The Seventy-seventh of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

The Seventy-seventh Gate: Right speech

Right speech is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] concepts, voice, and words all are known as sound: (Nishijima/Cross)
Right speech is a gate of realizing Dharma; it knows that all names, sounds, and phrases are mere echoes. (Tanahashi)

Gate Gatha:

May we, together with all buddhas;
Practice Right Speech,
That we may know all concepts, voice, and words as sound.

Reflection Prompts:
1. Resolve the difference in these two translations.
2. Speculate how Right Speech leads to either conclusions?
3. Write a new Gate Gatha.

Capping Verse:

When words do no harm—
Wispy clouds
Leave no rain behind

stlah
合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Choujou]

Reflection Prompts:
1. Resolve the difference in these two translations.
2. Speculate how Right Speech leads to either conclusions?
3. Write a new Gate Gatha.

1 and 2- Both of these lines refer to the fact that and word, phrase, voice made is only sound- an expression, an abstraction, of whatever true experience, object, teaching etc is trying to be conveyed. With Right Speech, we understand that the words are only an echo of the true meaning behind them. What is there before the words?

3. May we, together with all buddhas;
Expediently convey what comes before the words and sounds,
Through the practice of Right Speech.

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Tairin]

Words are just sounds we make with our bodies. We assign meaning to those sounds but really they are just sounds.

Brings to mind that childhood taunt “Sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me”. Don’t assign meaning to those names. Don’t invest in negative talk.

This all seems even more important in these days of inflammatory rhetoric.


Tairin
sat today and lah