The Eightfold Path - Right Speech

This is the first in a series on the 8 Limbs, otherwise known as the Nobel Eightfold Path.  I have chosen to write about the ones that resonate with me the most and today I am thinking a lot about the path of Right Speech.

In cultivating right speech it is very important for me to release my attachment to being right.  That looks strange as I type it, but it is true.  Many times right speech is interpreted as only speaking the truth and exercising freedom of speech.  However, I cannot always be certain that what I say is true and it may only be true for me.  How I relate my truth becomes very important.  Sometimes it comes down to asking myself would I rather be right or would I rather be kind.  I don’t need to express my opinion every time I have one. 

During these highly charged political times there are plenty of people who are expressing their opinions and debating the issues of the day.  People who have the opposite opinions on matters of policy than me are not necessarily wrong; they are looking at the issues from where they stand, from where they live, from their experiences.  By speaking their truth they may seem in total opposition to my truth.  So what is right speech?

“Right speech is abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter.”— SN 45.8

Over the past few years I have noticed that the internet has given people the freedom to say things anonymously that they probably wouldn’t say otherwise.  I have stopped looking at comments on news websites because people are choosing to use the comment areas as a place to bully.  I have also heard speech, seen comments, and viewed bumper stickers that are not only offensive, but threatening to my way of life and viewpoint.  Freedom of speech is often used as an excuse by the person who makes the statement or by the persons who do not condone the speech but remain silent. 

The following criteria for right speech comes from the Buddhas teachings to Prince Abhaya.  (Tathagata is the word in Pali that Buddha uses when referring to himself.)

 [1] "In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial (or: not connected with the goal), unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them.

[2] "In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them.

[3] "In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, but unendearing & disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them.

[4] "In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them.

[5] "In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them.

[6] "In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, and endearing & agreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. Why is that? Because the Tathagata has sympathy for living beings."

The main factors are three: whether or not a statement is true, whether or not it is beneficial, and whether or not it is pleasing to others. The Buddha himself would state only those things that are true and beneficial, and would have a sense of time for when pleasing and unpleasing things should be said. Notice that the possibility that a statement might be untrue yet beneficial is not even entertained.

I am not perfect.  I tend to be like Joe Biden, spouting off on issues, expressing my dismay at injustices, cursing when cut off in traffic, becoming angry when my truth is opposed.  I am trying to discern when to best keep my mouth shut.  That is not always easy.

There is another aspect to right speech that has become very important to me and that is how I talk to myself.  What I say to myself can be just as damaging as what I read or hear others say.  I am my worst critic and often my worst bully.  Right speech, therefore, becomes an internal process.  I need to pay careful attention to both, as how I express myself is a reflection of what is going on internally.