Ancient Wisdom for Difficult Times: The Third Step of the Eightfold Path

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project.

I hope you are well and staying steady in these very unsteady times. There is so much upheaval in our country and around the world. Strong views. Strong emotions. A lot of suffering.

Where to begin to find any type of steadiness? In Buddhist thought, there are 8 steps on the path to sanity.

We began a discussion with the first step, Right View, followed by step two, Right Intention.

Today’s talk is about the third step: Right Speech. This teaching is always relevant, but it is now more than ever.

I share the four forms of unskillful speech: abusive, untrue, divisive, and idle. And I offer six questions to ask before you speak.

None of this is easy, especially when we feel afraid or outraged. But with meditation, we begin to create a small gap between what we think and what we say. That gap can change everything.

I’m covering the Noble Eightfold Path on my podcast. There’s a full, in-depth talk on Right Speech, Episode 44, that you can listen to here (if you want to).

Thoughts? I would love to hear them.

Much love,
Susan

categorized in: dharma, open heart project