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Pariyatti Audio Editions Presents: Deeper Aspects of

Sīla, a talk given by Klaus Nothnagel on February 28,
2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

So in Germany, in some of the tourist souvenir handicraft

shops, you can find a beautiful carved proverb, which
they attribute to the Talmud. It says, "Be aware of your
thoughts, they will turn into words. Your words will turn
into actions, which will form your habits, which will form
your character, which will become your destiny." Those
known in the scriptures of the Talmud, do not really
confirm that this is the real quote, and if you check and do
research in the internet and have the English translation,
you find they put this into the mouth of Mahatma Gandhi
or Dalai Lama, and even of Margaret Thatcher. But the
echo of the essence of this aphorism for someone with an
open mind, I think echoes long. "Be aware of your
thoughts, they turn into words; they turn into actions,
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which forms your habits, which forms your character, and

which will become your destiny."
Now, the question may arise, how to be aware of the
thoughts however one appreciates the saying. It was
thanks to the Buddha, that he gave a pragmatical way and
declared a path of how to proceed in such a way.
I would like to start with a quote of one of the arahants by
the name of Silavat [00:02:35]. He was the brother of the
Prince Ajātasattu that is well-known, who, through
strange fate of this family, who was to kill his father
because of the influence of Devadatta. Even so, it was not
so easy to kill him because King Bimbisara, his father,
had been Sotapanna, and it's not easy to kill a Sotapanna.
But still he managed, finally, and after he had killed his
father, at the very moment, he received the message that
his father finally had passed.
On the other hand, at the same time, a message arrived
that a boy had been born to him by the name of Udaya. At
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this moment, the then King Ajātasattu felt that he has

done something wrong because he felt the joy of this boy
that had come to him, must have been felt likewise by his
father. Still, he wanted to kill his brother, which had left
the householder's life and was this respected monk,
Silavat. So he sent some soldiers to kill his brother. And
his brother, when he received the soldiers, he uttered the
following words. I leave aside the Pali. He said, "Sīla is
the starting point, foundation, and foremost source of all
that is wholesome. Therefore, one should keep one's sīla
in its purity. One should train oneself here and in this
world in sīla well, because based on applied sīla,
everything can be achieved that is within one's reach."
What happened was that these soldiers, their mental
capacity, have been of such development that they must
have understood the deeper meaning of this saying. They
threw away their weapons. They threw away their clothes.
They took robes, and they followed the path of the
Buddha. This inspired me to give this presentation. The
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title, when I was asked - what the title was, I decided it's
Deeper Aspect of Sīla from the Perspective of a
Meditator, because I feel that every meditator should
automatically invite that spirit that the soldiers had at that
very time.
Sīla is the laying out, as you are all aware, of the
principles, the moral principles, by the Buddha.
Now, the moral principles have been the quest of mankind
since the very beginning. What now is the difference?
What differentiates someone who is a meditator from
anyone else? This, I would like to point out, and I will
allow you to give a personal historical occurrence that
was a turning to, which was a turning point in my life.
I was raised in Bavaria, which is in the southern parts of
Germany, known for its beauty of nature, for its down-to-
earth locals, and also for the beautiful churches around
there. So the Catholic influence was quite strong in my
education and I appreciated it very much, what I heard,
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especially the Ten Commandments. Even so, the first

five, I couldn't do much about them, but the last ones, as
you may remember, "Thou shall not kill," "Thou shall not
steal," et cetera, gave a deep influence on me and I tried to
follow them very much, indeed.
I was known as a quite honest guy, so when there was
some mischief happening, I always got the punishment
because I said, yes, when I was in wrong, I agreed. And it
so developed until I reached the age of puberty where I
found that something was wrong because, looking at the
world around me, somehow I felt I was the only one
doing so and I decided to challenge God in a way as a
small boy can do.
I entered after mass at the church and I did something.
Don't want to go into details here, but I felt it was very
upsetting to God. I was standing there shivering, waiting
for flashes to blow me, and the earth to open to drown me,
but unfortunately nothing happened. So I lost my
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confidence in these commandments that I followed and

also in God and my life changed towards the downward
path. Fortunately, later in the early '70s, I followed the
[inaudible 00:08:35] ride to India and I could do my first
courses. But still, I was really convinced that the path of
the Buddha is what I was searching when I started about,
again, 15 years later to learn Pali. And understanding the
precepts, as one is requested to follow them in the deeper
sense of the meaning, gave me another thrilling
experience and decided me to follow the paths uprightly
and correctly
So these precepts, as you know, you repeated them many
times, the word of the formalized Pāṇātipātā,
Adinnādānā, et cetera, veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ
samādiyāmi. So literal translation is necessary to
understand the deeper meaning of it.[00:09:34]. Veramaṇī
means it is an abstinence, so you abstain from doing
something. Literal also, it says vera is the enemy, maṇī
means to crush, so this abstinence crushes the enemies, or
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[inaudibl00:09:54]. Sikkhāpada means, Sikkhati, to train,

