法苑珠林 76.17

76.17

The mouth is foolish and the mind is unyielding; / being ungentle, it is not free of evil speech. / Constantly harboring malice and a double tongue, / it does not care for others' good and benefit. / Its speech is indistinct and ambiguous, / concealing evil within the mind, / like ashes covering charcoal fire: / if stepped on, it burns one's foot. / When one's speech is always gentle and mild, / accommodating and agreeable to others, / with words and deeds corresponding to each other, / harming neither in mind nor in body, / it is like a fine flowering tree / whose fruit turns out sweet as well. / The Buddha, the Honoured One, has explained these / as the marks and scheming of mind and mouth.