Bird Poaching Offense

The original text from the Upāsaka Śīla Sūtra, Section Two: Furthermore, regarding birds kept in a pond by an owner: If an Upāsaka (lay devotee) with a thieving mind presses the bird down into the pond water, he commits a redeemable offense. If he lifts it out of the pond water, he commits an irredeemable offense. If a bird kept by someone's household flies into a wild pond, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind lifts it out of the water or sinks it to the bottom, he commits an irredeemable offense in both cases. Also, if an Upāsaka sees ornaments for inner and outer adornment on a pavilion, and owned birds carry these objects away, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes these birds, he commits an irredeemable offense.

Commentary: There is an owner who keeps birds in pond water. If an Upāsaka with a thieving mind presses a bird down into the pond water, he commits a redeemable offense. If he takes the bird outside the pond water, he commits an irredeemable offense. If a bird kept by someone else's household flies into a wild pond, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind gets the bird out of the water or sinks it to the bottom, he commits an irredeemable offense in both cases. Again, an Upāsaka sees ornaments for inner and outer adornment on a pavilion, and some owned birds carry these adornments away as they fly off. The Upāsaka, with a thieving mind, catches these birds and commits an irredeemable offense.

Why did the Upāsaka catch the birds? To obtain the adornments. Why did he want to obtain the adornments? Because of craving; he had greed. Why did he have greed? Firstly, because there is ego-view (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), and secondly, because he considered self-interest as real and existing.

Original text: If he sees a bird carrying a treasure and flying away, and with a thieving mind he waits from afar at that time, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. If by the power of a spell he causes the bird to go wherever he wishes, he commits an irredeemable offense. If it goes elsewhere, he commits a moderately redeemable offense.

Commentary: If he sees a bird carrying a treasure and flying in the air, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind waits from afar for the bird to fly towards him, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. Why? Because he had the thieving mind and took preparatory action (prayoga), but the object was not obtained; the theft was not completed, so the offense is redeemable. If he waits and the bird comes, and he obtains the treasure, he commits an irredeemable offense. If he uses the power of a spell to make the bird go to the place he desires in order to obtain the treasure, he commits an irredeemable offense. This is because the act of theft is completed, and the object is obtained. If the bird goes to another place, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. Because although he had the thieving mind and took preparatory means, he did not obtain the object, so the theft offense is not fully accomplished.

Original text: If a wild bird carries away a treasure and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes the wild bird to take it, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. While waiting for the wild bird, he commits a slightly redeemable offense. Also, if wild birds carry away a treasure and owned birds seize it from the wild birds, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes the owned bird to take it, he commits an irredeemable offense. While waiting for the bird, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. The rest is as above. Also, if owned birds carry away a treasure and it is seized by a wild bird, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes the wild bird to take it, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. While waiting for the bird, he also commits a moderately redeemable offense. The rest is also the same as above.

Commentary: If a wild bird carries away a treasure and flies off, and an Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes the wild bird to take the treasure, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. While waiting for the wild bird to fly towards him intending to seize the treasure, he commits a slightly redeemable offense. Again, if wild birds carrying a treasure are robbed by owned birds, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes the owned bird to take the treasure, he commits an irredeemable offense. If the Upāsaka with a thieving mind waits for the owned bird carrying the treasure to fly towards him intending to seize the treasure, he commits a moderately redeemable offense. The rest is as stated above.

Again, if an owned bird carrying a treasure flies away and the treasure is seized by a wild bird, and the Upāsaka with a thieving mind seizes the treasure from the wild bird, he commits a moderately redeemable offense, because the treasure now belongs to the ownerless bird, so the offense of seizing it is lighter. If he waits for the wild bird carrying the object to fly towards him, he also commits a moderately redeemable offense. The rest is the same as stated above.

When a wild bird carries a treasure, the treasure belongs to the wild bird. When an owned bird carries a treasure, the treasure belongs not only to the bird but also to the bird's owner. Therefore, the offense of stealing an object from a wild bird is lighter, while stealing an object from an owned bird is heavier. This holds true regardless of how the wild birds and owned birds interact in seizing the treasure from each other.