The Abbess's Lie and the Congregation's Lost Faith

At a certain temple, an abbess was overseeing a community of thirty-two practitioners. One day, a devotee arrived to make offerings and asked respectfully, "Venerable Abbess, how many people are in the community so that I may prepare enough offerings for everyone?"

The abbess looked around and replied, "There are thirty-five people." The devotee happily made offerings for thirty-five portions and left.

When the others in the community heard this, they questioned, "Venerable Abbess, we have thirty-two people. Why did you say there were thirty-five?"

The abbess replied calmly, "It was just a convenient approach. By saying three extra, if visiting monks happened to arrive, we would have portions to share with them."

Hearing this, someone offered a thought: "But saying that is not true. If visiting monks did come, we could simply share from our own portions. There is no need to lie."

The abbess remained silent and said nothing more. However, from that day on, whenever the abbess ascended the dharma seat to give a dharma talk, the congregation sitting below felt a sense of something lacking. They always remembered the story of how thirty-two became thirty-five. No matter how eloquent the teaching, it no longer held the same persuasive power. The trust had been damaged and would be difficult to mend.

**Meaning of the Story**

A single lie, even one spoken with good intention, can destroy credibility and the trust of others. Those on the path of practice must especially uphold truthfulness, as their words influence the spiritual study of many. Once a person lies once, others will doubt all their subsequent words. Therefore, one should always speak the truth, even if it means bearing a disadvantage.

*Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang*