Stealing Stolen Goods Is Still Theft

Question: Is taking what a thief has stolen secretly considered theft? Are you stealing the thief's belongings? Do those items belong to the thief? In autumn, when crops are harvested in the fields, field mice steal some grain and bury it in their burrows to eat during winter; this is their food for the entire winter. When winter approaches, some people specifically search for field mouse burrows, dig out the stored grain, and take it home. A single burrow can yield several pounds, even ten pounds of grain. When the field mice return to their burrows and find the grain gone, some may despair and commit suicide; otherwise, without food in winter, they would starve to death. Is digging up the field mice's grain considered theft?

Answer: There is a significant difference between intentional theft and unintentional taking. Since beginningless kalpas, every sentient being has gained nothing except for an immense accumulation of countless karmic seeds, both good and evil.

So-called theft refers to taking what is not given—secretly removing something without the owner's consent, appropriating it to oneself, and claiming ownership. The owner must be a sentient being, and the thief must act with thieving intent, taking the initiative to seize the object. Certain expedient means must be employed in the process, and finally, the object must leave the owner and arrive at the thief's location, successfully becoming the thief's possession.

The field mouse's behavior constitutes theft. First, it acts with thieving intent, taking secretly to avoid detection. Second, it uses its mouth to carry the grain away, employing an expedient means. Third, the grain leaves the field and is placed in its burrow, becoming its possession. Since this is theft, the stolen grain must belong to the field mouse; otherwise, it wouldn’t be considered theft, and the act of stealing wouldn’t be established. If humans then dig up the grain from the field mouse's burrow, it constitutes stealing from the field mouse. If the field mouse’s act wasn’t theft but merely safeguarding the grain for humans, then humans digging it up wouldn’t be stealing from the field mouse but from others.

Similarly, secretly taking what a thief has stolen is also an act of theft. This is because the thief, through certain expedient means, successfully moved the object to their location, becoming its new owner. If the ownership hadn’t changed hands, the theft wouldn’t be established. If someone else then employs certain expedient means to successfully take the thief's belongings to their own location, becoming the new owner, this act also constitutes theft. However, if there is a different motivation involved—not the intent to possess the thief's belongings—then it may not necessarily be theft.