White Tara said:
“Seizing someone else’s money or property for oneself, whether through violent robbery, covert theft, or deceit, all violate Buddhist precepts. Most offenders of this precept will be reborn in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.”
I said:
“In particular, stealing items from temples, money from the Sangha, or fraudulently using the name of one’s Root Guru to solicit donations from others are all unacceptable.”
In the past:
A dharma propagator set up a bank account under the guise of “Offerings to Grandmaster Lu.” This account was under the dharma propagator’s own name.
Disciples believed that their offerings were going directly to Grandmaster Lu, but in fact, the person managing the account was taking all the offerings for themselves.
This continued until one day a disciple asked if I received their offerings.
I was speechless.
The deception of this dharma propagator was thus exposed.
In the past:
Another Dharma propagator deceived us by taking money from a temple under the false pretense of offering it to Grandmaster Lu.
The dharma propagator misappropriated all the money.
It wasn’t until later, when a temple staff member informed me of this matter, that we realized we had been fooled again!
. . .
On another occasion, a distinguished guest came from a distant city. This guest was of great importance to the future of our True Buddha School.
We received and attended to him with great courtesy.
However, someone stole his wallet when he was listening to my dharma teaching.
He said:
“There are thieves in your temple!”
I sweated.
I would like to ask the thief:
What kind of dharma teachings are you listening to?
***
People with ignorance.
People without conscience.
People without morals.
People without shame.
Only these people will commit robbery, theft, and fraud.
As Buddhist practitioners, we abide by the Five Precepts, and one of them prohibits stealing. We must not violate this precept and should avoid any actions that may raise suspicion, let alone stealing. Those who engage in theft are not practicing spiritual cultivation and are committing offenses that will lead them to lower realms. Their names will be listed in the “Highly Confidential Register of Those Fallen into the Three Lower Realms.”
I, Grandmaster Lu, would say:
“To everyone accumulating wealth, please reflect on your actions. Take a moment to think about these questions in the quiet of the night. Have you gone too far? Have you taken what you do not deserve? Have you been too greedy? Are you still truly pursuing spiritual cultivation?”
Do not deceive yourself.
Do not deceive others.
If you deceive yourself and others, you will fall into the three lower realms, and your name will be on the list.
White Tara said:
“Those who commit the misconduct of theft will end up in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Even if reborn as humans, they will be penniless their whole lives. For this reason, this tendency will continue and cause one to repeat these transgressions in many successive lives.”
I said:
“Some dharma propagators also engage in this kind of misconduct. What kind of dharma are they teaching?”
I said:
“All disciples should be cautious and mindful of dharma propagators who have tendencies for being too greedy!”