Buddha’s Noble Eight-Fold Path – Integrate Right View and Right Intention with
“Right speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood”
Before you speak or act out, ask yourself,
“Am I coming from a perspective of loving kindness?”
Or
Am I trying to sound good, impress someone, mislead or lie.
In pursuit of Right Livelihood
Strive for an occupation that will offer a noble service
free from deceit or the perpetuation of unwholesomeness.
The Buddha divides right speech into four components:
abstaining from false speech, abstaining from slanderous speech,
abstaining from harsh speech, and abstaining from idle chatter.
Speech can break lives, create enemies, and start wars,
or it can give wisdom, heal divisions, and create peace.
~ ~ ~
Lying is disruptive to social cohesion.
the Buddha concluded,
one should not speak a deliberate lie even in jest.
The opposite of slander, as the Buddha indicates,
is speech that promotes friendship and harmony.
Such speech originates from a mind of loving-kindness and sympathy.
It wins the trust and affection of others, who feel they can
confide in one without fear that their disclosures will be used against them.
The ideal antidote is:
Patience —
Learning to tolerate blame and criticism from others,
to sympathize with their shortcomings, to respect differences in viewpoint,
to endure abuse without feeling compelled to retaliate.
~ ~ ~
Abstaining from idle chatter.
A Spiritual person avoids idle chatter and abstains from it.
He speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts,
speaks what is useful, his speech is like a treasure,
uttered at the right moment, accompanied by reason,
moderate and full of sense.
Idle chatter is pointless talk, speech that lacks purpose or depth.
Such speech communicates nothing of value,
but only stirs up the defilements in one’s own mind and in others.
The Buddha advises that idle talk should be curbed,
and speech restricted as much as possible
to matters of genuine importance.
‘Right Action’
Can again be summed up by what It is written that Jesus said:
“Do on to others as you would have them do onto you”.
