Tomb Robbery Is Also a Crime

To whom do the items stolen by tomb robbers belong? Whose things are they stealing? All items within a tomb belong to the tomb's owner. The owner is the deceased person, not the deceased's family members; the family members have the responsibility and right of guardianship and supervision. Because burial objects are given to accompany the deceased, in principle and in fact they belong to the deceased; therefore the deceased is the owner of the items in the tomb.

Although the deceased's body has perished and is no longer functional, the deceased is still a sentient being, with the manas and the Ālayavijñāna not extinguished, and can own, guard, and use the burial objects—regardless of whether they can be put to use, and regardless of whether there is attachment to these items. Until the burial objects decay, others are not permitted to touch them; unless the tomb's owner appears in someone's dream to entrust instructions on how to use them, taking them away without permission constitutes theft, and even family members may not make use of them. Even for a living person with a body, all items are likewise owned and used by the conscious mind; the body is used by the conscious mind, and the conscious mind should accordingly care for and cherish the body. Whether the owner is pleased or not, the items forever belong to the owner.

Even if the dead person has become a ghost, an animal, or a deva, those items still belong to that person, and others may not casually take them away and use them, unless something is exchanged as a substitute. For example, suppose you bought a set of furniture and placed it in your home, and then you went abroad to settle down, perhaps never to return; that set of furniture and that house still belong to you. Regardless of whether the items are useful, whosever things they are, they remain that person's things forever. Regardless of whether the owner is compassionate or not, generous or not, magnanimous or not, only with the owner's permission may the items be used and disposed of; otherwise, anyone who makes use of them is guilty of misappropriation.