RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Harsh Speech
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Harsh speech is unhealthy.
Refraining from harsh speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning harsh speech,
one refrains from harsh speech. One speaks words that are gentle,
pleasing to the ear, and affectionate, words that go to the heart, are
courteous, and are agreeable to many. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others
may speak harshly, but I shall abstain from harsh speech.” (MN 8)
Just see how many people fight! I’ll tell you about the dreadful fear
that caused me to shake all over: seeing creatures flopping around, like
fish in shallow water, so hostile to one another! Seeing people locked
in conflict, I became completely distraught. But then I discerned here a
thorn, hard to see, lodged deep in the heart. It’s only when pierced by
this thorn that one runs in all directions. So if that thorn is taken
out, one does not run and settles down. (Sn 935-939)
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This poignant
passage attributed to the Buddha strikingly depicts the human situation
under the effects of craving—like fish desperate to breathe in water
that is becoming ever shallower—and the conflict to which that gives
rise. It is not that we are evil, only wounded by the thorn of desire
and driven to hostility by the pain. If the thorn were removed from our
hearts we would all become well and live together in harmony.
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Look for the
thorn in your own heart and pluck it out every time it pierces you. It
is not a hard object lodged there since birth that can be removed once
and for all. Rather it is a reflex triggered again and again when
attachment or aversion or confusion is present. As such, it is a
response you can unlearn and remove. Practice replacing craving with
equanimity in small ways, gradually gaining the skill of removing the
thorn.
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Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action
One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech
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