Breach of second precept
Is copying a Dhamma book in hard copy and converting it into a pdf to read on my kindle a breach of the second precept? I am planning only to read it myself and not give it to anyone.
I also thought that Dhamma material should be free. Why are people amongst them well known monks and nuns charging for dhamma material?
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa
Unskillful Mental Action
"And how is one made impure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is covetous. He covets the belongings of others, thinking, 'O, that what belongs to others would be mine!' He bears ill will, corrupt in the resolves of his heart: 'May these beings be killed or cut apart or crushed or destroyed, or may they not exist at all!' He has wrong view, is warped in the way he sees things: 'There is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed. There is no fruit or result of good or bad actions. There is no this world, no next world, no mother, no father, no spontaneously reborn beings; no brahmans or contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' This is how one is made impure in three ways by mental action.
Skillful Mental Action
"And how is one made pure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is not covetous. He does not covet the belongings of others, thinking, 'O, that what belongs to others would be mine!' He bears no ill will and is not corrupt in the resolves of his heart. [He thinks,] 'May these beings be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and may they look after themselves with ease!' He has right view and is not warped in the way he sees things: 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are brahmans & contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' This is how one is made pure in three ways by mental action.
Consider the intent of the originator. We live in a world that has Copyright, which didn't exist at the time of the Buddha. If I walk into your house and remove your favourite object - how do you feel? If I make use of something that you have been led by the law of your land to believe that I am not allowed to use, how do you feel? The second precept is all about respecting others - we must not look at it in a legalistic way, as if it is a set of rules to be understood and then actioned rigidly. The intent is simply that we act in accordance with the first precept - with kindness, consideration, and respect. That, alone, would cause me to think very hard before copying something to which I do not have the rights.
Aramika