and pada is the path. So you enter the path of training of
abstaining from something, and it is the vow that you
voluntarily take upon yourself by saying samādiyāmi.
So for everyone who follows this in the literal sense,
makes it clear that this abstinence is not something that
you have a command, "Thou shall not," but you
voluntarily undertake this and it is not a one-time end. It
is the path that you have to walk and you have to train
yourself, so failures are allowed and you ongoingly have
to train yourself and take upon yourself to continue. So
this gives the first perspective of what it is for a meditator,
to understand that this is an ongoing step-by-step training
towards the final goal of abstaining of anything that is
falling under the fact of unwholesome activity.
The commentary now points to this intention, this volition
is what performs your kammic results. The kammic
results, your kamma, and you have heard this, what the
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Buddha says, ‘that the knowledge of kamma being

beyond my own possession, that one is the heir,
inheritance of the kamma, one is born from one's kamma,
and the only relative is one's kamma. It is the only
paṭisaraṇa, reconciliation, and whatever kamma one
performs, it will be the result thereof’.
So we also have to see that this is only the basic
foundation. First part of it is this veramaṇī. It lays the
base for the positive action. One always sees in "Thou
shall not," the command of what you should not do. But
what you should perform is not highlighted here, but it's
underlined. Only if you abstain from all these things,
which I will continue going into more detail, then the
positive activity, the positive and wholesome actions one
can perform easily, and they are a kind of counterpart to
these things that are unwholesome, that should be
avoided.
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So to summarize, even so the fundamental element of the

veramaṇī is the characteristic of abstention, its perfection
is to perform wholesomeness. So pāṇātipātā outlaws
killing and hurt, torturing, but it is the foundation for the
development of compassion, love, and empathy for all
beings.
Adinnādānā veramaṇī forbids stealing and similar
employments of actions such like, but it is the base for
uprightness, for contentedness with one's own possession,
and for generosity and patience, with the right means of
livelihood.
The next one is Kāmesu micchācārā. It avoids
unfaithfulness and unwholesome sexual activity as a
source for a healthy and marital relationship, which
establish mutual confidence and contentment in marriage,
life, and celibacy.
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Musā-vādā veramaṇī avoids telling direct falsehood, all

kind of falsehood and breaking of promises, and it opens
the road to honesty, truthfulness and correctness.
The final one, Surā-meraya-majjapamādaṭṭhānā, prevents
to indulge in intoxicants. It eliminates drunkenness as the
cause of various other unwholesome activities and it
assures a realistic base of watchfulness and alertness, and
it provides the foundation for the removal of ignorance, of
avijja.
Now, imagine what life would be if one was completely
free of any animosity or aversion; there was no trace of
jealousy or envy, and full satisfaction and contentment
with what one has; one remains contented and fully happy
with one's partner, free from lust; one would at no
occasion their word from truth; there was no need to feel
remorse feelings and one would always have clarity
because one stays far away of any intoxications.
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So these two parts always belong together; from

abstention, veramaṇī, there is caramaṇī, performance of
positive actions, which are only enabled after I leave aside
all these unwholesome tendencies, which result in
unwholesome actions and activities.
The Buddha said, ‘Avoid the unwholesome. It is possible
to avoid the unwholesome because if it wasn't possible
that unwholesome actions can be left behind and
abandoned, I wouldn't say avoid the unwholesome. But
because it is possible that unwholesome actions can be
left behind, therefore I say avoid the unwholesome. I also
say develop the wholesome. It is possible to develop the
wholesome because if it wasn't possible that wholesome
actions can be developed, I wouldn't say develop the
wholesome. But because it is possible that wholesome
actions can be developed, therefore, I say develop the
wholesome. If, by developing wholesome actions,
disadvantage and misery were the result, I wouldn't tell
you develop the wholesome. But because by developing
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wholesome actions, the result is welfare and happiness, I

tell you develop the wholesome.’
So I've been asking what is the difference and what is the
special feature of a meditator? I'll try to summarize of
what I tried to highlight so far.
First of all, one understands it is not an aim in itself to
keep up the moral qualities, to develop the moral
qualities, as highlighted by the Buddha, but it is a lifelong
step-by-step training where failures are allowed as long as
you understand this was a failure and take a stronger
determination to avoid it in future.
The second and most important part is the underlying
reflection of your volition. And this is the positive part of
us all being meditators, that we always try to somehow
understand what is going on. We have the feeling
something is happening. I want to do something that is
not so wholesome, take a break, and then reflect on what
you're going to do and what is my volition. Of course, it's
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a difficult thing. You should understand that everything

