五戒の細則
Chapter 4: Questions Concerning the Precept Against Stealing
Section 1: The Offense of Stealing in Worldly Dharma
1. What Kinds of Behavior Constitute Stealing?
Stealing means taking what has not been given—taking another's possessions secretly without the owner's consent, or taking them openly and appropriating them as one's own; or scheming to obtain the object through deception; or using words and actions to coerce the owner into handing it over. Petty theft is a relatively minor form of stealing; more serious are seizing, snatching, and robbery, among which open seizing and open snatching are more brazen and domineering than covert ones, and the karmic offense is heavier. In short, using certain means, methods, approaches, and channels without the owner's consent to appropriate as one's own any dharma that does not belong to oneself is called stealing.
Moreover, if the owner, for some reason, has no choice but to agree, agreeing reluctantly—outwardly consenting while inwardly unwilling—this also constitutes stealing. This "consent" refers to consent of the mind, not coerced verbal consent. Of course, if the one being stolen from deliberately gives verbal consent while inwardly disagreeing, then it does not constitute stealing; rather, one has been deceived and schemed against.
2. Outward Consent with Inward Disagreement Is Also Taking What Has Not Been Given
What is called stealing is taking what has not been given. When others are not willing to give to you, have not consented to give to you, and you actively take and use it, this is called taking what has not been given. But there is a key point that needs clarification: sometimes, some people, out of concern for face, superficially agree and consent with the mind consciousness, but inwardly the manas is unwilling, having consented only very reluctantly. In such circumstances, using their things, occupying their resources, taking away their belongings, and so on—all of these, strictly speaking, fall within the category of stealing. Only when others give voluntarily, give sincerely and wholeheartedly, is taking and receiving reasonable and legitimate. Giving out of pretense, giving under coercion, giving out of consideration for face or under pressure—these are not acts of voluntary giving; if one takes and receives them, in essence it is taking what has not been given.
Being forced into compliance generally belongs to forcible seizure, though sometimes it may also be taking through contempt. This "force" generally refers to using power, authority, face, connections, and so forth to make the other party unable to refuse consent, when in fact they do not consent and are inwardly resentful and complaining. In such circumstances, taking away things and occupying resources constitutes stealing. For example, A tells B, "Tonight I'm coming to your house for dinner, and we'll have a couple of drinks together." B is very busy and has no time to accompany A for dinner and drinks, but out of consideration for face, has no choice but to agree, while inwardly lamenting. After A has eaten the meal, it is equivalent to stealing—stealing B's food and wine, plus B's time. Yet A does not know that by forcibly eating and drinking, forcibly occupying B's time, all of this constitutes stealing.
Another example: A frequently goes to B's place to eat, drink tea, and chat, but has never paid for the meals or the tea. B gives unilaterally while being inwardly unwilling, yet has no alternative. Such unwilling giving causes A to commit the offense of stealing.
If A invites B to a meal, but B, without A's consent, privately brings C along, then after this meal is finished, how should C's share of the meal be reckoned? In essence, it counts as taking what has not been given. Going to someone's home as a guest to chat without the host's consent, occupying the host's precious time and delaying the host's important matters—in such circumstances, one not only steals the host's time but also causes the host to fail to accomplish their affairs, thereby incurring losses; these losses constitute a debt. If the host agrees for you to visit, but you privately bring two more people without the host's consent, this also counts as stealing—the content of the theft includes not only time but also the host's authority.
There is also making decisions on behalf of others when matters arise—regardless of whether others agree or are pleased, everything about others' affairs is decided by you. This is stealing another's autonomy; however great the losses others suffer, that is how much you have stolen. Subordinates making decisions for their leaders, children making decisions for their parents, disciples making decisions for their masters, and so on—all of these constitute stealing; however great the loss, that is how much has been stolen, plus the theft of authority.
