Dharmically Speaking

Dharmically Speaking is about preparing and delivering dharma talks — Buddhist homiletics, if you will.  It explores the intersection of public speaking and dharma teaching:

• the role of dharma talks in guiding practice
• close reading and exposition of texts
• talk preparation and delivery as a practice
• sources and resources for talk preparation
• the specific needs of practitioners as an audience
• platform skills and delivery
• and other relevant topics

Lots of information is available from the links along the right side of the screen.  Hermeneutics is related to how we extract meaning from a text.  Homiletics is about the preparation and delivery of talks on the practice of religion.  Practice and Personality explores the link between personality type and the spiritual journey, and helps illustrate the variety of needs and values the sangha is listening for in a talk.  Presenting points to general information about public speaking.  The texts linked from Teachings on Teaching show how the Buddha himself taught the dharma, as well as offering important insights from our ancestors that illustrate how the dharma has historically been taught.  Several Translation Resources are provided for folks working in canonical languages.  Finally, Useful Links is a roundup of miscellaneous relevant information.

About me: I’m a novice ordained in the Soto Zen tradition in 2005.  I’ve held various temple offices, served as a board member for three different American Zen centers, and spent a year and a half as the volunteer administrative director of another.  I’ve visited Japan six times, spending time practicing in a local temple with the laypeople it serves.  I did my hossenshiki there in 2005, and in 2008 I did a two-month practice period (ango) at Shogoji, a training temple in rural Kyushu.

My 2007 master’s thesis was on the development and leadership of the American Zen sangha; I’m now back on campus studying Japanese language as a non-degree student, and I’ve also had several articles published in Buddhist magazines.  I’ve spent my professional life in communications functions ranging from TV news production to nonprofit marketing to presentation training and coaching.  I’ve learned that just as a dharma center differs significantly from a secular nonprofit, dharma talks differ significantly from other kinds of presenting.  This site is designed to serve as a gathering and collecting point for a variety of resources for preparation and delivery.

Begin with avadanas

from The Glorious Deeds of Purna by Joel Tatelman
p. 11-12

The passage with which we are concerned here comes from the Pamsupradanavadana (XXVI), the first story in the Asokavadana, where the narrator is recounting Upagupta’s first attempt at preaching.  Somewhat at a loss how to proceed, he meditates on how the Buddha himself expounded the Dharma and “sees” that the Master customarily began by giving a “step-by-step discourse” and then proceeded to an “elucidation of the Truths.”  In this particular eipsode Mara repeatedly interferes, but Upagupta does eventually prevail.

What, then, one might ask, is a “step-by-step discourse” (purvakalakaraniya katha)?  Literally, it is a discourse or talk (katha) which is to be performed (karaniya) at an earlier time (parva-kala), i.e. prior to the “exposition of the truths.”  Of what does such a talk consist?  According to the Theravadin sources, which use the term “gradual teaching” or “progressive instruction” (anupubbikatha; Skt. anupurvikatha), this means “talk on giving, talk on virtue, talk on the heavens” as well as explaining “the danger, degradation, and defilement in sensual pleasures and the blessing of renunciation.”  This perhaps alerts us to the content of such discourses, but what form might they have taken?  We do not have to look far to see.  The Punnovada-sutta-vannana is a commentary on the “Discourse on the Exhortation of Punna,” a Majjhima-nikaya text which presents Punna of Sunaparanta taking instruction from the Buddha. . . .  [I]t is a short biography of Punna introduced by the statement, “Here follows the progressive instruction (anupubbikatha)”.  Whether or not the redactors of the sutras had something else in mind, it is clear that here “progressive instruction” means the narrative of an ideal (or in some way representative) life.  In other words, one begins to teach Dharma by telling avadana stories.

Comparing Christian and Buddhist preaching

from Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance Art in Sri Lanka
by Mahinda Deegalle

In Christian preaching, there is a common understanding that the preacher is a vehicle for the words of God: “[A] general understanding that the prompting to speak should come from the Spirit of God.” According to Jean Longere, the author of La predication medievale, preaching is “a public discourse based on divine revelation in the framework of an organized society, aiming toward the beginning of to the development of faith and of religious knowledge, and equally to the conversion or to the spiritual progress of the hearers.” The English word “preach” derives from Latin prae-(pre-)+dicare, which means “to proclaim.” It is an act of foretelling or announcing in public. It conveys “the idea of making a proclamation on behalf of God.” Biblical prophets often urged the acceptance of God’s will. Preaching exhorts God, demands compliance with God’s will, and provides moral instruction for the believer.

