Chua Duoc Su

Evil speech or cruel speech is one of the four domains of the fourth precept of lying. Evil words such as scolding people badly or scolding others as animals, demons, bad girls, robbers, threats, and violent killings... are also evil words. Saying such harsh words, first of all, you have dirtied your personality, dirtied your soul. The people who speak profanity, speak evil words then the kusala is hard to appear in his mind. This is something good you have to learn from school to family so that when the children grow up, they do not become infected with the habit of swearing and degrading the culture, it is a small thing. But it's a big deal to lose kusala in a child's mind and make his life unsettled. Therefore, Buddhists must be careful not to speak evil words.

There is an old saying:

- Good intentions, a warm sentence three winters, an evil word cold people for six months

That shows how great the power of a word is. Sometimes joking, and defaming others seems harmless, although it has not caused any great harm to the listener, for the speaker himself, it is already creating karma. In terms of conversation, Buddhism emphasizes the issue of practicing speech, and the ancients have a saying:

- To cause suffering to others with words.

The saying implies that the mouth that says bad words, and evil words will hurt others, thus creating evil karma. Moreover, deliberately telling false truths, and slandering others to suffer are acts of petty people. Such behavior will result in karmic suffering. The story is:

Once upon a time, in Savatthi city, there lived a very rich man named Su Chat, who was over 40 years old and had no children. The couple was very worried, so they went to a Brahmin to ask for fortune-telling to see if there would be a son or daughter in the future. But they were extremely disappointed when the fortune teller answered that they would not have children for the rest of their lives.

Hearing that, Su Chat refused to believe it, so he went to find another master of numerology, with a higher hand, and more experience, to ask for a hexagram. Strangely, this master, who is respected and praised by everyone as a god-like fortune-teller, also disappointed Su Chat.

When Su Chat went home, his heart was troubled, he suddenly remembered the great saint Shakyamuni, then in his heart thought to himself:

- The Buddha is the leader of heaven and human and is omniscient, there is nothing that he does not know, and there is nothing that he does not understand, why don't I go to him and ask for guidance?

Thinking of this he went to Jetavana Monastery. Arriving at the place, after reverently paying respects to the Buddha, he folded his hands and said:

- Venerable World-Honored One, with great compassion, please have mercy on sentient beings who are ignorant and instructive. I have a little concern, this year is more than 40 years without a son to inherit, it is due to any predestined cause, I bow to the Buddha to teach.

Buddha replied:

- Soon you will have a son, this boy is both blessed and virtuous. But when the baby is just grown up, he will apply for ordination.

Hearing this news, Su Chat was very happy, sincerely bowed to the Buddha's feet, and then requested:

- May the Blessed One and the monks allow us to make offerings at noon tomorrow so that we can have more good relations and plant seeds in the merit field of the Tathagata.

The Buddha accepted the invitation, and Su Chat happily went home to prepare items to offer. The next day he led the servants and stood in two rows to invite the Buddha and monks into the house, sincerely offering the most delicious and beautiful food and drink.

After receiving the offerings, the Buddha gave a sermon to Su Chat and his family, and then led the monks back to the vihara. Halfway there, the Buddha and the monks sat under a tree by the river to rest. Suddenly from a tree, a monkey jumped down and asked to borrow the Buddha's bowl. He took the bowl and ran away, and then returned, the bowl was full of honey. It respectfully offered the bowl with both hands to the Buddha, who received it and shared it with the monks so that the monkey could gain many blessings. The monkey saw this and jumped for joy.

It wasn't long before it reached its end, reincarnated as a human, and was born in Su Chat's house. When it was born, if there was anything in the ordinary house that could hold food, it was suddenly full of honey and sugar. Su Chat and his wife saw something strange, so because of this predestined relationship, they named their child Mat Thang.

Time flies like an arrow, more than ten years have passed like a blink of an eye, and now Mat Thang has grown up. The boy was fed up with worldly affairs, so he asked his parents' permission to let him become a monk, and his parents were very happy and replied:

- When you were not born, Buddha knew that this day would come. Now you want to become a monk, your parents are very happy. Parents never stop their children unreasonably.

Having been happily allowed by his parents, Mat Thang went to Ky Vien vihara and asked to be ordained with the Buddha. Thanks to predestined conditions, Mat Thang achieved holy results very quickly.

One day, Mat Thang was on his way to convert sentient beings with his fellow practitioners, feeling both extremely hot and thirsty, and everyone wished to have something to drink. Bhikkhu Mat Thang then picked up the bowl and threw it into the sky, and then took the bowl back with both hands. At that time, in a bowl full of honey, Mat Thang divided it among the monks so that the monks could quench their thirst.

Returning to the vihara, a monk went to find the Buddha and asked for advice:

"World-Honored One, in the past, what kind of virtue did Bhikkhu Mat Thang cultivate that now, at any time, anywhere he can have sugar and honey?"

