法苑珠林 75.69

75.69

Truthful speech yields peace and bliss;
Truthful speech attains nirvāṇa.
False speech produces bitter fruit,
Which you now come here to receive.
If you do not abandon false speech,
You will then undergo all suffering.
Truthful speech requires no buying;
It is easy to obtain and not difficult.
Truth does not come from a foreign land,
Nor is it sought from another person.
Why do you cast aside truthful speech
And take joy and pleasure in uttering falsehoods?
Utterance of false speech
Is the cause and condition for hell.
The cause and condition having been made before,
What is the benefit of wailing and crying out?
False speech is the supreme fire,
Able even to burn up the great ocean;
How much more does it consume the liar,
Just as if burning grass and trees!
If a person abandons truthful speech
And makes false declarations,
Such a foolish and evil person
Discards jewels to pick up stones.
If a person does not love themselves,
And instead shows love for hell,
The fire of their own false speech
Will here consume their own person.
Truthful speech is very easily obtained
And adorns all people.
Abandoning truthful speech to utter falsehood,
Out of folly one arrives at this place.