The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Archives
Buddhist Hour
Broadcast 276
For Sunday 11 May 2003
This script is
entitled:
How to bless others with words
Keywords: right speech, samma-vacca, blessing,
wonderful words, talking, saying, chanting.
Glossary:
speech:
1. The action or faculty of speaking; the ability to express thoughts
or feelings by articulate sounds, the utterance of words or
sentences. 2. The language or dialect of a nation, people, group,
etc. 3. Manner of speaking, especially that habitual to or
characteristic of one particular person, group, etc. 4. Talk,
conversation, discourse. The opportunity of speaking to, an audience
or interview with.
word: a thing or things said, a remark or
remarks, utterance
Lord Mancroft once said, "A
speech is like a love affair - any fool can start one, but to end
takes considerable skill".
Most persons take for granted
the ability to speak but do they know how to use words
skillfully?
What you say has a great effect on persons around
you.
How you say something has an even greater effect than
what you say.
Your intention and motivation behind your
speaking changes the way the words you speak are received.
Pointing
out mistakes to others in an unskillful way can hurt them.
Robert
Burton once said that, "A blow with a word is deeper than a blow
with a sword".
If you speak positively and encouragingly
you can really bless other persons.
The Dharmapada
reads:
"Careful in speech, controlled in body,
aware
of the workings of the mind;
patient under insult, never
angry;
this is the path of great progress."
The New
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines speech as:
1. The
action or faculty of speaking; the ability to express thoughts or
feelings by articulate sounds, the utterance of words or
sentences.
2. The language or dialect of a nation, people,
group, etc.
Manner of speaking, especially that habitual to or
characteristic of one particular person, group, etc.
3. Talk,
conversation, discourse. The opportunity of speaking to, an audience
or interview with.
Speech is a part of language. The way we
use language is influenced by our culture.
George Bernard Shaw
said, "I believe in the discipline of silence and can talk for
hours about it"
When you think of a word, do you first
think of it as standing for an idea?
Ferdinand de Saussure
(1915) says this is one side of linguistic value.
He says we
need to make clear the definition of language or risk reducing the
definition to a simple naming-process.
De Saussure defines
language as a system of interdependent terms in which the value of
each term rests solely on the simultaneous presence of the
others.
Why do we use language?
David Crystal is a
world-acclaimed writer on language.
Crystal explains that
language is not only used to communicate our ideas, it is also used
for emotional expression, social interaction, recording the facts,
the instrumentation of thoughts and the expression of identity.
As
speech is an important part of language we can make a link between
the activities described by Crystal as the reasons we use language
and the reasons we use speech.
This understanding can help us
learn to use speech more skillfully.
Just because something is
well written or pleasant to hear does not necessarily mean it is
correct.
We must get beyond appearances.
W.H. Auden
(1979) advised that, "You must learn to choose the truth before
aesthetic preferences".
Some books have colourful
pictures that are pretty but meaningless for learning. Others bring
the mind to rest in a single glance with a few photographs.
We
refer to the Dasabhadra Karmamarga Sutra where the Buddha says: He
[or she] who abstains from lying will attain eight qualities, the
possessing of which is commended by the Devas. What are they? They
are: (1) His [or her] mouth is always clean and fragrant as the
Utpala flower, (2) He [or she] commands the confidence and the
obedience of all worlds, (3) What he [or she] says becomes proof and
he himself [or she herself] is held in esteem by Devas and [humans],
(4) He [or she] is in the habit of giving comforts to all sentient
beings by kind words, (5) He [or she] gets refined pleasure and his
speech, action, and thought are all pure, (6) He [or she] makes no
blunder in speaking and his mind is always joyful, (7) His [or her]
words carry weight and are respected and obeyed by Devas and
[humans], (8) His [or her] wisdom is extraordinary and inferior to
none. Should he turn his [or she turn her] good merits towards the
cause of Anutara Samyak Sambodhi, he will gain in his [or she in her]
future Buddhahood the Buddha attribute of truthful speech".
At
Chan Academy Australia, we write in accordance with the Dhamma to
reach persons who have minds well developed from western education,
but uncultivated from the viewpoint of Dhamma, and for well-educated
persons with Dhamma in their heart but who desire to learn to speak
and write in this English language as a special language. Many
persons, Devas and Devatas help guide us in developing our writing
style.
Like food and cooking, English writing styles are
formed by geographical boundaries. We do not wish to inflame a
Sydney/Melbourne controversy, nevertheless it is true that the image
and style of Sydney television, newspapers and radio is distinct from
Melbourne television, newspapers and radio. We would not be surprised
if future historians refer to our writing style as the Melbourne
style.
The words of Buddha Dhamma are potent. The practice of
Buddha Dhamma is enduring. We are able to make merit in three
distinct ways from writing Buddha Dhamma for Dana. Firstly we present
it as an object of hearing consciousness, for example, sound on radio
broadcasts and Dhamma talks. We care for the words that have been
written in many Buddha Dhamma texts.
In Buddha Dhamma,
although some words and phrases take on special meaning, free of
doubt or confusion, Buddha Dhamma is not taught by the method of the
dictionary. Secondly, we provide it in proper written form so that
seeing consciousness can be used. Thirdly, we place it on the
Internet with hypertext to awaken the mind.
We aim to continue
to write in our polyglot style but stay non-provocative while making
boundaries clear when they exist and need explanation within our
religion.
Today we are speaking about how to bless others with
words.
The Venerable Master Hsing Yun explains that,
"Speech
is so important to the successful practice of Buddhism that the
Buddha accorded it the same prominence as the mind and the
body."
Good, bad and neutral actions can be made with
body, speech and mind.
Merit is the reward of good actions.
The Buddha said that good speech generates ten kinds of
merit.
The ten kinds of merit that good speech generates are
listed in Master Hsing Yun's book, "Being Good".
These
ten are:
a warm voice;
fluent speech;
the ability to
reason well;
accurate speech;
straightforward speech;
fearless speech;
beautiful speech;
respectful speech;
the
ability to speak well about the Dharma;
and a good rebirth once
this life is over.
These ten kinds of merit arising from good
speech are useful to the Buddha Dhamma Practitioner in blessing other
persons.
This Friday, 16 May 2003 Buddha Dhamma Practitioners
around the world celebrate Versak in many ways.
Versak is a
most important occasion as it is the date that Buddha Sakyamuni was
born, attained Supreme Enlightenment and passed away.
Versak
is the name of a month on the lunar calendar that was used over 2500
years ago.
In the local system, it is the full moon in the
month of May in our calendar. Where two full moon days occur in that
month, Versak is celebrated on the second.
It is usual on this
day for Buddha Dhamma practitioners to make generous offerings of
water, rice, flowers and incense.
Many of our Members will
choose to take eight precepts on this day and to practice mindfulness
strongly.
The practice of mindfulness can help us with
developing right speech.
Right Speech is one aspect of the
eightfold path taught by the Buddha as a means to be free from
suffering.
The Noble Eightfold Path is:
1. Right View
- Samma Ditthi
2. Right Thought or Right Concentration - Samma
Sankappa
3. Right Speech - Samma Vaca
4. Right Conduct - Samma
Kammanta
5. Right Livelihood - Samma Ajiva
6. Right Effort -
Samma Vayama
7. Right Mindfulness - Samma Sati
8. Right
Contemplation - Samma Samadhi
We cease to be mad, bad or sad
when we practice the Noble Eightfold Path.
Today we are
speaking about how to bless others with words.
The fourth
mindfulness training can help persons with the practice of right
speech.
Thich Nhat Hanh eloquently explains The Fourth
Mindfulness Training:
"Aware of the suffering caused by
unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am
committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to
bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their
suffering, I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that
inspire self-confidence, joy and hope. I will not spread news that I
do not know to be certain and will not criticize or condemn things of
which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can
cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or community
to break. I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile and
resolve all conflicts, however small."
This description
of the Fourth Mindfulness Training offers a practical way of coming
to Right Speech.
In the last week our Teacher John D. Hughes
received the following blessing:
"With very best
wishes
To dear John
May your faith in the Triple Gem
and the dedication to the Dhamma bless you with a full and speedy
recovery.
From Ranjith and Pushpa (Hettiarachi) and all of us
at the Buddhist Foundation (Victoria) Australia.
On the advice
of Master Ru Sun, the Medicine Buddha Practice was intensified last
week to assist our Teacher John D. Hughes with his recovery.
During
the seven days members have chanted the Quan Yin title; "Quan
Yin Bodhisattva" as many times as possible.
Our Teacher
has taught chanting to many persons over twenty years. Regular
chanting adds much power to our Centre.