Buddha replied:

- Do you remember once, a long time ago, a monkey brought honey to the Tathagata and monks? Thanks to charity with good intentions, after death he is reborn as a human, and thanks to his sincerely offering honey to the Buddha, in this life he can obtain sugar and honey anytime and anywhere.

When the Buddha finished speaking, the monk asked:

- Dear World-Honored One! Then, in the past life of Mat Thang, what were the causes and conditions that caused him to fall as a monkey?

At that time the Buddha was surrounded by many disciples, he looked at them for a while and then replied:

- Bhikkhu Mat Thang was reborn as a monkey because of a predestined condition that happened 500 kalpas ago when Tathagata Kassapa was still alive. At that time there was a young monk, who happened to see another elderly monk crossing a small stream, the young monk laughed mockingly, saying that the old monk's posture was like a monkey's. But then the young monk, realizing his mistake, came to apologize to the old monk whom he had mocked. Although he repented, the young monk committed a crime of speech, so he fell down as a monkey. Because of the predestined conditions of repentance, in this life, he could meet the Buddha and be converted by the Buddha, so Bhikkhu Mat Thang quickly attained Arahantship.

After listening to the Buddha's lecture, the monks all realized that a bad sentence can also induce suffering, so no one dares to speak evil words, not even a joke. Because the law of cause and effect does not leave out any person, so a monk who can't control his mind for a while is still depraved, let alone an ordinary person. Here's another story:

Once upon a time, there was a man named Chuc Ky Sinh. He often uses his words to bend the truth and mock the imperfections of others. Moreover, he often likes to induce others to do bad things to harm people. Whenever he met someone with an ugly face, Chuc Ky Sinh would laugh and mock them. Whenever he met a handsome and handsome person, he would use jokes to tease them. Whenever he meets an intelligent person, Chuc Ky Sinh will comment from head to toe on this person, on the contrary, if he meets someone more stupid than himself, he will try to bully them. If he met a poor person, he would not only mercilessly help but also despise them. If he meets rich people, he will hate them and slander them.

Especially when he meets someone who discusses Buddhist doctrine, Chuc Ky Sinh does not spare to ridicule, and poke fun at them for being vegetarians. When he met someone who talked about Confucianism and practicing virtue, he laughed and called them hypocrites, pseudo-juniors. When he saw someone speaking kind words, he mocked them, saying:

- Only good talk, not doing anything useful!

Later, when he was middle-aged, Chuc Ky Sinh suddenly contracted a cold sore. Not only did his disease have no cure, but every day he had to use a needle to pierce the tip of his tongue so that the blood would fill his mouth to reduce the pain. Every day, Chuc Ky Sinh was in great pain, he was in extreme pain every time he wanted to say something. In the end, he died of atrophy of his tongue.

In the religious world, there are different types of karma, which cause different types of illness. Looking at it, it looks like a disease on the body, but the main cause comes from karma, and oral karma is the type of karma that people are most likely to encounter. Sometimes just making a mistake, or saying things without putting yourself in their shoes hurts other, even causing them to find their way to the end. Words are like sharp knives, with very strong damage, so any of you must pay attention to this issue. These two true stories are lessons for everyone.

Talking about oral karma, there are many people who look at it and see that everything is good, but the results are not satisfactory. It is not because they are bad, but because they did wrong in their previous lives, so they have to suffer in this life. This is a lesson for you to love the wrong person. Everything in life is a lesson for you, whether good or bad. If you don't know how to learn, it's all a pitfall. Prosperity, wealth, and glory are a trap that leads you to fall. Adversity like suffering leads you into despair and hatred. If you learn morality, wealth will create conditions for you to let go and give alms, while suffering will create conditions for you to be patient. Knowing morals is all good.

In order to eliminate the karma of bad speech, that is, evil speech, in Buddhism, there is a teaching of loving speech in Catuhsamgraha-vastu that the Buddha explained in general including not to lie, not to speak two-way, not to speak add or subtract, and do not speak maliciously. Particularly cruel speech, that is, bad speech is a very broad category that includes the entire language communication part in social relations in many aspects. It manifests from mild to severe, from unscrupulous, not gentle, impolite, thoughtless words to intentionally rude, sarcastic, reproachful, grumpy, fierce, sarcastic, ...v..v… A person who speaks cruelly not only causes discomfort to the listener but also causes a lot of trouble for himself. Therefore, it is harmful to all jobs, and all relationships in society, from father and son relationships, brothers and sisters, husband and wife in the family, relationships with friends, teachers and students, master and servant, to relations with neighbors, organizations, unions, authorities, and laws. It even affects the interests of the locality and the country in communication and foreign relations.

Therefore, it can be said that, excluding lies, double-tongued words, and embroidered words, all the verbal karmas caused are derived from harsh or cruel words, which is the way to act handling immature, unwise, thoughtless, and impolite words are most often heard.

In this section, you examine extensively in turn the karma caused by cruel speech in different relationships in society. At the same time, clearly show the path that Buddhism shows to correct, to eliminate the verbal karma caused by speaking evil words.

