More on right speech

Four skillful ways of answering questions

In this post I will examine the different methods of answering questions skilfully based on Buddhist wisdom. As I was searching for this in the Buddhist literature, I came across a very short but a fascinating disclosure by the Buddha. This was called Pañha Sutta.


This sutta explains four skillful ways of answering questions:


1. There are questions that should be answered categorically, for example, yes or no answer.


2. There are questions that should be answered with an analytical (qualified) answer. You explain the answer in detail defining and redefining the terms.


3. There are questions that should be answered with a counter questions.


4. There are questions that should be put aside.


Buddha went on to say that "any persons who is practicing Dhamma (Buddha's teachings) will be skilled in the four types of questions: hard to overcome, hard to beat, profound, hard to defeat. He will know what is worthwhile and what is not, and will be proficient in recognizing both. He will reject what is worthless, and will grasps what is worthwhile. He is called who is prudent and wise"

Could we apply this to our daily lives? It will not be easy, but we can try. Let me share with you some of my personal experience. A common mistake I make is trying to answer questions analytically when the answer should be a simple yes or no. This was an old habit of my mine that came with my training. This has got me in to lot of trouble in the past. Now I am a little more mindful on this. The other problem was I often failed to recognize the questions that should be put a side. This still happens and I have to be more mindful on this.

Now how can we use the above outlined methods of answering questions practically? Most people ask question genuinely because they don't no the answer. You can choose method one or two outlined above to answer them according to the knowledge you already have. Some people ask questions when they already know the answers. The reason is they want to test you. If you mindfully listen (see previous posting below) you may be be able to catch this early enough. In this case you may want to use method number three or four. Yet another group of people asks questions to get you to start an argument. Be very mindful with these questions. You definitely want to use the method number four here. Where else could you use the method number three? This could be used when you want to avoid answering a question. A simple example is when somebody ask a question like; how old are you? You may want to ask a counter question like, how old you think I am? But the real question may be more complex than this.

If you are mindful enough you will soon realize whenever we get in trouble trying to answer questions it is because we are not skilled in the above methods. You may not be able to see this or practice this at once as your mind has already been conditioned over time. As we know humans are creatures of habit and it will take a some practice and effort before we become fully skillful in answering questions wisely. Therefore don't be afraid to make mistakes. Always try to contemplate on the mistakes you have just made. Please don't dwell on it. Acknowledge the mistake, forgive yourself and lean from it. There isn't always a "perfect answer". It is how we approach the question which more important than the answer itself.

1. Pañha Sutta 
2. Also read: "Pañha Sutta: Questions" (AN 4.42), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 3 July 2010,http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.042.than.html . Retrieved on 27 January 2013.

Advice on mindful speech: Before you speak...

Here is Buddha's advice on right speech. This is very valuable in our daily lives as we become more mindful in our speech.

Summary of "Abhaya Sutta: To Prince Abhaya" (MN 58), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 12 February 2012,http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.058.than.html . Retrieved on 23 January 2013.

Abhaya Rajakumara sutta discussed by Ajahn Brahm

What is the definition of right mindfulness?

Simile of the person who is carrying a bowl of oil

What is the definition right mindfulness?

The term mindfulness and mindfulness meditation is now being used commonly and is becoming a popular term in research and treatment modalities such as mindfulness based stress reduction(MBSR) and mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT). The purpose of this post is to revisit the true meaning of mindfulness as taught by the Buddha and in Buddhist texts. This is called the right mindfulness.

Mindfulness is generally defined as a technique in which a person becomes intentionally aware of his or her thoughts and actions in the present moment, non-judgmentally.

