Right speech

Right speech (sammā vācā) is the third factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is the first of the three factors of ethical conduct, along with right action and right livelihood. Speech is where most of us cause, and ease, the most harm each day.

Four kinds of speech to avoid

The discourses define right speech as refraining from four things:

• False speech. Saying what you know is untrue, or deliberately giving a false impression.
• Divisive speech. Telling one person what another said in order to split them apart.
• Harsh speech. Abusive, cruel or contemptuous words.
• Idle chatter. Talk that is pointless, careless or ill-timed.

The positive side is the reverse: speaking truthfully, in a way that brings people together, gently, and with purpose.

Five questions before speaking

In one short discourse the Buddha says that well-spoken words have five qualities. They are spoken at the right time. They are true. They are gentle. They are beneficial. They are spoken with a mind of goodwill. These make a practical checklist. Something can be true and still be the wrong thing to say now, or said in the wrong tone.

The Buddha himself is described as saying what is true and beneficial, even when unwelcome, while choosing the right time to say it.

Honesty as a foundation

In a well-known teaching to his young son Rāhula, the Buddha holds up a water vessel with a little water left in it. He says that the goodness of someone who has no shame in telling a deliberate lie is as small as that. Truthfulness is the base on which the rest of the path stands. Not lying is also one of the five precepts.

Practising right speech

You can start by simply noticing your speech. Before you speak, pause briefly and ask whether it is true, kind and useful. Notice gossip as it begins and let it drop. Right speech also covers writing, messages and posts, since these are words too. Some people take one day a week to watch their speech especially closely. Over time, less regret follows conversations, and relationships often grow easier.