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Right Speech
We need to decide whether to organize Christmas in Upper Hamlet or New Hamlet, and at the same time nominate those responsible for Middle Hamlet and Lower Hamlet, as well as temporary abbots, because the number of practitioners returning for the season is large. Previously, Lower Hamlet already had two Dharma teachers, Karl and Helga, so it is stable enough to focus on Dharma study. We have begun to practice two main methods:
- Listening – to create happiness, to transform and to establish loving communication
- Speaking – to bring happiness to oneself, to loved ones, and to all beings
Practicing Right Speech requires speaking at the right time, in the right place, and appropriate to the person; otherwise, it becomes wrong speech. Speaking the Dharma is not the same as Right Speech, just as silence can be a powerful Dharma talk when chosen at the right moment.
To bring true happiness, Plum Village introduces practical tools:
- Telephone meditation – two short calls each day, one in the morning to bring joy, one in the afternoon to relieve suffering
- Practice journal – designing a clear practice program for each hour, each day
- Writing letters, writing poems – concise, allowing the recipient space for deep reflection
- Watering flowers – Right View and Right Thinking help to recognize, touch, and nurture positive seeds in each person
The art of Right Speech is also the art of skillful adaptation: knowing who the listener is, placing the teaching in the right context, choosing appropriate language, and even maintaining noble silence when needed. When both our words and our silence carry deep wisdom and love, only then can we defuse the “bomb” of suffering in others, bringing peace and happiness to ourselves and to the sangha.