5 Minute Dhamma – Right Speech

The Buddha teaches us that “mind is the forerunner of all action (bodily and verbal)”, so clearly understanding the law of kamma and the Four Noble Truths (Right View), and purposively inclining our actions towards renunciation, good-will and harmlessness (Right Intention), we can now move onto the morality section of the Noble Eightfold Path, or outward expression of our thoughts.

The first factor of the morality division is Right Speech. The fourth precept, abstaining from false speech, is directly related to this factor. The Buddha’s definition of false speech is much broader than just dishonesty, but also includes abusive, slanderous, and meaningless (chit chat) speech.

Dishonesty is easy enough to understand. This is speech that does not convey the truth; speech that intentionally misleads and creates delusion. Even “white lies” are included here. Abusive and harsh speech are using words that are not pleasant to the ear, like curses and such, as well as angry, sarcastic, and offensive speech intending to harm another being (yes, words can kill!*). Slanderous speech is speech which creates rifts in otherwise harmonious communities or societies by disparaging one, or many members, of that community. Chit chat, or meaningless speech, is speech with has no depth, does not really convey any ideas that lead directly to the cessation of suffering.

Their opposites are honest, pleasant, and empowering speech, and in the strictest sense of this factor, speaking ONLY about Dhamma. Starting with honesty, this does not mean that one need fully open the tap, speaking every single honest thought that comes to mind. One does so with “wisdom”, knowing what to say and when to say it, endeavouring to not even tell a white lie, and when speaking, to speak only the truth. Telling someone that the clothes they are wearing are ugly might be honest, but not particularly “wise” speech. So, when being honest, one must also take into consideration the person to whom one is speaking.

Pleasant speech is using words that don’t offend others. This can be somewhat difficult given our personal, subjective standards for speech. However, there are cultural and societal norms and most of us are mature enough to know what is proper in various settings. And should one unintentionally use a crass word, be gracious enough to admit fault and apologise for the offense.

For the opposite of slanderous speech, I use the term “empowering”. As opposed to breaking apart and tearing down a community, or even an individual, this is language that attempts to unify, motivate and support, especially when it comes to the alleviation of suffering and practicing Dhamma.

Finally, avoiding chit chat, talking about mundane, worldly affairs. While it is seemingly impossible not to talk about politics, work, the weather, etc, we can at least know when the appropriate time is and not just chat to fill up the space. Strictly speaking, this means speech that contributes to the cessation of suffering, or only Dhamma. There was a Burmese monk named Ye Ngon Sayadaw, “ye ngon” in Burmese means “holding water in the mouth”. Apparently, as part of his discipline, he would hold a mouthful of water all the time to prevent himself, or at the very least, to allow him pause for consideration, whether the words he wanted to utter were in the cause of teaching Dhamma!

While we don’t need to keep a mouthful of water, we should pause and think before speaking, not always the easiest of tasks, but then following Dhamma is about developing discipline.

* “Kill” here does not mean to take a life, but “false speech” can definitely do enough injury to the vast majority of listeners’ mental states that wholesome thoughts are “killed” and replaced with unwholesome thoughts. Indeed, “Mara”, the embodiment of Buddha’s nemesis at the time of His enlightenment, means “to kill”. So, while not necessarily physically assaulting the Buddha, the armies of Mara could be aversion, his daughters a metaphor for greed, both blitzkreiging the soon-to-be Buddha’s mind, killing the positive states leading to liberation and cultivating negative states that, had Mara been successful, would have continued to bind Siddhartha to samsara.