พระอาจารย์อธิบายวาจาสุภาษิตทั้งห้าองค์ประกอบ ชี้ให้เห็นว่าทุกคำพูดล้วนมีธรรมชาติทั้งสามฝ่ายอยู่เบื้องหลัง วาจาดีดึงกระแสบุญมาชำระกล่องเสียงให้บริสุทธิ์ ส่วนวาจาชั่วดึงกระแสบาปมาผนึกเป็นผังสำเร็จรอให้ผลThe teacher explains the five qualities of well-spoken speech, showing that every word we speak has one of the three natures at work behind it. Good speech draws a stream of merit that purifies the voice, while harmful speech draws demerit, sealed into a blueprint waiting to bear fruit.
Someone asked the teacher to expand on the tenth blessing, "having well-spoken speech," as the Buddha taught: one should utter only beautiful speech, never foul speech — good speech accomplishes its purpose, while foul speech only brings trouble. He defined well-spoken speech as having five qualities: it is spoken at the right time, it is true, it is gentle and pleasant, it is beneficial, and it is spoken with a mind of .
Every Word We Speak Has One of the Three Natures Behind It
The teacher explained that our lives are governed by the three underlying natures. When the unwholesome side possesses the mind, harmful thoughts arise, accompanied by a pressuring, compelling voice directing us to say something wrong. It feels as though the thought were our own — we try to resist it, yet cannot. Once we speak that harmful word, a stream of demerit pours through us continuously, bringing misfortune along with it. Every time we utter such words, that demerit is sealed into a completed sphere of demerit, together with a blueprint designed to destroy our form-treasure, wealth-treasure, and virtue-treasure — waiting to bear fruit at its appointed place on our life's timeline.
By contrast, speaking well lets a stream of merit flow through us, purifying our vocal apparatus in particular, making it clearer, more resonant, cleaner, and purer each time we speak words fulfilling all five qualities. Behind every word we utter, one nature or another is always at work — it is never simply a matter of thinking something and freely saying it.
Wisdom Gained From Learning Dhamma Helps Us Speak Rightly
Speaking well depends on learning and understanding dhamma. Every time we learn, a stream of merit flows in to refine our mind toward purity, drawing us into ever finer inner dimensions, connecting us with ever more powerful inner knowers. Wisdom born of listening (sutamaya-paññā) is therefore essential. Whatever we learn is refined by merit and preserved with pure energy, protected from being erased by the unwholesome side, so that we can remember and recall it easily. This differs from the neutral nature, which offers no new information at all — whatever little it has is all there is to use — and from the unwholesome side, which never uses beneficial information at all, drawing only on what causes harm.
When we cultivate , side guides us to speak what is beneficial, inviting others toward good deeds. Every time we discuss , recite it, or share it with someone, the wholesome nature becomes the landlord of the mind: we appear luminous at the center of the Triple Gem, the Triple Gem appears luminous at our own center, and both of us shine together at the center of Nibbana. The more we speak this way, the more fluent we become, until it happens automatically — because the inner knower of great power is overlaying and assisting us. But speaking words of demerit repeatedly becomes automatic in the opposite direction just as easily, leaving listeners feeling as wounded as if struck by a blade.
Guard Thought, Speech, and Action Alike
The teacher cautioned that when a harmful thought intrudes, if we remain still — neither accepting nor rejecting it, simply staying neutral — nothing comes of it. But once we accept it and speak it aloud, demerit arises immediately. In contrast, when the wholesome side is the landlord of the mind, it never forces us; it invites, advises, guides, and instructs us toward speaking what is beneficial — gentle and pleasant to hear, truthful, free of idle chatter, and spoken at the right time. This is simply the natural, wholesome conscience that arises on its own once wholesome dhamma possesses the mind. We should therefore look for opportunities every day to engage in good conversation and share dhamma.
He explained that people's voices differ: some voices come paired with wealth; others are pleasant to hear yet bring no wealth at all. The cause lies in the consistent practice of speaking well — a voice that becomes, in itself, a channel through which wealth arrives, drawing in a stream of merit together with refined treasures and a completed blueprint. The more often we speak well-spoken words, the more our voice, mouth, and tongue are refined into cleanliness, , and growing sanctity — until, in time, we come to possess a voice as melodious as that of the great Brahma.