The Offense of Causing a Person to Die Quickly, and the Offense of Killing a Thief

Original text of the first section of the Upāsaka Five Precepts Sūtra:又一人被截手足。置着城堑中。又众女人来入城中。闻是啼哭声。便往就观。共相谓言。若有能与是人药浆饮。使得时死。则不久受苦。中有愚直女人。便与药浆。即死。诸女言。汝犯戒。不可悔。即白。

Explanation: A man had his four limbs cut off by someone and was thrown into a moat within the city. Then a group of women came into the city, heard the sound of crying, and went over to see what was going on. Upon seeing the man in the moat, they discussed among themselves: "If anyone could give this man some medicinal potion to drink so that he dies right away, he would not have to suffer much longer." Among this group there was a foolish and simple-minded woman who immediately brought medicinal potion and fed it to the man in the moat, and after drinking it, he died. At that point the other women said: "You have broken the precept; this is an offense that cannot be repented." The foolish woman immediately openly confessed her wrongdoing before the assembly.

Original text:若人捉贼。欲将杀。贼得走去。若以官力。若聚落力。追逐是贼。若居士逆道来。追者问居士言。汝见贼不。是居士先于贼有恶心瞋恨。语言。我见在是处。以是因缘令贼失命者。犯不可悔。

Explanation: If someone catches a thief and wants to kill him, but the thief seizes the chance to escape—if the officials' forces, or the forces of the village, pursue this thief, and the upāsaka comes along the road from the opposite direction, and the pursuers ask the upāsaka: "Did you see the thief?"—and because the upāsaka had previously harbored malicious thoughts and hatred toward the thief, he answers: "I saw him over there," then because of the upāsaka's reporting, the thief is caught and loses his life, and the upāsaka commits an offense that cannot be repented.

Original text:若人将众多贼欲杀。是贼得走者。若以官力。若聚落力追逐。是居士逆道来。追者问居士言。汝见贼不。是贼中或有一人。是居士所瞋者。言我见在是处。若杀非所瞋者。是罪可悔。余如上说。

Explanation: If someone catches many thieves and wants to kill them all, but the thieves seize the chance to escape—if the officials' forces or the forces of the village pursue the thieves, and the upāsaka comes along the road of pursuit from the opposite direction, and the pursuers ask the upāsaka: "Did you see those thieves?"—and because among those thieves there may be one whom the upāsaka hates, the upāsaka says: "I saw them over there." As a result, those thieves are caught. If the officials kill those whom the upāsaka does not hate, the upāsaka commits an offense that can be repented. The rest is the same as what was said before and may be referred to.

Why does the upāsaka commit an offense that can be repented? Because the upāsaka's original intention did not include wishing for those people to die; the deaths of those thieves were caused by him unintentionally, so his offense can be repented. If the person he hated was killed, then the upāsaka would commit an offense that cannot be repented, because that was what the upāsaka wished for—there was subjective intent.