KoanCollector

Recently in modern psychological literature and practice, mindfulness and meditation practices have seen widespread acceptance for their effectiveness in improving a wide variety of aspects of human psychological experience (Gu et al., 2023; Hafenbrack et al., 2022; Lutz et al., 2008; Sevinc & Lazar, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019). This is surely a benefit to the field. However, without the original Buddhist context that mindfulness resided in, there remain positive aspects of Buddhist cultivation practices that remain relatively unexplored by the psychological academic community. Aside from mindfulness and meditation (samadhi), there is the integral practice of morality (sīla) and the cultivation of wisdom (prajñā). In Buddhism, to effectively practice the path towards the cessation of suffering, it is important to balance all three trainings (Hsing Yun, 2010). While concepts within the Eightfold Path such as Right Action and Right Livelihood are certainly worth exploring, it is Right Speech is of particular interest, especially from the perspective of social psychology. Language use in social psychology has been long seen as a window into inner processes, cognitions, beliefs, and many other aspects of psychological aspects of existence (Boyd & Schwartz, 2021; Collins & Clément, 2012; North et al., 2013). However, the practice of mindful language use remains relatively unexplored, staying relegated to short momentary psychotherapeutic exercises. However, by exploring the constant practice of Right Speech as a transformative agent, doors to new ways of thinking about our relationship with language arise.

In order to best understand any possible connections between findings and theories in social psychology and the concept of Right Speech, the best course of action is to break down the approach into parts. Firstly, Right Speech must be understood in its original Buddhist context. This is so that a foundation might be laid for a more authentic understanding. Following this, it is important to understand certain key aspects of social psychology. … Finally, for the purpose of this work to be fulfilled, the two processes must be melded together. Ultimately, this process will be of use to the field of social psychology as parallels and differences between the two approaches to human philosophy and practice of mind are explored. Social psychology will always benefit from more cultural and religious considerations, as it allows us to construct a picture of higher resolution regarding the social lives of humanity and the effects of those lives on the mind.

Right Speech

As partially described earlier, Right Speech is one part of the Noble Eightfold Path that was described by Siddartha Gautama (i.e. the Buddha or Awakened One). After realizing that life is filled with suffering, the Buddha went on to teach a path that was regarded by his followers to be one that led to the cessation of said suffering. The Eightfold Path is the “prescription” that he gave to practitioners that wished to attain this goal. Within this, there are a few philosophical ideas that are important to discuss.

Firstly, is the idea of Karma. There are multiple understandings of karma, first of which is that it can be described as habitual tendencies (Chuang, 2012, pp. 149–150). Another understanding is that Karma is the moral qualities of action, where intentional action is deemed healthy or unhealthy, usually with the end goal of liberation in mind (Sharda, 2019, p. 33). Additionally, it is often compared to a seed. A wholesome action under the right causes and conditions can develop into a plant and eventually plant more seeds. Within the context of Yogacara, karmic seeds are stored in a specific consciousness that is called the ālaya consciousness. These seeds are potentialities that develop into impressions of consciousness (Cook, 1999, p. 3). In this sense, the way that we cognize the world is interconnected to the actions that we choose. Wholesome karmic seeds can therefore be seen as the potentialities sewn by wholesome actions that eventually result in the arising of wholesome cognitions. This is where the practice of Right Speech becomes important in the development of wholesome karma and therefore wholesome states of mind. If we consider that kind, compassionate, and helpful words sew wholesome karmic seeds, we will understand that eventually this will cause wholesome cognitive habituations to be cultivated.

Specifically, Right Speech advocates for a mindful and moral use of language. It involves a practice of only speaking kind, truthful, and harmonious words. In the same way, it admonishes language that spreads falsehoods, discord, and conflict (Nhat Hanh, 1998, p. 84). Instead of speaking in moments that we are overcome with emotion and want to speak, Right Speech implores the Buddhist practitioner to observe “noble silence,” as this use of language can lead to unwholesome actions and mental states (Sharda, 2019, pp. 35–36). Listening is also a key part of practicing, as being able to attend to the words and feelings of others with mindfulness allows one to better understand and remain compassionate towards them, bolstering their capacity to practice Right Speech (Nhat Hanh, 1998, p. 86).

