About the offering thief

When I came as the chief priest of Toko-ji Temple, there was a time when people like regular coin collectors came to Toko-ji Temple. It's a heavy keyaki-made offering box in front of the main hall, but the drawer was locked and that guy had the key to open it, and I, as the chief priest, had no way to open it. Of course, even after a month, I knew that only a few had entered, so even when that guy came, he looked unaware. When they see me, they put their hands together in a hurry and pretend they're here to pray. One day, that man came to collect the money for the offering and forgot to lock it and went home. It became funny, so I crafted it into a drawer and attached a secret keyless key. It's a trick that amateurs hardly know where and how to open it. I'm a veteran joiner, so there's no reason. When I came to collect money the next time, the offering box disappeared, probably because it came to my head because I couldn't open it. The police also came and looked for it, but it was decided that the offering box had been stolen. A few days later, Father Peter came and made some deductions and looked for the slope of Mt. Tokoji and found it. How did you carry a heavy box by yourself? After that, I didn't see that man, but the police seemed to know him as a habitual offender. It's not an answer, but there are also things you can enjoy with thieves. The offering box is still located in front of the main hall, but it hasn't been attacked by thieves since then.
Religious people take into account the living conditions of thieves, etc., and I think it would be better for a monk's mental health if they don't do anything hurtful.

Nice to meet you, I saw your question. He's a terrible person who steals coins (purified goods).
I haven't been watching the news, so I don't know what kind of interview it was, but the chief priest told the world that he would be arrested for stealing money.
Since it was picked up on the news, they were probably aware of the various opinions.
Also, I thought it contained a message saying that we must not think easily about money thieves from now on.
From the point of view of the people at the temple, we cannot afford to have the precious purified goods kept by everyone stolen, and I also think we have to take proper crime prevention measures.
You may have felt that religious people should not use mass media to show off criminals, but that is probably the way each person sees it.
Personally, I would like to thank Hiro-san for asking questions that made me think about improving crime prevention measures.

Hmm... First of all, unless it's a tourist temple, there isn't as much inside an offering box as people think. At most temples, “putting on a surveillance camera is in the red rather than being able to take the full amount of the contents.” Are surveillance cameras cheap these days? Even so, it's at a level where it's in the red. Even though Hiro-sama also throws offerings for her first pilgrimage or at the temples and shrines she travels to, she probably almost never throws offerings at local temples?

So why do we use surveillance cameras? Actually, the biggest problem with money thieves is “getting the box broken.” Today, wooden boxes are expensive... let alone since Buddhist altar fittings aren't mass-produced... there's no way to put strangely cheap things in the main hall. Looking at the question from a monk's point of view, I can't help but think that it was a ridiculously vicious habitual offender.

The Buddhist way of thinking is that hostility and resentment come back to oneself, so I would like to complain about the trend of hitting criminals anyway, but I also wonder if that was really within the range of what I could say. You can't say anything unless you know the circumstances. I haven't watched the news, but it may have been a temple with a lot of offerings.

Well, my mentor once caught an offering thief. I heard from the police later that he was a middle-aged office worker who was a habitual offender of vending machine vandalism.

I often hear the argument that offering thieves are being driven by necessity, so I should let them do it, but I don't think so. This is because park residents who are really in need are proudly saying “bless me” from the front door.

Sadly, the reality is that money thieves do it for thrill or play, just like shoplifting for children. As an aside, it's ridiculous.

Even if criminals are arrested, they can pass away in paradise with Namu Amida Buddha and Nembutsu.
So there's no need to go against national laws and overlook criminals.
I think Buddhism teaches how to have a heart so that you can live a happy life even if you are in prison.
As for the interview, I don't know if I sold it to the mass media myself or if I was asked to do an interview, but if asked, there's probably no need to refuse it.
However, there is a commandment for monks that they must not talk about other people's sins. (May vary depending on denomination)
Therefore, it is good to make a report and help that person legally atone for their crime, but it would not be good to be funny and unnecessarily talk about the crime.
Disclosing crime news is unavoidable as a social rule,
Instead of saying it's happy, it might be good to have the feeling that it can't be helped because it's the law.
Also, even if you legally punish them, don't hate criminals.
Legally, we should not overlook it, but we should forgive and be compassionate with our heart.
Monks also have a commandment that they must forgive those who apologize without getting angry.
Even if they get arrested, they head to the Pure Land of Paradise together.