Ep. 247 – Right Speech, Satipatthana Sutta Series Pt. 44
Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein
Be Here Now Network
4.8 • 864 Ratings
🗓️ 26 June 2025
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Honing in on Right Speech and maintaining harmony, Joseph Goldstein encourages listeners to develop a commitment to telling the truth and refraining from slander.
The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. This episode is the 44th part of an in-depth 48-part lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta. If you are just now jumping into the Satipatthana Sutta series, listen to Insight Hour Ep. 203 to follow along and get the full experience!
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In this episode’s exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta, Joseph Goldstein reviews:
- Practicing Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood with the same dedication as meditation
- The influence of our speech on our lives (our relationships, minds, karmic outcomes)
- Truthfulness as the most basic concept of right speech in Buddhist ethics
- Investigating the deeper motivations behind what we say and how we say it
- The harmful ripple effects of lying on trust, connection, and societal cohesion
- Insights from the Buddha: why truth must be spoken at all times, regardless of a perceived advantage
- Lies of omission and the subtle ways we distort or avoid truth
- Cultivating the courage and mindfulness required to speak honestly in daily life
- Refraining from gossip and slander in order to avoid disharmony
- Examining the emotional tone of speech—choosing words that are gentle, compassionate, and unifying
- How harsh language does not serve good communication
- Transforming the divisive world we live in through right speech
- How we listen as an equally important component of right speech
This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed
Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE
"This doesn't mean that there should be a suppression of what we're feeling. It's not a papering over of the truth of our emotions, but rather, it's to be mindful enough that we can communicate what we're feeling in a way that promotes connection rather than promotes divisiveness. This is a practice. Right speech is a practice." – Joseph Goldstein
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Transcript
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| 1:06.5 | Now this doesn't mean |
| 1:13.2 | that there should be a suppression of what we're feeling |
| 1:19.5 | different feelings, even difficult feelings, that we may have. |
| 1:24.7 | So it's not kind of a papering over or covering over |
| 1:28.4 | of the truth of our emotions, |
| 1:32.3 | but rather it's to be aware enough, |
| 1:35.7 | to be mindful enough, |
| 1:37.4 | that we can communicate what we're feeling |
| 1:40.6 | in a way that promotes connection |
| 1:43.6 | rather than promotes divisiveness. |
... |
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