Connecting the two ideas of karma and Right Speech together, we can see the mechanisms at play in the Buddhist ideas of how actions and words influence both ourselves and the world around us. Depending on the words chosen, the practitioner is aiding in the creation of causes and conditions that can result in either wholesome or unwholesome developments. For instance, in situations where a client gets frustrated and angry with work it can be beneficial to assist them in the practice of noble silence in combination with mindfulness exercises that allow them to compassionately accept their feelings without the need for harsh or divisive language. This way, it would be possible to avoid creating further negative causes and conditions where the client might deal with the effects of speaking out with anger or frustration.

Social Psychology and the Use of Language

In psychology, it is by no means a new idea that language is reflective of the internal mental states of every individual. It has only been recently explored in increasingly methodical and statistically pragmatic ways, further propelled with the use of information systems and computing (Tausczik & Pennebaker, 2010). While original attempts to decipher the unconscious through language were a step in the right direction, more quantifiable and empirical methods became necessary to move the field forward. Today, we have more empirical and scientific evidence that shows relationships between the use of language and psychology, with recent findings showing that emotional experiences have the potential to be tracked through everyday speech but require more sets of empirical data collection for more context (Sun et al., 2020). This is a result of the efforts of natural language analysis within the movement of social psychology. However, as Boyd & Schwartz, p. (2021, p. 28) point out, language is but an aspect of social interaction and systems. It is helpful to psychologically analyze mass media and culture through language to put a finger on the pulse of the psychology of groups. While this is true, the same can be said of the fact that every person experiences life as not only part of a group, but also as an individual that interacts with others in a closer manner, i.e. social interactions (Boyd & Schwartz, 2021, p. 28). Furthermore, we also use language to communicate and understand ourselves. In this sense, the way that we use language in groups, social interactions, and systems can be linked to the way that we understand and think of ourselves.

For instance, in a study of 269 undergraduate students using various emotional regulating strategies in a 4-day-long journaling process about the biggest problems in their lives found improvements in developing views of interdependence and group-identity (North et al., 2013, p. 155). Additionally, the observed pronoun switch from “I” to “we” has been associated with the development of an attitude of nonattachment and recognitions of interdependence (North et al., 2013, p. 155). Nonattachment, which is a Buddhist concept of reframing the attainment of well-being from outside of external sources, was found to have a positive relationship with self-esteem, happiness, positive affect, and life satisfaction, as well as a negative relationship with negative affect and psychological distress (Wang et al., 2016, p. 96). From this, we can see that altering a use of written language to one involving mindful usage of language when using integrative emotional regulative strategies has a connection with the development the positive psychological qualities associated with nonattachment.

Language, however, is not only found to have such beneficial relationships with our psychologies. The inverse is also true. At a fundamental level, philosophical implications at the core of the languages can showcase prejudice, as gendered languages have been found to be correlated with more occurrences of gender prejudice than non-gendered languages (DeFranza et al., 2020). Additionally, language plays a key role in prejudice at large both in explicit and implicit ways. Exposure to derogatory statements have been shown to cause negative evaluations of the targeted group to arise but can be combated with explicit and concrete descriptions that are inconsistent with stereotypes (Collins & Clément, 2012, pp. 381–382). Of course, such things are responsible for much suffering, playing a key role in mental health problems (Meyer, 2003; Yao & Yang, 2017).

Additionally, language has been seen to be associated with symptomatology of many differing mental health diagnoses. One instance is that of depression. Much like the inverse findings that were explored previously, “I-talk” or the use of first-person singular pronouns has an empirical link to depression and a possible larger link to negative emotionality (Tackman et al., 2019). However, more insight into the content of speech beyond singular pronouns is needed, as that seems to be the realm of more psychoanalytic traditions.

