Zen precept #8: Not Stealing.
The negative effects of stealing are clear enough, but why I have done it in small ways? In reflecting at my own behavior, there is part of me that feels insecure, needy and not enough. I also think that stealing belies this idea that I am separate from my fellow man, and there something out there to "get", something that will fill me up. Well, that will never happen...being filled up by things.
As a kid, I remember stealing one thing: I was about 6 years old and stole a playmate's Matchbox car and felt guilty about for years. It never fulfilled me in the way I expected it to, and the negative karma that created wasn't worth it. I never played with that toy...it felt toxic.
All of this is a good reminder to take only what is freely given. This is a better way to live.
No comments:
Post a Comment