Lzh Sarv Bu Pm 2 Pj 2Theft
Pāli / Sanskrit:Adinnādāna
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Interpretation of the Adinnādāna Sutta (Taking What Is Not Given)
Background
In the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, Adinnādāna, taking what is not given, or theft, is listed among ethical actions comparable in gravity to killing living beings. This discourse appears in the Pārajika section, the great and irreparable offenses, of the Bhikkhu Patimokha, the basic code that bhikkhus must observe.
The historical background records that the Buddha laid down this rule when a bhikkhu or lay disciples took what belonged to others without permission. This law applies not only to renunciants, but is also one of the five precepts (Pañca-sīla) that all who study the Buddha-Dharma should keep. The nature of Adinnādāna is an act violating the lawful ownership of others, an act arising from craving and ignorance.
Main Content
Adinnādāna refers to acts of taking another's property without the owner's permission. The criteria for determining an act as Adinnādāna require specific factors: the object must be property owned by another, the person acting must have the intention to take it, and the act of taking must be completed.
In the Vinaya Piṭaka, this conduct is clearly distinguished from other situations such as borrowing and not returning, or promising to give and then not giving. The important point is the violation of another person's intention (cetanā), that is, the act must be performed with the intention to appropriate or use what is not one's own.
The degrees of Adinnādāna are classified according to the value of the object and the extent of harm. For bhikkhus, if this rule is violated with an object of a certain value or higher, it is a Pārajika offense, a grave offense causing that person to lose the status of bhikkhu and become unable to repair it. This is one of the four Pārajika offenses that can cause a renunciant to be permanently expelled from the Sangha.
Practical Meaning
From the ethical standpoint, Adinnādāna is an expression of craving (lobha) and ignorance (moha), two of the three root poisons (akusala-mūla) in Theravāda Buddhism.
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