San Mu Bu Pm GBM 2 Pj 2Theft
Pāli / Sanskrit:Adinnādāna
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The Adinnādāna Discourse: The Teaching on Taking What Is Not Given
Background
Adinnādāna, taking what is not given, is one of the five basic precepts of Theravāda Buddhism, found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, the collection of rules of practice for monastics and those studying the Buddha's teaching. In this case, the discourse examines in detail the second rule among the Pārājika, the highest class of penalties, the gravest violations which, if committed by a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī, require exclusion from monastic status.
Adinnādāna is not merely ordinary stealing. According to the Pāli Canon, for this action to become a Pārājika violation, four factors must be present: the item is not one's own, one knows it is not one's own, one has the intention to take it, and one carries out the taking. This rule reflects the basic principle of respecting the property of others and the truthfulness of ethical action.
Main Content
The Adinnādāna discourse is presented through specific stories recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka. Usually, the Buddha examines a situation in which a bhikkhu has taken another person's property without permission, and then states clearly the conditions that make the action a Pārājika violation.
The focus of this teaching emphasizes the difference between mistaken actions done unintentionally and intentional violations. A bhikkhu may be careless in taking an item when he does not know who owns it, but if the mental intention is, "I will take this without the owner knowing," then that is a Pārājika violation. The Buddha-Dharma emphasizes that intention (cetanā) is the key that determines the ethical nature of an action.
The discourse also distinguishes special cases: taking an item from a grave, from a communal place, or from a particular individual, each case having different conditions. Whether items are valuable or inexpensive does not affect the nature of the violation; if there is taking what is not given and the intention to violate is present, then this rule applies.
Practical Meaning
Adinnādāna is not merely a formal law.
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