Buddhist way  of controlling speech

S.M. Wijayaratne
Kurunegala Daily News Corr.

Not like animals and birds in this world, human beings are gifted with the ability of uttering their feelings. What a unique faculty is the gift of speech! When we see the dumb, only then do we realise the human voice has the gift of expression. There is no musical instrument that could ever match the richness of the human voice. Through speech, we have found the method of communication and developed human language.

One should be fearless but, cautious in giving tongue to one’s thoughts; for a word uttered thoughtlessly and without due consideration may lead to chaos. In all our speech and writing we only make use of a few letters in the alphabet, but what marvels, wonders and utter destruction we can do with these few letters.

Words can bring us gain or loss, praise or blame, reputation or ill-will, happiness or misery. A gentle word, at times, can melt the hardest heart. The Buddha tamed many vicious and unrefined men by kind and gentle words. The Buddha’s words were full of loving-kindness and compassion.

Accuracy

Unpleasant speech or a sarcastic smile may turn a good-natured man into a criminal, a friend into a foe. Much of the misunderstanding, dissension and animosities could be controlled, if not eliminated, if only people are more thoughtful and gentle in what they say, and more accurate and sincere in what they write.

“Better than a thousand sentences. - a mere jumble of meaningless words - is one sensible phrase on hearing which one is pacified, says the Buddha.

The Buddha emphasizes his followers to utter meaningful words for the benefit of their listeners.

Even our dumb animals detest harsh language. We have experience on how a dog manifests its appreciation by the wagging of its tail and the twisting of its body when it is spoken to in a gentle tone.

Swami Vivekananda says, Negative thoughts weaken men. Do you not find that where parents are constantly taxing their children to read and write, telling them they will never learn anything and calling them fools and so forth, the latter do actually turn out to be so in many cases?

If you speak kind words to children and encourage them, they are bound to improve in time. What holds good for children also holds well in the region of higher thoughts. If you can give people positive ideas, they will mature and learn to stand on their own legs.

Mistakes

In language and literature, in poetry and the arts in everything we must point out not the mistakes that people are making in their thoughts and actions, but the way in which they will gradually be able to do these things better. Pointing out mistakes wounds a man’s feelings. “The Buddha says that nobody is free from blame in this world.” People blame others for their silence. They blame those who talk much or in moderation. There is therefore nobody in this world who is not blamed. There never was, nor will be, nor is there now, anyone who is wholly blamed or wholly praised.” That is the way the Greatest Buddha was discovered through his perfect wisdom over the human nature on speech.

Human beings are creatures driven by desires. They are constantly seeking to gratify the various... demands made by their six senses: smell, hearing, taste, touch, sight and mind.

In Buddhism, these needs are classified, under four categories. It is stated that human beings need four kinds of sustenance to satisfy:

* The body
* The senses
* The mind
* The consciousness

Satisfaction

As can be readily perceived, the satisfaction of the demands made by the body and the senses are considered coarse and base because even animals have these needs. The satisfaction of the demands made by the mind caters for our natural curiosity about the world around us.

This knowledge is then utilized by science and technology to make life more comfortable for us in a physical sense but creature - comforts can not give us ultimate happiness because they do not satisfy our “self - actualization “ needs. Speech must be pure and wholesome. Purity is achieved by removing impurity, and so we must understand what constitutes impure speech.

Such acts include: telling lies, that is, speaking either more or less than the truth, carrying tales that set friends at odds;backbiting and slander; speaking harsh words that disturb others and have no beneficial effect; and idle gossip, meaningless chatter that wastes one’s own time and the time of others. Abstaining from all such impure speech leaves nothing but right speech.

Therefore, we have to use our tongue very carefully and thoughtfully and it is essential to think twice before we utter words.

Let’s control our tongue and use it for uttering wholesome words as it paves the way for us to attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana, someday.