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false speech

Dhp 167–178 Lokavagga: The World

  1. Follow not the vulgar way; live not in heedlessness; hold not false views; linger not long in worldly existence.
  2. Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
  3. Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
  4. One who looks upon the world as a bubble and a mirage, him the King of Death sees not.
  5. Come! Behold this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot. Here fools flounder, but the wise have no attachment to it.
  6. He who having been heedless is heedless no more, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.
  7. He, who by good deeds covers the evil he has done, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.
  8. Blind is the world; here only a few possess insight. Only a few, like birds escaping from the net, go to realms of bliss.
  9. Swans fly on the path of the sun; men pass through the air by psychic powers; the wise are led away from the world after vanquishing Mara and his host.
  10. For a liar who has violated the one law (of truthfulness) who holds in scorn the hereafter, there is no evil that he cannot do.
  11. Truly, misers fare not to heavenly realms; nor, indeed, do fools praise generosity. But the wise man rejoices in giving, and by that alone does he become happy hereafter.
  12. Better than sole sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better even than lordship over all the worlds is the supramundane Fruition of Stream Entrance.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 167–178 Lokavagga: The World by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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AN 4.82 Musāvādasutta: Lying

“Mendicants, someone with four qualities is cast down to hell. What four? They use speech that’s false, divisive, harsh, or nonsensical. Someone with these four qualities is cast down to hell.

Someone with four qualities is raised up to heaven. What four? They don’t use speech that’s false, divisive, harsh, or nonsensical. Someone with these four qualities is raised up to heaven.”

Read this translation of Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.82 Musāvādasutta: Lying by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or listen on PaliAudio.com or SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

AN 3.28 Gūthabhāṇīsutta: Speech Like Dung

“Bhikkhus, there are these three kinds of persons found existing in the world. What three? The one whose speech is like dung, the one whose speech is like flowers, and the one whose speech is like honey.

(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is the person whose speech is like dung? Here, if he is summoned to a council, to an assembly, to his relatives’ presence, to his guild, or to the court, and questioned as a witness thus: ‘So, good man, tell what you know,’ then, not knowing, this person says, ‘I know,’ or knowing, he says, ‘I do not know’; not seeing, he says, ‘I see,’ or seeing, he says, ‘I do not see.’ Thus he consciously speaks falsehood for his own ends, or for another’s ends, or for some trifling worldly end. This is called the person whose speech is like dung.

(2) “And what is the person whose speech is like flowers? Here, if he is summoned to a council, to an assembly, to his relatives’ presence, to his guild, or to the court, and questioned as a witness thus: ‘So, good man, tell what you know,’ then, not knowing, this person says, ‘I do not know,’ or knowing, he says, ‘I know’; not seeing, he says, ‘I do not see,’ or seeing, he says, ‘I see’; he does not consciously speak falsehood for his own ends, or for another’s ends, or for some trifling worldly end. This is called the person whose speech is like flowers.

(3) “And what is the person whose speech is like honey? Here, some person, having abandoned harsh speech, abstains from harsh speech. He speaks such words as are gentle, pleasing to the ear, and lovable, as go to the heart, are courteous, desired by many, and agreeable to many. This is the person whose speech is like honey.

“These, bhikkhus, are the three kinds of persons found existing in the world.”

Read this translation of Aṅguttara Nikāya 3.28 Gūthabhāṇīsutta: Speech Like Dung by Bhikkhu Bodhi on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net. Or listen on PaliAudio.com or SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

DN 2 From… Sāmaññaphalasutta: The Fruits of the Ascetic Life

And how, great king, is a mendicant accomplished in ethics?…

…They give up lying. They speak the truth and stick to the truth. They’re honest and trustworthy, and don’t trick the world with their words. This pertains to their ethics.

They give up divisive speech. They don’t repeat in one place what they heard in another so as to divide people against each other. Instead, they reconcile those who are divided, supporting unity, delighting in harmony, loving harmony, speaking words that promote harmony. This pertains to their ethics.

They give up harsh speech. They speak in a way that’s mellow, pleasing to the ear, lovely, going to the heart, polite, likable and agreeable to the people. This pertains to their ethics.

They give up talking nonsense. Their words are timely, true, and meaningful, in line with the teaching and training. They say things at the right time which are valuable, reasonable, succinct, and beneficial. This pertains to their ethics.…


Read the entire translation of Dīgha Nikāya 2 Sāmaññaphalasutta: The Fruits of the Ascetic Life by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net.

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