Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Harsh Speech

RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Harsh Speech

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)

A person may be extremely kind, extremely gentle, extremely peaceful, so long as disagreeable courses of speech do not touch them. But it is when disagreeable courses of speech touch them that it can be understood whether that person is really kind, gentle, and peaceful. (MN 21)

Reflection

Learning to speak words that are "gentle, pleasing to the ear, and affectionate" is about taking care that the emotion with which they are uttered is not laced with hatred or ill will. It does not mean that we should refrain from stating what is true, only that we take care with what attitude we deliver it. Even very hard truths can be uttered with kindness rather than with an intention to cause harm. Speaking harshly is unhealthy for the speaker as well as for the hearer.

Daily Practice

Pay careful attention to your own patterns of speech and especially be on the lookout for nastiness or an intention to harm. Consider your words before you speak. And when you catch yourself speaking harshly, reflect on whether the same thing might have been said in a more skillful manner. Harsh speech brings out the worst in others. But it can be very challenging to refrain from hurtful speech, even when the other person has provoked it.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action
One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

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A message from

Hina Jilani

Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and co-chair of the Taskforce on Justice

Dear friends,

Seventy-seven years ago today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights became the first global statement that every person – regardless of nationality, background, belief or other status – deserves fundamental freedoms.

This document was born from humanity’s darkest hours. After witnessing the horrors of World War Two, the world understood that it could not rely on goodwill alone to protect human life, equity and liberty.

Its principles continue to underpin global standards of dignity and equality that guide laws, inspire social progress, and help protect peace. At their core, human rights protect what it means to be human. As Nelson Mandela, founder of The Elders, said: ‘to deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity’.

But we are now in a troubling era of growing geopolitical division and disregard for international law, as conflicts intensify, multilateral institutions weaken, and the norms that once provided protection and restraint are routinely challenged or ignored. Human rights are being eroded, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable to conflict and discrimination.

Parallels with the 1930s can certainly be drawn, as we see rising ultranationalism, unchecked aggression, and a resurgence of antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and other forms of racism and xenophobia. The genocide and human-made famine witnessed in Gaza, following the atrocities in Israel more than two years ago, reflect the same kind of dehumanisation and racist ideologies that paved the way for the horrors of that era. The systematic violence against women and girls across today’s conflicts – from Sudan to Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, and Myanmar – also reveals the depths of misogyny and discrimination that persist today.

While the world vowed ‘never again’ after the Holocaust, that commitment has often gone unfulfilled. These are contemporary tragedies that escape accountability, enabled by silence and denial. The complicity and inaction of governments demand to be challenged.

Post-war reconciliation demonstrated that lasting peace requires accountability, rights-based solutions and rebuilding trust – not vengeance. Today, as the world confronts overlapping existential threats – from the climate and nature crises to pandemics, nuclear weapons, and the dangers of unchecked AI – these lessons remain critical. International law and human rights must be at the centre of any meaningful global response.

‘Everyday Essentials’ is the official theme for this year’s Human Rights Day. It is an important reminder that human rights shape our everyday lives, often in ways we do not realise. Many of us take human rights for granted, as something that will simply endure without our vigilance. Having dedicated my career to defending human rights, advancing the rule of law, and standing with those whose voices are silenced by injustice, I know all too well that we cannot afford to treat them that way.

We must not forget that universal rights and freedoms can never be embodied and protected by declarations alone. It is people who embody and breathe life into human rights. It is people and their leaders who bridge the gap between lofty human rights agreements and the situation on the ground. Without these people, the Declaration amounts to nothing more than a hollow commitment.

We must not only dream of a more just world but have the courage to fight for it.

This resilience creates results.

With thanks for your ongoing support,

Hina Jilani

"We must not forget that universal rights and freedoms can never be embodied and protected by declarations alone. It is people who embody and breathe life into human rights." - Hina Jilani

News & Insight

Delivering a keynote speech at the CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation’s 25th anniversary, Mary Robinson underscores the enduring vitality of the principles that guided his work.

The Elders urge an end to the deadly conflicts in Sudan and the DRC

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Tuesday, December 9, 2025

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Via The Onion \\\ Japanese Monk Racks Brain For Haiku That Will Knock Them On Their Asses Buddhist Monastic Desperately Searches For 3 Impressive Lines

Wolf Alice - White Horses (Official Lyric Video)

Everytime KCRW plays this, I have to stop what I am doing and dance

there is some great music out there

Music and love have magnetic properties Wrote a scholar from the island that they kept from me And I don’t need to solve my unknown identity Just need an answer to the question in the taxi My sister paints apathy like blasphemy But I never thought names deserve such energy It's my choice to choose who I embrace as family It’s my choice to choose yeah my choice to choose yeah Know who I am that’s important to me Do what I can to see the wood from the trees Know who I am that’s important to me Let the branches wrap their arms around me I could just wander always like a leaf on the southeast breeze I do not need no rooting, I carry home with me To be on Nomad floating on the waves of the channel sea I can see England waving, white horses carry me Music and love have magnetic properties Wrote a scholar from the island that they kept from me And I don't need to solve my unknown identity Just need an answer to the question in the taxi My sister paints apathy like blasphemy I’ve seen god’s green earth with the people closest to me It's my choice to choose who I embrace as family I choose you yeah I choose you yeah ——— Credits: Production Company - @ameliastudios DOP - @george__beattie 1st AC - @__jonny_lewis__ 2nd AC - @princessjiboye Editor: Gary Coogan @garyvslife Colourist: Johnny Richards @johnnyeditorvfx Lyrics: Luca Brewster @lucabstar Post Producer: Katie Harris @karris_

Via Daily Dharma: The Past Has Left Us

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The Past Has Left Us

May we know we’ve been abandoned by the past, that the past has left us and moved on. So, too, have previous versions of our bodies left us, so, too, have previous iterations of the earth and its ecology left us.

Leora Fridman, “Notes on Abandon”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

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RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Appreciative Joy

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 appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on appreciative joy, any discontent 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 appreciative joy, and thereby gains internal peace. (MN 40)

Reflection

When lovingkindness encounters the good fortune and happiness of another, it transforms into appreciative joy. This is the emotion of feeling good for another person, of being glad that good things are happening for them. Appreciative joy arises easily for the people we care about, but so often its opposite—some form of jealousy, envy, or resentment—comes up for us. The antidote for these forms of discontent is learning how to feel good for others, which generally takes a lot of practice.

Daily Practice

Try reminding yourself on a regular basis that the world is ruled by impersonal laws of cause and effect, also known as karma. Sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things, and we often have little control over these things. Why not feel happy for other people when they experience good fortune or reap the rewards of their hard work? Like a cool drink on a hot day, feeling happy is more beneficial than feeling bad.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.