There are three components of The Noble Eightfold Path: Virtue
(Skillful Speech, Skillful Action & Skillful Livelihood), Concentration
(Skillful Effort, Skillful Mindfulness & Skillful Concentration) &
Wisdom (Skillful Understanding & Skillful Thinking).
We began with Skillful Understanding - a conceptual understanding
of The Law of Cause and Effect and The Four Noble Truths.
Last week we explored Skillful Thinking
We will conclude Skillful Thinking today, and then begin
our focus on Virtue with Skillful Speech.
After concluding our exploration of Virtue with Skillful
Action and Skillful Livelihood, we will focus on the third section of the
Path, Concentration, as we experience Skillful Effort, Skillful Mindfulness
& Skillful Concentration.
Finally, we will return to the Wisdom section of the Path
as we contemplate the non-conceptual understanding of The Four Noble Truths.
Review of Skillful Thinking
Importance of Intention
Each action (i.e., speech and deed) is preceded by a thought
Each unskillful thought is rooted in greed, hatred and delusion
Each skillful thought is rooted in non-greed (generosity),
non-hatred (loving-friendliness and compassion) and wisdom
We have experienced through Skillful Understanding and the
Law of Cause and Effect,
thoughts rooted in greed, hatred and delusion lead to disharmony
and suffering
thoughts rooted in generosity, loving-friendliness, compassion
and wisdom lead to harmony and peace
As the mind begins to understand suffering and its cause
(craving), it begins to lose interest in its attachment to sensual stimuli,
rests in each moment with equanimity, and responds appropriately to each
moment as wisdom naturally arises.
Skillful Thinking is Intentions of:
Generosity - Letting Go (Renunciation): Material, People,
Experiences and Beliefs
Loving-Friendliness or Metta (Goodwill): wishing for the
happiness and welfare of others
Compassion (Harmlessness) - understanding the suffering of
others and wishing them to be free from suffering
Sharing of Experiences (have class help me illustrate Skillful
Thinking in their own experiences)
Summary of Skillful Thinking
When one is practicing true Generosity, Loving-friendliness
and Compassion, the mind is free of attachments and self-identification.
When the mind is free of attachments and self-identification,
it is full of Generosity, Loving-friendliness and Compassion, which are
naturally shared with the world out a sense of abundance.
Just as surely as the shadow of a person follows that person
without fail, Skillful Speech, Skillful Action and Skillful Livelihoodwill
naturally proceed from Skillful Thinking.
Keeping Skillful Thinking in mind, let us now consider Skillful
Speech. The Buddha divides Skillful Speech into four components - abstaining
from false speech, malicious speech, harsh speech and idle chatter.
Abstaining from false speech
The Buddha's said: "When summoned to a court or to a meeting,
or to his relatives' presence, or to his guild, or to the royal family's
presence, and questioned as a witness thus, So, good man, tell what you
know,' then, not knowing, he says 'I know,' or knowing, he says 'I do not
know,' not seeing, he says 'I see,' or seeing, he says 'I do not see';
in full awareness he speaks falsehood for his own ends or for another's
ends or for some trifling worldly end." M41
Sometimes a question is asked where silence indicates a particular
answer. If silence would convey a lie, we must speak (skillfully). For
example, police investigating a crime scene and asking the crowd if anyone
saw anything.
Our body language may indicate consent, denial or lack of
knowledge - shrug, eyebrows lifted or lowered, smile, frown.
The Buddha's guidelines for deciding whether to speak or
be silent (M58):
If something is untrue, incorrect or unbeneficial, he would
not say it.
If he knows something is true, correct and beneficial, but
unwelcome and disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time
for saying them.
If he knows something is true, correct and beneficial --
and it is the right time to say it -- he would say it, even if it is unwelcome
and disagreeable to others.
Examples from the class
The key is the intention to deceive. If it is present, then
one's speech or action (or non-action) is unskillful.
Examine the motivations behind false speech
Greed: to gain some advantage for oneself or for those close
to oneself - material wealth, position, respect or admiration.
Hatred: to hurt or damage others
Delusion: the irrational lie, the compulsive lie, the interesting
exaggeration, and lying for the sake of a joke.
Resolve to follow the Buddha's guidelines when speaking.
Abstaining from malicious speech
The Buddha's said: "He is a repeater elsewhere of what is
heard here for the purpose of causing division from these, or he is a repeater
to these of what is heard elsewhere for the purpose of causing division
from those, and he is thus a divider of the united, a creator of divisions,
who enjoys discord, rejoices in discord, delights in discord, he is a speaker
of words that create discord." M41
Talk that destroys the friendship between two people.
Sometimes we disguise it as concern about another's behavior
Or we disclose a confidence, believing that it's "for his
own good"
Or we give a "backhanded compliment" or "catty" comment
Examples from the class
The key is the intention to incite discord in relationships.
If it is present, then one's speech or action (or non-action) is unskillful.
Examine the motivations behind malicious speech, which are
often rooted in hatred.
Resolve to use words that help and heal, rather than wound
and destroy.
Abstaining from harsh speech
The Buddha's said: "He utters such words as are rough, hard,
hurtful to others, censorious of others, bordering on anger and unconducive
to concentration." M41
It is speech uttered in anger, intended to cause the hearer
pain. It takes many forms:
abusive speech
insult
sarcasm
Examples from the class
The key is the intention to cause the hearer pain. If it
is present, then one's speech or action (or non-action) is unskillful.
Examine the motivations behind harsh speech, which are often
rooted in hatred.
Resolve to speak softly, with sincerity and a noble purpose
Abstaining from idle chatter
The Buddha's said: "One who tells that which is unseasonable,
that which is not fact, that which is not good, that which is not the Dhamma,
that which is not the Discipline, and he speaks out of season speech not
worth recording, which is unreasoned, indefinite, and unconnected with
good." M41 ["unseasonable" means not the proper time]
Idle Chatter is pointless talk, speech that lacks purpose
or depth. It communicates nothing of value, but only stirs up the defilements
in one's own mind and in the mind of others.
Monks - words should be selective and concerned primarily
with the Dhamma
Lay persons - more need for affectionate small talk with
friends and family, polite conversation with acquaintances, and talk in
connection with their line of work, but mindful not to let the conversation
stray into unsuitable topics that are conducive to thoughts rooted in greed,
hatred or delusion.
Idle Chatter is constantly bombarding us through various
media: TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, movies, that are often geared
to either stimulate the mind in unwholesome ways or to leave the mind passive,
vacant and sterile.
Examples from the class
"The most important resolution you can make is to think before
you speak. People say, "Watch your tongue!" But it's more important to
watch your mind. The tongue does not wag by itself. The mind controls it.
Before you open your mouth, check your mind to see whether your motivation
is wholesome. You will come to regret any speech motivated by greed, hatred
or delusion." (Bhante Gunaratana)
May my words be true; May my words be just -- fair to all concerned; May my words be endearing; May my words be well-spoken -- may they bring no harm
to me or to others.