Numbers 15:28 Meaning The Priest Shall Make Atonement

Avijjā: Ignorance Avijjā is the not-knowing beneath unskillful action. Erring unwittingly puts the fault in plain sight before Yahweh and out of sight to the man himself, like knocking something over while crossing a dark room. His blindness caused the damage rather than cancelling it, which is why a rite is still required, and why it is a light one.

Cetanā: Intention Cetanā is the willing that turns a deed into kamma. Since his will never leaned toward the wrong, the act has no poisoned root in it, and a single offering with the priest's work closes the matter. A few lines on, the man who sins with a high hand is given no offering at all; the whole difference between the two is where the will was pointed.

Accaya: Transgression Accaya is a fault seen as a fault and spoken aloud. He cannot close this by himself, so he carries it to the priest, the way a monk who has slipped must name his offense to another monk before it is done with. Saying it to a second person is what turns something hidden into something settled.

Saṃvara: Restraint Saṃvara is the guarding of conduct going forward. Atonement faces forward as much as back: he leaves the altar knowing the ground he stumbled on, and that knowledge is what keeps his foot off it next time. The Buddha, accepting a confession, always added the same condition, restraint in future, and called that the growth the whole procedure exists for.

Avippaṭisāra: Freedom from remorse Avippaṭisāra is the ease of a conscience with nothing gnawing at it. "He shall be forgiven" hands back a mind that can rest, since a fault kept in the dark works like a splinter under the skin. Gladness follows that ease and stillness follows gladness, so the priest's work at the altar reaches as far as how the man sleeps that night.