How to Uncover the 5 Hidden Lies

"Thou shalt not bear false witness" - the Ninth Commandment that is probably more abused than any other!

Lying is one of the Buddhist precepts as well, the fourth to be exact. The problem with Buddhism, however, is that lying is not simply a matter of making an untrue statement, lying goes much deeper than that.

The awareness of what we say is a study in itself, not only about what we say, but the inference and the inflection that we put upon our actions. We can not only lie by speech, but by writing, gestures, remaining silent, breaking promises, and telling little white lies. We can lie with our eyes, or with an insincere smile.

To begin with, lying is when we say something that is blatantly not true. "Did you steal the car?" . . . . . . . . "NO!" These kinds of deliberate lies usually come to mind when we say that we never lie. However, there are other "lies" that we commit, that might go completely unnoticed by even the one that is doing the lying!

1. The first way to lie without knowing it is when we repeat something that we heard, but aren't sure it is true. Yet we act as if it is true. Is that a lie? Yes it is. We mislead other people into believing that it is absolutely true, yet it is only hearsay. This is a form of taking credit for someone else's stuff, or a form of plagiarism.

The way we avoid this is to preface our comments by saying, "I've read this, or I've heard this," because unless it is our own experience that we are talking about, it's safest to preface. When we do this, we will notice that our ego takes less delight. This is the beauty of not lying - keeping an ego from going out of control, and when an ego is subdued, we become closer to God.

2. The second way to lie without knowing it is when we backbite. Backbiting is a complex psychological process that goes like this: Let's say we hate our coworker, but to her face, we pretend to be friends. Then, when we get alone with the boss, we talk about how awful she is. Is this lying? You bet it is.

The way we avoid this is if we can't tell a person to their face what we think of him or her, then we should either be quiet about them, or find things about them that we can admire.

3. The third way to lie without knowing it is when we gossip, or the runaway tongue. This is a combination of (1) backbiting, and (2) pretending that hearsay is fact. Gossip is a pathetic attempt to feel powerful by displaying information that mesmerizes others, and also an attempt to boost our own ego by tearing down someone or something else.

The way we avoid this is to be aware that if we gossip, that means that we are insecure and feel powerless.

4. The fourth way to lie without knowing it is speaking quickly or writing inaudibly in order to deceive. This is the used car salesman's ploy, and the fine print that we can't read or is so voluminous that a battery of atto
eys couldn't read it in less than three hours! This is a form of lying.

The way we avoid this is to refuse to work for individuals who use these tactics. You might make less money, but if you are spiritually inclined, things will work out, maybe even better.

5. The fifth way to lie without knowing it is to attempt to humiliate someone. This falls into ten areas: Race, social status, class, name, family or lineage, nationality, occupation, religion, disease or handicap, physical characteristics, and past mistakes. This is an insult made with malicious intent to defame, not simply stating a fact. It is usually done for revenge of some kind, and involves anger or jealousy.

The way we avoid this is to be aware whenever we attempt to discredit someone. What is our reason for doing this? If it is to tear them down in order to puff ourselves up, or justify ourselves in some way, then don't do it. The karma of this type of lying is far reaching, and can boomerang when we least expect it. Building our own ego always tears down our bridges to God; there are no exceptions.

So these are five of the ways to lie without knowing it that I have come up with, based on Buddhist scriptures and the Rules for Monks (The Vinnaya). If you can come up with more, please drop a comment. I would love to hear about them!

And if all of this is too much to remember, simply say things that are true, that encourage harmony and not division among people, and that are gentle and have meaning. Just talking in order to talk wastes everyone's time and is merely entertainment. You could be spending the time silently with God, who is all that will be there for you someday.

And as the Buddha said, "Speak, only when silence is not better."