In contrast, a Buddhist preacher communicates his or her experience of the Buddha’s words through one’s own words. It is not God or the Buddha that directly speaks from his or her mouth. The Buddhist preacher designs, selects, appropriates, innovates, and applies Buddha’s teachings to be suitable to a particular audience, time, space and needs. Buddhist preachers are often instructed to select a teaching that is appropriate to the occasion. The theme that the preacher chooses may be attributed to the Buddha, but the entire elaboration in the sermon is the preacher’s creation. Here the Buddhist preacher becomes a free-floating speaker. After accepting basic guidelines, the Buddhist preacher has ample opportunity to innovate and create his or her sermon.

In the early Christian church, “[a]t all events the first form of preaching was homilitical, a homily being a running commentary on a passage read.” One can observe this homilitical aspect in Buddhist preaching, too. . . . [I]f one listens to a Buddhist monk’s preaching today, one can observe that the preacher quotes a Pali verse, often from the Dhammapada, or a passage from a sutta and narrates its meaning and shows its significance for [the] lay audience and their practice. This homilitical aspect shows that to a certain extent early Christian preaching is somewhat similar to modern Buddhist preaching in Theravada countries in South and Southeast Asia. In both traditions, scriptures form an essential part of the sermon. The preacher’s sermon is often woven in and around the themes suggested by the scriptural verse. In the Buddhist case, the selected scriptural verse provides the basic structure and foundation for the preacher to deliver an effective sermon. . . .

In terms of topics chosen for preaching, there are certain parallels between Christian and Buddhist preaching. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics records that: “Legendary tales concerning the founder . . . his sanctity . . . combats with devil . . . the horrors of purgatory . . . formed the favourite topics of the preachers, and were served up to the people instead of the pure, salutary, and sublime doctrines of the Bible.” One can find similarities of chosen topics in Buddhist preaching, too. . . . On the whole, the emphasis in sermons is on avoiding negative actions and in the inculcation of positive thoughts and deeds.

In the Buddhist case, an invitation from an audience is essential for a Buddhist preacher to deliver a sermon. This makes a clear contrast of the role of the Buddhist preacher and the way he or she functions in society. It stands out as a completely different practice from that of a Christian preacher. We often see evangelical Christian preachers deliver sermons at any place where they can attract followers; they also think that it is their duty to spread the Gospel. This aggressive, missionary zeal for preaching is completely absent in the Buddhist preaching traditions. In contrast, Buddhist preachers do not preach in places where there is no public or private invitation. In any Theravada Buddhist country, one cannot see Buddhists who go from house to house or from street to street to preach the Buddha’s words. However, around the world, on many places and occasions, one can witness various Christian groups who visit houses and interrupt people on the street and marketplace to preach the word of God. In the Buddhist countries, these explicit evangelical elements are not visible. Buddhist preaching sessions are held only with an invitation of a lay or monastic person and on a day appointed and agreed on by both parties. Its primary goal is not [necessarily] to spread the Buddha’s words or to increase the number of Buddhists but rather to lead the lay people to righteous and wholesome living. Thus, when one sees from a comparative perspective the role of preaching and preachers in Buddhist and Christian traditions, there seems to be a great deal of diversity and differentiation.

Comparing Buddhist preaching with other traditions

from Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance Art in Sri Lanka

by Mahinda Deegalle, pp. 6-8

Let me illustrate what is especially unique about Buddhist preaching in comparison to ritual contexts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  A close observation on Asian religions shows that there is very little in the way of preaching in Hindu, Taoist, or Confucian religious contexts. Buddhism is one of the Asian religious traditions (apart from Islam) in which preaching has assumed great spiritual and moral significance within the ritual life of Theravaada Buddhist communities. . . .In Christian preaching, there is a common understanding that the preacher is a vehicle for the words of God: “[A] general understanding that the prompting to speak should come from the Spirit of God.” According to Jean Longere, the author of La predication medievale, preaching is “a public discourse based on divine revelation in the framework of an organized society, aiming toward the beginning of to the development of faith and of religious knowledge, and equally to the conversion or to the spiritual progress of the hearers.” The English word “preach” derives from Latin prae-(pre-)+dicaare, which means “to proclaim.” It is an act of foretelling or announcing in public. It conveys “the idea of making a proclamation on behalf of God.” Biblical prophets often urged the acceptance of God’s will. Preaching exhorts God, demands compliance with God’s will, and provides moral instruction for the believer.

