4 Principles Of Communication, According To Buddhism
Buddhism asserts that there are four principles of communication that must be preserved in order to achieve harmony among human beings.
In his approach, these precepts are not commandments as such, but models of guidance that should only be followed when we are motivated by a genuine desire to maintain good relationships with others.
With the four principles of communication, what is wanted is greater clarity and respect in our relationships with others. Human beings use the spoken word to communicate their ideas, feelings and emotions. When we do this right, we come to a better understanding of ourselves and improve the quality of our relationships.
For Buddhists, the four principles of communication are truth, kindness, help and harmony. Each of these principles aims to make our expression more fluid and more valuable. Likewise, they all require consciousness and work. Let’s look at this in more detail.
1. The principles of communication according to Buddhism: the truth
The first principle of communication is truth. This is a more complex concept than it seems at first glance. To be true is to conform to truth or reality. The problem is, we don’t always know this truth or reality, because we also often deceive ourselves.
Therefore, to be truly honest, we must first do an exercise in honesty with ourselves. If we don’t tell ourselves the truth, we won’t be able to tell others the truth either. Likewise, one can only be sincere when speaking from the heart, with the intention of expressing and not with any other interest.
2. Kindness
There is a big difference between being honest and being rude, inconsiderate or disrespectful. Respect and consideration for others are fundamental conditions for healthy and enriching communication to take place. Many difficulties arise from the disrespectful expressions that sometimes accompany communication.
Anger and fear are actually expressions of the ego. In turn, the ego sometimes causes us to act imposing or disrespectful towards others. In these cases, it is the ego that speaks and not the heart. This often leads to a chain of difficulties with others and takes us away from the tranquility of our life without need. It is best to only speak when we are at peace with ourselves.
3. The principles of communication according to Buddhism: utility
Buddhists stress the importance of learning to value silence. For many, this is an empty space, which needs to be filled as quickly as possible. Buddhism sees it as a natural space for listening, whether to oneself or to others. Without listening, there can be no communication, because communication must always go both ways.
Speaking in order to speak is an expression of anguish which very often leads to the devaluing of speech. Uninteresting words prevent real communication from taking place.
What they do is exhaust the mind and impoverish relationships with others. It is also very common that they feed the most mundane emotions that we carry within us.
4. Harmony
The last of the principles of communication, according to Buddhists, is harmony. For them, words are only justified when they are a means of nurturing goodwill and peace among peoples. Any message that does not have this purpose only contributes to misunderstandings or negative feelings between human beings.
Harmonious communication is also one that chooses the clearest and most concise words to convey its message. Unnecessary detours, subtleties and embellishments generate noise in communication. They do not promote understanding, but very often lead to confusion and dilution of central messages.
All of these principles of communication may be somewhat foreign to Westerners. Finally, it should be noted that we live in a culture where it is increasingly difficult to be silent. We are constantly bombarded with information, so the odd has become the absence of noise.
What is most troubling about all of this is that we are going through a time when most communications are devoted to very mundane topics. This not only affects our inner harmony, but also limits our thinking and makes us less and less able to express ourselves and listen. The word has lost its value, and perhaps that is what caused so much trouble in the world.
Our thoughts By establishing positive communication in the family, we will be able to convince our children to listen to us and the links will be created …
