A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Malicious speech is unhealthy. Refraining from malicious speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning malicious speech, one refrains from malicious speech. One does not repeat there what one has heard here to the detriment of these, or repeat here what he has heard there to the detriment of those. One unites those who are divided, is a promoter of friendships, and speaks words that promote concord. (DN 1) One practices thus: "Others may speak maliciously, but I shall abstain from malicious speech." (MN 8)
When others address you, their speech may be timely or untimely. . . . One is to train thus: "My mind will be unaffected, and I shall utter no bad words. I shall abide with compassion for their welfare, with a mind of lovingkindness, without inner hate." (MN 21)
Reflection
The second category of right speech is refraining from malicious speech, which has a lot to do with setting people against one another and causing divisions. Such speech involves harmful intentions and is therefore unhealthy. Notice the final phrase of the text, wherein one undertakes to personally refrain from such speech even though others may do it. The practice here is to change your own behavior, not that of others.
Daily Practice
Pay attention to the speech you hear around you and see if you can identify malicious speech when you hear it. Then listen for when you yourself engage in such speech, often inadvertently. Finally, undertake a commitment to refrain from malicious speech. This is particularly challenging when you are interrupted by untimely speech, but such episodes provide an opportunity to practice not being thrown off by the impropriety of others.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech
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Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on compassion, for when you develop meditation on compassion, any cruelty will be abandoned. (MN 62)
Suppose there were a pond with lovely smooth banks, filled with pure water that was clear and cool. A person scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched, and thirsty, would come upon the pond and quench their thirst and their hot-weather fever. In just the same way, a person encounters the teachings of the Buddha and develops compassion, and thereby gains internal peace. (MN 40)
Reflection
When lovingkindness encounters the suffering of another, it transforms into compassion. Compassion is defined as "the trembling of the heart in the presence of suffering," along with the urge to alleviate the suffering of other living beings. Actions that are motivated by compassion are always healthy, regardless of their outcome, and banish from the mind any impulse toward cruelty in that moment.
Daily Practice
The same metaphor is used to describe compassion as was used last week for lovingkindness: the cool, clear water of a forest pond encountered on a hot day by a person parched and thirsty. This conveys the sense that compassion is a naturally healthy mental state, providing a precious refuge from harsher emotions. See if you can experience the internal peace that comes from caring for the well-being of others.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Malicious Speech One week from today: Cultivating Appreciative Joy
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