Buddhism is the Listmania of spiritual traditions. It's full of lists. There are the Four Noble Truths, for starters. Then the Eightfold Path. The five hindrances. The Four Brahma-Viharas. The three pillars of Zen. The Eight Verses of Training the Mind. And so on. Each of the many listed items points to a whole constellation of complexly related ideas. If you don't enjoy numbers, you might prefer a tradition such as Christianity, which draws the line at just 10 Commandments and 12 apostles.

Still, a very few of Buddhism's listed items seem especially key, to my mind, and none more so than the first fold of the Eightfold Path: Wise View. Wise View holds that any separation, or difference, you think you see between you and anyone--or anything--else is delusion. The Buddha offered the idea that we are all like waves on the same ocean, appearing different for a few moments, but ultimately the same. Once you fully grasp Wise View, you've Got It.

Many other items on the lists have the effect of helping the practitioner achieve Wise View. Among them, Wise Speech is especially challenging. To speak wisely is to avoid distorting the truth, speaking harshly, or speaking in a way motivated by personal gain, instead speaking in a way that strengthens the connections among people. Wise Speech is much harder on a practical level than a conceptual level.

I rely on occasional visits to E and L, who have a Tivo and big-screen TV, to catch up on my TV watching, since I don't have a television. Last night, we watched episodes of Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher, whom I hadn't seen before. One of the guests on Bill Maher's program was a conservative commentator who had helped develop the argument for the invasion of Iraq. The other two guests, the audience, and Bill himself seemed to hold strongly anti-war positions. Because of these divergent outlooks, the discussion, which centered on the war, itself had the character of a war, with a few jokes thrown in to lighten the mood a bit. The conservative speaker , thoroughly outgunned, struggled to maintain his composure and articulate his ideas. The audience applauded loudly when any of his opponents made an effective counterpoint to anything he said.

Reflecting on that conversation later, I realized that it was essentially the diametric opposite of Wise Speech. It struck me as well that divisive speech is In and Wise Speech very much Out these days, perhaps in large part because these witty late-night comics, along with Jon Stewart, are compelling to watch and powerful role models. I laugh at their jokes, but I'm hanging with the Buddha on this one. Though I actively opposed the invasion and hope to see the war come to a peaceful end soon, I can't see how widening the divisions between people can help us to find the solutions we need and the peace we seek.