Everyone needs to repent; domineering people are prone to committing theft. When dealing with others, one must never coerce them or put them in a difficult position; only what others willingly consent to may be done. Do not go against others' will, and do not deprive others of their autonomy. Foreign countries emphasize human rights, protecting the basic rights of self and others; in many matters they first seek others' consent and are very courteous. We Chinese do not emphasize this; we emphasize human sentiment and face, worldly ways of dealing with people, and are not very courteous with one another, lacking a sense of distance and boundaries, unknowingly encroaching on others without any sense of guilt. All of these are matters of moral conduct in being a person. A person of virtue always respects others' psychology, emotions, and feelings, as well as their various rights, and never violates or offends them.
3. The Requirements for Establishing the Offense of Stealing
In ancient times, committing the offense of stealing required the combination of three factors: mental intention, bodily action, and the object leaving its original place; if any one is missing, the offense is not established. If one moves an object elsewhere without intention, it is not stealing; if there is intention and bodily action to steal, but the object has not left its original place, it is not stealing; if there is intention to steal and the object has left its original place, but one did not take it with one's own body, having someone else take it on one's behalf, it still counts as stealing; or using mantras to make the object leave its original place counts as stealing; or using mental intention, supernatural powers, and other such means to make the object leave its original place counts as stealing—apart from these, it is not stealing.
In modern society, however, what is stolen also includes things without physical form, which do not involve the requirement of the object leaving its original place; but if ownership or right of use of the thing ultimately becomes one's own, it also counts as a form of the object leaving its original place, and constitutes stealing—the "original place" refers to the place of the original owner.
Modern technology is advanced; one can steal and pilfer without bodily action. Objects can be not only tangible and visible but also intangible and formless—such as information, technology, software, documents, patents, and so on, including stealing reputation, stealing fame, credit, awards, resources, and so on. In such cases, although the object has not left its original place, the information has entered one's own mind, and the reputation, fame, technology, and so forth have been transferred and become one's own—that counts as stealing; or copying information and text also counts as stealing. Any act of appropriation not permitted by the original owner constitutes stealing.
In a society of fierce competition, organizations large and small at every level, in order to compete for human resources, material resources, and technological and informational resources, resort to every conceivable means. Whatever is forcibly appropriated despite the other party's refusal and precautions constitutes stealing. Especially spies between nations—their profession is itself a profession of stealing, with extreme secrecy.
4. The Categories of Things That Can Be Stolen
The question of what can be stolen is very complex. The more modernized society becomes and the more self-centered people are, the more possessions sentient beings have—things unimaginable in the past are now possessed. Among these possessions, it is not only the material form that the eye can see and the body can touch, but also formless, immaterial dharmas that the eye cannot see and the body cannot touch, similar to information and the like. In fact, the scope of what can be stolen is extremely broad, encompassing all dharmas of the five aggregates and eighteen realms: the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness; the six faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses—covering all material form, mental dharmas, dharmas that are neither material nor mental, as well as the mind and mental factors. Counting them one by one in detail, they are simply too numerous to enumerate. The dharmas that can be stolen and that are stolen all belong to the dharmas within an individual's five aggregates and eighteen realms, belonging to the individual; if others forcibly appropriate them without the owner's consent, that is stealing.
The more advanced technology becomes in modern society, the more dharmas there are that can be stolen and that are stolen—beyond what people of ancient times would have dared to imagine. In ancient times, even if people committed theft, they stole material goods, or at most stole a person—hard, tangible objects. Nowadays, stealing tangible hardware is increasingly rare, while stealing intangible software is increasingly common. Let us enumerate them one by one below. Although they cannot be counted exhaustively or listed completely, a rough categorization can help Buddhist practitioners examine themselves in comparison, conduct self-inspection and self-reflection, repent in a timely manner, and eliminate as much karmic offense as possible, so as to remove obstacles on the path of practice, turn from evil toward good, reform the past, and cultivate the future.
Regarding the precept against stealing among the five precepts, the dharmas that can be stolen and that are stolen can be divided into the following categories: the first is tangible, material form; the second is intangible yet material form; the third is dharmas that are formless and immaterial, neither form nor mind; the fourth is mental dharmas; the fifth is mental factors (caittas).