There have been definitions of mindfulness given by several different authors in recent years. Here are some examples:

“Bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis” (Marlatt & Kristeller,1999) and as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).-Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical Review :Ruth A. Baer, University of Kentucky

"We propose a two-component model of mindfulness. The first component involves the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experience, thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment. The second component involves adopting a particular orientation toward one’s experiences in the present moment, an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance."- "Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition [Scott R Bishop, et.,al.,Clin Psychol Sci Prac 11: 230–241, 2004]

Introduction of right mindfulness and mindfulness meditation by the Buddha dates back 2600 years. In Buddhist practice however, in right mindfulness there is judgement of perception, feelings, thoughts as well as mental phenomena for what is skillful and what is not. We judge to leave out the unskilful and cultivate the skillful ones. Buddha compared this to a gate-keeper at a well guarded city.

"Just as the royal frontier fortress has a gate-keeper — wise, experienced, intelligent — to keep out those he doesn't know and to let in those he does, for the protection of those within and to ward off those without; in the same way a disciple of the noble ones is mindful, highly meticulous, remembering & able to call to mind even things that were done & said long ago. With mindfulness as his gate-keeper...

Therefore in right mindfulness we are being ardent with right effort and alert (with clear comprehension) on the workings of the mind and skillfully removing roots of unwholesomeness. One simile Buddha gave on this was "like a skilled carpenter removing a rusty nail". Therefore there is a certain element of wisdom that has to be in place in the form of right view for right mindfulness. According to the generic definitions of mindfulness stated above, you accept every thought that arises with openness, non-judgmentally. The danger here is you allow any thought that may arise. These could be skillful thoughts or unskillful thoughts such as greed, anger, etc. So we may end up with wrong mindfulness in the wrong path leading to adverse results that may even harm us. Skillful thoughts belong to right intention in the noble eightfold path. Buddha also taught us the importance of abandoning wrong intention (unskillful thoughts) and cultivating the right intention (skillful thoughts) in a sutta based on the two kinds of thoughts.

According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu* "Buddha himself defined sati as the ability to remember, illustrating its function in meditation practice with The Four Satipatthanas (The four foundations of mindfulness/ frames of reference), or establishings of mindfulness.

“And what is the faculty of sati? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, is mindful, highly meticulous, remembering & able to call to mind even things that were done & said long ago. (And here begins the satipatthana formula:) He remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.”—SN 48:10

Mindfulness Defined-

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

If we are within the Four frames of mindfulness we become very skillful in avoiding any danger that causes unhappiness or stress. This is also illustrated in a sutta in the Pali Canon by the buddha in the simile of the quail. The difficulty of being mindful within these four frames is also illustrated in the Canon by the simile of the person who is carrying a bowl of oil. How you train your senses to be mindful of the body is also illustrated in the sutta in the simile of the six animals.

The Four Satipatthanas (The four foundations of mindfulness/ frames of reference)

1. Mindfulness of the body - One example is mindfulness of the breath and initially this is the perception of the breath. For example, long breath, short breath, whole body of the breath (breath immersed in the body).

2. Mindfulness of feeling- pleasant, painful and neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling

3. Mindfulness of mind- these are mainly thoughts/intentions

4. Mindfulness of mental phenomena/ mental qualities/ mental objects- This to me is mainly the mechanism of how the six senses work and is the source or the origin of all perceptions, feelings and thoughts. This is where everything starts and Buddha called this "the all." In practice of right mindfulness according to satipatthana is like stating at a base of a pyramid and climbing up gradually

(working through body perception, feeling, thoughts)

to the pinnacle (mental phenomena) of it. At the pinnacle you see everything. This is insight.

Therefore mindfulness should be defined as

a technique in which a person becomes intentionally aware of his or her perceptions, feelings, thoughts and mental phenomena in the present moment, skillfully.

*Also please listen to this excellent talk called "The Boundaries of Mindfulness" by Thanissaro Bhikkhu which inspired me to write this post. Here is the link:"The Boundaries of Mindfulness"

What is a mirror for? Reflection. In the same way...

"What do you think, Rahula: What is a mirror for?"

"For reflection, sir."

"In the same way, Rahula, bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental
actions are to be done with repeated reflection. (before, during and after their action)

MN 61 PTS: M i 414
Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta: Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Just like a horse trainer trains his horses....

