What right speech leaves out
Today, notice one moment where you could leave out something false, divisive, harsh, or pointless.
- Read · about 2 minutes
“And what is the noble eightfold path?It is right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.…And what is right speech?Refraining from speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical.This is called right speech.SN 45.8 · Maggavibhaṅga Sutta · “Analysis” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The passage lists the eight parts of the noble eightfold path and then defines one of them. Right speech is refraining from four kinds of speech: speech that is false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical.
In everyday life
Notice what this definition is made of. It does not tell you what to say. It names four things to leave out: what is false, what is said behind someone's back to set people apart, what is harsh, and what is empty noise. That is a short list, and every item shows up in an ordinary day. A small exaggeration in a group chat. A remark about someone who is not in the room. A sharp reply when you are tired. Talk that fills a silence and adds nothing. One way to take this is that right speech begins as subtraction: you do not need new words yet, only a little space before the old ones. Today's sit is simply arriving, so that the space has somewhere to come from. The action asks you to catch one of the four as it forms, and to let it go unsent.
- Sit · 3, 5 or 10 minutes
Arriving and Settling
Sit upright on a chair or cushion, hands resting in your lap. Read each cue as it appears; between cues you may close your eyes or lower your gaze.
- Live · during your day
Once today, before you speak or send a message, pause for one breath and ask which of the four it might be. If it is one of them, leave it out.
- Reflect · this evening
Which of the four kinds of speech was easiest to notice in yourself today?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.