Consequences......................................

      There's no such thing as damnation in Buddhism.  Karmic retribution isn't a punishment, it's a natural consequence.  You're only reaping what you've sown.  If you throw a stone up in the air it's no good being astonished if it falls back down on your head.  It's a bit difference from the usual idea of sin - although I find very interesting Father Laurence Freedman's explanation:  "The Greek for sin means to miss the target.  Sin is what turns consciousness away from truth.  Being the consequence of illusion and selfishness, sin includes its own punishment.  God doesn't do the punishing.'
-Matthieu Ricard, as excerpted from here