MISFORTUNE BEFALLS THOSE WHO TAKE WHAT IS NOT GIVEN
Master Jun Hong Lu: Practise frugality and righteousness, and never take what is not yours. If you refrain from taking what is not yours, doesn’t this make you a righteous person – one who is free from self-interests? Don’t you think you are also someone who is temperate in their habits?
Theft occurs when one takes what is not given; by doing so, they bring calamity upon themselves. Misfortune will befall those who falsely claim possession of something. Such a person does not uphold the concept of justice and lacks a sense of righteousness.
Here’s another common phrase: ‘Prioritising personal gain over righteousness’, which depicts a person who lacks faithfulness in the face of temptation – a trait that will definitely work against their pursuit of happiness.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms (Audio), Episode 8