Beyond external uses of language, people also have inner experiences of words and ideas. Rumination, which is associated with depression, loneliness, and many other mental health issues is one of these internal phenomena of language use. In a thematic language-use study of 48 young adults, (R. Yun et al., 2023) found that their participants ruminated on five themes: time, life and death, others, outcomes, and coping with loneliness. While it can be said that contemplating or meditating on these topics could bring benefit, the reality is that rumination, or focusing on distress and the causes of it, is decidedly different as it is not solution oriented but keeps the individual focused on the past and on certain negative narratives (R. Yun et al., 2023, p. 104).

Ultimately, it is obvious that language and words have an effect or at least a correlation with positive and negative mental health developments and outcomes. However, most likely due to the complicated nature of collecting quantitative and empirical data, it seems that language as a core part of well-being is often overlooked as a therapeutic agent of change. Despite work by cognitive-behavior therapy and dialectical behavior therapy, other schools of psychotherapeutic thought still see language as a tool for observation by the clinician and not a path towards well-being by the client.

Integration

After reflecting on social psychology and Buddhism, themes have arisen. Firstly, despite links being found between singular pronoun use and negative psychological qualities, specific content to be avoided in speech seems to be left alone in the reviewed studies of this work. In this sense, the specific types of speech seen to be unwholesome by Buddhist ideas of Right Speech do not seem to have been scientifically studied to ascertain whether they are actually associated with well-being. However, increased use of language that implied interdependence and nonattachment leading to the associated benefits show promise for further study of other Buddhist themes as they are internalized by individual cognitions. Other cognitive patterns associated with Buddhism have been additionally shown to aid in the development of attitudes towards difficulties as opportunities for improvement (Yan et al., 2024), as well as prosociality and tolerance (Clobert et al., 2015). In this sense, Buddhist practices of Right Speech can be viewed as spiritual practices that are a part of a more holistic one. This mirrors the way that Buddhism is meant to be practiced using the Eightfold Path. If one takes out an effective part of the path and tries to find it to be effective on its own, their practice will not be as fruitful. Studies have shown mindfulness as a means to address bias (Berry et al., 2020), feelings of isolation, and a means to increase compassion (Park & Pinel, 2023). Such findings show how other parts of the path influence the successful practice of Right Speech. By cultivating mindfulness, the Buddhist practitioner would find themselves aligning increasingly with the practice of Right Speech, as they would develop the interconnected values that drive that moral practice.

Conclusion

Exploring the concept of Buddhist Right Speech through the lens of social psychology reveals profound intersections and potential synergies between ancient wisdom and modern scientific inquiry. While mindfulness and meditation have gained significant attention in psychological research, the holistic framework of Buddhist teachings, encompassing morality (sīla) and wisdom (prajñā) alongside mindfulness (samadhi), offers valuable insights yet to be fully integrated into mainstream discourses on psychotherapeutic approaches.

Right Speech, as specifically articulated in Buddhism, emphasizes the mindful and ethical use of language: promoting kindness, truthfulness, and harmony while discouraging falsehoods, discord, and conflict. This practice not only influences immediate social interactions but also cultivates wholesome mental states and karmic outcomes over time. From a social psychology perspective, language serves as a profound tool for understanding inner mental states, interpersonal dynamics, and societal attitudes. Research underscores the correlation between language use and psychological well-being, demonstrating that the words we choose can shape our emotional experiences and interpersonal relationships.

Integrating these perspectives offers a promising avenue for further research and application. By deepening our understanding of how mindful language use impacts both individual mental health and social cohesion, we can potentially enhance therapeutic practices and societal interventions. Moreover, embracing the holistic approach of Buddhist teachings within psychological frameworks can enrich our understanding of human behavior and promote more compassionate and virtuous interactions between people and in the social systems we operate within.

Ultimately, the links between Buddhist concepts of Right Speech and contemporary social psychology highlights not only the interconnectedness of mind, speech, and action but also the potential for transformative personal and societal change through mindful communication practices. While the research reviewed did not explicitly reinforce the specific values that Right Speech implore Buddhist practitioners to follow, it instead brought forward the interconnected nature between all aspects of Buddhist practice outside of morality or virtue. As we continue to explore these intersections, we pave the way for a more integrated approach to well-being that honors both the practiced and tested spiritual traditions of Buddhism and the empirical foundations and theories of social psychology.

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