arises from the volition, out of the volition and the
intention. As long as you keep track of that, it's more
easy. That is the phase of the kamma I perform.
Now, I would like to go into each of these precepts, part
by part. The first one, of course, is pāṇātipātā, and the
Buddha gives its explanation. There is a case where a
certain person takes life, is cruelsome, bloody-handed,
engaged in killing and slaying, showing no sympathy
towards living beings. Any of these breakages of Sīla can
be analyzed in various forms. I would like to do it just
slightly.
The commentary looks into the intention, the purpose of
what brought ... what was the volition that brought
forward the effort that was put into the act to perform
such a negative, unwholesome activity. Then, of course,
let's say killing someone, is it pre-planned? Is it
premeditated or is it impulsive? Is it spontaneous? Is it
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done out of hatred, out of envy, or greed, or done out of

various other factors? So this determines the effort of the
act performed. And only when this act realizes the
performance and the result of some being is killed or
something is stolen, then as soon as this happens, the
kammic process starts.
Just to give an example how difference ... Goenkaji gives
the example, the doctor who wants to operate and the
murderer who takes the same knife and kills. So a boy
sees a spider in the water and he tries to help him, pull it
out of the water and squeezes it. By chance, the
consequence is the spider may die. Another boy steps on a
spider unintentionally, he has no knowledge of it. There's
another boy who playfully destroys the spider's net and
that causes the spider to die. Another boy playfully tries
to play with the spider and takes its life. Of course, these
are all different. Even so, the result is the same. Different
activities that have a different intention and a different
effect on the boys who respectively do these kinds of acts.
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Sometimes people ask now what actually is killing, and

the commentary always has various constituents. In this
case, it is a living being has to be present. The
consciousness that this is the living being; the intention to
kill; the effort that makes one undertake this respective
act; taking the effective tools, weapons, et cetera; and the
death of this being; then the performance of killing is
fully done.
Commentary again says killing living beings results from
the volition to kill by someone with the full consciousness
of that living being, and this volition manifest itself
through one or the other doors of body and speech and it
initiates the action that leads to the approach and the
cutting off the life faculty of that respective being. Then
killing is performed.
There is one sutta, the Dhammika Sutta, where a Buddha
shows the deeper aspects in the three forms for someone
who really wants to stay completely aloof of any of these
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intentions. He says, ‘One should neither kill any living

being, nor cause others to kill, or approve the killing done
by someone else. One should have laid down one's own
stick towards all beings in the world, whether strong or
small.’
Having so far, in regards to the first precept, pointed to
what should be avoided and how it could be avoided by
pointing to the volition, to take care of volition, then the
commentaries, they speak about purifying this first
precept, ennobling it. I like this word, so I use it, to
ennoble. How can this first precept be ennobled?
There was a story when the Buddha walked from Sāvatthī
to get alms, and he passed some field with some boys who
were playing and they were killing a snake with a stick.
The snake was doing nothing else and was in search of
one's own food. The Buddha says to these boys, ‘Now
beings who desire their own happiness by beating the
other beings with a stick will never attain happiness
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themselves. Beings that desire their own happiness and do

not beat beings with a stick, they themselves will attain
happiness thereafter.’ That shows this empathy towards
all beings is something that the Buddha showed at various
cases. For someone who desires happiness and loathes
pain and torture, we should keep in mind that this is the
same for all beings.
That is why the ennobling of this first precept is a result
of coming out of aversion, hatred, animosity, of ill will, of
anger, is sharing one's good wishes with all beings. This
is, of course, as we always try our best to do even so it is
extremely difficult, the practice of mettā. In the Pali texts,
when practicing mettā, go and emphasize, especially
when they describe all kinds of beings, the existence of
beings in such a way that they make sure that no any form
of being is left out. This is not the point of the talk here.
So various suttas describe these kinds of beings, whether
they're far or near, small or large, seen or unseen, visible
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or not visible, known or unknown, in any field of the

universe, any being, one should try to include this starting
from oneself. So this, finally, this empathy that develops,
the goodwill that develops, and the compassion that
develops once one comes out more and more from this
aversion, from this negativity, ennobles the first precept.
Now, the second precept, we should understand the literal
meaning of it, which is called adinnādānā. So a is the
negation, not; dinnā is given, past participle of dadati,
dānā, you know this, and ādānā means taking. So literal,
this meaning, and it's quite delicate to understand this,
means not taking or taking what is not given. We should
avoid taking something that is not given, which, in the
deeper sense, means and fosters the wholesome means of
revenue and of livelihood. The Buddha says, in a short
definition, someone takes what is not given, he goes to
villages or to forests and takes by theft, possessions and
things belonging to others that have not been given to
him.
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The commentary highlights the carrying of other's goods,

stealing and robbery defines what is not given. What is not
given is any other's possession, which that very other one
may use in accordance to his or her liking. So disruptive
motivation generates acts that are misappropriate in
regards to the rightful belongings of others. Taking what is
not given is the volition to steal, by fully being aware of
this act of theft, and of other's possession; that belongs to
others, and this volition initiates action that leads to the
approach and the act of stealing. Its base is greed, envy,
jealousy and such like, and for an act of theft to be
accomplished, the following constituents again, as I said
before, have to be present: another's possession,
consciousness that it is the possession of someone else, the
intention to steal, the approach, the effort, to put the act of
theft into reality.
Then, also, the commentary looks into the moral kammic
consequences and it says the effects depend on the value
of the stolen object. The higher the value, the more
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blameworthy is the deed, and in case of the same value, it

