Idle Chatter

A forum for beginners and members of other Buddhist traditions to ask questions about Theravāda (The Way of the Elders). Responses require moderator approval before they are visible in order to double-check alignment to Theravāda orthodoxy.
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HumbleThinker
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:02 pm

Idle Chatter

Post by HumbleThinker »

I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but I could not find an old thread with the search feature. I see in the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta that it says:

"Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter. He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, & the Vinaya. He speaks words worth treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal."

However, I'm not exactly sure how this translates to practice in my everyday life. Any clarification on what idle speech is and what exactly I should be avoiding? Thanks in advance.
"I know that I know nothing" -Socrates

IOW, take what I say with a grain of salt, for I likely know as little or less than you do.
plwk
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Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:14 am

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by plwk »

Jhana4
Posts: 1331
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: U.S.A., Northeast

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by Jhana4 »

Going to Google and typing in "dhammawheel MySubject" has been very fast and accurate for me in finding old content on this board.
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
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Kim OHara
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Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by Kim OHara »

Jhana4 wrote:Going to Google and typing in "dhammawheel MySubject" has been very fast and accurate for me in finding old content on this board.
Yep. Better than the "search" box on the board itself.

:coffee:
Kim
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Doshin
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Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:01 am

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by Doshin »

Jhana4 wrote:Going to Google and typing in "dhammawheel MySubject" has been very fast and accurate for me in finding old content on this board.
What about "site:dhammawheel.com MySubject" in google ? ;)

_/\_
Knowing about dhamma, does not imply knowing dhamma
Jhana4
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Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: U.S.A., Northeast

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by Jhana4 »

I haven't needed to do that
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
HumbleThinker
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:02 pm

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by HumbleThinker »

Thanks for the assistance!
"I know that I know nothing" -Socrates

IOW, take what I say with a grain of salt, for I likely know as little or less than you do.
pinkpadma
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:39 pm

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by pinkpadma »

My social circle is filled with young people who only know about christianity and most have never even heard of buddhism. So there is a distance between us because all they do is talk about beyonce and music videos while all i think and talk about is the damma. i wanna share the damma with them but my knowledge is limited and so there is always hesitation before i speak. How can i make Buddhism more easily accessible to them?
thelotuseffect
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:46 am

Re: Idle Chatter

Post by thelotuseffect »

pinkpadma wrote:My social circle is filled with young people who only know about christianity and most have never even heard of buddhism. So there is a distance between us because all they do is talk about beyonce and music videos while all i think and talk about is the damma. i wanna share the damma with them but my knowledge is limited and so there is always hesitation before i speak. How can i make Buddhism more easily accessible to them?
Until your knowledge is coupled with the experience do not teach anyone. Just stay on task. If you do not have a dhamma related task in a moment, in that moment you are not practicing. Do not fixate on others. Make the eightfold path your craft and become a master before you can teach an apprentice.
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