Patrul Rinpoche wrote
"In the Words of My Perfect Teacher":
"Indeed,
all beings, ourselves included, show particular talent in discovering
wrong paths to take - while when it comes to following the path
leading to liberation and omniscience we are as confused as a blind
person wandering alone in the middle of a deserted plain.
"Ordinary
people like each of us are, for the most part, easily influenced by
the people and circumstances around us.
"This is why we
should always follow a teacher, a spiritual friend.
"In
the sandalwood forests of the Malaya mountains, when an ordinary tree
falls, its wood is gradually impregnated with the sweetest perfume of
the sandal. After some years that ordinary wood comes to smell as
sweet as the sandal trees around it. In just the same way, if you
live and study with a perfect teacher full of good qualities, you
will be permeated by the perfume of those qualities and in everything
you do will come to resemble him.
"Just as the trunk of
an ordinary tree
Lying in the forests of the Malaya
mountains
Absorbs the perfume of sandal from the moist leaves and
branches, So you come to resemble whomever you follow."
"A
courageous disciple, armoured with the determination never to
displease his (or her) teacher even at the cost of his (or her) life,
so stable-minded that he is never shaken by immediate circumstances,
who serves his teacher without caring about his own health survival
and obeys his every command without sparing himself at all - such a
person will be liberated simply through his devotion to the
teacher."
One student of John D. Hughes recalls an
occasion where words were a true blessing for him.
It was in
2002 when he accompanied our Teacher John D. Hughes and his wife
Anita to the Atisha Centre in Bendigo to hear a Dhamma Teaching by
Geshe Tashi Tsering.
Our Teacher and the Geshe have known
each other for many years.
During this visit the Geshe took
the hand of our teacher's attendant and driver and said to the
student, "Look after Baba".
The title Baba means
great teacher.
You can view photographs of this occasion on
our website at www.bsbonline.com.au.
His Holiness Dilgo
Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991) wrote in "The Wish Fullfilling
Jewel" that:
"The guru is like a wish-fulfilling jewel
granting all the qualities of realisation, a father and mother giving
their love equally to all sentient beings, a great river of
compassion, a mountain rising above worldly concerns unshaken by the
winds of emotion, and a great cloud with rain to soothe the torments
of the passions.
In brief, he is the equal of all the Buddhas.
To make any connection with him, whether through seeing him, hearing
his voice, remembering him, or being touched by his hand, will lead
us to liberation.
To have full confidence in him is the sure
way to progress toward enlightenment. The warmth of his wisdom and
compassion will melt the ore of our being and release the gold of the
Buddha nature within."
His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoche quoted a verse:
"when the sun of fierce devotion
shines
on the snow mountain of the guru's four kayas,
the
stream of blessings will pour down.
Therefore, strive to generate
devotion in your mind."
Today, Sunday 9 May 2003 is
Mother's Day. Many persons around the world bless their Mother on
this day by recognising her kindness. Many take this opportunity to
spend time together, to prepare food for their mother or offer her
flowers or adornments.
This Mother's Day, our organisation the
Chan Academy Australia is running two flower stalls, one on Swansea
Road Lilydale and the other on Stud Rd Wantirna.
There are ten
blessings arising from the offering of flowers. They are:
long
life;
good health;
strength;
beauty;
wisdom;
ease
along the Buddha Dhamma Path;
being born in beautiful
environments;
born with good skin, hair and beautiful to look
at;
always having a sweet smelling body;
pleasant relationships
with friends.
Buy flowers for your Mother or loved ones this
Mothers' Day Sunday 11 May 2003 at our flower stalls at Stud Rd
Wantirna and Swansea Rd Lilydale.
May the merits of this
script be dedicated to our Teacher John D. Hughes recovery.
May
our Teacher John D. Hughes return home to our Temple in Brooking
Street Upwey very soon.
May you have kind words and actions
towards you Mother this life.
May your words be a blessing to
those around you.
May you develop right speech.
May you
be well and happy.
The authors, editors and scribes of
this script are Julian Bamford, Evelin Halls, David Ley, Lisa Nelson,
Pennie White and Leanne Eames.
References
Brown,
Leslie (Editor) (1993) The New Shorter Oxford Lord English
Dictionary, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 2975-2976.