The first category, tangible and material things, can be seen by the eye, touched by the body, heard by the ear, smelled by the nose, and tasted by the tongue—these are money, jewels, and various objects, all of which are material form, including the five-aggregate bodies and organs of humans and animals, as well as corpses and the like. These are all clear to everyone.
The second category, intangible yet material form, cannot be seen by the eye, heard by the ear, smelled by the nose, or tasted by the tongue, but can be touched by the body and perceived by the mind consciousness and the manas—for example, the magnetic fields inherent in the human body, and the energy fields, auras, and so forth cultivated by practitioners. A magnetic field is an invisible material energy; every living being has a different magnetic field, with different effects on people, having attributes of mutual generation and mutual restraint. Without the person's knowledge and permission, secretly stealing another's superior magnetic field energy to nourish oneself also counts as stealing. Not only magnetic fields, but also vitality, energy, essence, qi, spirit, and so on—appropriating and occupying them without permission all constitute stealing, such as extracting another's essence to replenish one's own qi, "drawing yin to supplement yang," and the like—all of these constitute stealing.
The third category, formless and immaterial dharmas, includes: reputation, fame, power, status, merit, image, moral character, patent rights, trademark rights, time, secrets, autonomy, decision-making rights, voting rights, and all other such rights and interests; appropriating the fruits of others' labor as one's own, such as monographs, papers, patents, inventions and creations, concepts, designs, and so forth. In detailed classification, these may be divided into many kinds; different kinds have different ownership.
The fourth category is mental dharmas: a thieving mind, deceiving others' feelings, deluding others' first seven consciousnesses to gain their trust, appropriating what others cherish, appropriating the dharmas that others perceive through seeing, hearing, knowing, and awareness, as well as using means to make others' perceptions produce illusions, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations.
The fifth category is mental factors: contact, attention (manaskāra), feeling, perception, volition; desire, determination (adhimokṣa), mindfulness, meditative concentration, wisdom; the eleven wholesome mental factors. For example, suppressing others' feelings, depriving others of their thoughts, making decisions and choices on others' behalf, appropriating others' ideas and views as one's own, and so on.
5. Stealing with Regard to Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch, and Dharmas
The content of offenses of stealing is varied, but it never goes beyond form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas. It is not only the visible objects that the eye can contact, but also the sounds the ear can contact, the scent-dust the nose can contact, the taste-dust the tongue can contact, and the touch-dust the body can contact. If two people are speaking quietly, the content of their conversation is certainly secret, not intended for others to know; then one must not deliberately eavesdrop—eavesdropping constitutes stealing.
Scent-dust and odors are volatile substances; if they belong to others and are precious, do not deliberately sniff them, especially fragrances offered to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the Three Jewels—sniffing them should be avoided. Fragrances offered to devas, ghosts and spirits, and non-humans must even less be sniffed, for that is equivalent to consuming food and drink. The taste-dust of food and drink is not easily stolen, but neither is it absolutely impossible. For example, when food has been prepared, tasting it first without permission [is stealing]. When patients are paralyzed in bed and cannot eat by themselves, needing to be fed, they also need to enjoy the flavor of their food; when feeding them, try not to taste the food, and it should be fed to them in its original flavor.
Stealing through touch-dust is less common, but it does occur. Taking the cold or warmth of implements near another person, or the warmth of their body, as well as bodily contact—without the other party's consent, this is stealing. Touching soft, delicate items without the owner's consent, causing them to become disordered or damaged; bedding, quilts, and other soft, comfortable items—touching and lying on them before the owner has used them—all constitute stealing. If the owner does not mind, it is not stealing; if the owner minds, it is an offense of stealing.
What is the situation of stealing dharma? Dharma includes the dharmas on the five sense objects, as well as subjectively imagined realms unrelated to the five sense objects. The dharmas on the five sense objects are form-dharmas subsumed under the dharma base (dharmāyatana), belonging to dharmas related to and resembling form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. For example, form as dharma-dust comprises the visible shape-colors, expressive colors, and non-expressive colors of material things—people's appearance, bearing, temperament, and so on; the posture and charm of flowers, and so on. If one appreciates and enjoys them without permission, one commits stealing. The expressive and non-expressive colors of sound are also dharma-dust; if without permission one listens to music without authorization, enjoying the beauty and pleasantness of sounds, one commits stealing. The same applies to smell, taste, and touch.
