Four Precepts for Acquiring the Purity of Mind, Body and Speech
The Third Precept: No Stealing
“Also, Ananda, if beings in the six realms can stop stealing, not even think of stealing, they will stop being bound to the endless cycles of samsara. If one continues to steal or even just gives rise to the thought of stealing, then no matter how much effort they put into Samadhi practice, they will forever be kept in bondage to worldly entanglements. Even those who are skillful in achieving Samadhi will surely fall into the evil realm if they don’t renounce all stealing. The higher-ranking ones will be reborn as energy-devouring spirits, the intermediate ones as evil spirits, and the lower ones as bedeviled men possessed by spirits. These beings will tell their followers that they have realized perfect awakening. After my nirvana, during the Dharma ending age, such spirits will sweep across the world like wildfire, self-claiming as enlightened teachers to mislead the ignorant, instilling fears into their minds. Wherever they go, they destroy families and rob their believers of everything valuable.
“This is why I teach the bhiksus to make alms rounds, so that they can let go of greed and focus on the Bodhi Path. Without cooking for themselves, the monks lead the rest of their lives as transitory travelers in the three realms of existence so that they will not have to return again. How can those thieves wearing a monk’s robe as disguise, meanwhile committing all sorts of karmic deeds for personal gain, claim that they are preaching the Buddha Dharma? They even slander those fully ordained bhiksus, calling them followers of the Lesser Vehicle. Through this way they confuse and mislead countless beings, bringing them all to the realm of Unintermittent Hell.
“I affirm that after my nirvana if a monk lights a lamp before an image of the Buddha, and burns a section of his finger with it, or burns an incense stick on his body, in token of his unshakable resolve in practicing Samadhi, then all his karmic debts since the beginningless time are repaid, he is freed from samsara and forever free of outflows. Although he may not immediately attain Supreme Bodhi, his mind is firmly committed to the Dharma. Without these small sacrifices and renunciation, even if he realizes emptiness, he will still have to be reborn as human again in order to repay his debts from previous lives, just as I did when I had to eat horse-feed.
“Therefore, Ananda, when you introduce Samadhi to worldly people, you should teach them not to steal. This is the third precept, most definitive and clear, established by all the Buddhas of the past. Practicing meditation without renouncing stealing is like trying to fill a leaky vessel – the practitioner will never succeed, no matter how many eons he keeps on trying.
“I can affirm that a monk has truly realized Samadhi if he displays such qualities – that he owns nothing other than his robes and alms bowl, he shares his alms with hungry beings, he greets the assembly with joined palms, he takes scoldings and beatings as praise, he renounces his life by sharing his flesh and blood with other beings, and he never confuses beginners with the Buddha’s provisional teachings. This is the true teaching of the Buddha. Anything otherwise must be coming from Mara (the king of demons).”
阿難又復世界六道眾生其心不偷。則不隨其生死相續。汝修三昧本出塵勞。偷心不除塵不可出。縱有多智禪定現前。如不斷偷必落邪道。上品精靈中品妖魅。下品邪人諸魅所著。彼等群邪亦有徒眾。各各自謂成無上道。我滅度後末法之中。多此妖邪熾盛世間。潛匿姦欺稱善知識。各自謂已得上人法。詃惑無識恐令失心。所過之處其家耗散。我教比丘循方乞食。令其捨貪成菩薩道。諸比丘等不自熟食。寄於殘生旅泊三界。示一往還去已無返。云何賊人假我衣服。禆販如來造種種業。皆言佛法却非出家。具戒比丘為小乘道。由是疑誤無量眾生墮無間獄。若我滅後其有比丘。發心決定修三摩提。能於如來形像之前。身然一燈燒一指節。及於身上爇一香炷。我說是人無始宿債一時酬畢。長挹世間永脫諸漏。雖未即明無上覺路。是人於法已決定心。若不為此捨身微因。縱成無為必還生人酬其宿債。如我馬麥正等無異。汝教世人修三摩地後斷偷盜。是名如來先佛世尊。第三決定清淨明誨。是故阿難若不斷偷修禪定者。譬如有人水灌漏巵欲求其滿。縱經塵劫終無平復。若諸比丘衣鉢之餘分寸不畜。乞食餘分施餓眾生。於大集會合掌禮眾。有人捶罵同於稱讚。必使身心二俱捐捨。身肉骨血與眾生共。不將如來不了義說。迴為已解以誤初學。佛印是人得真三昧。如我所說名為佛說。不如此說即波旬說。
Buddha Mind 