眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

11 Aug 2019    Sunday     5th Teach Total 1810

What is Stealing?

How many Buddhists can strictly uphold the Five Precepts without the slightest violation, achieving a perfect score? How many can score eighty points with minor deficiencies in the Five Precepts? How many can manage sixty points by observing most of the Five Precepts? It is feared that very few fall into any of these categories. As for the precept of refraining from false speech, I suspect very few, if any, can fully uphold it. Therefore, people are not entirely honest nor completely trustworthy.

Does anyone completely abstain from killing? Stealing, also known as taking what is not given, occurs whenever one takes something without the other party's explicit agreement or consent. Considering something that does not belong to oneself as one's own constitutes stealing. This includes people: harboring improper thoughts about someone who is not one's spouse is also stealing. An abnormal state of mind and insincere or unwholesome intentions all fall under unwholesomeness. Consuming others' food or drink without their permission also constitutes stealing. Many people act arbitrarily, following their own whims without regard for others. Some even employ tactics to coerce others into reluctant agreement; even if the other party verbally consents but inwardly disagrees, it still constitutes stealing. Stealing encompasses reputation as well—usurping fame, status, or power all belong to stealing.

People often tend to seek worldly connections, acting selfishly and self-interestedly. They fail to go with the flow, guard their minds, or act with integrity. Their insatiable greed leads to precept violations, mental distraction, and an inability to attain meditative concentration. Moreover, how many have not received the Five Precepts and have no intention of receiving them? They do not even wish to undertake the precepts or abide by them, yet they desire profound meditative concentration and wisdom. This is impossible. To imagine attaining enlightenment or awakening under such circumstances is even more unattainable.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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