Mitch Jeserich
When I was in junior high I called a friend a fucking bitch. She went home and told her parents who then told my mom. My mom was pissed and marched me right over to her house to apologize. After her father took me out back and…gave me a lesson about the power of kind speech. He was an army counselor and It was one of the most important lessons I’ve ever had. A lesson I still fall short of too often (especially online) but a lesson I never forgot. I don’t remember every word of it, but it wasn’t so different than this teaching I just read from the ancient Zen teacher Dogen:
If kind speech is offered, little by little kind speech expands. Thus, even kind speech that is not ordinarily known or seen comes into being. Be willing to practice it for this entire present life; do not give up, world after world, life after life. Kind speech is the basis for reconciling rulers and subduing enemies. Those who hear kind speech from you have a delighted expression and a joyful mind. Those who hear of your kind speech will be deeply touched; they will always remember it.
Know that kind speech arises from kind heart, and kind heart from the seed of compassionate heart. Ponder the fact that kind speech is not just praising the merit of others; it has the power to turn the destiny of the nation.
[Rebecca Solnit]
