Five marks of good speech
Today, check one thing you are about to say against the five marks.
- Read · about 2 minutes
“Mendicants, speech that has five factors is well spoken, not poorly spoken. It’s blameless and is not criticized by sensible people.What five?It is speech that is timely, true, gentle, beneficial, and loving.AN 5.198 · “Well-Spoken Words” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The passage says that speech with five factors is well spoken and blameless: it is timely, true, gentle, beneficial, and loving. Speech that meets these five is not criticized by sensible people.
In everyday life
Five words, and every one of them is a question you can ask before you open your mouth. Is this the right time? Is it true? Is it gentle, in tone as well as content? Will it help? Is there care in it? The list is short enough to remember and demanding enough that most of us fail at least one mark a day. That is not a reason for guilt; it is a reason to look. 'Mendicants' means the monks and nuns being addressed; the description is of speech in general, so one way to take it is that the five marks apply to anyone's words. Today's sit with the breath is preparation for this. Steady attention on the breath is the same attention you need to catch a message before it goes out, or to hear the sharpness in your own voice. The action is small: one message, one check. Change a word if a word needs changing.
- Sit · 3, 5 or 10 minutes
Breath Awareness
Sit comfortably upright, hands in your lap or on your knees. After reading a cue, you may close your eyes and rest with the breath until the next one appears.
- Live · during your day
Before you say or send one thing today that matters even a little, run it through the five questions: right time, true, gentle, helpful, caring. If it fails one, wait or reword it.
- Reflect · this evening
When you checked your words today, which mark asked the most of you?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.