Lzh Mi Bu Vb Pj 2Theft
Pāli / Sanskrit:Adinnādāna
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The Sutta on Taking What Is Not Given (Adinnādāna Vatthu)
Background
The Adinnādāna Sutta (Taking What Is Not Given) is one of the important disciplinary texts in the Theravāda Buddhist Vinaya Piṭaka. It belongs to the “Pātimokkha cases” (matters related to the Pātimokkha, the code of training rules), specifically among the Pācittiya offences, violations requiring confession.
This text records the process by which the Buddha and the Sangha determined that taking what belongs to another without permission is a serious violation of the discipline. Theft is not merely a matter of social morality; it is also a direct violation against those alongside whom one practices. In the context of the Sangha, a community living together according to principles of compassion and clarity, taking from another especially becomes an obstacle to practice.
Main Content
Adinnādāna is defined in the Pāli Canon as the act of taking what has not been given (adinnam ādiyati). Specifically, an act is considered a violation of taking what is not given when a person intentionally takes an object, money, or any property belonging to another, knowing that the owner does not wish to give it or has not given permission, and the taking is done improperly.
This principle is not limited to obvious theft. It includes more subtle cases: taking what we are not sure the owner has given, borrowing something and not returning it on time, or even using property of the Sangha (Sangha-bhaṇḍa) for personal purposes without permission. This violation is considered a Pācittiya offence, meaning that if it is committed, there must be confession and open apology before the Sangha.
The Buddha emphasized that these are not small harmless actions, because they create distrust, break harmony in the practice community, and directly damage the morality of the one who acts. Taking what is not given is also a violation of one of the basic Five Precepts that all Buddhists are to observe.
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