The Wayfaring Wordhack

Do your projects have a specfic element (this includes a sci-fi story that needs Research for veracity) or are you writing straight historicals? If they are specfic, which takes precedence, the fantastical element or history/true life? Where is your emphasis? How do you reconcile the two? How do you know that the magic, mythology-come-true, or what have you contributes to the story and doesn't just neatly turn the focus?

Can anyone tell me how religions which believe in reincarnation view sin and what are the terms/ideas applied to it? What is the principle behind it? Is it like "missing the mark"? Is it a crime against self? A higher power? Fellow human beings? Are there degrees of transgressions or are all sins equally bad? What do the practitioners strive toward (what is their reason for avoiding sinful behavior/actions)? Just enlightenment? Become one with Something Greater? How is a "sinner" viewed by others? Pitied, reviled, something else?

I have a religion that believes in reincarnation without regression (You can stagnate, but you can't be reborn as a lower lifeform), and I'm trying to get a good grasp on how people would view offenses, punishment, crimes, "wrong turns," evil, wickedness, guilt... I do have some ideas of how and why things should be done, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

I don't think my questions are necessarily hitting at what I want to know (probably because I'm open to all information and don't want to "steer" too much), so I'd be happy to hear anyone's ideas--even ideas/thoughts on sinning from people who are not practitioners of a faith, organized/recognized/or otherwise.

Step right up and stir my brain...