“Do you see, Rāhula, this small quantity of water left in the vessel?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Similarly, Rāhula, insignificant, indeed, is the Samana-ship (monkhood) of those who are not ashamed of uttering deliberate lies.”

Then the Buddha threw away that small quantity of water, and said:

“Discarded, indeed, is the Samanaship of those who are not ashamed of deliberate lying.”

The Buddha turned the vessel upside down, and said—“Overturned, indeed, is the Samanaship of those who are not ashamed of uttering deliberate lies.”

Finally the Buddha set the vessel upright and said—“Empty and void, indeed, is the Samanaship of those who are not ashamed of deliberate lying.”

“I say of anyone who is not ashamed of uttering deliberate lies, that there is no evil that could not be done by him. Accordingly, Rāhula, thus should you train yourself—Not even in play will I tell a lie.” (Narada Maha Thera 96–97, 1980)

“Rāhula, for what purpose is a mirror?” questioned the Buddha.

“For the purpose of reflecting, Lord.”

“Similarly, Rāhula, after reflecting and reflecting should bodily action be done; after reflecting should verbal action be done; after reflecting should mental action be done.

“Whatever action you desire to do with the body, of that particular bodily action you should reflect: ‘Now, this action that I desire to perform with the body—would this, my bodily action be conducive to my own harm, or to the harm of others, or to that of both myself and others?’ Then, unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain.

“If, when reflecting, you should realize: ‘Now, this bodily action of mine that I am desirous of performing, would be conducive to my own harm or to the harm of others, or to that of both myself and others.’ Then unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain. Such an action with the body, you must on no account perform.

“If, on the other hand, when reflecting you realize: ‘Now, this bodily action that I am desirous of performing, would conduce neither to the harm of myself, nor to that of others, nor to that of both myself and others.’ Then skilful is this bodily action, entailing pleasure and producing happiness. Such bodily action you should perform.” (Narada Maha Thera 97–98, 1980)

“While you are doing an action with the body, of that particular action should you reflect: ‘Now, is this action that I am doing with my body conducive to my own harm, or to the harm of others or to that of both myself and others?’ Then unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain.”

“If, when reflecting, you realize: ‘Now, this action that I am doing with my body is conducive to my own harm, to the harm of others, and to that of both myself and others.’ Then unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain. From such a bodily action you must desist.”

“If when reflecting, you should realize: ‘Now, this action of mine that I am doing with the body is conducive neither to my own harm, nor to the harm of others, nor to that of both myself and others.’ Then skilful is this bodily action, entailing pleasure and happiness. Such a bodily action you should do again and again.”

The Buddha adds “If, when reflecting, you should realize: ‘Now, this action that I have done is unskilful.’ Such an action should be confessed, revealed, and made manifest to the Teacher, or to the learned, or to your brethren of the Holy Life. Having confessed, you should acquire restraint in the future.” (Narada Maha Thera 98, 1980)