To lie to the police about fishing on a river,

QUIET BUT ELOQUENT

Quietness is an aspect of a tranquil mind

Buddhists often talk less, and ones who tend to talk much are bad practitioners. If you go to a pagoda and see people talking everywhere, then you should know that that pagoda is not good, and the abbot is not strict and doesn’t teach his disciples well, so the disciples talk much, do less. If we see them do much and talk less, then this pagoda is good. We can assess ourselves on the criterion of being quiet or talkative to see if our mind is calm or chaotic.

Because of its structure, the brain always stimulates us to speak. The more chaotic our mind, the more talkative we will become, and when one’s mind cannot control his speaking, he is likely to have a mental illness. However, don’t blame but feel pity for him because it’s not due to his desire but his illness. Thus, when his sickness is cured, he doesn’t want to talk much anymore.

We met a talkative old man who tires all the people around him. We criticized him:

• You must talk less. Your talking too much disturbs others, and you will bear the retribution for it.

But actually, he was bearing the retribution - he was mentally ill. Later, we knew that we should cure him rather than preventing him from talking too much.

One who talks beyond the limit of a sane mind has a mental disturbance. Those who like to talk but haven’t reached the level of mental illness are going away from the calm mind and toward a chaotic mind, and to the extreme, will have a mental disorder. We can be based on the number of words that we speak uncontrollably on a day to see how chaotic our mind is and if we have a mental illness or not.

Psychologically, there is a principle that the more chaotic the mind, the more you like to talk. So, when you are going on the right spiritual path, your mind will be calmer and calmer, and hence you will become quieter. If in a discussion, you find a person talks less, then he is going in the right direction, and those who like to talk have a disturbed mind.

Eloquence is the manifestation of wisdom

Buddhists are quiet but eloquent. Once they speak, you will find the Dharma and what happens in the world perfectly match, and no one can object. That is the character of a true cultivator, quiet but very eloquent when needed, and every word he says is precise.

However, when you become oratorial, you tend to become a talkative person. Shakespeare has a great saying: “Coin always makes sound, but the currency notes are always silent. So when your value increases, keep yourself calm and silent.” That is, humans’ value is not in their talk or boasting. Therefore, the better you become, the quieter you should be so that your good things and success will be durable.

A cultivator is a good rhetorician but does not like bragging or speaking much. He will say nothing but listen to others if his words are unnecessary. He listens with attentiveness and respect for the speaker. Whoever says good things, he respects and will learn from him. And for those who talk nonsense or known things, he doesn't despise them because the fundamental virtue of Buddhists is to respect all people, so he doesn't allow himself to look down on anyone at any time.

As an example, a man was driving a luxurious car on the road. And when reaching a narrow stretch, he met a sanitation worker pushing a big garbage can from a lane out. He had to brake his car suddenly to avoid a crash. If he had rolled down the window and asked the worker to give him the way, then the smell of garbage would have come into the car, so he patiently waited until the worker pushed his can away and then went on. Even though he was stopped by a garbage collector, he didn't allow himself to be angry with him or to look down on him. It is an essential virtue of Buddhists.

A well-known preacher is often asked to have a picture with the audience. However, he will politely refuse if he's busy but it doesn't mean he is a start to look down on them. Even with entertaining stories, sometimes the speaker said what he already knew or what he knows thoroughly, he still listens respectfully. That is the virtue of the quietness of Buddhist practitioners. Only when is he asked to give his opinion and he thinks that he should, then he will raise his idea with eloquence, which brings benefit to people. However, he doesn't like to talk much. He is a true preacher attaining both eloquence and quietness. And so, his preaching career will be lasting forever so that sentient beings can take refuge in him.

We know if our mind is calm or chaotic based on that if we like to talk little or much, and if we are wise or not based on if we are eloquent speakers. If we are not eloquent speakers, then we are not wise and be patient to practice the Dharma more. However, though we are not articulate, if we tend not to talk much, our mind will become less chaotic. And when we achieve both qualities of quietness and eloquence, we are the teachers of sentient beings.

Sincere but discreet

Among the Five Precepts for Buddhists, there is one of "no lying." Buddhists are often honest, and those who are ethical never try to hide the truth, deceive others, or brag about something. For others to believe our lie, we have to calculate what we will be asked and it's much harder than telling the truth. The below example illustrates how a murder suspect tries to hide his criminal behavior. The police asked:

• Where and what were you doing at 7:30 pm yesterday?

He was the criminal, so he tried to establish an alibi.

• I was fishing on the river.
• Did anyone see you fishing?
• No. I was alone, and no one saw me.
• So, did anyone see you take the fishing rod out of your house?
• It was late afternoon, and all stayed inside and didn't see me.

To lie to the police about fishing on a river, the criminal had to make up many things to protect his lie. And to make up things makes our mind chaotic, and telling lies makes us anxious because we're afraid of being discovered. Our sincerity makes our mind calm because we don't have to guess what will happen in order to deal with.

There was a murder in a village. After the screening, the police investigator found five villagers were absent at the time of the killing. All of them were summoned to the police station and had to answer the question, "What were you doing at that time?" A man trembled with fear. We may think he was the murderer. But with the sharp experience in his profession, the investigator knew that this man was not a perpetrator. The fact was that at the time of the case, he secretly went to see his lover. If he told the truth, his beautiful love story would be revealed, and his wife wouldn't forgive his cheating. But if he didn't, he couldn't prove his innocence. And the real culprit was very cold and stubborn since he had prepared all the answers. But how could he hide his crime before the investigators, and eventually he had to plead guilty.

