The Scope of the Precept Against Stealing in the Five Precepts

Anything obtained without the owner's permission—something that does not belong to oneself, yet one takes possession of it as one's own—constitutes stealing. The scope of stealing is very broad, including stealing another person's merit, stealing another person's reputation, stealing another person's achievements. For example, in a group, person A is the best, but person B claims to be the best; B takes the reputation of being the best for himself, and A's reputation of being the best is thus appropriated by B—B's conduct constitutes stealing A's reputation.

If a certain piece of work was clearly done by A, but B claims he did it himself, B has stolen A's work achievement. In a group, if A holds a certain authority, but B exercises that authority without realizing it, B has stolen A's authority. Such stealing can also be called false speech; one set of bodily, verbal, and mental actions can touch upon two precepts, thereby violating two precepts at once.

Without the owner's permission, privately disseminating or selling information about individuals, families, and groups also constitutes stealing. Freely spreading other people's personal privacy or family privacy, or providing it to third parties—even between spouses, if one party is unwilling to have it disseminated and the other privately spreads it—violates the right to privacy and constitutes stealing. All kinds of confidential information of various groups, if obtained through various means and freely spread or traded, constitutes stealing. In particular, a company's technological information, various patents, and talent—if privately provided to third parties, or taken for one's own use, poaching talent and technology—all constitutes stealing. If one secretly installs surveillance equipment at another person's or group's premises to steal relevant information, it constitutes the offense of stealing.

Stealing does not necessarily mean stealing objects; therefore, even when there is no phenomenon of an object being removed from its original place, a change in ownership or right of use also constitutes stealing. For example, suppose there is an agreement and contract between a company and its employees requiring employees to work eight or nine hours a day, or a certain number of hours, working a certain number of days per month, with the company paying a certain monthly salary as remuneration, as well as overtime pay of a certain amount per hour or per day; both parties agree, and the contract takes effect. However, if the employee arrives late and leaves early, malingers and slacks off, so that the actual working time is greatly reduced while the salary remains the same, this conduct constitutes stealing; if the total value created for the company is reduced by more than five ancient coins, it constitutes an unredeemable offense. If the work performance is unaffected and the company suffers no loss, then it does not count as stealing.

On the other hand, if the employee works diligently and conscientiously, fully completing the daily and monthly workload, but the company withholds wages without cause, the company is also guilty of stealing; if it exceeds five ancient coins, the company's main leaders and responsible persons commit an unredeemable offense. There are many similar situations in society and the workplace, too numerous to count.

Stealing also includes tax evasion, keeping false accounts, poaching people from other enterprises, poaching clients, and stealing business—there is too much of this to enumerate. Tax evasion not only violates national law but also violates the precept against stealing. Every citizen living within a nation's territory should abide by the country's laws, rules, and regulations; whether non-Buddhists or Buddhists, whether secular groups or Buddhist groups, all should abide by the laws and regulations of the place where they reside. Buddhist groups and individuals should be no exception. Some Buddhist groups have certain revenues, such as incense offerings and the like, which should be taxed according to law; except for the tax-exempt portion of monastic groups, for the non-exempt portion, tax evasion exceeding five ancient coins constitutes a violation of the precepts. If one engages in business involving the property of the Three Jewels, it violates the Buddha's regulations—for example, selling sutra books, Buddha statues, and the like constitutes trafficking in the Three Jewels, violating both national law and the monastic discipline.