One day, a fire broke out in the house of a wealthy man who had many children. The wealthy man shouts at his children inside the burning house to flee. But, the children are absorbed in their games and cannot understand his warning, though the house is being consumed by flames.

Then, the wealthy man devises a practical way to lure the children from the burning house. Knowing that the children are fond of interesting playthings, he calls out to them, “Listen! Outside the gate are the carts that you have always wanted: carts pulled by goats, carts pulled by deer, and carts pulled by oxen. Why don’t you come out and play with them?” The wealthy man knows that these things will be irresistible to his children.

The children immediately race out to get into the carts. In this way, the wealthy man is able to get his children safely away from the burning house.

Once outside, the children demand the carts they have been promised. Instead, the wealthy man gives them a much finer and larger cart — one that runs as swiftly as the wind — adorned with many jewels and drawn by a great white ox. This cart is called the Great White Ox Cart.

Sekishin: What is the meaning of ‘Do not tell a lie?’

Gudo: We human beings, in our daily lives, tend sometimes to lie and mislead when it is expedient to do so, and we often do not feel very guilty about it. Yet, lying is the cause of the liar, himself or herself, developing a twisted and distorted sense of what is true…. We sometimes lose our own discernment of honesty and truth and may, for example, more easily think it nothing to deceive others again and again. Further, the liar is the first to lose a sense of trust in life, is no less a victim of the lying. Thus, this precept asks us to honor honesty and truth, and is a most important precept to which Buddhist followers should pay heed.

IV. To seek as you can, in this body and life, to refrain from false and malicious speech