Dharma-dust unrelated to the five sense objects is non-material dharma; the five consciousnesses cannot know it, and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses cannot perceive it; only the solitary consciousness can be aware of it. At this point, the dharma-dust is a subjectively imagined realm, including the subjectively imagined realm in meditative concentration, the subjectively imagined realm in dreams, and the realms thought of and imagined by the distracted solitary consciousness that is neither in concentration nor in dream. Can this portion of content be stolen? Promoting others' mental states as one's own mental states, promoting others' meditative states and dream states as one's own states, promoting and using others' views as one's own views, promoting and using others' strategies, tactics, policies, and guiding principles as one's own—this is stealing dharma. If the other party has consented, instructed, and permitted it, and does not mind, then it is not stealing dharma.
Observing comprehensively, everywhere in the human world there is nothing but stealing. Human hearts are selfish and self-interested, seeking only personal comfort, never considering others; everywhere there is stealing, encroachment, and aggression. The greatest theft of sentient beings since beginningless kalpas is stealing form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—stealing all the treasures within the tathāgatagarbha—never knowing it themselves, feeling no shame, and giving no gratitude.
When the Buddha first taught the Dharma, he also touched upon wholesome dharmas, such as the five precepts and ten good deeds: fulfilling the five precepts gains a human body; perfecting the ten good deeds leads to rebirth in the heavens. This is the foundation for studying and practicing the Buddhadharma; on this foundation one then progressively cultivates the Āgama path of liberation—the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path. The Buddhadharma is wholesome dharma, including worldly wholesome dharma, but not merely worldly wholesome dharma, not merely the wholesome dharma of humans in Jambudvīpa of the Sahā world; most importantly, it is the supramundane wholesome dharma. Only by cultivating supramundane wholesome dharma can one extinguish ignorance, attain great liberation, and achieve the path to buddhahood.
6. The Scope of the Precept Against Stealing Among the Five Precepts
Whatever is obtained without the owner's permission—things that do not belong to oneself, that are not one's own, yet are appropriated as one's own—all constitute stealing. The scope of stealing is very broad, including stealing others' merit, stealing others' reputation, stealing others' achievements. For example, in a group, A is the number-one best person, but B claims to be the number-one best; B appropriates the reputation of being number-one best as his own, and A's reputation of being number-one best is taken over by B—B's conduct constitutes stealing A's reputation.
If a certain piece of work was clearly done by A, but B claims to have done it himself, B has stolen A's work achievements. If in a group A possesses a certain authority, but B unconsciously exercises that authority, B has stolen A's authority. Such stealing can also be called false speech; one set of bodily, verbal, and mental actions can touch upon two precepts, violating two precepts simultaneously.
7. Stealing Intangible Assets
Without the owner's permission, privately disseminating or selling personal, family, or organizational information also constitutes stealing. Freely spreading others' personal privacy or family privacy, or providing it to third parties—even between spouses, if one party is unwilling to have it disseminated and the other disseminates it privately—all of this violates privacy rights and constitutes stealing. The various confidential information of organizations, if obtained through various means and freely disseminated or traded, all constitutes stealing. Especially enterprises' technological information, various patents, and talent—if privately provided to third parties, or taken for one's own use, poaching talent and technology—all constitutes stealing. If one secretly installs surveillance equipment at the premises of others or organizations to steal relevant information, it constitutes the offense of stealing.
Stealing does not necessarily mean stealing objects; therefore, even if no phenomenon of the object leaving its original place occurs, a change in ownership or right of use also constitutes stealing. For example, if there is an agreement and contract between a company and its employees requiring employees to work eight or nine hours a day, or a certain number of hours, working a certain number of days per month, with the company paying a certain salary each month, plus overtime pay of a certain amount per hour or per day, and both parties agree, the contract takes effect. But if employees arrive late and leave early, slack off and shirk, so that the actual working time is greatly reduced while wages remain the same, this conduct constitutes stealing; if the total value created for the company is short by more than five ancient coins, it constitutes an offense of no repentance (pārājika). If performance is unaffected and the company suffers no loss, then it does not count as stealing.
