The Karmic Retribution for the Crime of Stealing Temple Property: Falling into the Avīci Hell

All things in heaven and earth—taking them is stealing, because ownership does not belong to any individual's five aggregates (pañca-skandha); their true owner is the master of all things in heaven and earth—the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, any grasping by the five aggregates is karmic action of birth and death, and carries karmic retribution of birth and death; the only differences lie in the weight of the karmic actions and their wholesome or unwholesome nature. But whether wholesome or unwholesome, as long as it is a conditioned phenomenon (saṃskṛta dharma), it will inevitably summon the suffering of birth and death. Not a single dharma among all things in heaven and earth belongs to the five aggregates—including the physical body and the conscious mind—all belong to the tathāgatagarbha, this jewel of the Buddha. Therefore, grasping any dharma in the world is stealing the property of the Three Jewels. Only after completely and thoroughly eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) can one avoid violating the precept against stealing; only by not violating any precept against stealing can one become a Buddha.

As a practitioner, one must not steal the property of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the Three Jewels, must not steal the possessions of any sages, must not steal the possessions of humans and heavenly beings, nor steal the possessions of non-humans, asuras, ghosts and spirits, and animals—one must not violate or seize any sentient being's ownership, right of use, or title to any object. The general principle is: as long as something is not one's own, one must never covet it, possess it, or grasp it. The scope of so-called objects is extremely broad; in summary it is called dharmas, including material form (rūpa), mind, and things that are neither material nor mental, tangible and intangible dharmas, dharmas with marks and dharmas without marks. As long as one grasps this general principle, all precepts against stealing can be upheld, without violating even the slightest. What kind of state is this? It is the state of a great and supreme sage who has exhausted all ignorance and afflictions. Who could such a sage be if not the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas?

Original text of the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra: 若有众生。偷窃常住财物谷米。饮食衣服。乃至一物不与取者。当堕无间地狱。千万亿劫。求出无期。

How many people have violated this rule in the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra? How many lay Buddhists, under the pretext of building temples, have embezzled tens of millions in money and property—how many times should they fall into the Avīci Hell for this? Those who steal the property of the Three Jewels should repent daily, repenting as much as they can, so as to avoid falling into the Avīci Hell and suffering immeasurably. Taking what is not given is stealing. Without the abbot's consent, taking and using on one's own authority the property of a temple or of monastics constitutes stealing the property of the Three Jewels; using and disposing of items offered to the Buddha without authorization also constitutes stealing the property of the Three Jewels. Beyond physical items, money, personnel, affairs, power, reputation, and so on—anything not permitted by the abbot or the person in charge, but disposed of and used on one's own authority, constitutes stealing the property of the Three Jewels.

If one enters a temple without greeting the abbot or the person in charge, does casually drinking tea count as stealing? When you arrive at a temple, you cannot casually eat and drink as if it were your own home. The temple's property belongs to the sangha of the ten directions; the owner of the property is the sangha of the ten directions. Drinking tea casually without the owner's consent is stealing—taking what is not given. Even tea used to entertain guests is not something anyone can casually drink anytime and anywhere. Rules exist everywhere; violating the rules counts as breaking the precepts. If the owner has not consented to drinking tea, then brewing and drinking tea on one's own initiative counts as stealing. Moreover, brewing tea requires water and electricity, and of course tea leaves—all of which are property of the sangha of the ten directions. If the person in charge of hospitality has not consented, brewing and drinking tea on one's own constitutes stealing.

If a temple does not set up a donation box, is it good to offer free vegetarian meals? Even though free meals require no payment, whatever one consumes still counts as debt. Debts owed to ordinary people must be repaid a thousandfold; debts owed to practitioners of the Way must be repaid tens of millions of times over, even immeasurably many times; debts owed to the Three Jewels must be repaid countless times over.