Listen "Avoiding Idle Talk "
Episode Synopsis
In the seventh talk in a series on the Eight Awarenesses of Enlightened Beings, Zuisei speaks on the eighth awareness: avoiding idle talk (she changed the order of the talks in order to end with wisdom).
Master Dogen said, “To totally know the true form of all things is the same as being without idle talk.” In that complete knowing, there is no room, no opportunity, for idle talk. Knowing the true form of a thing, there is no one to speak about it idly, or to speak about it at all.
Words cannot express the reality. Live words can point to it, but they are not it. And yet, since we have to speak, how do we do so in such a way that we practice abstaining from thought and language that keeps us bound? How do we create space to rest in a deeper sense of knowing and trusting in our innate goodness?
Master Dogen said, “To totally know the true form of all things is the same as being without idle talk.” In that complete knowing, there is no room, no opportunity, for idle talk. Knowing the true form of a thing, there is no one to speak about it idly, or to speak about it at all.
Words cannot express the reality. Live words can point to it, but they are not it. And yet, since we have to speak, how do we do so in such a way that we practice abstaining from thought and language that keeps us bound? How do we create space to rest in a deeper sense of knowing and trusting in our innate goodness?
More episodes of the podcast Ocean Mind Sangha
Faith in Zen
07/12/2025
The Eight Worldly Winds
04/09/2025
What is Mind?
14/08/2025
Fusatsu Talk: The Three Supreme Methods
31/07/2025
The Contemplative Life
25/06/2025
Past Actions, Present Karma
15/05/2025
Dharma Encounter: The Next Buddha
04/05/2025
The Four Opponent Powers
04/05/2025
The Unmaker of Measurement: Fusatsu Talk
27/03/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.