1- In family relations:

In family relationships, abusive words can manifest on many different levels. In a society with a traditional educational background, life in the family, polite and orderly speech is the basic thing, as not allowing bad words to appear. Speech in the family manifests itself in three different relationships:

- Parents & Children:

It is the child's duty not to speak rudely to his parents, not to speak harshly to his parents, and not to speak harshly and cruelly to his parents, even if his parents sometimes do something negligent or wrong. The moral of being a child is to know how to take care of your parents not only by taking care of your parents' material and spiritual life in normal times, as well as when your parents are sick but even by your daily speech. must also follow the moral of childhood. The son should always have a gentle, respectful speech. The children's words should always be sweet, warm, and cool water for parents to enjoy and as if to repay their parents' gratitude for their birth and upbringing.

On the contrary, in the attitude and speech of a father or mother towards their children, there must also be the righteous Dharma, and also must follow the principles of father and son. Fathers should not cause difficulties and harsh words to their children, because these things will contribute to the separation of father and son, not understanding each other. For a mother, her words to her children and grandchildren are even more important. A mother's words to her children and grandchildren should always be sweet and easy to hear, not say abusive words, insult children, scolding children. But sometimes, parents also need to use tough, harsh, uninhibited words to teach their children to be good people. Thus, it is also another form of loving speech and is done with the compassion of a bodhisattva. The mother should not address you, me to her children and even to other family members, even to the maid. In the way of addressing, it is also necessary to choose appropriate words, causing sympathy for the listener. That way, it adds cultural values and education to a family.

- Brotherly Relationship:

Born with the same parents, living in the same family, and enjoying the same education and training from their parents, brothers, and sisters must love and care for each other, not only in their actions and thoughts but also in their everyday words. Our ancestors used to say:

- Needles have only heads,

Does that mean:

In a house, you must have one big and one small. The younger brother absolutely must not have rude words towards his brothers and sisters. The older brother should not be harsh with the young brother when he is at fault but must have sympathy and compassion to remind him. Only then will young brothers be trusted and loved. Growing up with a family, wife, and children, the brotherly relationship must be stronger, respecting each other's feelings and interests. Absolutely avoid the bad words of the wife and children that affect the good brotherly relationship in the family.

So even at a young age, if possible, the children in the family need to look to the teachings of Buddhism to practice and nurture themselves with the teachings the Buddha and live according to the Dharma Buddha, according to the Buddha's teachings loving speech and acting according to the four immeasurable minds. When young, the children in the family should follow the example of their parents who are Buddhists in meditation practice to increase their wisdom and quickly absorb the Buddha's teachings.

- Spousal Relationship:

This is the most basic, strongest relationship that needs to be in a family. The family headed by parents, husband, and wife is the cell of society. If the family is not stable, society can easily be turned upside down. To have a sustainable family, the husband and wife relationship is the key, the foundation of that sustainability. In a society with good education and traditions, the husband and wife's morality is worshiped and kept sacred. Due to the natural characteristics of nature, husband, and wife have their own functions, but all are in an equal relationship of mutual love, integrity, and meaning. Therefore, not only is the relationship of actions of body, speech, and mind must be unified, but in daily life, speech is very important in the treatment of husband and wife morality.

There are husbands who are always patriarchal in their bloodline, in their minds, they have not received the good traditional education of their ancestors, so they live with an uncultured way of life. Although in society, they are successful people, doing certain positions, inside they have all kinds of bad habits such as greed, hatred, delusion, conceit, and pride, so the way they treat their wives and children is not good, causing many conflicts in the family. There are husbands who scold their wives and insult their wives severely. Even cruel words such as speaking to enemies, and abusive words break the soul and feelings of the wife. Such husbands do not know that they are smearing themselves on their faces, lowering their character. And worse, they are spoiling their children and destroying their own family's happiness.

Besides, there are also excessive wives, suppressing and oppressing gentle and kind husbands with words that are always scolding and annoying. It seems that those women have a congenital defect, every time they open their mouths, they say unfriendly words, words that are difficult to hear, cause discomfort to others and even say harsh words evil, and wicked. Such women, even in their married life, in their family's speech, towards their husbands and children, and sometimes even towards their parents, cannot control their eloquent personalities. so. With such wives, they only harm themselves, hurt their family's happiness, and cause themselves separation from husbands, children, and even brothers near and far, neighbors.

In contrast, couples who respect each other, live happily, and almost never raise their voices to each other, so it is even less possible to have cruel words to each other. The words of happy couples are words in the right speech, in loving speech, always gentle, gentle, sweet, warm, lovely words, and always cooling in the soul of the wife. or husband when heard. In the content of speech, there is always mutual respect, and cannot be given or ordered by both sides. Thus, in terms of the content of speech as well as the nuance of the voice, the attitude when speaking cannot be grumpy, rude, grumpy, commanding, nitpicking, sour, or bitter.