On the other hand, if employees work diligently and conscientiously, fully completing each day's and each month's workload, but the company withholds wages without cause, the company also constitutes stealing; if it exceeds five ancient coins, the company's main leaders and responsible persons commit an offense of no repentance. There are many similar matters in society and the workplace, too numerous to count.
Stealing also includes tax evasion, keeping false accounts, poaching people from other enterprises, poaching clients, and stealing business—there is too much of this content to enumerate. Tax evasion not only violates national law but also violates the precept against stealing. Every citizen living within a nation's territory should abide by the nation's laws, rules, and regulations—whether non-Buddhists or Buddhists, whether secular organizations or Buddhist organizations—all should abide by the laws and regulations of their locality. Buddhist organizations and individuals should be no exception. Some Buddhist organizations have certain revenues, such as incense offerings and the like; according to law, taxes should be paid, except for the tax-exempt portions of monastic organizations; for the non-exempt portions, tax evasion exceeding five ancient coins constitutes a violation of the precept. If one engages in business involving the property of the Three Jewels, such as sutra books and Buddha statues, this violates the Buddha's regulations—it is trafficking in the Three Jewels, violating both national law and the Buddhist Vinaya.
8. Stealing Is the Act of Depriving Others of What They Cherish
Once we have summarized the contents of stealing and clearly expounded the acts of stealing, we will know how many people in the world actually commit theft and how widespread the phenomenon of stealing is—including Buddhist practitioners. Only the noble-minded do not steal; the noble-minded can practice "not looking at what is improper, not listening to what is improper," and understand "do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself." But how many noble-minded people are there in the world? The noble-minded of ancient times had pure bodies and pure minds, were pure-hearted with few desires, indifferent to fame and fortune, without contention with the world; generally they would not have the mental conduct of stealing. They knew how to respect others and would not deprive sentient beings of their possessions. Nowadays, many pet owners sterilize their pet cats and dogs—all of this counts as depriving cats and dogs of their reproductive rights without their consent. If one respects sentient beings, one will not violate them, and there will be no mind or conduct of stealing. Selfish, domineering, and overbearing people frequently violate sentient beings' interests, potentially violating them at every moment and place, without knowing it themselves.
Any single precept, taken out and examined, is extremely deep and subtle. If one has the conditions, environment, and merit to fulfill every precept, one can truly bind the manas tightly with the precepts, becoming无心 toward unlawful matters; gradually one becomes无心 even toward matters that are not unlawful, and one's practice of the Path advances. The noble-minded do not deprive others of what they cherish. Nowadays people in the world have blazing greed, compete for superiority, crave grandeur and credit, have strong desires for self-display, and all want to be above others—can such people avoid depriving and violating sentient beings? Everyone wants to highlight themselves, proving themselves by belittling others; their hearts are not sufficiently kind.
9. When the Mind Does Not Transgress Boundaries, One Does Not Commit Stealing
According to the Bodhisattva Precepts, as long as one mentally considers money, possessions, reputation, retinue, and all other dharmas that do not belong to oneself as one's own, one has already violated the precept against stealing. For example, mentally coveting others' family members constitutes stealing people. Mentally intending to secretly bask in others' glory or use others' things—that is already violating the precept. A person of pure mind not only does not transgress boundaries in behavior, but their thoughts are also pure and do not transgress boundaries; the mind does not dwell on or long for things that do not belong to oneself. When the mind does not think of it, the behavior will not appear; therefore, cultivating the mind and guarding the mind is fundamental. If you have it, use it; if you do not have it, either strive for it or let the mind rest—never covet what belongs to others. Have backbone and integrity; do not be a thief, always living by stealing. When desires are great but abilities cannot keep up, one can only steal. When a person is too poor and has nothing, they can only steal; the poorer, the more they steal; the more they steal, the poorer they become—when will they ever escape poverty?
