Here’s an 46-min recorded video Dhamma Talk (90MB .mp4).

Topics:

  • 8-fold Noble Path, Right Speech, knowing the right time to speech, restraint in speech, Silence, metta, good sleep


Oops:

  • At the time 9:02, I said “unbeneficial”, when I should have said “beneficial”, and I said “cases 2 and 6”, when I meant “cases 3 and 6”.

  • At the time 29:40, I said that there is no Vinaya rule against loud speech. There are 2 Sekhiya rules (Sekhiya means “a training to be observed; proper behaviour”), namely numbers 13 and 14:

    “I will go [sit] (speaking) with a lowered voice in inhabited areas: a training to be observed.”

    The Commentary defines a lowered voice as follows: Three bhikkhus are sitting in a row at intervals of three meters. The first bhikkhu speaks. The second can hear him and clearly catch what he is saying. The third can hear his voice but not what he is saying. If the third can clearly catch what he is saying, it maintains, the first bhikkhu is speaking too loudly. As the Vinaya-mukha notes, though, when one is speaking to a crowd of people, there is nothing wrong in raising one’s voice provided that one does not shout. And as the non-offense clauses show, there is nothing wrong in shouting if there are dangers—e.g., someone is about to fall off a cliff or be hit by a car. It would also seem that there is no offense in shouting if one’s listener is partially deaf.

    Note: Breaching these rules unwittingly uncurrs no offense.

Sutta References:

  • MN 58: Abhayarājakumāra Sutta To Prince Abhaya - (Aj. Thanissaro):

    1. In the case of words that the Tathāgata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial [or: not connected with the goal], unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them.
    2. In the case of words that the Tathāgata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them.
    3. In the case of words that the Tathāgata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, but unendearing & disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them.
    4. In the case of words that the Tathāgata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them.
    5. In the case of words that the Tathāgata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them.
    6. In the case of words that the Tathāgata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, and endearing & agreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them.

    Why is that? Because the Tathāgata has sympathy for living beings.”

Other References:

  • 5 factors of right speech from my past Dhamma Talk here. This list is also on a printable “PocketMod”, as explained here.

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