San Mg Bu Pm Pj 2Theft
Pāli / Sanskrit:Adinnādāna
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Commentary on the Adinnādāna Sutta (Taking What Is Not Given)
Background
The Adinnādāna Sutta belongs to the Pārājika section of the Vinaya (the section concerning the Grave Offenses), which constitutes the most fundamental legislative portion of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda tradition. It is one of the earliest normative documents of Buddhism, built up from specific cases that the Buddha encountered within the monastic community during the establishment of the Sangha.
Adinnādāna in Pāli means "taking what is not given" or "theft." This is not a Dharma discourse in the traditional sense (as a Sutta), but rather a portion of the Vinaya—the code of training that governs the ethical conduct of bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, and those who live for the purpose of practicing the Buddha-Dharma.
Principal Content
The text clearly identifies the act of theft as one of the four Pārājika offenses (grave offenses, beyond repair). Pārājika means "defeat" or "loss"—a bhikkhu who commits these offenses loses his status as a bhikkhu.
The definition of conduct that constitutes Adinnādāna is very specific: an object must belong to another person, the monastic must understand that it is not his own, and there must be the intention to take it without permission. The text details various situations, ranging from taking money and agricultural produce to stealing goods in forests or public places.
What is noteworthy is that the Vinaya Piṭaka does not regard this as a matter of secular law, but as a matter of sacred ethics. The violation affects not only the person from whom something is taken, but also corrupts the practitioner's compassion, undermines sati (mindfulness), and damages the foundations of Buddhist practice.
The text states clearly: "If a bhikkhu steals, that act is Pārājika—a grave offense beyond repair. That bhikkhu is no longer a part of the Sangha."
Practical Significance
Although Adinnādāna was formulated for the monastic community, its deeper principles remain applicable to all who practice the Buddha-Dharma.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.