Tag: right speech

The End of Suffering #4 – Right Action

We are now on my fourth post regarding how components of the Noble Eightfold Path can lead to the cessation of suffering. In previous posts I wrote about The End of Suffering #1 – Right Understanding, then The End of Suffering #2 – Right Thought, and my last post was The End of Suffering #3 – Right Speech. I would suggest you read these previous posts in addition to what is being presented here.

So what is “right action”? According to the Buddha’s words taken from the Pali Canon right action is as follows:

“And what, monks, is right action? Abstinence from the destruction of life, abstinence from taking what is not given, abstinence from sexual misconduct; this is called right action.”

Pali Canon (SN 45:8, V 8-10)

Right action is where the rubber meets the road, unlike “right understanding” or “right thought”, the Buddha is telling us our actions must align with the right thoughts and right understanding. Here the Buddha lays out three things you must abstain from to practice “right action”:

  1. The destruction of life
  2. Taking what is not given
  3. Sexual misconduct

These three things that you are to abstain from are largely driven by morality. To embrace Buddhism means you must conduct yourself in a moral manner abstaining from killing, stealing, and any form of sexual misconduct. Buddhism requires you to change the way you act not just aspire to a more moral way of living. If you have been brought up in the Christian Religion say Catholicism you are familiar with the Ten Commandments. Where #5 is “Thou shall not kill”, #7 “Thou shall not steal”, #6 “Thou shalt not commit adultery”, and #9 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife”. These four commandments align pretty well with what the Buddha had in mind.

So how does the destruction of life, taking what is not given, and sexual misconduct create suffering?

The destruction of life

In Buddhism, the scope of abstaining from the destruction of life goes beyond human life and instead means all sentient beings. I’m going to use the definition below for a sentient being, but I think from the Buddha’s perspective it meant any human, animal, fish, or insect that could experience pain and thus suffer.

“Sentient” is an adjective that describes a capacity for feeling. The word sentient derives from the Latin verb sentire, which means “to feel.” The first letters, “sen,” match the beginnings of common English words including sentiment, sensory, and sensation—all of which give hints as to the meaning of the term. In dictionary definitions, sentience is defined as “able to experience feelings,” “responsive to or conscious of sense impressions,” and “capable of feeling things through physical senses.” Sentient beings experience wanted emotions like happiness, joy, and gratitude, and unwanted emotions in the form of pain, suffering, and grief.

Sentience: What It Means and Why It’s Important, By Jane KotzmannApril 8, 2020

https://sentientmedia.org/sentience-what-it-means-and-why-its-important/

If sentient beings feel pain then it reasons that the killing of a sentient being will cause suffering. There is also the premise that causing pain to others harms us, making us more callous, ruthless, and less compassionate, morally bankrupt if you will. That is probably an understatement, but take even what we often consider to be innocuous destruction of life like killing a mosquito or some other insect that has invaded our personal space. I would suspect that many who are on the path would consider even that transgression as a violation of the abstinence of the destruction of life.

From a Buddhist perspective, the destruction of life means all life that can feel pain, which is people, most animals, reptiles, fish, types of marine life, and yes even insects. Make it simple on yourself and try not to kill anything that moves. Makes you think, doesn’t it? Let’s say a rodent or lizard invades your domicile, while your first inclination is to figure out some way to terminate their life as this is most of the time the most expedient and permanent solution, but as a Buddhist, you start thinking how can I capture them and release them outside.

Taking what is not given

From the Buddhist perspective-taking what is not given is more accurately thought of as stealing from someone. Well, that’s the way I interpret it. It is obvious that this will cause suffering for whoever you stole from. Through the ages, this has been a doctrine of all civilizations, one that is punishable by laws prohibiting it. Not only do you harm the person you stole from, but you are likely to end up in prison where you experience all kinds of suffering. The immorality of theft is rarely questioned in most societies, and the consequences are often dire. As one who follows the path, you also suffer ethically, undermining whatever integrity you had to begin with, as your conscience will plague you, not only suffering the direct consequences, but also the guilt that follows.

Sexual misconduct

There are numerous forms of sexual misconduct in this world, but a few come to mind that violate the norms of most societies. Cheating on your spouse or partner, also known as adultery comes to mind. Many marriages and relationships have been destroyed not to mention the harm it does to the family. For many, this breach of trust is devasting and causes immense suffering for the person that was cheated on. Then there are the lowly pedophiles that prey on children, scarring them for life. Other deviants will commit rape on their innocent victims, again causing horrific suffering to the person that was raped. Let’s keep this simple, a Buddhist does not perform any form of sexual misconduct. If you are having any issues understanding why or what constitutes sexual misconduct you need help.

Summary

Much of the pain and suffering in this world comes from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. The Buddha knew this and made sure that his followers abstained from these behaviors if nothing else on purely moral and ethical grounds. The converse of these destructive actions is promoting moral, honorable, and peaceful conduct, that is “right action”.