Only after receiving the precepts can it be called violating the precepts; for those who have not received the precepts, it is not called violating the precepts. Even so, all of this falls within the scope of being a decent person: whether or not one studies Buddhism, whether or not one has received the precepts, one should not have the mind or conduct of stealing—a person should be an upright person of noble character. Striving all day for fame and profit, rushing about until the end—it is all emptiness, creating karmic offenses in vain, gaining no personal benefit; of the myriad things, none can be taken along—only karma follows one.
10. Using Divination and Other Means to Probe Others' Information Constitutes Stealing
Using worldly supernatural powers, divination, and other improper means to obtain others' secrets and privacy constitutes stealing. Some people understand the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams and use them to calculate others' business secrets, corporate information, and information and resources requiring confidentiality. All such information generally belongs to the secrets of individuals and organizations; calculating and grasping others' information without consent constitutes stealing. If the value is significant, the offense committed is also significant; if the other party suffers losses in material interests or reputation, the offense is even greater and beyond repentance. Especially with regard to the Three Jewels, there must not be any thought or conduct of secret prying whatsoever; do not try every possible means to probe, speculate about, and calculate matters one is not permitted to know. Be an upright person; when the mind is upright and the person is upright, and one is virtuous and esteemed, only then can one become a sage.
Ghosts and spirits privately intruding into and occupying others' living space constitutes stealing; producing counterfeit and shoddy products, abusing authority, and impersonating others also constitute stealing. America emphasizes human rights; if each person's most basic legitimate rights as a human being are used, encroached upon, or deprived by others, it also constitutes stealing—except for those sanctioned by law and for illegitimate, improper rights. Parents making decisions on behalf of their children, children making decisions on behalf of their parents, without each other's knowledge—even if known, they would not consent—people making decisions on each other's behalf without notifying the other party also constitutes stealing, the act of stealing the other's autonomy.
People's use of the basic conditions for survival on Earth is each person's equal human right and should not be deprived for any reason or in any form; otherwise, it constitutes stealing. For example, a public area belonging to the public domain or under government management, if privately fenced off by an individual for a parking lot with compulsory fees charged—the individual, having no right to gain profit, has profited; this is stealing. Those skilled in scheming, who only want to take and never to give, have the mind of stealing; even having the mind to take advantage is the mind of stealing.
The stronger a person's sense of self, the less they respect others, not taking others seriously, and will forcibly substitute for others, violate others, offend others, suppress others, and exploit others. Modern commercial wars, various wars—what are they in essence? Wars of deprivation and wars of aggression, all constituting stealing. Many matters, whether by individuals or nations, due to ignorance and blazing desires, result in committing theft.
11. The Phenomenon of Stealing in the Three Evil Destinies
Beings in the three evil destinies are the poorest among the six destinies. Beings in the hells, due to extreme suffering, have no way to create evil karma, and therefore there is no talk of stealing among them. Beings among the hungry ghosts, because they have supernatural powers, are prone to develop stealing; some devour human essence and vitality, some attach themselves to human bodies, using all of humans' livelihood implements—this is living by stealing life. As for animals, first, they devour one another; second, they depend on humans—either being raised by humans, or stealing human foodstuffs. A few species of animals live by relying on nature, such as bees gathering flowers to make honey, silkworms eating mulberry leaves, cattle and sheep eating grass—these do not live by stealing; yet it is precisely these animals that are schemed against by humans. For example, bees laboriously make honey, and in the end, the honey is stolen by humans and other animals. Animals generally survive by stealing, robbing, and fighting; their habits are fixed because, being poor and incapable, they have no other way.
When animals' evil karma temporarily expires and their blessings are sufficient for rebirth as humans, they temporarily become human, yet they carry over the animal habit of stealing without much of human habits; therefore, most people also steal from one another. Because they are accustomed to it, they do not consider it wrong, even regarding it as a matter of course—the evil person does not know they are evil, and the mentally ill person does not know they have a mental illness; it is just like this.
