The so-called "art of speech" varies from person to person, like discussing ice with summer insects, utterly i…
The so-called "art of speech" varies from person to person, like discussing ice with summer insects, utterly incomparable. A Confucian scholar's rhetoric brims with "zhihu-zheye". A Daoist priest's is either "Boundless Virtue" or "Heavenly Venerable". While a monk's litany invokes "Sakyamuni Buddha, Vajra-Indestructible Buddha, Radiant Treasure Buddha, Dragon-Honored King Buddha, Zealous Army Buddha, Joyous Zeal Buddha, Blazing Treasure Buddha, Moonlight Treasure Buddha, Wisdom-Manifest Buddha, Lunar Treasure Buddha, Stainless Buddha, Beyond-Defilement Buddha, Courageous Almsgiver Buddha, Pure Buddha, Pure Offering Buddha, Varuna Buddha, Water-Celestial Buddha, Steadfast Virtue Buddha, Sandalwood-Merit Buddha, Immeasurable Light-Gathering Buddha, Luminous Virtue Buddha, Sorrowless Virtue Buddha, Narayana Buddha, Merit-Blossom Buddha, Lotus-Light Playful Miracle Buddha, Wealth-Merit Buddha, Virtue-Remembrance Buddha, Well-Named Merit Tathagata, Crimson Flame Banner King Tathagata, Skillful Stride Merit Tathagata, Victorious in Battle Tathagata... All beings are equal. The observer's rhetoric and this humble monk's may differ, yet neither is superior. What a monk speaks serves the monk, not necessarily you. If it aids you, then it is the monk's fortune, the observer's fortune, and thus all beings' fortune. That a single phrase of mine might universally deliver souls justifies the sleepless nights spent scribbling this scroll. Well said, well said....
(The following section spans thousands of characters, rambling, repetitive, and utterly incoherent.)
Comment by Song Jiu: A fine companion for sleepless nights, and excellent privy reading material!