The Eightfold Path, Part 3: Right Speech

Our world is in a crisis of communication. Politicians seem to lie more than they tell the truth, corporations argue that they shouldn’t have to tell the truth about their products, and of course social media is a cesspool of click bait and rage bait. A whole economy has been built off of eliciting feelings of false need, to say nothing of the media economy built on stoking rage, division, and fear. It’s hard not to think about this when looking at the topic of today’s post, the third step on the Buddha’s Eightfold Path: right — that is to say, skillful — speech. As usual in this series using the basics of Buddhist thought as a mirror to better understand our own Christian faith, we’ll first explore the Buddhist teaching and then see how its themes play out in the Bible and Christian teaching more generally.

Right Speech in Buddhism

As classically defined by the Buddha himself, right speech has four components, all expressed in terms of behaviours to avoid:

1. Telling lies
2. Speech which brings about hatred and division
3. Harsh, rude, or abusive language
4. Pointless talk

Framed in a more positive way, then, right speech involves speaking the truth in a friendly and pleasant manner that is useful and brings about unity and social cohesion rather than division.

The first three components are all about promoting genuine communication and community, and one would hope these would be uncontroversial. Lies break trust and make it impossible for communities to successfully understand and navigate around the problems, internal and external, they face. Slander and divisive language break the community itself, as does harsh or sarcastic language. While these may have short term benefits for the individual or their faction, they are disastrous in the long term for everyone.

The fourth is a bit more difficult to understand, since it effectively eliminates most conversation if applied literally. But, keeping in mind the middle path’s avoidance of extreme practices and beliefs, I think there’s a lot of room to play here. So much of what we say, whether in real life or on social media, is completely pointless. At best, it’s just filling empty space, and at worst, opining on things about which we don’t have sufficient information, or aren’t helpfully contributing to any legitimate discourse. As one Buddhist teacher put it, “Idle gossip is the least of the …non-virtues, but it is the best way to waste our human lives” (Pabongka Rinpoche).

Christian Response

While there is no direct Christian equivalent to the idea of right speech, a brief survey of texts shows that our Scriptures advocate consistently for all four of its components:

Lying vs. Truth

• “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.” (Exodus 20.16)
• “Truthful lips endure for ever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” (Proverbs 12.19)
• “Do not be a witness against your neighbour without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.” (Proverbs 24.28)
• “Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart…” (Psalm 15.2)
• “They all deceive their neighbours, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies; they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.” (Jeremiah 9.5)
• *“He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (*John 8.44)
• “as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: … by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God” (2 Corinthians 6.4-7)
• “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4.15)
• “Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth...” (Ephesitans 4.25).

Discord vs. Harmony

• “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbour” (Leviticus 19.16)
• “A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends” (Proverbs 16.28)
• “O Lord, who may abide in your tent? … Those …who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbours” (Psalm 15.1-3)
• “For out of the heart come evil intentions, … false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15.19)
• “*Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” (*1 Corinthians 1.10)
• “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice” (Ephesians 4.13)
• “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3.14)
• “After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions.” (Titus 3.10)

Sharp Speech vs. Kind and Gentle Speech

• “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15.1)
• “Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery.” (Psalm 52.2)
• “when slandered, we speak kindly” (1 Corinthians 4.13)
• “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5.22-23)
• “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” (Philippians 4.5)
• “I therefore … beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4.1-2)

Idle Talk vs. Useful Talk

• “You will not take the LORD’s name in vain” (Exodus 20.7)
• “*A gossip reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a babbler” (*Proverbs 20.19)
• “they [those unworthy of community support] are not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say.” (1 Timothy 5.13)
• “There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers” (Titus 1.10)

All this shows that the ideas within the Buddha’s concept of right speech are strongly consistent with the message of the Bible. (To say nothing of their tremendous importance in the monastic tradition! Really, anywhere that values community will by nature insist on these things.) One could argue, however, that these proof texts are not fully representative of the Scriptures. After all, Jesus said he would be the cause of division, and he didn’t shy away from strong words. But there’s a difference between being the cause of division and causing division. He didn’t seek to cause problems or divide the people; his way of life simply elicited strong responses in others. Likewise, there’s a difference between strong words and biting and sarcastic words. When Jesus spoke out it was not in an attempt to belittle or harass others, but to call out their injustice. So I would maintain that these examples cannot be used to justify any kind of speech that has the intention of hurting others, demeaning others, or creating or stoking divisions.

Conclusion

The similar teachings here between the Buddhist and Christian traditions should be no surprise. I mentioned above that really any group that values community will inherently value all four of the components of right speech. That so many Christians today seem not only to allow but to delight in skewing the truth, stoking division, demeaning others, and opining about everything under the sun as though their opinions were God’s Gospel Truth shows just how far we’ve fallen, and how much work there is to do to attend to our own house. But of course, as we do so, we must practice what we preach, and make sure that as we speak the truth, we do so in love and gentleness, for the sake of harmony and our future as both a community of faith and contributors to society at large.