The Conviction and Retribution of Karmic Sins Are Not Determined by the Buddha.

The Buddha is the most compassionate, most magnanimous, and most venerable sage in the three realms, able to tolerate all sentient beings and never holding anything against any sentient being. If sentient beings casually take and use items belonging 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 tolerant or not; rather, 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, magnanimous, and tolerant the owner is, the greater the offense of stealing his possessions. 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 for the offense of stealing is not determined by the Buddha, not determined by the Dharma-protecting deities, and even less determined 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 relatively major karmic consequences; as for the smaller outcomes, it depends on the sincerity of the thief's repentance and his roots of goodness, 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, while the rest is repaid through cause and effect. Repentance is the most effective way to lighten karmic retribution; by extinguishing the mind of stealing and eliminating the source of the karmic offense at its root, the karmic offense can 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, and even those who make the offerings may not casually take and use them, 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 say to the Buddha at the time of offering: "I offer these items to the Buddha 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 in advance, 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 use, otherwise we would be deceiving the Buddha. Because the Buddha originally smells the incense and tastes the flavors, if you have smelled and tasted the delicious flavors and fragrance of the items offered to the Buddha, then the essence the Buddha needs is gone, or there is much less 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; when the Buddha does not use them, sentient beings still gain merit, because the sincere mind of making offerings to the Buddha is exchanged for merit. However, the difference in the merit gained is very great.