The conviction of sins and their karmic retribution are not determined by the Buddha

The Buddha is the most compassionate, most magnanimous, and most venerable sage in the three realms, able to forgive all sentient beings and never holding anything against any sentient being. If sentient beings casually take and use items that belong to the Buddha, objectively speaking this amounts to stealing the Buddha's possessions, and the offense incurred is the gravest. Defining this act as stealing the Buddha's possessions, and the resulting evil consequences and retributions that follow, is not a matter of whether the Buddha is forgiving or not; it is governed and determined by the law of cause and effect, not set or decided by the Buddha. Stealing the Buddha's possessions or the possessions of the Three Jewels is countless times more serious than stealing the possessions of ordinary sentient beings, and the more virtuous, compassionate, and magnanimous a person is, the greater the offense of stealing from him. Therefore, after committing such an offense, one cannot assume there is no guilt and no karma simply because the owner is magnanimous and generous.

The conviction of the offense of stealing is not determined by the Buddha, nor by the Dharma-protecting deities, and even less by the owner of the items; it is determined by the law of cause and effect itself, with the tathāgatagarbha administering the law of cause and effect. The Buddha will not intervene in major karmic consequences; as for minor outcomes, it depends on the sincerity of the thief's repentance and his wholesome roots, as well as his karmic affinity with the Buddha. The Buddha can remove a portion of the obstructions, and the Dharma-protecting deities can shield a little; the rest is repaid through cause and effect. Repentance is the most effective method for lightening karmic retribution. Only by extinguishing the mind of stealing and eliminating the source of the karmic offense at its root can the karmic offense be partially or entirely eliminated.

From this we can know that items offered to the Buddha by sentient beings belong to the Buddha; the Buddha is the owner of the items. Even the person who made the offering may not take and use them at will; otherwise, it is stealing the Buddha's possessions. If one wishes to use the items after they have been offered to the Buddha, one should tell the Buddha at the time of offering: "I offer these items to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Buddha, after You have completed the Buddha's work and finished receiving the essence, I will take back the remaining coarse portion for my own use; the parts the Buddha has no use for will be for me to use." Having made this announcement, once the incense has finished burning, the offerings to the Buddha may be removed. Alternatively, one may substitute other items in exchange for the items the Buddha has used.

Since the Buddha receives the essence of the offered items, we should know what the essence is. Regarding this portion, we must be careful never to touch it; it must be left for the Buddha to receive and enjoy; otherwise, we would be deceiving the Buddha. Because the Buddha originally is the one who smells the fragrance and tastes the flavor, if you smell and taste the delicious flavors and aromas of the items offered to the Buddha, the essence that the Buddha needs will be gone, or there will not be as much of it. Eating before the Buddha is disrespectful to the Buddha, and one cannot gain merit. When the Buddha uses the items offered to Him, sentient beings gain merit; even when the Buddha does not use them, sentient beings still gain merit, because merit is obtained through the exchange of the sincere mind of making offerings to the Buddha. However, the difference in the merit gained is very great.