The Crime of Homicide by Means of Witchcraft

Section One of the Upāsaka Śīla Sūtra Original Text:

As for taking life: On the twenty-ninth day, smear the ground with cow dung. Place food and drink upon it. After lighting a fire, immediately place it in water. If one mentally focuses and orally recites, uttering the mantra, saying: "Just as this fire is extinguished in water, if the fire goes out, that person's life will also be extinguished." Furthermore, on the twenty-ninth day, smear the ground with cow dung and place food and drink upon it. Draw an image of the person one wishes to kill. After making the image, immediately scatter and destroy it. Mentally focus and orally recite, uttering the mantra, saying: "Just as this image is destroyed, may that person's life also be destroyed. If the image is destroyed, his life will be extinguished along with it." Furthermore, on the twenty-ninth day, smear the ground with cow dung and place food and drink upon it. Pierce the corner of a garment with a needle. Immediately pull it out. Mentally focus and orally recite, uttering the mantra, saying: "Just as this needle is pulled out, so may his life be pulled out." This is called taking life. If one kills by using various mantras, one commits the unpardonable offense (pārājika). If the person does not die, it is a middling, pardonable offense (dukkata).

Explanation:

One who uses mantras to take a human life does so on the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month by smearing the ground with cow dung and placing food and drink upon the cow dung. After lighting a fire, one immediately places it in water. If one mentally focuses and orally recites the mantra, saying: "Just as this fire is extinguished in water, if the fire goes out, that person's life will also be extinguished." Again, on the twenty-ninth day, one smears the ground with cow dung, places food and drink upon it, and draws an image of the person one wishes to kill. After completing the image, one immediately scatters and destroys the image. Mentally focusing and orally reciting the mantra, one says: "Just as this image is destroyed, may that person's life be destroyed. If the image is destroyed, his life will be extinguished along with it." Again, on the twenty-ninth day, one smears the ground with cow dung, places food and drink upon it, pierces the corner of a garment with a needle, and immediately pulls it out. Mentally focusing and orally reciting the mantra, one says: "Just as this needle is pulled out, so may his life be pulled out." This is using mantras to take life. If one kills a person by using various mantras, one commits the unpardonable offense of killing. If one does not succeed in killing the person, one commits a middling, pardonable offense.