Focus on Your Own Work

In Buddhism, verbal karma is the karma created through speech. It includes more than lies or harsh words. Passing along unverified stories, taking pleasure in discussing another person's faults, and using speech that divides people also leave traces in the mind. Words may seem to vanish once spoken, but they first color the thoughts and habits of the person who repeats them.

When we dwell on what another person has done right or wrong, the mind easily moves in two directions. One is the pride that says we are more correct. The other is the attachment that insists the other person must change according to our wishes. Both obscure what needs to be done now. As judgment of others grows, the anger, anxiety, or wish for recognition within our own mind becomes harder to see.

Practice is not the work of measuring another person's mind. It is the work of noticing the movements of our own. When someone's behavior troubles you, look first at what is happening within before adding another word. The responsibility to correct a real problem is different from the impulse to speak ill of someone. Say what is necessary accurately and compassionately, while learning to stop the speech that only clouds the mind further.

Imagine someone flying a kite. If we keep watching how high other kites rise or which way they lean, the spool in our own hands unwinds and the line becomes tangled. We cannot set every kite in the sky straight. What we can do is feel the tension in the line we hold, loosen one knot at a time, and raise our own kite carefully in accord with the wind.

Focusing on your own work does not mean turning away from the world or from other people. It does not mean ignoring someone who needs help or avoiding responsibility within a community. It means first seeing your own mind and role clearly, then using your strength wisely where it is truly needed. A person who faithfully carries out their part has less reason to judge another person's life or spend time on needless speech.

When the wish to change another person arises, turn your gaze inward for a moment. Before counting their faults, see one habit of your own that needs correction. Before speaking about their affairs, complete one task that is before you now. As you become faithful to your own practice, judgment begins to change into wisdom and commotion into peace.