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Buddhism: Crime and Punishment

Buddhist teaching on the treatment of criminals

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

Dhammapada 133 to 140 on harsh words and harming the innocent, torture and the story of Palden Gyatso, human rights for criminals, the Vinaya's majority vote and a fair trial, and situation ethics.

What you need to know

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Key term

How do Buddhist attitudes to torture compare with a situation ethics view?

Key term

How do Buddhists believe criminals should be treated?

Key term

What do Dhammapada 133–134 teach about harsh words?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How do Buddhists believe criminals should be treated?

    Model answer

    Buddhists believe criminals should be treated with compassion and dignity, as people capable of change. Harsh treatment creates more hatred and suffering.

  2. 2

    What do Dhammapada 133–134 teach about harsh words?

    Model answer

    Dhammapada 133 warns that harsh words invite angry replies and blows in return. Dhammapada 134 praises the person who stays silent like a broken gong, free of vindictiveness.

  3. 3

    What does Dhammapada 136 teach about wrongdoers?

    Model answer

    Dhammapada 136 says a fool does wrong without seeing it and is burned by his own deeds as if by fire. Buddhists therefore see offenders as already suffering.

  4. 4

    What do Dhammapada 137–140 teach about harming the innocent?

    Model answer

    The verses warn that whoever harms the harmless will meet one of ten disasters. The disasters include severe pain, illness, trouble from rulers and loss of wealth.

  5. 5

    What do Buddhists teach about torture?

    Model answer

    Buddhists oppose torture because it deliberately causes suffering and breaks the First Precept. Torture also creates hatred in both the torturer and the victim.

  6. 6

    Who was Palden Gyatso?

    Model answer

    Palden Gyatso was a Tibetan monk imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese authorities for over thirty years. Palden Gyatso was released in 1992 and then campaigned against torture around the world.

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