White Tara said: "The transgression of dishonest speech happens easily. It will become a habit if one keeps giving false accounts of the truth, whether through denying the truth, fabricating stories, or simply speaking nonsense. This behavior breaks the samaya of speech, and it causes negative karma and great troubles to arise.”
I said:
"Monks, refrain from lying!"
Actually, it is not just monks who should avoid lying, but also lay people.
In reality, lying is a common occurrence in our society.
In this world, it is incredibly rare to encounter truly honest individuals.
Many people tend to make up falsehoods without any basis or reason!
***
For example:
Someone wrote a series of stories to tarnish the reputation of Grandmaster Lu.
People read these stories and they became very popular, spreading quickly around the world.
One media company decided to publish it.
Another media company did the same.
After that, many different media outlets started publishing these defamatory stories.
It seemed as if Grandmaster Lu had become the most heinous, wicket, and atrocious person who had done unforgivable things.
But in reality, these stories were untrue.
This is an example of distorting the truth with false speech!
As spiritual practitioners, we do not want to get involved in arguments or discussions.
Instead, I thought:
"If the accusations were true, then I should learn from my mistakes and reform. However, if they were false, I would not let it affect me."
(This is how the human world is.)
***
For example:
A dharma sister and her child were passing through customs.
The customs officer asked:
"Why are you carrying so much money?"
The dharma sister replied:
"I sold my house!"
Her child said:
"Mom! We did not sell our house!"
Awkward silence.
***
Thus, lies can be classified into:
Moreover, I have mentioned before that some spiritual practitioners claim great supernatural powers despite not having any.
(Also false speech.)
White Tara said:
"Do not make baseless assertions! Speaking falsely carries karmic consequences. One will enter into the evil paths, and in future lives, people will not believe what one says. With each new incarnation, one will lie again and again, and over time this will become established."
I feel the parable, “The Wolf is Coming!” teaches a lesson to incessant liars.
"The wolf is coming!" All the villagers scattered and ran away.
The child who had lied laughed heartily.
"The wolf is coming! The wolf is really here!" All the villagers scattered and ran away again.
The child laughed heartily again.
One day, the wolf really came.
This time, the villagers did not run away after hearing, “The wolf is coming!"
As a result, the child and all the villagers died.
Isn’t this lesson enough?