Namaste

I wish you peace and happiness; may your life be filled with compassion, kindness, love, and forgiveness towards others.

Let your practice help you end suffering for yourself and all other sentient beings.

 

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The End of Suffering #3 – Right Speech

In my previous posts on ending suffering it was discussed how Right Understanding and Right Thought are key components of the Noble Eightfold Path and lead to the cessation of suffering. I used some quotes from other websites to define Right Understanding and Right Thought, but in this post, I would rather quote the Buddha’s own words from the Pali Canon (SN 45:8, V 8-10):

“And what, monks, is right speech? Abstinence from false speech, abstinence from malicious speech, abstinence from harsh speech, abstinence from idle chatter: this is called right speech.”

As a follower of the path, you may ask how can “right speech” contribute to the end of suffering? I think with “right speech” the Buddha is not so much focused on your suffering from some lack of “right speech”, but more on how the wrong speech causes suffering to others. Although we may find that wrong speech can be damaging not just to others, but also for ourselves.

Let’s break it down a bit when you abstain from stating knowingly false speech you cease lying. This lying to others can be harmful in so many ways where you are spuing untruths, feeding others with misinformation, and with each lie, you chip away at your own integrity. Some common reasons for lying include making up things that bolster your ego, where you blatantly tell others about things you never did or you make them out to be more important than they really were. Another common lie would be to tell others about some tragedy that never occurred in an attempt to garner sympathy from the listener. We often see politicians or others in power make up lies to further their own interests. Lying about climate change to increase profits from drilling oil or burning coal are a couple examples, where the truth is ignored for generating profits.

Malicious speech can best be categorized as trying to do harm to others. One example of this might be spreading malicious gossip about an individual or group to harm their reputation. In any case, the use of malicious speech is always to hurt someone else. Note this malicious speech may even be true but it is the intent that is in question here. Those that spend their time spewing malicious speech are simply fools that want to hurt someone else. This is a pretty obvious cause and effect targeted at creating suffering.

So what is meant by harsh speech? We often use harsh speech when we are angry or upset in some way. Harsh speech that might include swearing, but is often a mixture of harsh speech with malicious intent or at best just a lack of control. I’m sure you can recall times when you did this recently, but for followers of the path, we must practice self-control. Often these little tirades of ours come across as not just rude, but can also be attacking in nature and cause suffering if not to yourself, certainly to those who had to listen to it.

Finally, why did the Buddha include abstaining from idle chatter as a component of right speech? I mean how much harm can this do? Have you ever spent time with people that just love to hear themselves talk? It can be a painful experience listening to someone go on and on often about nothing. While this is probably the least severe form of wrong speech, it at best is just a waste of time for you who must endure listening to it.

The Buddha knew about the power of words and clearly identified what is right speech and what is wrong speech. I hope this post sheds a little light on how practicing right speech can lead to ending suffering. In my next post, I will look at how right action contributes to the end of suffering. By now you are seeing the power of the Noble Eightfold Path and how interrelated each of the elements of the path is to the whole. Truly the enlightened one Master Gotama (Pali form of  Gautama) was a prophet.

I’ll leave you with a final quote from Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian-born author, lecturer, astrologer and mystic.

Namaste

 

Note: I wrote this post using Grammarly, which really helps. Give it a try, it works with WordPress and Google Docs.

Follow me on Instagram for daily wisdom https://www.instagram.com/joersacco/


This post was proofread by Grammarly.

If you would like to support this blog, check out the awesome selection of eBooks at:

Mind, Body, Spirit books at eBooks.com

If eBooks aren’t your thing, check out my Resources page for additional ways to support this blog.

Visit my other blog Inspirational Book Reviews where I review some incredible literature.

 

Right Speech

The third step in the Eightfold Path is called Right Speech. As we travel the Eightfold Path we often find that the steps build on each other. In Right View we learned about adopting a realistic view of the world and with Right Intent we would adopt a mindset that values all human life and act with compassion. As much of our communication is centered around speech, we must understand the impact that our words have on each other. The power of our words and what we say to each other can have a positive influence or be extremely detrimental. Here are a few examples of Right Speech:

  • Being truthful
  • Refraining from gossiping and spreading rumors
  • Speaking with kindness not anger
  • Not criticizing people
  • Speaking words of encouragement

These are just a few examples of Right Speech, but I think you get the idea. Right Speech should be speech that first does no harm. This requires a great amount of self control and relies heavily on to what degree you have mastered Right Intent. In my opinion you can also apply Right Speech to the written word as the overall goal should be the same.

How many times have you let your anger get the best of you and blurted out some hurtful language even to those you love? When was the last time you  criticized someone to another behind their back? How often have you been fast and loose with the truth? I know that I need to work on Right Speech and I’m guessing it will take a while before it is mastered. If it were easy we would all reach enlightenment in a matter of days, but we should be grateful that the Buddha provided the path for us to follow, which will guide us along the way.

buddhism-eightfoldpath

Namaste