Buddhist teachings focus on abstaining from:
- lying OR speak the truth, hold to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world
- divisive speech OR speak to create concord/harmony
- abusive speech OR speak affectionately and politely
- idle chatter OR speak what is connected with dharma
for me …
I connect this immediately to one of the 8 Keys of Excellence from the Quantum Learning Network (qln.com), speak with good purpose. I share this as a reminder each morning during announcements with the students and teachers in my care.
A point of clarification I would like to make though is that this does not equate to kindness and ‘being nice’ always. True kindness comes from truth telling and while the receiver of the words may not immediately recognize the harmony spoken, but rather focus on the immediate suffering of their ego, at the end of the day being honest and direct is key.
This is an area that our Leaders struggle with. Their constant divisive speech is creating a level of suffering in our world at present that will likely take years to recover from. That terrifies me.
I remember very clearly a point in time during my first year as an administrator when I responded to a teacher who felt as though she had been harmed in some way by something I said previously by telling her that I was not responsible for her feelings. While this came out much harsher than intended, those are some of the truest words I had ever spoken. It is my hope and intention to focus on and consider the collective rather than the individual in the things I say and do because to me, we are one.