The Various Manifestations of Theft

What is obtained unlawfully is stealing. The two words "unlawful" are crucial and very important. A person of virtue, no matter what they love, must obtain it by proper means — it must be acquired openly and honorably through the right path, not obtained through crooked ways, not taken or gained unlawfully. Therefore, before teaching the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), the Buddha taught the cultivation of the Eightfold Noble Path; without the Eightfold Noble Path, one cannot eradicate the view of self.

Selling the Three Jewels' property, evading taxes, operating a business illegally, and violating the nation's laws and regulations are all acts of stealing. A true bodhisattva, a true practitioner, will never violate the nation's laws and regulations; to a certain extent, one should comply with the rules and regulations of the nation and the locality and not act contrary to them. Tax evasion infringes upon the interests of the nation and all its citizens; what is owed is a debt to the nation and all its citizens, and what will be repaid in the future is a debt to the nation and all its citizens — principal plus interest, an enormous amount, with extremely serious consequences.

Although a monastery is a public place that lay Buddhist practitioners may generally visit, at times the monastery needs tranquility and does not receive lay visitors. If one clearly knows one should not go, yet insists on going to the monastery and disturbing it, this also counts as stealing — stealing the time and energy of the monastics, disrupting their practice and various affairs. Whatever loss the monastery suffers, that is how much the layperson has stolen and misused.

For items offered to the Buddha, if one has already firmly resolved in one's mind that they are offerings to the Buddha, one should set them aside for the time being and present them to the Buddha when the proper time for offering arrives. Being firmly resolved in the mind means the manas has already made the decision, which is equivalent to relinquishing one's right of possession over the item. Then, whether or not the item is actually offered to the Buddha, it belongs to the Buddha. If for some reason one takes it back for one's own use, that is misusing the Buddha's property. If you have promised to give something to someone and the other person has accepted, the manas of both parties has completed the transfer; at that point, no matter whose hands the item is in, its ownership belongs to the other person. If, by the agreed final deadline, you still have not handed the item over to the other person, and you have decided not to give it, that constitutes stealing the other person's property.

When eating at a monastery, if the monastery has not stipulated that meals are free of charge, then eating without paying is equivalent to stealing the monastery's food, as well as the time and labor of the staff in the dining hall. If one frequently visits the monastery to drink tea with the monastics but never brings tea or reciprocates with corresponding items, then if the monastics do so willingly of their own accord, this behavior only constitutes owing a debt; if the monastics are not willing, it constitutes stealing the monastics' tea and time. Casually taking up a monastic's time and interfering with their practice and affairs has very bad consequences. Stealing from a monastery or from monastics brings karmic retribution many, many times greater than stealing from laypeople.

If a monastery has intentionally placed sutras and other dharma-sharing items somewhere, those are freely given to everyone as connections with the Dharma, and one may take them of one's own accord without informing the monastery's supervising personnel. Certain items are managed by designated personnel; if you wish to use them, you must obtain the consent of the designated personnel. If someone is not the designated manager, then even their consent is invalid — taking the item would constitute stealing. One must also consider whether the person giving consent has the corresponding authority; one cannot simply find any random person to give permission. If the person who gives consent handles the matter wrongly, they too must bear responsibility and are subject to cause and effect, and may even be guilty of wrongdoing.

Everyone, whether at home, at their workplace, in a monastery, or in any public place, must be clear about who the owner of each item is, and must not infringe upon the owner's rights of ownership — before using something, first ask its owner. This includes not infringing upon or offending the rights of ownership of one's own family members — parents, children, and spouse. This is the cultivation and virtue of being a good person. If one lives with purity, one will surely receive pure karmic retribution.