bst. schools the possibility of grace is precluded: thub rnams sdig pa chu yis mi 'khru zhing /,,'gro ba'i sdug bsngul phyag gis mi sel la/,,nyid kyi rtogs pa gzhan la 'pho min te/,,chos nyid bden pa bstan pas grol bar 'gyur/,,zhes gsungs yod pa red/ the Buddhas do not wash away sin with water, and they do not remove by hand the miseries of living creatures. They do not transfer their own understanding to others. They deliver by teaching this very Dharma (TRC 77); i.e. sdig pa spong ba'i lam ni/,,skyabs dngos chos dkon mchog yin/ the Buddha's teachings are the actual way of abandoning sin (REF 115). Sin accounts for rebirth in the lower realms, hence the saying: las ngan pa'i sdig pa ma bsags na/,,skrag dgos pa'i gshin rje chos rgyal med/ if one does not accumulate sins, one need not fear the lord of death (TDC 1462). The many vivid tales of the sufferings of the hell realms (JPG 181-4) account for the proverbial advice: sdig pa rnams ni yongs su spongs/ completely abandon sins (DMP 64) and sdig pa spong ba dang /,,dge ba sgrub pa/ abandon vice and accomplish virtue or good works (TRC 227).
Proverbs: 1) zhe sdang lta bu'i sdig pa med/ there is no evil [deed] like hatred (TRC 347); 2) shin tu bzod dka'i ngan song sdug bsngal rnams/,,sdig pa'i las kyi 'bras bur thub pas gsungs/ the Buddhas teach that terrible sufferings are the fruit of sinful deeds (GSL 10).
Cognates: 1) mtshams med ma yin pa'i sdig pa/ [lit. sin without limits] sin that leads to death; deadly, capital sin: su zhig gis spun zhig mtshams med ma yin pa'i sdig pa byed par mthong na/ if anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death (1 Jn. 5:16). Examples of such sins in Bsm. are the mtshams med lnga/ or five limitless actions: killing one's father, mother, a Bst. saint, a Buddha, or causing divisions in the monk body (TRI 222); committing any of these sins is believed to lead to rebirth in the mnar med/ hottest hell; 2) sdig pa/ a scorpion (Rev. 9:3); 3) sdig pa 'dag pa/ to get rid of sin by doing good things (AMD).
p. byas/ f. bya/ imp. byos/
Biblical: to commit sin: sdig pa byas pa tsho/ those who sin (Rom. 2:12), khyed tshos ma shi ka'i drung du sdig pa byed do/ you sin against Christ (1 Cor. 8:12).
Biblical: 1) sin: gal te nged rnams kyis byas pa'i nyes pa mthol bshags 'bul na/ if we confess our sins (1 Jn. 1:9), nyes pa gzhan ma mis byed pa thams cad rang gi lus dang bral ba yin/ all other sins a man commits are outside his body (1 Cor. 6:18 SV); 2) guilt: nyes pa ma brtag pa/ without being found guilty (Acts 22:25), ye ru sha lem pa gzhan las nyes can/ more guilty than the others living in Jerusalem (Lk. 13:4).
Buddhist: 1) fault or defect: sman pas ma nyes sman gyis ma nyes te/,,nad pa de nyid kyis ni nyes pa yin/ it is not the fault of the doctor or the medicine, but that of the patient himself (TRC 77), nyes pa lnga/ five faults in the technique of meditation (TRC 201), nyes pa mi smra rgyal sras lag len yin/ not to speak of faults is the practice of the sons of the Buddha (GSL 26); 2) moral faults in Bsm: srog bcad pa'i nyes pa/ the sin of killing [a goat] (DPD), nyes pa gsum/ are the three cardinal sins of Bsm. 'dod chags dang /,,zhe sdang dang /,,gti mug desire, hatred, and ignorance (SGC 280); 3) breaking of rules or vows: nyes byas bzhi bcu'i zhe drug the forty six faults (breaking of one's vows) (TRI 95). See also fault.
Proverbs: chang de nyes pa kun kyi rtsa ba yin/ [drinking] alcohol is the root of all kinds of evil (DPD).
Cognates: 1) nyes can/ a criminal (AMD); 2) nyes pa btang / to punish (DPD).
p. byas/ f. bya/ imp. byos/ [lit. fault + do]
Biblical: to sin: mi thams cad kyis nyes pa byas pas dkon mchog gi snyan grags dang 'bral ba'o/ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23 SV).