[249] **"He plunges into false speech (mosavajjaṃ pagāhati)"**: lying (musāvāda) is called false speech (mosavajja). Here someone, gone to a council, or gone to an assembly, or gone into the midst of relatives, or gone into the midst of a guild, or gone into the midst of the royal court, being brought forward and questioned as a witness: "Come, good man, tell what you know" — he, not knowing, says "I know"; or knowing, says "I do not know"; not seeing, says "I see"; or seeing, says "I do not see." Thus for his own sake, or for another's sake, or for the sake of some trifling material gain, he knowingly speaks falsehood. This is called false speech.
Moreover, lying comes about in three ways: before it, he knows, "I shall speak falsehood"; while speaking, he knows, "I am speaking falsehood"; when it has been spoken, he knows, "Falsehood has been spoken by me" — lying comes about in these three ways. Moreover, lying comes about in four ways, in five ways, in six ways, in seven ways, in eight ways: before it, he knows, "I shall speak falsehood"; while speaking, he knows, "I am speaking falsehood"; when it has been spoken, he knows, "Falsehood has been spoken by me"; having misrepresented his view, having misrepresented his acceptance, having misrepresented his preference, having misrepresented his perception, having misrepresented his actual state — lying comes about in these eight ways.
**"He plunges into false speech"**: he plunges into, sinks into, sinks down into, enters upon false speech — therefore, "he plunges into false speech."
Hence the Blessed One said:
Then, reproached by the doctrines of others, he takes up weapons;
this indeed is his great greed (gedha): he plunges into false speech.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.