This is the reason we created Learn Thai through Dhamma. Luang Por explains that the deepest knowledge of Dhammakaya is stored in the Thai language — and learning Thai is the key to unlocking it. If you ever wonder why you're studying, come back to this video.
In this video, Luang Por is talking about why you should learn Thai! He describes Thai as a "Musical Language" ภาษาดนตรี (Pasa Dontree) and explains that deep knowledge about the Dhammakaya is stored within it.
Luang Por explains that Thai is unique because of its tones:
In Thai, changing the "tone" of a word changes its meaning (like a musical scale). This is why he calls it musical! The same syllable spoken with a rising, falling, high, low, or mid tone becomes a completely different word.
Luang Por jokes about คำผวน (Kam Puan) — which is a Thai word game where you swap the initial consonants or vowels of two words to make a new, often funny, phrase.
He compares it to the English phrase "Once upon a time" กาลครั้งหนึ่ง (Gala krang nueng). He shows how Thai can flip these words around into a rhythmic, funny rhyme that English just can't do in the same way.
Luang Por makes the most important point for a student like you:
This is why he encourages people to study the language — to unlock the wisdom inside the teachings. And this is exactly why we built this section: so you can learn Thai and access that wisdom directly.
"Study the Thai language." Say it with intention. And try the word for "Beautiful sound": เสียง เพราะ (Siang Praw).
You are doing great! By learning these words, you are literally finding the "keys" to the wisdom Luang Por is talking about.
| Thai | Romanized | English |
|---|---|---|
| ภาษา | Pasa | Language |
| ภาษาไทย | Pasa Thai | The Thai language |
| ดนตรี | Don-tree | Music |
| เสียง | Siang | Sound / Tone |
| เพราะ | Praw | Beautiful (sounds) / Melodious |
| อัศจรรย์ | At-sa-jan | Miraculous / Amazing |
| คำผวน | Kam Puan | Spoonerism (Thai word game) |
| สิงโต | Sing-dto | Lion |
| เก็บ | Gep | To keep / To store |
| ถูกเก็บไว้ | Took gep wai | Is kept (passive voice) |