On the Offense of Grave Robbing and the Question of Making Offerings to the Buddha

Who owns the items stolen by tomb robbers? Whose things are they stealing? The items in a tomb all belong to the tomb's occupant. The tomb's occupant is the deceased, not the deceased's family members; the family members have the responsibility and right of guardianship and supervision. Grave goods all belong to the deceased, because grave goods are given to the deceased; in both principle and fact they belong to the deceased, and the deceased is the owner of the items in the tomb. The deceased has a manas and an ālayavijñāna, and can own grave goods—regardless of whether they can make use of them, and regardless of whether they are attached to these items. Until the grave goods decay, no one else is permitted to make use of them; unless the tomb's occupant appears in someone's dream to entrust instructions on how they should be used, taking them away constitutes theft, and even family members may not make use of them.

Although the deceased's body has perished and lost its function, the deceased is still a sentient being, with an imperishable manas and ālayavijñāna, and can own, guard, and use the grave goods. Even for a living person with a body, all items are likewise owned and used by the conscious mind; the body is used by the conscious mind, and the conscious mind ought to care for and cherish the body. Regardless of whether the owner is pleased or not, items forever belong to the owner; regardless of whether the dead person is attached to them, grave goods forever belong to the dead person. Even if the dead person becomes a ghost, an animal, or a deva, those items still belong to that person, and others may not casually take them away and use them, unless they exchange some other items as a substitute. For example, suppose you bought a set of furniture and put it in your home, and then went abroad to settle down, not necessarily to return. That set of furniture and the house still belong to you; regardless of whether the items are useful or not, whoever's things they are, they remain that person's things forever. Regardless of whether the owner is compassionate, generous, or magnanimous, unless the owner of the items permits it, anyone making use of them is committing theft.

For instance, the Buddha is the greatest, highest, and most venerable sage; the Buddha is the most compassionate and generous, without attachment and magnanimous. Yet the items offered to the Buddha belong to the Buddha, and casually taking them to use is stealing the Buddha's property. Stealing the Buddha's property or the property of the Three Jewels is countless times more serious than stealing an ordinary person's belongings; moreover, the more virtuous, compassionate, and generous a person is, the greater the sin of stealing from them. Therefore, guilt cannot be determined based on whether the owner is generous and magnanimous.

The conviction for the sin of stealing is not determined by the Buddha, nor by the Dharma-protecting deities, still less by the owner of the items; rather, it is determined by the law of cause and effect itself, with the tathāgatagarbha administering the law of cause and effect. The Buddha will not intervene in larger causes and consequences; as for smaller outcomes, it depends on the sincerity of the thief's repentance and their wholesome roots, as well as their karmic affinity with the Buddha. The Buddha can remove a portion of the obstructions, and the Dharma-protecting deities can shield a little, while the rest is repaid through cause and effect. Repentance is the most effective method for lightening karmic retribution; only by extinguishing the mind of stealing and eliminating the source of sinful karma at its root can the sinful karma be partially or entirely eliminated.

From this we can know that the items sentient beings offer to the Buddha belong to the Buddha; the Buddha is the owner of the items, and even the person who made the offerings may not casually take and use them, otherwise it is stealing the Buddha's property. If one wishes to use the items after they have been offered to the Buddha, one should tell the Buddha at the time of offering: "I offer these items to the Buddha and bodhisattvas. Buddha, after You have completed the Buddha's work and finished receiving the essence, I will take back the remaining husk for my own use; the parts the Buddha has no use for will be used by me." Having made this announcement, once the incense has finished burning, the offerings to the Buddha may be removed. Alternatively, one may substitute other items in exchange for the items the Buddha has used.

Since the Buddha receives the essence of the items, we should know what the essence is. Regarding this portion we must be careful never to touch it, but leave it for the Buddha; otherwise it is deceiving the Buddha. Deceiving the Buddha means this: the Buddha is supposed to smell the fragrance and taste the flavor, but if you first smell and taste the deliciousness and fragrance of the items you offered to the Buddha, then what the Buddha needs is gone, or there is no longer as much of it—eating before the Buddha is disrespectful to the Buddha, and one cannot gain merit. For items offered to the Buddha, if the Buddha uses them, sentient beings gain merit; if the Buddha does not use them, sentient beings still gain merit, because merit is gained through the sincere mind of making offerings to the Buddha in exchange—but the difference in merit gained is very great.