A powerful way of expressing lovingkindness towards ourselves and others is to practice truthful speech.
It’s interesting to become more aware of why we’re untruthful. Sometimes it’s for gain (for instance exaggerating our role so that we gain praise); sometimes it’s because of fear (we thing that if people know the truth we’ll lose their esteem); and sometimes it’s out of ill will (we want to hurt someone). When we start to consider that when we lie we’re like puppets having our strings pulled by these negative emotions of craving, fear, and ill will, honesty becomes a kind of freedom.
Sure, there are times when it’s best to leave thoughts unspoken – we need not only to practice honesty but also to practice kindness. And we need to speak at the right time. Trying to make “helpful” suggestions, no matter how well intended, can backfire when the other person is stressed or otherwise upset.
But one of the main kinds of truthful speech that we need to practice in order to bring more LovingKindness into our lives is something very simple. When we’ve done something hurtful to another person then we should be prepared to apologise or to confess what we’ve done.
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