People who descend from the heavenly realms are generally aloof and proud, magnanimous, delighting in giving and charity, disdaining to use others' things, with a fastidiousness of mind and a fastidiousness of body, never doing the lowly deed of stealing.
12. Stealing Related to Animals
The contents of stealing include all dharmas in the secular world that do not belong to oneself—people, matters, things, principles, and information that are not one's own; if one privately takes them into one's hands, it constitutes stealing. Wanting to possess what is not one's own without the owner's consent all constitutes stealing. There are two kinds of stealing: stealing with knowledge and stealing without knowledge; the former carries heavier offense, the latter lighter.
Someone asked whether shearing wool counts as stealing. Shearing the wool of one's own family's sheep does not constitute stealing, because it benefits the sheep and the sheep are willing to be shorn; but shearing the wool of someone else's sheep is stealing. What about gathering wool from wild sheep? The wool belongs to the sheep itself; in this case, it depends on whether the sheep likes being shorn. If being shorn feels physically comfortable and the sheep does not object, it is not stealing; if the sheep avoids being shorn but one shears it by force, it is stealing the sheep's wool.
This differs from taking honey. Bees, whether kept by anyone or not, guard their own honey and do not want anyone to take it away, nor do they want humans to secretly substitute white sugar for it; therefore, whoever takes honey commits stealing. After the honey seller has stolen the honey as personal property, the honey buyer no longer commits stealing, but owes a debt to the bees, which must be repaid later with high multiples of interest. As for those who kill animals and sell meat, they not only commit the offense of killing but also the offense of stealing; those who buy meat, although without the offense of stealing, owe a debt to the animals, to be repaid in the future with high interest. Wearing fur and leather shoes makes one both an accomplice to killing and a debtor to the animals, to be repaid in the future with high multiples of interest.
The eggs sold in markets today generally have no life and cannot hatch chicks; therefore, eating them does not constitute killing, but one owes a debt to the hens that must be repaid. However, the more eggs people eat, the more the chicken farmers abuse the hens, and the more the hens suffer; the more people toil the hens, the greater the debt owed to them. If everyone stopped eating or ate fewer eggs, the hens would lay eggs according to conditions and not be abused.
13. Does Digging Up and Using Minerals and Plants Count as Stealing?
The minerals and plants in the world belong to the category of insentient things; their owner is all sentient beings, including animals; therefore, all sentient beings may dig up and use them, but must not affect or hinder others' use. As long as one does not use up the minerals and plants, does not cut off other beings' enjoyment of them, and does not exceed the amount of use, one does not commit stealing. For things naturally occurring in the mountains, it is permissible for some beings to dig them up; but if the roots are also dug out, so that such a substance cannot regenerate and becomes extinct, this constitutes stealing, violating the rights and interests of all beings.
Some minerals and plants are designated by the state as exploitable, developable, and usable only by the state; what belongs to the state belongs to all citizens, and if individuals take and use them, it is stealing from the state and from all citizens. Some mountain forests and the like are contracted out to organizations and individuals, and thus belong to those organizations and individuals; if the organizations and individuals do not permit others to freely dig up and use things from the mountains, violating this constitutes stealing the possessions of the organizations and individuals; if they permit private digging, it is not stealing.
In the areas where residents live, if residents are required to conserve water, and each household's maximum monthly water usage is stipulated and must not be exceeded, then if residents' water usage exceeds the limits set locally or by the state, it constitutes stealing—moreover, stealing the state's public resources. Even though residents pay for the excess portion and do not use it for free, they have still privately appropriated more than their share of water. Because clean water resources are limited, scarce resources for the nation and the whole world, resources protected by the state and the world, belonging to the state and the world in common, the portion privately used in excess constitutes stealing public resources.