is more blamable when it is the same value is stolen from
someone who has higher virtue rather than someone who's
virtue is lower. Again, the Dhammika Sutta says ‘One
should refrain from taking anything in full knowledge,
neither cause to take something from others, anyone, or
approve the stealing done by someone else. One should
stay aloof of any of this theft, any kind of theft’.
The ennobling of the second precept says abandoning the
taking of what is not given, one abstains from taking what
is not given. One does not take by theft, going in villages
or forests, take possession or things belonging to others
that have not been given to them. It is important now to
examine one's volition that never any intention to harm
evokes any negative activity, and one establishes that no
positively visible negative side effects of one's livelihood
or professional activity may occur, and one should
establish righteousness in all aspects. So to say,
rightfulness in work and action refers to one should work
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as carefully and honestly and earnestly as possible, not

misusing the means nor misappropriate the time one is
paid for, on the base of avoidance of all wrong means of
livelihood and develop steadfast effort and vigilance.
The Buddha says, ‘by whatever way someone earns one's
living, whether by farming, by trading, by rearing cattle,
by archery, by employment under the king, over any kind
of craft, one performs these skillful and diligently.
Established in the ability to discriminate proper methods,
he fulfills and arranges one's duties. This is called the
accomplishment of steadfast effort.
Second is, whatsoever wealth a householder possesses,
having obtained it by his vigorous effort, collected by the
strength of his arm, by the sweat of his brow, honest and
acquired by righteous means, that he protects well by
guarding and watching it. May neither kings seize it,
thieves not steal it, fire not damage it, nor water drown it,
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nor inimical heirs remove it. This is the accomplishment

of vigilance’.
Further, righteousness regarding people is required to
ennoble this precept, which means acting fair and just
with all one associates in regards to his profession,
employees and workmen. In similar righteousness in
regards to objects, one should be honest about the value
and quality, never sell inferior as superior, old as new,
and so forth.
The final act, of course, is the development of generosity,
of dana. The Dana Sutta by the Buddha says, in the
summary, ‘if beings knew as I know the fruit of giving
and sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor
would they continue being overpowered by the stain of
selfishness in their mind. They would not even eat what
was the last bite and the last morsel without having
shared, if there was someone to receive their gift’.
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I'm looking at the watch because there's a story I wanted

to include and I'm not sure ... it takes a bit longer, which
is quite interesting in regards to this aspect.
It is by someone who had the name of Ankura and he was
one of the princes of the Indian country of Jambudipa. He
had 11 brothers, so they were 12, and they have
conquered the whole Jambudipa, and they divided it and
he sacrificed his part of the country for his sister, because
they found out that they hadn't given anything to the girl
in this big group and he went on a trade. He decided to
become a trader. He went trading, and in one of these
tours, he got lost with his friend. They had 500 carts,
animals. They were short of water and short of food, and
some of the beings that they met and they saw in the
desert ... They got lost in the desert and they saw under
one of the huge banyan trees, it grows and grows with
roots and roots. So they went there for shade and there
was a being dwelling in this tree and due to some
previous relationship to Ankura, he gave water and food,
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and even they found their way out. They were on the way
to Cambodia, which was the same name at that time.
On this tour, he asked this being, ‘How can you make it
possible that you can give so much water and food to us?"
Because the being ... it was called a Petā. He pointed by
hand, and then whatever he pointed, it was received and
that person said, "Yes, I was a very poor, poor tailor in
one of my past lives. I could never give anything myself,
but with a good intention in my heart, I showed to any
beggar who came to the house of a certain rich, wealthy
trader, who I knew he would give, and this good volition
made the strengths of my alms.’ So Ankura thought, ‘Oh,
if I give practically, then I may reach heavenly fields.’
So he decided after he came back to give as much as he
could. He established in every part of the city, he
established a fountain, a house where people who came to
the city from all the four directions could rest, they got
some food. He offered to anyone whom he could see
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whatever he could as much as he could, because he had

expressed that wish, "May my supplies never be empty."
It turned out to such an extent that people from this area,
they stopped working because they knew they got
anything from Ankura. So the government asked him, his
sister sent her ministers and asked him, ‘Please, you do
not know how to give proper because we'll lose our
remedy, our taxes, because people stopped working.
Please stop this or leave the country.’ So he left the
country, and, finally, when he passed away, he reached
one of the heavenly fields; the Tāvatiṁsa devaloka, the
field of the 32 gods.
There, the Buddha usually comes up and teaches. At one
time, the Buddha came up to teach and he saw Ankura
sitting very far and someone else who had given far less
sitting very close, but he has given to the right people.
Ankura had just given anything to anyone. The Buddha
said, ‘Ankura, why do you sit so far away? Please come
closer because I'm giving a speech.’ Ankura said, ‘No, no,
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no. Now I understand I have not understood the right, the