Then Kesi the horsetrainer went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him: "You, Kesi, are a trained man, a trainer of tamable horses. And how do you train a tamable horse?"

"Lord, I train a tamable horse [sometimes] with gentleness, [sometimes] with harshness,[sometimes] with both gentleness & harshness."

"And if a tamable horse does not submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild & harsh training, Kesi, what do you do?"

"If a tamable horse does not submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild and harsh training, lord, then I kill it.

Why is that? [I think:] 'Don't let this be a disgrace to my lineage of teachers.' But the Blessed One, lord, is the unexcelled trainer of tamable people. How do you train a tamable person?"

"Kesi, I train a tamable person [sometimes] with gentleness, [sometimes] with harshness, [sometimes] with both gentleness & harshness.

"In using gentleness, [I teach:] 'Such is good bodily conduct. Such is the result of good bodily conduct. Such is good verbal conduct. Such is the result of good verbal conduct. Such is good mental conduct. Such is the result of good mental conduct. Such are the devas. Such are human beings.'

"In using harshness, [I teach:] 'Such is bodily misconduct. Such is the result of bodily misconduct. Such is verbal misconduct. Such is the result of verbal misconduct. Such is mental misconduct. Such is the result of mental misconduct. Such is hell. Such is the animal womb. Such the realm of the hungry shades.'

"In using gentleness & harshness, [I teach:] 'Such is good bodily conduct. Such is the result of good bodily conduct. Such is bodily misconduct. Such is the result of bodily misconduct. Such is good verbal conduct. Such is the result of good verbal conduct. Such is verbal misconduct. Such is the result of verbal misconduct. Such is good mental conduct. Such is the result of good mental conduct. Such is mental miscondut. Such is the result of mental misconduct. Such are the devas. Such are human beings. Such is hell. Such is the animal womb. Such the realm of the hungry shades.'"

"And if a tamable person does not submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild & harsh training, what do you do?"

"If a tamable person does not submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild & harsh training, then I kill him*, Kesi."

"But it's not proper for our Blessed One to take life! And yet the Blessed One just said, 'I kill him, Kesi.'"

"It is true, Kesi, that it's not proper for a Tathagata to take life. But if a tamable person does not submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild & harsh training, then the Tathagata does not regard him as being worth speaking to or admonishing. His knowledgeable fellows in the holy life do not regard him as being worth speaking to or admonishing*. This is what it means to be totally destroyed in the Doctrine & Discipline, when the Tathagata does not regard one as being worth speaking to or admonishing, and one's knowledgeable fellows in the holy life do not regard one as being worth speaking to or admonishing."

"Yes, lord, wouldn't one be totally destroyed if the Tathagata does not regard one as being worth speaking to or admonishing, and one's knowledgeable fellows in the holy life do not regard one as being worth speaking to or admonishing!

"Magnificent, lord! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has the Blessed One — through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma, and to the community of monks. May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge, from this day forward, for life."

AN 4.111

Kesi Sutta: To Kesi the Horsetrainer

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Showing the Path to Buddha Dhamma...

Buddha saw the entire world with beings of different levels of maturity in the path of Dhamma. He compared this to a lotus pond. He targeted the lotuses of higher degree of maturity. Those are the mature lotuses that are at or close to the surface awaiting for the sun (Dhamma) to shine for them to bloom (enlighten).

Unfortunately like the Buddha, we don't have that special ability of knowing the maturity of the spiritual faculties in others.

Then how can we guide another person to the path...

You may consider:

1. Is it going to be beneficial for the person at this time ?

if yes- consider#2
if no- don't tell

2. Is he going to accept it ?

if yes -you can tell
if no - you have to wait for the right timing

Essentially TIMING is everything.

There are three groups of people

1. Some you can show the benefits of skillful deeds and direct them to the path.

2. Some you can show them the adverse results of unskillful deeds and direct them to the path.

3. The rest you "KILL" them.

"KILL THEM" ?

