This January, I enrolled in a year-long course focusing on the five precepts of Buddhism at my local Zen Center. In a nutshell, the precepts are, non-harming, right speech, not stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct and intoxicants. Last week we spent quite a bit of time discussing right speech and what that meant. In the context of the precepts right speech is the same as telling the truth or, not lying, depending on how you want to frame it. One point we addressed was silence. When do we stay silent and in what situations is choosing to be silent the same as lying? There’s a famous quote by Martin Luther King in which he says “there comes a time when silence is betrayal.” I think this is an appropriate conversation for this particular moment in history. Right speech involves not only abstaining from lies, fibs, and un-truths but also speaking up against injustice. Keeping silent about something that violates any of the precepts is karmically the same as sharing complicity in the action.
But what about those situations when being silence is better than uttering hurtful words? That is right speech too. Read my other article on when silence is the right choice here: When Should I Stay Silent?
Source: Yogapedia.com
