Buddhism by the Numbers

Right Speech

The classical explanation of Right Speech is 1) Speaking truthfully. 2) Not speaking with a forked tongue. 3) Not speaking cruelly.

• Right Speech is based on Right Thinking.
• Deep listening is at the foundation of Right Speech
• Compassionate listening brings about healing
• When communication is cut off we suffer
• The Bodhisattva Kwan Yin is the one who hears the cries of the world
• If you really love someone, train yourself to be a good listener
• You must use loving speech
• You need to practice more walking meditation, more mindful breathing, more sitting meditation in order to restore your capacity for compassionate listening
• When you begin to understand the suffering of the other person compassion will arise in you. Compassion is the only energy that can help us connect with another person. The person who has no compassion in him can never be happy
• Writing is a deep practice
• Silence is a time for looking deeply. There are times when silence is truth and that is called “thundering silence”
• Words and thought can kill. We cannot support acts of killing in our thinking or in our speech. If you have a job in which telling the truth is impossible, you may have to change jobs. If you have a job that allows you to speak truth, be grateful. To practice social justice and non-exploitation, we have to use right speech

The Fourth Mindfulness Training is training oneself to listen with compassion

• May my words be as beautiful as gems, as lovely as flowers
• I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening
• Words can create happiness or suffering
• I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope
• I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain and I will not criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure.
• I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

Based on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh

Photo credit: Benn Bell