Please read the sutta below:

Kesi Sutta
To Kesi the Horsetrainer
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.111.than.html

p.s.
I feel ignorance (delusion), conceit and fear may be the main reasons that one may be reluctant to accept this path.

How to deal with bullying? A sample of Buddhist wisdom.

If somebody calls you a name, in school, at work or even while you are on the road how would you react to it? Would you retaliate with a name, anger or even physical violence?

Is there another way ? Can we RESPOND to it rather than REACT to it?

Buddha showed this amazing way how you can deal with it. It is the training of the mind thorough a process called insight (Vipassana) meditation.

For example, somebody tells you a stupid idiot! You know it is just a “sound”. It is impermanent and subject to change. You have to contemplate “if I hold on this will lead to suffering, and does not belong to me anyway. Bingo! The “sound” is gone!...in a flash. No anger arises in you. You are peaceful and you are ready for your next encounter.

Sounds fun isn’t it? It is not easy but it can be done. It needs a little bit of work. This is where insight (Vipassana) meditation comes in to play. This training can be put into practice in our day to day life to save us from suffering. Mindfulness plays a big role in here.

In essence we create our own suffering. We receive the sound, interpret it, keep thinking about it, making thought after thought…you become a “kamma machine.” You need to switch off that kamma machine. This is the only way.

The path to final freedom from suffering! The ultimate happiness.

Want to lean more?

Please click on the labels below:

"Be like a river, deep and enormous""

Suppose that a man were to come along carrying a burning grass torch and saying, 'With this burning grass torch I will heat up the river Ganges and make it boil.' Now, what do you think — would he, with that burning grass torch, heat up the river Ganges and make it boil?"

"No, lord. Why is that? Because the river Ganges is deep & enormous. It's not easy to heat it up and make it boil with a burning grass torch. The man would reap only a share of weariness & disappointment."

"In the same way, monks, there are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you: timely or untimely, true or false, affectionate or harsh, beneficial or non beneficial, with a mind of good-will or with inner hate. Others may address you in a timely way or an untimely way. They may address you with what is true or what is false. They may address you in an affectionate way or a harsh way. They may address you in a beneficial way or an non beneficial way. They may address you with a mind of good-will or with inner hate. In any event, you should train yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person's welfare, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading him with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with him, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will equal to the river Ganges — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.' That's how you should train yourselves.

-Kakacupama Sutta -The Simile of the Saw

"Don't talk if you can't improve on silence"- How to be mindful in speech, Buddhist perspective for a productive life.

Have you ever got in trouble for not thinking before you speak? How many times have you told yourself, "maybe I shouldn't have spoken like that". As for me, I have done this countless times. Well, can you do anything about it? Is it really possible to be mindful before you speak.? Are there any guidelines for skillful speech? These questions have been troubling me for a long time. I, therefore decided to explore Buddhist principles of mindful speech. In The Noble Eightfold Pathway, Buddha explains what mindful speech (Right Speech) means:

Abstain from:

1. Lying

"Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world....

2. Divisive speech

"Abandoning divisive speech he abstains from divisive speech. What he has heard here he does not tell there to break those people apart from these people here. What he has heard there he does not tell here to break these people apart from those people there. Thus reconciling those who have broken apart or cementing those who are united, he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord, speaks things that create concord....

3. Abusive speech

"Abandoning abusive speech, he abstains from abusive speech. He speaks words that are soothing to the ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart, that are polite, appealing and pleasing to people at large....

4. Idle Chatter

"Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter. He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha), and the Vinaya (code of conduct for the monks). He speaks words worth treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal...."

Is it possible to practice this in our daily lives? I think it is possible, but it is not so easy to be mindful every time before one speaks. In one of his disclosures Buddha says how to train yourself to be a skillful speaker (Prince Abhaya Rajakumara sutta). I have summarised the essentials of this sutta in the algorithm below.

Listen to:

Abhaya Rajakumara sutta

Read Abhaya Rajakumara sutta

http://media.bswa.org/sutta_study/Brahmavamso_2005_01_09.mp3