way how to give correctly.’ I would like to quote the
words that he then says and the Buddha confirms directly,
not by memory. He says ‘because I have not given to
those who really deserve and make best use of what I
give’. If you give to a drunkard, you know exactly well he
go on the next pub and use your money for that and it will
not be beneficial for him. He says ... it's beautiful in the
Pali, but I'll try to translate it as good as I could. ‘Just as
in the barren field abundant seeds are sown, but they will
not give proper fruit and will not satisfy the farmer.
The same way, plentiful dana bestowed on someone with
improper conduct, will not give proper fruit and will not
please the donor. Just as a little seed is planted in fertile
soil with suitable rains bestow, which will satisfy the
farmer. Even so, someone of proper conduct and
possessing good qualities, the slightest deed, good deed
done to him of such nature, the merit will bring great
fruits.’
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The Buddha replies to that, ‘Gifts have to be given with

discrimination. Thus given, they yield great fruits. If gifts
have been given with discrimination, the donors will pass
to the heavenly fields’.
Giving dana with proper understanding and
discrimination, this was praised by the Sugata and this is
the way of those established in dana. So ennobling the
adinnādānā veramaṇī precept is understanding the right
ways of livelihood, working and dealing in righteousness
with other people, (45:21) and, of course, sharing one's
own possession with discrimination.
The next precept is to be divided into two parts, of course.
It is the Kāmesu micchācārā for the householder, and it is
the abrahmacariyā for someone who has left the
householder's life. You may have noticed in some of the
versions of the courses for new students for 10-day
courses, Goenkaji asks to repeat the Kāmesu micchācārā,
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and courses with older students, always use

Abrahmacariyā. What's the difference now?
Kāmesu micchācārā means performing any activity
within the field of the sensual pleasures, kāmesu, that is
micchā, not in accordance, translated often wrongly. In
general, the Buddha says regarding both of these parts of
the precept, he addresses with various similes the
householder, but also the Bhikkhus. He says, ‘Imagine,
householder, the hole deeper than the height of a man
filled with glowing smokeless charcoal. And now imagine
this man enjoys his life and he is approaching this hole
filled with charcoal, burning charcoal. There are two
strong men now taking him by his arms and dragging him
towards that pit. What do you think, householder,
wouldn't that man bend his body in this or that way?’
Of course, the householder replies: ‘Certainly’.
‘Now, why does he react in such a way? Because that
man knows I will fall down in this hole filled with
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charcoals and I will subsequently undergo death or

deathly suffering because of this.’
But the noble disciple reflects in this way. Sensual
pleasures have been compared with a hole filled with
charcoal by the Bhagavā, that prompts much suffering
and immense despair, and the danger therein is even
more. This he points out in various ways that rolling,
getting attracted to this thing of passion and lust is like
this pit hole of charcoal. He says a wise man should
refrain from all sexual misconduct like he would avoid a
burning pit of charcoals, and if unable to leave the holy
life, he should not transgress with another's wife.
The description, in general, that one finds in the
commentary, of course, is not up-to-date to modern
understanding and modern relationship. In general, it is
said that what is kāmesu micchācārā for a householder?
Getting engaged with ... it's in two parts ... getting
engaged with women who are underage, who are under
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the protection of their parents, who are engaged already,

who are married, et cetera is one part. And also, the
second part is getting into contact with those one pays for
with money or any kind of prostitution. All this falls
under Kāmesu micchācārā. Further, the commentary
includes all kinds of acts, where someone takes
wrongfully liberty towards women including fondling,
caressing, courting, et cetera. Similar for women, engaged
or married men are out of bond and this falls under the
transgression of this teaching.
The kammic effects; engaging in sexual misconduct is
more blamable, the higher the ethical standards of the
respective other person is and vice-versa. Thus, sexual
misconduct is less blamable if the person off-limits, lacks
moral qualities of Sīla. And it is more blamable if a
person is endowed with moral qualities of Sīla. So sexual
misconduct is accomplished with a person off-limits, the
mind to engage, the effort to engage, and consent to the
actual union of sexual organ. This is the part for the
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householder. And the part for someone who has left the
householder's life, is described in the sutta where the
Buddha goes into various details, even in the mental
attitude of that person.
Where somebody asks, now, what is the breakage of the
brahmacariyā? Brahmacariyā, in the Indian sense, means
complete celibacy. He says, ‘Well, there is someone who
does not enter into actual sexual intercourse with women,
but yet he agrees of perfumes, oil or massage, rubbing,
bathing, and shampooing by women. He enjoys it and
desires it and takes satisfaction in it. This already breaks.
Of course, it's a breakage. Even he does not do this, yet he
jokes and plays and talks and amuses himself with
women. Even if he does not do this, he gazes and stares at
women eye to eye. He does not gaze and stare at women
eye to eye and does not do any of the other things before,
yet he listens to the women through the wall or through
the fence as they laugh or talk or sing or sway, this is a
breakage. Even if he does not listen to the sound of
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women behind the wall and through the fence as they

