พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าความงดงามในธรรมประกอบด้วยสองส่วนคือการงดเว้นสิ่งไม่ดี ได้แก่ การคดโกง การพูดเพ้อเจ้อ และความเย่อหยิ่ง กับการประกอบความดีคือมีปรีชาสามารถและมีใจมั่นคง โดยการตั้งผังใจไว้ล่วงหน้าจะทำให้ระบบกุศลธรรมคอยเตือนและช่วยเหลือเราไม่ให้พลาดพลั้งThe teacher explains that beauty in virtue has two parts: abstaining from wrongdoing — cheating, idle chatter, and arrogance — and cultivating good qualities such as capability and a steadfast mind. Setting this intention in advance allows the wholesome system to warn and support us so we don't slip.
Someone asked the teacher to expand on the verse: "Those who do not cheat, do not speak idly, are capable, are not arrogant, and hold a steadfast mind — truly shine in the taught by the Fully Enlightened One."
Every field and profession wants people who are both able and capable. No organization wants someone dishonest, because such a person inevitably brings harm to it. Without integrity, one's reputation crumbles, and no one wishes to associate with such a person. Idle, purposeless talk should likewise be avoided — often silence is better, since the more one speaks the more chances there are to err. A wise person considers the person, the time, the place, and the occasion before speaking; even something true and useful still calls for careful judgment. A single word from a wise person carries more weight than a thousand words from a fool.
The Thai word for "beautiful in " (ngod-ngam) contains two parts: "ngod" (to abstain) and "ngam" (to be good/beautiful). Abstaining means refraining from what should not be done — from cheating, from idle speech, from arrogance. Once these are abstained from, beauty naturally appears. Being good means practicing what should be practiced — being capable and having a steadfast mind. Cultivating virtue therefore has two paired parts: what must be abstained from () and what must be cultivated ().
When we resolve in advance not to cheat, not to speak idly, and not to be arrogant, the wholesome system reinforces this resolve as a kind of built-in reminder. Whenever an unwholesome impulse tries to steer us toward wrongdoing, a voice that feels like our own thought will caution us against it. This is why setting the intention beforehand matters: the wholesome system, cared for by the Triple Gem, will keep guiding and reinforcing us so we can act with increasing correctness and goodness.
Unwholesome forces, on the other hand, work through boredom, distress, stress, irritation, discouragement, pressure, and restlessness — exploiting our likes and dislikes toward sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch to push us toward elation or despair, which destabilizes the mind and breeds bias toward everything around us. This is why we must hold the mind in balance, neither pleased nor displeased by circumstances, and speak only what is useful and meaningful — words that serve peace and lead toward the Dhamma. Our behavior and speech affect others too; if what others witness breeds bias in them, it harms both them and us. Regularly cultivating and is therefore the essential foundation for a steadfast mind, unshaken by what we like or dislike.