Burton,
Robert cited in Dhammananda, K Sri (1999) Food for the Thinking Mind,
Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala Lumpur.
de Saussure,
Ferdinand (1915) extract from Course in General Linguistics cited in
Modern Literary Theory edited by Philip Rice and Patricia Waugh, pp
10-11.
Dharmapada cited in Yun, Master Hsing "Being
Good", Weatherhill Inc. New York p 7.
Halls, Evelin.,
White Pennie (2003) "Samma-vacca Right speech", Abhidhamma
Class No. 46, 6 Chan Academy Australia, Melbourne available at URL
www.bddronline.net.au and www.bdcu.org.au.
Hanh, Thich Nhat
(1998) The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering
into Peace, Joy and Liberation, Rider, London.
Hughes, John
D.; Hughes, Anita; Halls Evelin; and Bamford Julian; (2002)
Preparation and review of merit needed by participants for Abhidhamma
Teaching at our Centre 2002 to 2011 CE, Chan Academy Australia,
Melbourne available at URL www.bdcu.org.au and
www.bdcublessings.net.au accessed on 10 May 2003.
Hughes, John
D.: Hughes, Jocelyn; Halls, Evelin; Macleod, Vanessa; Oellien, Rilla;
Nelson, Lisa; and Hamilton, Marguerita, The Buddhist Hour Radio
Broadcast for Sunday 29 July 2001, Hillside Radio 88 FM, Cultivating
Proper Tools Towards Practicing Right View, Chan Academy Australia,
Melbourne.
Hughes, John D.; Nelson, Lisa; and Halls, Evelin,
The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast for Sunday 8 July 2001, "Buddha
Dhamma Teachings at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.",
Chan Academy Australia, Melbourne.
Khyentse Rinpoche (1999)
Dilgo His Holiness. The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, Shambala, Boston and
London.
Mancroft, Lord cited in Dhammananda, K Sri (1999) Food
for the Thinking Mind, Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala
Lumpur.
Rinpoche, Patrul (1998) "In the Words of My
Perfect Teacher", Shambala, Publications, Boston, USA, 1998, p
138.
Shaw, George Bernard cited in Dhammananda, K Sri (1999)
Food for the Thinking Mind, Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala
Lumpur.
Upasaka Wong Mou-lan Chinese to English translation,
Sikshananda-nanajio Sanskrit to Chinese translation, The
Buddhabhasita Dasabhadra Karmamarga Sutra, Bilingual Buddhist Series
Sutras and Scriptures Volume One, Rev. Shih Tsy Huey publisher,
Taiwan R.O.C. pp 276-277.
Yun, Master Hsing (1998) "Being
Good", Weatherhill Inc. New York, p.23, 24.
Readability
Statistics
Counts
Words: 2496
Characters:
12150
Paragraphs: 141
Sentences: 124
Averages
Sentences
per paragraph: 1.3
Words per Sentence: 17.7
Characters per
word: 4.6
Readability Statistics
Passive Sentences:
12%
Flesch Reading Ease score: 60.7
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
score: 9.0
Readability Statistics
When Word
finishes checking spelling and grammar, it can display information
about the reading level of the document, including the following
readability scores. Each readability score bases its rating on the
average number of syllables per word and words per sentence.
Flesch
Reading Ease score
Rates text on a 100-point scale; the higher
the score, the easier it is to understand the document. For most
standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 60 to
70.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score
Rates text on a
U.S. grade-school level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an
eighth grader can understand the document. For most standard
documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to
8.0.
Disclaimer:
As we, the Chan Academy Australia,
Chan Academy being a registered business name of the Buddhist
Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., do not control the actions of our
service providers from time to time, make no warranty as to the
continuous operation of our website(s). Also, we make no assertion as
to the veracity of any of the information included in any of the
links with our websites, or another source accessed through our
website(s).
Accordingly, we accept no liability to any user
or subsequent third party, either expressed or implied, whether or
not caused by error or omission on either our part, or a member,
employee or other person associated with the Chan Academy Australia
(Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.)
This Radio Script is
for Free Distribution. It contains Buddha Dhamma material and is
provided for the purpose of research and study.
Permission is
given to make printouts of this publication for FREE DISTRIBUTION
ONLY. Please keep it in a clean place.
"The gift of
Dhamma excels all other gifts".
For more information,
contact the Centre or better still, come
and visit us.
© 2002. Copyright. The Buddhist Discussion Centre
(Upwey) Ltd.