RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from False Speech
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False speech is unhealthy.
Refraining from false speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning false speech,
one dwells refraining from false speech, a truth-speaker, one to be
relied on, trustworthy, dependable, not a deceiver of the world. One
does not in full awareness speak falsehood for one’s own ends or for
another’s ends or for some trifling worldly end. (DN 1) One practices
thus: “Others may speak falsely, but I shall abstain from false speech.”
(MN 8)
When one knows overt sharp speech to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial, one should on no account utter it. (MN 139)
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How much of
what we say is totally useless? We often emphasize the value of
expressing ourselves and of “getting things off our chest,” and this
accounts for many of the expletives we utter and emotional downloads we
deliver. What about the role speech plays in communicating with others?
Buddhist teachings encourage us to focus on speaking what is true and
what is beneficial—that is, what brings out the best in others.
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Pay attention
to how people speak and notice speech that is sharp. One text calls it
“stabbing one another with verbal daggers.” You know it when you hear it
because you almost feel stabbed or wounded by the aggressive hostility
of the words. Now look at your own habits of speaking and see if you can
catch yourself doing the same thing. Whenever you notice the intention
to speak in ways that are harmful, don’t do it.
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Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Bodily Action
One week from today: Refraining from Malicious Speech
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