laugh, talk, or sing or weep, but he recalls this memory,
he had talks with women formerly, or he does not do this
but he watches a householder or a householder's son
entering upon, indulging and enjoying fivefold sensual
pleasures or keeps a memory of that, he is not fully
following the brahmacariyā’.
What I want to point out, those who have these thoughts
in a course, especially coming up where they become very
strong, the Buddha goes into really all the details
completely pushing aside, anything that occurs with
contact with the other gender or someone, or with a
respective partner for someone who has left the
householder's life.
Now, the last but one precept, is the fourth precept, musā-
vādā, which is divided into four fields. It is abstaining
from lying; abstaining from slander and backbiting, from
harsh words; and also abstaining from frivolous talk. In
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detail, musā-vādā refers to all forms and degrees of

falsehood expressed by vocal action, a physical action, or
even by gestures and writing.
The Buddha says someone engages in wrong speech when
he has been called as a witness to a council or a group
meeting, a gathering of his relatives, his guild, or royal
court, "Come, good man, tell us what you know." (If he
doesn't know, he says, "I don't know." If he does know, he
says, "I don't know. I don't know." ... Sorry). If he doesn't
know, he says, "I know," and if he does know, he says, "I
don't know." If he hasn't seen, he says, "I have seen." If he
has seen, he says, "I haven't seen." Thus, he deliberately
tells lies for his own sake, for the sake of another, and for
the sake of some gain. Again, the commentary highlights
that it is the intention that produces effort by speech or
body to deceive another by someone determined on
deceiving and it is qualified to this volition of desiring to
communicate to another something untrue as being true,
and such a volition causes such an act of communication.
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Pisuṇa vācā. One engages in malicious speech. What one

has heard here, he tells there in order to work to divide
those people from those people here. Whatever he has
heard there, he tells here to divide these people from those
people there. Thus, he is breaking apart those who are
united and is stirring up friction between those who have
broken apart. He loves discord, finds pleasure in discord,
and enjoys discord, and speaks things that create discord.
The commentary explains that malicious speech; speech
that, if spoken, it generates in the heart of the person to
whom it is addressed, affection for oneself and lack of
regard for another. Of these, the root is volition and,
therefore, it receives the designation malicious speech. It
is the volition of one with a defiled mind that prompts the
effort by body or speech to cause either division among
others or to generate esteem for oneself.
The next one is pharusa vācā, which is harsh speech,
abusive speech. He speaks words that are insolent, harsh,
bitter to others, abusive to others, provoking anger, and
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obstructing concentration. It's based on the entirely

callous volition and intention that prompts the effort by
body or by speech to hurt another's feeling.
The last one is samphappalāpa, translated as idle chatter.
He speaks at inappropriate times, speaks what isn't
factual, what isn't in accordance with, and of benefit for
those who listen. It isn't in accordance with Dhamma, and
he speaks words that are not worth treasuring. His speech
is out of place, unreasonable, without purpose, and not
leading to the goal.
Here, the Buddha gives a lot of examples of speech like
talking about robbers, ministers, armies, wars, food,
drink, clothing, bed, garlands, fragrance, perfumes,
villages, towns et cetera, which one should avoid in
general. And he describes it as it is idle chatter and
meaningless, it is gossip. Gossip is the unwholesome
volition causing efforts by body or by speech to
communicate what is without any purpose. (1:00)
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There is another sutta, which explains what is the quality

of a Sugata, and I've made it from the recent Pali
workshop an exercise for those who were participating it
to show the logic behind the combination that the Buddha
and the Pali texts and the commentary usually does with
positive and negative, opposite and non-opposite
statements. So the idea was to combine speech that is true
or untrue, that is according to fact or not according to fact,
that is of benefit for those who listen to, not of benefit for
those who listen to. It is liked and appreciated by those
who hear it and the opposite. And qualification of
someone who is called Sugata, the Buddha, performing
only good speech, perfect speech, is of these
combinations. Of course, we know that the Buddha would
never speak anything that is not according to fact, which
is untrue, not connected with benefit, unpleasant and
disagreeable to others, but he would speak out of these
combinations.
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Of course, what is according to fact? What is true? What

