The Offense of Causing Premature Death, The Offense of Killing a Perfected One

Section One of the Upāsaka Śīla Sūtra: The Five Precepts

Original Text:

Again, a man had his hands and feet cut off and was placed in the city moat. Then, a group of women entered the city. Hearing the sound of weeping, they went to look. Seeing the man in the moat, they said to each other: "If anyone could give this man a medicinal brew to drink, causing him to die quickly, he would not suffer much longer." Among them was a simple-minded woman who immediately gave him the medicinal brew, and he died. The other women said: "You have violated the precept. It is unpardonable." She immediately confessed.

Explanation:

A man had his limbs severed by someone and was thrown into a ditch within the city. Then, a group of women walking into the city heard weeping and went to investigate. Upon seeing the man in the ditch, they discussed among themselves: "If anyone could give this man some medicine to make him die immediately, he would no longer suffer." Among them was a foolishly straightforward woman who promptly brought a medicinal brew and fed it to the man. After drinking it, the man died. At this point, the other women said: "You have violated the precept, committing an unpardonable offense." The foolish woman immediately confessed her transgression before the group.

Original Text:

If someone catches a thief intending to kill him, but the thief escapes. Then, with official authority or the force of the community, they pursue this thief. If a lay devotee (upāsaka) comes from the opposite direction on the road, and the pursuers ask him: "Have you seen the thief?" If this lay devotee previously harbored malicious hatred toward the thief and says: "I saw him over there," and because of this, the thief loses his life, the lay devotee commits an unpardonable offense.

Explanation:

If someone catches a thief intending to kill him, but the thief manages to escape. Then, using official authority or the force of the village/community, they pursue this thief. If a lay devotee (upāsaka) approaches from the opposite direction on the pursuit path, and the pursuers ask him: "Have you seen the thief?" If this lay devotee previously held malicious hatred toward the thief and replies: "I saw him at that place," and because the lay devotee revealed the thief’s location, the thief is caught and loses his life, then the lay devotee commits an unpardonable offense.

Original Text:

If someone catches a group of thieves intending to kill them, but the thieves escape. Then, with official authority or the force of the community, they pursue these thieves. If a lay devotee comes from the opposite direction on the road, and the pursuers ask him: "Have you seen the thieves?" If among these thieves there is one whom the lay devotee resents, and he says: "I saw them over there," but if those killed are not the ones he resented, the offense is pardonable. The rest is as stated above.

Explanation:

If someone catches a group of thieves intending to kill them all, but the thieves manage to escape. Then, using official authority or the force of the village/community, they pursue the thieves. If a lay devotee approaches from the opposite direction on the pursuit path, and the pursuers ask him: "Have you seen those thieves?" If among those thieves there is one person whom the lay devotee resents, and he says: "I saw them at that place," resulting in the thieves being caught, but if the authorities kill those whom the lay devotee did not resent, then the lay devotee commits a pardonable offense. The rest is the same as stated above and may be referenced accordingly.

Why is the lay devotee’s offense pardonable?

Because the lay devotee did not originally intend for those people to die; the death of the thieves was unintentionally caused by him, thus his offense is pardonable. If the person he resented had been killed, the lay devotee would commit an unpardonable offense, because this was what he desired—it was a deliberate intention.