Right Speech

speak no “post-truth”…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


 

The spreading and celebration of incoherency, where all facts and truths are subjective and subject to what serves one’s own agenda from which only oneself and one’s insider family and friends benefit, is a degradation of the morals and ethics upon which the foundation of civilized society is built. This incoherency, rather than mutual understanding and acknowledgement based on facts, spreads unease and fear. A society living with unease and fear is in danger of losing itself in what can be a self-fulfilling abyss of distrust and paranoia. This distrust and paranoia can lead to an increase in greed, aggression, violence, and despair. 

 

Though there may be no real thing such as “post-fact” or “post-truth,” the consequences from practicing such charlatanism can be real and harmful, as we are already witnessing.

 

Does this sound an alarm? 

 

Good. 

 

Then be an unwavering, inexhaustible advocate for truth. Stand and speak up for what is based on fact and not self-serving vagary, beginning with your own speech, writing, and actions. Hope is born on the words and actions of those who stand on the side of what is authentic and true, who call upon the better quality of all people to answer that call, by example. We need these examples, these bodhisattvas, we need to be the embodiment of the hope we seek and a reflection of what is authentic and true.

 

A “post-fact” and “post-truth” world is a world spinning out of control with no ground beneath it.  The world may continue, but we may not. And if we do, we may no longer recognize who we are or what we have become, having only a fuzzy memory of what it meant to be human. A memory the “post-fact” and “post-truth” gatekeepers will slander, as they label it a myth.

 

But many of us, I hope most of us, will know better and will continue to shed a light of what is factual and true.

 

Stay awake. Stay aware. Bear witness. Speak truth.

 

~j

01.11.17

words matter…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

dear friends ~
i will repeat this until my dying breath Words Matter. our voice has tremendous power and where we lend our voice, the seeds we plant, can have immense implications. it is not beneficial to be careless. the misdirected fear, the unreasonable paranoia, and impassioned vitriol can cause harm and motivate violence. now is the time to stand up and shine a light on the dark that is ignorance, that is fear, that leads to hate and violence. a Muslim member of congress received a death threat. on Monday (you’ve probably seen this) a friend of a friend posted on FB that she was spat on by a man in a business suit while commuting. he yelled at her calling her a “sand n**ger” and told her she is the problem and she should get the f*ck out of his country. 
if you think the current talk and climate of fear has had nothing to do with this, i believe you are mistaken. you have the freedom of speech. use that freedom to lift and enlighten, to be of benefit, rather than adding to harm, aggression, and violence.
as a Buddhist i have taken a personal vow of non-harming, which even while impossible fulfill, i am committed to through practice of Right Speech and Right Action. i take this seriously, so i will not demonize those whom i believe are mistaken, who feel differently and may have become lost in the mire of fear and panic.
but i will speak up and stand with my Muslim brothers and sisters. i will stand with all Muslims whom i have worked with in the past and currently. i will stand with all Muslims whom i am grateful to call my friends and whose welfare i care about greatly, as i care for my Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, and Atheist brothers and sisters. why? because i remember that we are interdependent, because your heartbeat is my heartbeat, your breath is my breath.
i will share messages of unity and beauty – reminding you of who you are, of who we are. not this hyped up bullshit, but the stardust and ancient love that is you, that is me, that is us no matter our religious tradition.
and this first message, i am sharing?

it is my favorite poem, from my favorite poet. his name? Hafiz…a Muslim.
~j

  
#StandingWithMuslims #WeAreOne #interdependence #RightSpeech #RightAction #unity #ShineYourLight #buddhist #bodhisattva #Hafiz

the power of words…

~ jaysen ~ 2 Comments

Thursday, November 1, 2012

“Before you speak, think – is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Will it hurt anyone? Will it improve on the silence?”

The words above are from the somewhat controversial Indian Guru, Sai Baba. You can read about him here. He was controversial due to reasons other than this quote and I think the quote stands alone as a pristine piece of wisdom as it relates to how we speak…how we use words.

Words are powerful.

Though most of us may not be witches or wizards (at least in the Harry Potter sense of those words – bows of respect to friends who really are Wiccan or Pagan), our words have the ability to evoke emotion, to invoke harm, to heal, to break down, to build up, to reject or embrace the recipient. Even the recipient we tend to forget about…us.

So why is it that we use our words so carelessly? Why is it so easy to use our words as ammunition towards another to suit our own interest and gain? It does seem like we see this activity more in this current election year. I feel like I’ve seen it more on Facebook and Twitter. “Friends” aggressively commenting on other “Friends” walls and instigating confrontation with their Tweets – what a silly word, really, that you’d think would diffuse the situation immediately. Why does this feel okay in the moment we are doing this? Would we so readily engage a stranger, much less, our “Friends” in such a careless way if we were sitting across from them face to face, or even chatting with them on the phone? Perhaps, but I think it would happen less often, more sparingly.

How do we get ourselves to a place of good communication of, as we say it in Buddhism – Right Speech? Good communication, Right Speech – these are about connection, which is empathy and within empathy is understanding. These manifest compassion, in our thought, in our actions, in our words. I believe the groundwork for all of this is gratitude which is in a constant dance with humility.

Do we see our life as a gift?

Our life, of course, is a gift. We do not exist apart from the conditions that brought us into being. Conditions, that though we are inextricably connected with, are also far beyond our imagining. We would not be here in this moment, in this place, if it weren’t for a Universe that could manifest a planet such as Earth that so specifically can support a life form such as ours. You would not be here if your parents, or their parents, or any of the parents before them had not had life. Without the Sun where would we be? If not for the farmer, what would you eat? Can we breathe without oxygen? Can I heal without the aid of a healthy immune system, or doctor, or medicines? All of us are one breath away from illness, from death. The person we are angry with (perhaps reasonably so) and are lashing out at with our words – that person will lose a loved one to death, they will experience illness, their heart will be wounded, and they like you or me will at times feel lost.

Do you see my point?

“We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyaly.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

We are deeply connected to all other things through interdependent relationship that we seldom take time to be aware of, but nonetheless is there. Our life, our being here is a gift.

So back to my question – do we see our life as a gift? Because if we are able to do this, to see our existence with humility and gratitude, then rather than having to live by a set of rules – we are getting to the root, the foundation, the groundwork of being kind and gracious with the way we treat people, the way we speak to people, the way we choose to use all of these powerful words that we have available to us.

But of course this is a practice. We have, over time, developed patterns in our brains – kneejerk reactions to what we see as an attack, as offensive. It takes work to undo these patterns, to unthread these connections. If we have gratitude though, and see our lives as gift rather than some entitled state, then I believe we are planting the seeds that will grow and give us the ground of support to be aware and be kind with the power in our words.

In the meantime, when we speak, we should ask ourself – Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind?

To read more and continue the discussion on this Solidarity Thursday topic please visit my dear friends and fellow bloggers Ben at The Horizontalist and Esther at The Church in the Canyon.