is connected with benefit for those who listen?
Unpleasant, even if unpleasant and disagreeable to others,
but for this, he knows the proper time for saying. So
criticism, if it is done at the proper time, well considered,
even if not liked by those who listen to it, but of benefit
for them, is a quality of well-spoken words. Likewise, of
course, the Buddha speaks what is of benefit, what is true,
what is factual, and may be liked by others, but here, also,
he knows the proper time to use such a speech.
Enabling, ennobling this precept shows the opposite. I
quote Alongha? Sutta, (1:02:41) goes into all these
details. ‘Someone who abstains from wrong speech when
called as a witness to a council, a group meeting, a
gathering of his relatives, his guild, or royal court and
being asked, "Come, good man, tell us what you know."
If he doesn't know, he says, "I don't know." If he knows,
he says, "I know. If he hasn't seen, he says, "I haven't
seen," and if he has seen, he says, "I have seen." He
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doesn't consciously tell a lie for his own sake, for the sake
of any other, or for the sake of a little reward. (1:03)
Abandoning wrong speech, he speaks the truth, holds up
the truth, is trustworthy, reliable, not deceiving the word.
Abandoning malicious speech, he abstains from it.
Having heard something here, he does not spread it
elsewhere in order to divide these people there. Having
heard something there, he does not spread this in order to
cause dissension amongst those people. Thus, he
reconciles those who have broken up and supports those
who are united. He loves and finds pleasure in concord,
delights in harmony, and utters words that generate
harmony.
Abandoning abusive speech, he abstains from abusive
speech. His speech is polite, soothing to the ear,
affectionate and moving to the heart, appealing many and
pleasing many, such speech he utters. And abandoning
talk and gossip, he abstains from useless talk and gossip.
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He speaks at the right time about facts, which are in

accordance with the goal, with Dhamma and the Vinaya.
He speaks words that are worth treasuring, seasonable,
reasonable, full of purpose, and leading to the goal’.
Buddha also suggests talks that are beneficial, which is
talk on humbleness, on contentment, on solitude, on
viriya, on sīla, on samādhi, on paññā, on liberation and
on the knowledge of the vision of liberation. And such
speech should be done at the proper time, truthful, gently,
and should be connected with advantage for those who
listened to it and spoken with a mind full of mettā. These
are the qualifications that ennoble the last but one precept
and encourage to truthfulness, to uprightness, to honesty.
The last, of course, often people say, "Well, the Buddha
never says anything about drinking and just a little bit
maybe, okay," et cetera, which is not true. There's quite a
number of suttas where he encourages absolutely to stay
away of anything that intoxicates, and the precept is Surā-
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meraya-majja majjapamā daṭṭhānā veramaṇī

sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
One of the suttas, he says, as a layman who has decided to
apply to Dhamma, you should not indulge in the drinking
of intoxicants. Neither should he cause others to drink nor
approve the drinking done by others; and having realized
its intoxicating effects. Through intoxication, foolish
people perform evil deeds and cause others to
heedlessness; you should shun any intoxication, the
source for demerit, which bewilders the mind and is a
delight for foolish people.
If you look into the literal explanation of Surā-meraya-
majja pamādaṭṭhānā, which is quite interesting. I give the
example of it. In Germany, we have this apple. You put
them down, you'll squeeze them. You put them in another
wooden box, put them in the sun. So apple juice develops.
The apple juice, they don’t want to have apple juice, they
want to have apple, you call it apple cider.
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So while it develops, it gets distilled. It gets fermented

and this process is described in surā-meraya. So surā and
meraya is the process of something that develops alcohol,
till the process is distilled with alcohol. So all this,
intoxicates the mind, which is the word majja. Majja has
the same root as mad, maddening. Madatthi is the root in
Pali, so it still remains. Anything that is maddening the
mind based on alcohol, but any other things as well, and
therefore the word ... the next one is pamādaṭṭhānā.
Pamāda is negligence and ṭṭhānā is the source of
negligence. So the literal translation would mean anything
that has any kind of alcoholic essence or anything else
that intoxicates, bewilders the mind and causes negligence
has to be avoided. Pamādaṭṭhānā can also be translated as
a place where negligence is prevailing like a pub or a bar,
which also should be avoided.
The Buddha says also in another sutta for the
householder, Singala. There are six dangers,
householder's son, that arise through addiction to liquor,
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wine, and other besotting substances that are the occasion

for negligence. It is actual waste of one’s substance and
wealth, the increasing tendency to quarreling, liability to
sickness, diminishing of good report, tendency to expose
of one's private parts and the fading of intellect. These are
the six dangers that arise through addiction to liquor,
wine, and all besotting substances that are the occasion
for negligence. Generally, any intoxication, of course,
reduces self-control, stupefies the mental capacities,
drives the person out of senses, and usually results in later
regrettable action.
Ennobling this and avoiding the pitfalls around it, there
are the qualities of watchfulness, awareness, and
vigilance. The first is watchfulness and moderation in
food to remain in good and physical and mental health.
Another one is proper care and assessment of one's own
capacities and aptitudes. One's duties should always be in
line with one's capabilities and not be overestimated to
put oneself under pressure, nor should the duties one
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engages in get disregarded by taking them lightly. This

means knowing exactly what amount of work needs to be
accomplished under what circumstances will achieve the
best results in the most efficient ways in a healthy
position.
Awareness over one's behavior is achieved through self-
observation, self-recollection, and self-possession. This
comprises proper cognizance of whatever one is going to
do or to say along with prior reflection and why and how
one is going to utter and to act accordingly. Careful
consideration of positive and negative aspects and
consequences of the effect of oneself and others reduces
troubles and regret or revocation to a minimum of
something said or done.
Further, watchfulness in keeping beneficial friendship and
loyal friends. This is what the expression of kalyāṇa
mitta, having friends on the path to accompany you, to
guide you, is another important factor here in ennobling
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the last precept. It is someone who is a supporter, who

