84(4)A Thief
"Bhikkhus,possessing eight factors,a master thief quickly gets into trouble and does not last long.
What eight?
(1)He attacks one who does not attack him.(2)He steals without leaving anything behind.(3)He kills a woman.(4)He rapes a young
girl.(5)He robs a monk.(6)He robs the royal treasury.(7)He does his work in his neighborhood.And (8)he is not skilled in hiding [his plunder].
Mp clarifies some of these points.(1)An unskilled thief attacks Those who should not be attacked,such as old people,children, and virtuous people who are not his enemies and who don't attack him.(2)A skillful thief should take only half of what is available;for example,if there are two articles of clothing he should take only one;of portions of food,he should take one for himself and leave the other (he can take the superior item for himself).(7)An unskilled thief commits theft in a nearby village,town,or city.(8)An unskilled thief does not purify the path to the other world by"depositing"a portion of his spoils in Gifts to those"worthy of offerings"(yam laddham,tamdakkhineyye nidahitum cheko na hoti,paralokamaggam na sodheti).Presumably a skillful thief will"deposit"part of his plunder by offering it to worthy monks and thereby"purify the path to the other world."Possessing these eightfactors,a master thief quickly gets into trouble and does not last long.
"Bhikkhus,possessing eight factors,a master thief does not quickly get into trouble and lasts long.
What eight?
(1)He does not attack one who does not attack him.(2)He does not steal without leaving anything behind.(3)He does not kill a woman. (4)He does not rape a young girl.(5)He does not rob a monk. (6)He does not rob the royal treasury.(7)He does not do his work in his neighborhood.And (8)he is skilled in hiding [his plunder].
Possessing these eight factors,a master thief does not quickly get into trouble and lasts long."[340]