This Monday Bea will facilitate. She shares:
In the book, The Art of Communicating, Thich Nhat Hanh presents the Four Elements of Right Speech. He says that in Buddhism there is a practice called the Ten Bodhisatva Trainings. Four of these ten trainings relate to Right Speech - we can also think of this as "Wise Speech."
This type of speech focuses on being:
- Truthful - Tell the truth. Don't turn the truth upside down.
- Helpful - Being aware of your intention, your motivation. How can this be constructive?
- Timely. What is the best time to share your thoughts? Is the person ready to receive?
- Kind: Use peaceful language. Don't use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse, or condemnation.
Please contemplate some of your most recent interactions with people and ask yourself whether you used Wise Speech or not. Also think about how you can practice using Wise Speech more often in our daily life. What comes easy and what does not come so easy?