remains the same during happy and difficult times, who
provides beneficial advice at all times, and who is full of
sympathetic goodwill.
In whatsoever village or town a householder may dwell,
he associates, communicates and discusses with those
householders or their sons, young or old, that are well-
established in morality, well-established in faith, and
well-established in sīla, that are generous and established
in paññā. Inspired by them, he tries to match with the
saddha of the faithful, with the sīla of the virtuous, with
the cāga of the generous and with the paññā of the wise.
This is called upholding kalyāṇa mitta-ship.
The last, finally, of course, is vigilance in understanding
the ultimate principle of nature, which is change and
impermanence. Thus, the contact with what is desired or
what is not desired will not result in losing one's mental
balance. You all know this verse was recited in the
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Mangala Sutta, which formulates this Phuṭṭhassa

lokadhammehi - whatever one comes in contact with in
the life; cittaṃ yassa na kampati, the mind remains
balanced and does not get shaken. Asokaṃ virajaṃ
khemaṃ etaṃ maṅgalamuttamaṃ, one remains sorrowless
and secured; this is the highest welfare.
Summarizing all these in coming to an end, I would like
to repeat as what I started. For a meditator, sīla is the
necessary foundation of proceeding further, of walking
and continuing on the path. Without sīla, there is no
stepping forward. He knows it is a lifelong step-by-step
training. One should have constant check over one's
volition behind what one intends to do and to say. One
realizes in this way that it is one's kamma one performs.
Veramaṇī gets ennobled not only through abstaining but
also by acting positive, and sīla is the integrated part.
Someone who delighted with the base of sīla that one has
attained and never rouses his mind further to engage in
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the practice of meditation, and remaining satisfied with

one's moral standards, he does not engage himself to
further progress. Such a sīla carries the characteristic of
being conducive to stagnation. But someone who
endowed in sīla, strives hard with concentration for its
aim, such a one's sīla has the function of being conducive
to distinction. Who feels dissatisfied with practicing only
sīla and engages himself thus to awareness, weariness of
the wordly life as well, to such an aspiration, sīla gains
the quality of being conducive to insight.
So it is clear that sīla and the aspects of sammā vācā,
sammā kammanta, and sammā ājīva has to be an
integrated part of the Ariyo Aṭṭhaṇgiko Maggo, the
Eightfold Noble Path. It is empathy, compassion, and love
with all other beings that undermines all forms of
animosity. It is contentedness with one's own possession,
based and earned through upright, fair, and honest means
of livelihood and generosity in sharing with others,
kindness in one's behavior, which weakens all forms of
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covetousness and avarice. It is maintaining a healthy and

marital relationship with mutual confidence, contentment
in marriage life, or celibacy, which undercuts the strong
sting of lust. It is honesty and truthfulness in one's
thoughts, words, and actions which do away with all
forms of falseness, and it assures the realistic base of
watchfulness and alertness that provides a firm foundation
for the removal of ignorance, which eliminates the
unhealthy desire for intoxication and delusion.
It is the effort, taken the chance downfall and negligence,
and it helps to remain at guard, not to fall in the trap of
yearning, and it's the faith that helps to proceed further.
There is this book, “Milinda Pañha” (The Questions of
King Milinda), where all kinds of questions are asked that
seem to be a dilemma. King Milinda meets one monk,
Nagasena, who have some relation to in the past, and he
always asks and gets the right reply. And one time he asks
this Nagasena, "What are the characteristics, quality of
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sīla?" and he gets the following reply: "Sīla is the

foothold and the base of all the wholesome states."
As a planner of a town, desires to building it, first clears
the site, removes tree stumps and obstacles, levels the
ground, and only later on determines on streets, squares,
crossroads, and so forth, and then in this way builds the
town. So in the same way, the spirit of practitioner on the
base of sīla, established in sīla, and well-founded in sīla
develops the five strengths: the strength of faith, of effort,
of awareness, of concentration, and of wisdom. To him,
all these wholesome qualities will not decrease. Sīla has
the particular characteristic to be the foundation of this,
establishing all other wholesome qualities, which are the
37 bodhipakkhiyā dhammās, mastery over the sense
faculties, the factors of enlightenment, the constituents of
the path, establishment of awareness, the right endeavors,
the psychic powers, states of absorption, deliverance,
concentration, and final attainment. All these are based on
sīla.
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The way to final attainment starts with sīla, the

understanding it properly, by leaving aside those
unwholesome actions that are based on the volition that
we have the good fortune as meditators to observe, to
observe their reaction, to stop, to make the effort to stop,
to act in accordance to that. On the other hand, to develop
all the good qualities, will help us that are based off this
strong foothold of sīla, we develop on the path.
May all your good qualities increase and all the negative
qualities decrease.
Thank you.
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