Ordained people are always sincere because sincerity fits a pure mind, and falsehood always accompanies a chaotic one. However, it doesn't mean that you should tell everyone all you know. Sometimes, it's harmful but not ethical if you tell a secret.

There was a Korean film about an adulterous wife and her nosy neighbor. The neighbor suspected the wife of cheating her husband, so she decided to watch for the wife, and she caught the wife opening the door for her lover when her husband was away. The neighbor was happier than ever to call the husband. Then what would happen?

Twenty years later ...

A young man came to ask an old woman about what actually happened that night. The old woman said in tears, "I wish I hadn't done it. When catching your mother opening the door for a man, I telephoned her husband, and immediately, the husband returned home and shot the man, and his wife escaped. The dead man is your father. After giving birth to a baby, the wife ran into railroad tracks and let the train roll over. You were orphaned. But luckily, you are a good person and come here to ask for the truth. I extremely regretted it. I wish I hadn't seen it and ruthlessly revealed the truth."

The movie gives us a question, "Should we reveal any secret?” Absolutely not. If the truth is told at the wrong time, at the wrong place, or under the wrong situation, it causes others serious trouble, and you can never redeem your sin. So, be honest and discreet.

A person, for some reason, knew a national secret, and he kept this secret in all his life. He must have been very wise, brave, and ethical to keep this secret all the time. People often love to let others into their secrets because they are not wise and brave enough. And if the law doesn’t sentence them, the law of Cause and Effect will do.

Those who always chatter about all they know are immoral and can’t do big things, and they may cause severe harm to the country. A wise and brave Buddhist knows that he shouldn’t tell others all he knows. In the Anguttara Sutra, Buddha teaches people, “Telling the truth is not always good. A true monk will never talk anything that shakes others’ faith in the Dharma but only talk about things that make others grow their faith. We may know the mistakes/disadvantages of someone but no need to talk about it because it doesn’t benefit anyone.”

For the monks/nuns who are still practicing the Dharma, none is perfect, and because living together, they know their mates’ weaknesses. However, they never tell them to others because it doesn’t bring any benefit to Buddhists and even worse, it causes harm.

They will, instead, praise their mates' virtue/good deeds to inspire people to practice the Dharma. So, Buddhists must be sincere and discreet.

They will, instead, praise their mates' virtue/good deeds to inspire people to practice the Dharma. So, Buddhists must be sincere and discreet.

Thorough but not obstinate

Ordained people are thorough but not obstinate. Usually, the more thorough one is, the more obstinate one will be. Here is an example of the thoroughness of cleanliness. Both ordinary people and ordained ones need cleanliness, and Saints are at a great level of cleanliness. One's cleanliness shows his thoroughness and also a sign of a good soul. If you find a house clean and neatly, you should know that the owners are exemplary and more about him should be evaluated later. But whether his thoroughness is right according to Buddhism depends on his attitude and behavior toward others.

As an example, the maid of a family has just returned from the market with a bag of fish sauce. However, unfortunately, she fell and the bag broke. Fish sauce splashed everywhere in the living room. Initially, the cleanliness of Saints and ordinary people are identical, and the difference is how they deal with the uncleanliness. An average person would get angry because he wanted his house to be entirely clean all the time. A Saint will sympathize with the person who causes an accident and let her clean the living room. He didn't get angry with her. Saints are very thorough but not obstinate.

Another example is about obeying the rules. The same rules apply to everyone. For example, one must be formally dressed to go to a pagoda because being scantily dressed in a sacred place is an insult. That is a rule. And you must be politely dressed to go to the People's Committee to have your papers signed because if otherwise, it is your disrespect to the country. Because officials respect the people, they dress appropriately, and so do the people. It's a rule that everyone must strictly obey. What if a poorly dressed old woman rushed into the Ward People's Committee for having her papers signed. She cried, "Please help sign these papers for me." If the official was obstinate, he would angrily say to this old woman:

• Return to your home and get suitably dressed. If not, I won't work because you look down on our country.

That is the attachment to the rules. Why? Because this woman didn't know the rule. Most educated or somewhat wealthy are politely dressed. And this woman lived in the countryside, so she didn't realize that she must be formally dressed to come to a state agency in order to have her papers signed. If you were not persistent to the rules, you would know that she was born in wartime and his parents joined the army and didn't take care of her, and it's fortunate she went through the wartime and still alive. Understanding this, you would love her and showed respect to her and then notarized her papers. It is a person careful but not persist. Intellectual people are always cautious with every small thing but not persistent, so they still feel happy.

So you see that there are kinds of psychology opposite but complement to form a perfect soul, which is like a bird must have two wings to fly into the sky. However, these different kinds of psychology are not easy to assemble if we don't have the standard practice. We're easy to favor one kind. So when we live peacefully, then we're easy to become lazy, and if we are diligent, we're easy to get angry. Only true practitioners feel peaceful and are hardworking. In the same way, the opposing characters of the mind like being comfortable and diligent, quiet and eloquent, thorough and discreet, etc. create a perfect soul and all of us need to practice to have the balance among these characters and earn a lot of blessing in order to become liberated later.

Written by:
Janna

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