Non-stealing means not taking the property of others without right or permission. I observe it by avoiding theft and not allowing myself to covet the things others have. The opposite is stealing.§
Comparing the actions of one who steals to one who does not steal§ |
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|---|---|---|
Situation§ |
Non-Stealing§ |
Stealing§ |
When your mother gives you $20 to get groceries on the way home, you…§ |
carefully keep track and return the change to her.§ |
intentionally forget the accounting and pocket the unspent money.§ |
A friend leaves her homework on your kitchen table, so you…§ |
call her right away so she can come to pick it up for tomorrow’s class.§ |
see an opportunity to get easy answers and copy her work before making the call.§ |
When your older brother receives an award at school, you…§ |
celebrate with him, and add congratulations of your own by way of a note on his desk.§ |
covet his award, telling yourself you are equally deserving.§ |
Gurudeva explained: “The third yama is asteya, neither stealing, nor coveting nor entering into debt.… Coveting is desiring things that are not your own. Coveting leads to jealousy, and it leads to stealing. The first impulse toward stealing is coveting, wanting. If you can control the impulse to covet, then you will not steal. Coveting is mental stealing.”§
“Of course, stealing must never ever happen. Even a penny, a peso, a rupee, a lira or a yen should not be misappropriated or stolen. Defaulting on debts is also a form of stealing.”§
ASSIGNMENT: These next two weeks, if you find yourself desiring what others have that you don’t, reflect that it is such desiring that leads to theft.§
Date you began this assignment ____________________§
MY THOUGHTS ON THE BENEFITS OF NON-STEALING: 
§
