Theos-Talk Archives (March 1999 Message tt00083)

Legally, in order to slander someone, what is being said must be false
and injurous. The whole notion of true or untrue, however, can be pretty
slippery and sometimes people say false things that they think are true.

Slander is defined differently in occultism. Basically, occultism says
that words are slanderous if they invoke hatred or hostility in another
person, whether the words are true or false and immaterial of the intent
of the speaker.  I came across this ancient definition in the recent
issue of Tricycle Magazine where it is said to be of Tibetan Buddhist
origin. I think that this definition should apply to all Theosophists.
This way we avoid endless argument over truth or falsity. Whenever we
start to make derogatory remarks about another person, living or dead,
true or false, if those remarks have the potential to inspire animosity
in a reader, then they are slanderous and should be avoided.

Jerry S.

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