Buddhism maintains that there are four communication principles that must be preserved to achieve harmony between human beings, in their approach, such precepts are not commandments per se, but guidelines that should only be followed when what motivates us is a genuine desire to maintain good relationships with others.
With the four principles of communication what is sought is greater clarity and respect in our relationship with others, human beings use speech to expose their ideas, feelings and emotions, when we do it properly we can make sure that others understand us better and improve the quality of our relationships.
- For Buddhists.
- The four principles of communication are truthfulness.
- Kindness.
- Utility.
- And harmony.
- Each of them aims to make our expression more fluid and valuable.
- At the same time.
- Everyone needs awareness and work.
We will discuss these principles in more detail below
“Look, listen, shut up, judge little and ask a lot. ” – August graft-
The first principle of communication is truthfulness, it is a more complex concept than it seems at first glance.
To be truthful is to conform to truth or reality, the problem is that we do not always know this truth or reality, because on many occasions we are also wrong, so to be honest we must first do an exercise in honesty with ourselves.
If not everyone is telling the truth, they won’t be able to tell others. At the same time, it can only be true when spoken with the heart, with the intention of expressing and not with other interest.
There is a big difference between being sincere and cruel, without regard or disrespect, respect and consideration for others are fundamental conditions for healthy and rewarding communication, there are countless difficulties caused by disrespectful expressions that sometimes accompany communication.
Anger and fear are actually expressions of the ego, in turn, the ego sometimes leads us to act in a tax or disrespectful way towards others, in these cases the speaker is the ego, not the heart.
This often leads to a chain of difficulties with others and unnecessarily deprives the peace of our lives. It’s better to talk only when we’re at peace with ourselves.
Buddhists emphasize the importance of learning to value silence. For many it is an empty space, which must be filled as soon as possible, Buddhism sees it as the natural space of listening, either of itself or others, without listening there can be no communication, because it is a process of double meaning.
Talking to speak is an expression of anguish that often leads to devaluing the word, unnecessary words impede real communication.
In fact, what they do is exhaust the mind and impoverish relationships with others, it is also very common that they feed the most worldly emotions that we carry in us.
The last of the principles of communication, according to Buddhists, is harmony. For them, words are justified only when they are a means of promoting goodwill and peace among people. Any message that does not have this purpose only generates negative misunderstandings or feelings in humans.
Harmonious communication is also the one that chooses the clearest and most concise words to convey its message. Unnecessary settings, complexities, and frills create communication noise. They do not promote understanding and very often create confusion and dilute core messages.
All these principles of communication may seem a little strange to Westerners, finally, it should be noted that we live in a culture where it is increasingly difficult to remain silent, constantly bombarded us with information, so the stranger became the absence of noise. .
The most disturbing thing about all this is that we are at a time when most of the communication is dedicated to completely insignificant topics, which not only affects our inner harmony, but also limits our reflection and makes us less and less able to express ourselves and relax. Listen to me.
The word has lost its value, and this is perhaps what has led to so much unrest in the world.