14. The Retribution for Stealing
If one has the intention to steal something, as soon as the object is moved from its original place, the act of stealing is accomplished. From the left hand to the right hand—there is a difference in position, so it has left its original place. As for position, as long as the owner cannot find it, cannot recognize it, and does not become suspicious, it counts as having left its original place. With the same object, when its position changes, a person of cultivation will not casually claim it or casually take it. A person without cultivation, regardless of where the object is or whether it is their own, just takes it, caring about nothing else—regardless of whose it is or whether it is useful, they will treat it as their own and use it at will.
Stealing is something almost no one can avoid; it is done too casually. Following along with such afflictions, one's own loss is great—at least a thousandfold repayment—and one will also receive the retribution of poverty. Stealing things from a monastery or from a person of virtue is not a matter of a thousandfold—a ten-thousandfold repayment is a minimum, and a hundred-thousandfold, millionfold, ten-millionfold, or immeasurablefold repayment is all possible. When you want to steal something, weigh it carefully—do not suffer a great loss. Furthermore, never steal from public organizations or from the state; there are too many people to repay, and it is simply unpayable, and one will be poor life after life. When working for an organization, if there is no remuneration, no wages or rewards, do not complain—it may be that you are repaying a debt.
15. How to Repay Debts After Stealing?
Question: Many, many years ago, I stole a box of toothpicks from a restaurant. Now I want to buy a new box to compensate—does this count as repaying the debt?
Answer: Besides compensating at the original price with the original item, interest should also be added, because the value of goods has changed now; the same item has depreciated—a box today is not worth a box in the past. One must also consider the other party's losses and the impact this matter produced; the compensation should be considerably more. One must also consider that the item at the time may have been useful and valuable to the owner, whereas the item now, even with ten times the quantity, may be of no use to the original owner—meaning it has no value; compensating tenfold or a hundredfold would still be of no avail. One can only see what the original owner specifically needs now, and then decide on the compensation.
Sometimes one must also consider the other party's emotional suffering. For some people, losing something has little psychological impact; for others, the psychological impact is very great. A few individuals may develop mental illness or even lose their lives; the psychological is of greater and heavier value than the material. Never provoke those with weak psychological endurance or those in poor emotional states; if doing so results in various psychological disorders, that is not something that can be compensated with money.
Can the merit gained from the generosity of giving away possessions offset the loss of merit from past stealing? Each case must be analyzed specifically, depending on the value of the two kinds of items and one's two kinds of intentions. Setting aside the value of the items, consider the intention: with what state of mind one gives and how broad one's mind is determines the size of the merit gained; with what state of mind one stole in the past, and whether one had a sense of guilt, determines the size of the karmic offense and the amount of merit lost. Comparing the two, plus the interest accrued, one will know whether offense and merit can offset each other.
16. Does Picking Up Things Count as Stealing?
If one has lost valuables on the road and is not attached to them, having already given up ownership, then if someone picks them up and keeps them, it does not constitute stealing. If one cares about and is very attached to the valuables, with the manas unwilling to give up ownership, and keeps searching for them, then if someone picks up the valuables and does not return them to the original owner, it constitutes stealing. When one person is happy, it is precisely when another is unhappy; therefore, Bodhisattvas do not wish to pick things up on the road, do not wish for people to lose things, and do not wish for sentient beings to give rise to afflictions—just as a doctor practices medicine to cure illness but does not wish for more and more patients, and does not wish for more and more medicine to be sold. But if one truly encounters something someone has lost, one must pick it up; after picking it up, find a way to return it to the owner, so the owner is not anxious and sad—this too is charity and compassion.
If items have already been discarded by others and thrown into the garbage, anyone may freely pick them up and use them; this is not stealing. Because the owner's manas has already abandoned the things, the items are ownerless and may be freely taken and used. In the Buddha's time, monastics would pick up discarded rags and shrouds from piles of the dead, wash them clean, patch them up, and wear them as monastic robes. Those monastics were all empty of self, viewing even material form as empty, and did not despise the worn-out clothing they picked up.
If someone gives something away and then regrets it, forcibly demanding it back on the grounds that it is their own thing, this constitutes stealing. Because after the thing has been given away, ownership has already changed hands—you are no longer the owner of that object; if you forcibly demand it back, it constitutes forcible seizure and stealing.
