สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 Somseen Chanawangsa 13 ë What he knows is untruthful, inaccurate and unbeneficial, which is also unwelcome and disagreeable to others, he does not speak. ë What he knows is truthful and accurate but unbeneficial, which is also unwelcome and disagreeable to others, he does not speak. ë What he knows is truthful, accurate and beneficial, even though unwelcome and disagreeable to others, he knows the opportune time to speak. ë What he knows is untruthful, inaccurate and unbeneficial, even though welcome and agreeable to others, he does not speak. ë What he knows is truthful and accurate but unbeneficial, even though welcome and agreeable to others, he does not speak. ë What he knows is truthful, accurate, beneficial and also welcome and agreeable to others, he knows the opportune time to speak. To put it another way: ë The Buddha never speaks what he knows is untruthful and inaccurate, which by default is also unbeneficial. ë The Buddha never pleases his audience simply by speaking only what is welcome and agreeable to them. ë The Buddha never speaks what he knows is unbeneficial even though it is truthful and accurate. ë Even though he speaks only what he knows is truthful, accurate and beneficial, he chooses the right time to speak, irrespective of whether or not it is welcome and agreeable to his audience. To know what is truthful, accurate and beneficial is a matter of wisdom, but to choose the right time to speak what is truthful, accurate and beneficialfino matter whether or not it is welcome and agreeable to the audiencefiis not merely a matter of wisdom but also of compassion. So one important lesson for Buddhists to learn from this is that throughout the 45 years of his ministry, the Buddha set an example of the proper stance on two things: to act towards truth and reality with wisdom, and to behave towards fellow beings with boundless compassion. Concluding remarks Perhaps there is no better way for a Buddhist to conclude the discussion of the contribution of religion to world peace than to quote an illuminating and touching passage from the late Ven. Walpola Rahulaûs article ùBuddhism in the Western Worldû 22 as follows: 22 Ven. Dr. Walpola Sri Rahula. ùBuddhism in the Western Worldû. www.budsas.org . 1-15_mac9 4/26/12, 8:09 PM 13