Is There Such a Thing as "Stealing" in Studying the Buddhadharma?

Stealing, or theft, means taking what is not given. If someone does not permit you to study something, or has set a condition that payment is required in order to study, then studying it without paying constitutes theft. But the Buddha's Dharma is always taught freely and without charge; the copyright of the Buddha's Dharma has never been in Śākyamuni Buddha's hands, let alone in anyone else's. No ordinary being holds a patent or copyright on the Buddha's Dharma, because ordinary beings have not realized any dharma at all—no dharma belongs to them. And the sages who have already realized the Buddha's Dharma are all empty of mind, selfless, and without selfishness; they do not seek fame or profit for themselves, so they certainly hold no copyright. Therefore, in studying the Buddha's Dharma, there is no such thing as theft. Only when it comes to studying the teachings of non-Buddhist paths—teachings invented by individuals—if one secretly studies them without fulfilling the conditions others require, that would constitute theft.

There are certain requirements for studying the precepts, because it is feared that sentient beings may lack sufficient faith: if they knew the content of the precepts in advance, they might worry that they could not keep them and thus refrain from taking them, which would be a loss for their practice of the Buddha's Dharma. Therefore, when one has no intention of taking the precepts, one may freely study and cultivate the Buddha's Dharma, but the precepts may not be studied casually. However, once one has firmly resolved to take the precepts, one may then study the relevant precepts. Only by studying and understanding the relevant precepts can one prepare well to receive them, attain them, and keep them. Buddhism does not require that the Vinaya be studied only after taking the precepts.

The purpose of Buddhism is to serve sentient beings selflessly and without selfishness; there is no rule that studying the Buddha's Dharma requires payment. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach sentient beings selflessly and without charge so that they may attain liberation, and the Dharma they teach was all obtained from countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with no personal invention or creation involved. Therefore, the Buddha's Dharma has no patent.

If there were a patent, the Buddha's Dharma would belong to the first Buddha. It was Buddha Weyinwang (Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja) who first attained buddhahood and transmitted the Dharma down through the generations to the present day. Since the first Buddha did not apply for a patent, others are even less entitled to obtain one. Moreover, in the course of cultivating the path, Buddha Weyinwang accumulated immeasurable merit and the provisions for attaining the Way through teaching sentient beings, and only then did he accomplish the Buddha's path. The sentient beings have a share in that merit, so even Buddha Weyinwang could not enjoy the patent exclusively.

Those who charge fees for teaching the Dharma, whether encountered online or in person, are almost certainly not teaching the true Buddha's Dharma. We should try our best to avoid studying with them, and certainly should not pay, so as not to encourage their evil karma and greed. Such people lack the mind and conduct of a Bodhisattva, and the Dharma they teach cannot be correct, so do not abet such deviant tendencies.