Does Having Thoughts of Killing Without Action Violate the Precepts?

In the Hinayana tradition, this does not constitute a violation of the precept, as there is no action, the event did not occur, no killing took place, and thus the precept against killing is not broken. However, in the Mahayana tradition, it is considered a violation because the mind is the master of all things and the source of all evil. Only when a mental intention arises do subsequent bodily and verbal actions follow. The intention to kill gives rise to the karma of killing. Therefore, even the mere thought of killing constitutes a violation of the Mahayana precepts, regardless of whether actual killing occurred. The thought is decisive; it represents the goodness or evil of the mind. Where there is a thought, there is karma; the karmic retribution manifests according to the mind, and birth and death arise from the mind. This is because the moment a thought arises, even before any action follows, the Tathagatagarbha records it. In the future, the Tathagatagarbha will actualize the karmic retribution of good and evil based on this record. If the action then follows, the evil karma becomes even more solidified, and the retribution becomes more fixed. True practitioners do not casually give rise to thoughts; if they do, they give rise to pure thoughts, thoughts that benefit sentient beings.

The fundamental reason why sentient beings violate the precept against killing lies in hatred and a competitive, contentious mind. As long as one conquers the affliction of hatred, one will not violate the precept against killing. By distancing oneself from people and situations that easily provoke hatred, by avoiding environments of competition and contention, by not contending with others or with circumstances, and by conquering one's own mind, one will essentially avoid violating the precept against killing.

Activities such as various forms of entertainment and games, which heavily involve simulated warfare, martial combat, killing, and bloodshed, severely taint the mind with hatred. People immersed in such games find their minds seriously polluted, steeped in these defilements, and they unconsciously come to accept bloodshed and violence as normal. Consequently, when encountering adverse conditions in real life, they easily develop a contentious mind and may even resort to violence.

The Buddha states in the Vinaya Sutras that even imagined killing, involving no real person or actual event, constitutes a violation of the precept. This is because the mental intention was stirred, the mental volition arose, and the seed of evil karma was planted. When conditions ripen, there will be an evil retribution. The mental thought determines everything. Only by eliminating all evil and unwholesome thoughts and cultivating wholesome thoughts can one avoid violating precepts and creating evil karma, thereby avoiding the retribution of the three evil destinies and the evil retribution within the human realm. Gradually, one can then attain fruition and escape the cycle of birth and death within the six realms.