13/12/2022
"When people engage in wrong speech, some of the forms of which don’t come under the precept against lying, but they certainly fall outside of the path — harsh speech, divisive speech, idle chatter — they create a lot of trouble all around.
The Buddha was very particular about speech. If you look through the Jātaka tales, you’ll see that the Buddha-to-be, as he’s portrayed in those tales, will sometimes break the precepts, except for one: He never breaks the precept against lying. This is one of the reasons why he was able to find the truth, because he was very devoted to telling the truth.
If you start lying to yourself, lying to other people, the truth gets harder and harder to find. In fact, of all the precepts, this is the one that he underscored the most. He said, “A person who feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie: There’s no evil that person will not do. That person is empty of the qualities of a contemplative.”
He raised the issue of not lying the very first thing when he taught his son, Rahula. The practice begins there. Only when that’s firmly established are you really ready for the higher levels. If it’s not established, it can spoil the higher levels. You can get the mind into concentration but then it gets spoiled. You can try to develop discernment but it gets spoiled. This is one of the reasons that the Forest Tradition is so strict about the precepts, because they are the foundation. And, as with building a house, if the foundation is cracked, the house is not going to stand.
So we start with respect for the precepts. We place them above our desires to do or say or act on intentions as we like. It’s because we have that willingness to submit to the Dhamma that we’re going to learn it."
~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Respect for the Triple Training"
