Honesty is Trust, Truthful, Guarantee, Confidence, Consistence,
and Convincing.
Honesty is Certainty, Credibility, Reliability, Authenticity, Integrity, Accuracy. Honesty is Commitment, Sincerity, Security. Honesty is Reality,
and a Must!
Honesty characteristically never
deceives, its function is to verify what is actual
and factual.
Honesty's manifestation is
sheer excellence... Sincere and exact truthfulness is the proximate cause of honesty! All evil states,
and all crimes converge upon a transgression of this Truth... Devotion to Truth is the only reliable foundation of
all Nobility!
Like the Buddha once did, demand this imperative of your own mind:
"You have to give me an honest answer
mind!
I won't accept anything phony.
And once you've answered,
you have to stick to that very answer and not slide,
or glide around.
Don't be a traitor to yourself, or me! Be sober, and straight!" Therefore: Accept now this 4th training rule of avoiding all
false speech!
If one is not true to the Buddha's
teachings, the Buddha's
teachings will not be true to oneself, either!
That Dhamma, which is used as a costume, surface, uniform,
or alibi, does not bear fruit, as its intention is not true! True Honesty,
however, makes you quite worthy of respect!
If one is painstakingly honest towards
oneself, one thereby also becomes meticulously honest towards others. If one on the contrary deceives oneself,
believing own lies,
one automatically also deceives others, thus betraying them. Honesty, however,
always makes you quite worthy of respect...
Therefore: Be brutally honest to yourself!
Make an island of yourself,
be your own light, and illumination, make yourself your only safe haven;
there is no other protection. Make the Truth of Dhamma your only island,
make Truth your sole refuge; Make
the Truth
of Dhamma
your only lamp;
there is no other luminosity... Digha Nikāya, 16
The straight person, self-controlled,
keeping precepts, open and honest, is both worthy, and fit for the yellow robe. The hiding person,
the imposter, the immoral, those keeping secrets, not honest, are neither worthy, nor fit for the yellow robe.
Dhammapada 9+10
Overcome the furious by friendship. Overcome the evil one by goodness.
Overcome the miser by generosity; Overcome the liar by truth.
Dhammapada 223
The one who destroys life; The one who
speaks false; The one who takes what is not given; The one who mates with another's partner; The one who is addicted to drugs, or alcohol; Such one - even in this world -
digs up his own root! Dhammapada 246-47
They who falsely declare: "That happened"
about what did not happen, or: "I did not do that"
about what they actually did, they earn themselves
a ticket to the [barbeque] Hell.
Dhammapada 306
When the Blessed One heard about the king's spies,
who for money stole information from others, he explained:
One should not take just any job. One should not be another's man.
One should not depend on any other. One should not sell the truth for money...
Udana
VI - 2
The Bodhisatta was once caught by a cannibal,
which set him free on the condition, that he returned
the next day. He kept his word, and did so...
This baffled the
cannibal so
much that he again let the Bodhisatta go free. Much later
he remembered: Protecting this way of truth, having given
up my life and kingdom, I thereby set free 100 captured
nobles, as the man-eater lost his nerve.
I thereby reached the third ultimate perfection of
honesty! Mahasutasoma-Jātaka
no. 537
You can run from your mistake, but
not from your regret. You can play with your drama, but not with your karma. Theravada Buddhist
Chaiteet Heng, Malaysia
