法苑珠林 75.67

75.67

Nectar and deadly poison
Both reside within the human tongue.
Nectar is called truthful speech;
False speech, then, is poison.
If a person desires nectar,
That person abides in truthful speech.
If a person desires poison,
That person speaks false words.
Poison does not bring certain death,
Yet false speech brings it certainly.
If a person speaks false words,
They may be called a walking corpse.
False speech does not benefit oneself,
Nor does it profit others.
If neither self nor other finds joy in it,
Why speak false words?
If a person through evil discrimination
Takes delight and pleasure in speaking falsehoods,
They will fly and fall upon fiery blades,
Incurring such torment.
Though harmful poison is exceedingly foul,
It can only slay a single body;
Yet through the evil karma of false speech,
Hundreds of thousands of bodies are destroyed.