In contrast, a Buddhist preacher communicates his or her experience of the Buddha’s words through one’s own words. It is not God or the Buddha that directly speaks from his or her mouth. The Buddhist preacher designs, selects, appropriates, innovates, and applies Buddha’s teachings to be suitable to a particular audience, time, space and needs. Buddhist preachers are often instructed to select a teaching that is appropriate to the occasion. The theme that the preacher chooses may be attributed to the Buddha, but the entire elaboration in the sermon is the preacher’s creation. Here the Buddhist preacher becomes a free-floating speaker. After accepting basic guidelines, the Buddhist preacher has ample opportunity to innovate and create his or her sermon.

In the early Christian church, “[a]t all events the first form of preaching was homilitical, a homily being a running commentary on a passage read.” One can observe this homilitical aspect in Buddhist preaching, too. . . . [I]f one listens to a Buddhist monk’s preaching today, one can observe that the preacher quotes a Paali verse, often from the Dhammapada, or a passage from a sutta and narrates its meaning and shows its significance for lay audience and their practice. This homilitical aspect shows that to a certain extent early Christian preaching is somewhat similar to modern Buddhist preaching in Theravaada countries in South and Southeast Asia. In both traditions, scriptures form an essential part of the sermon. The preacher’s sermon is often woven in and around the themes suggested by the scriptural verse. In the Buddhist case, the selected scriptural verse provides the basic structure and foundation for the preacher to deliver an effective sermon.

In the Protestant Christian traditions, lay preaching has become a dominant and popular feature . . . [but in] the Theravaada Buddhist contexts, one does not often find lay Buddhist preaching. . . . If there are forms of lay Buddhist preaching, they are nowadays rather limited to special occasions such as the full moon days.

Buddhist preaching and perception of it by Buddhist followers seem to differ from that of Christian preaching. In Buddhist contexts, one often finds a loud reading of a religious text in public. For example, a loud reading of the Jaatakapota, is considered as a form of preaching. Buddhists consider such forms of reading as an important aspect of Buddhist preaching when the texts are rehearsed and performed in a ceremonial fashion. In Buddhist preaching, one does not find a mere reading of a selected religious text but also a musical and rhythmic reading of the scripture. The audience listens to such readings with immense reverence and piety. From their belief perspective, the sermon is a rehearsal of the Buddha’s words. It is revered as a ‘sacred performance.” The rhythmic styles and musical tones help focus the listeners’ attention. In the Christian case, such a loud reading will hardly become a preaching session.

In terms of topics chosen for preaching, there are certain parallels between Christian and Buddhist preaching. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (1908: 10, 216) records that: “Legendary tales concerning the founder . . . his sanctity . . . combats with devil . . . the horrors of purgatory . . . formed the favourite topics of the preachers, and were served up to the people instead of the pure, salutary, and sublime doctrines of the Bible.” One can find similarities of chosen topics in Buddhist preaching, too. . . . On the whole, the emphasis in sermons is on avoiding negative actions and in the inculcation of positive thoughts and deeds.

In the Buddhist case, an invitation from an audience is essential for a Buddhist preacher to deliver a sermon. This makes a clear contrast of the role of the Buddhist preacher and the way he or she functions in society. It stands out as a completely different practice from that of a Christian preacher. We often see evangelical Christian preachers deliver sermons at any place where they can attract followers; they also think that it is their duty to spread the Gospel. This aggressive, missionary zeal for preaching is completely absent in the Buddhist preaching traditions. In contrast, Buddhist preachers do not preach in places where there is no public or private invitation. In any Theravaada Buddhist country, one cannot see Buddhists who go from house to house or from street to street to preach the Buddha’s words. However, around the world, on many places and occasions, one can witness various Christian groups who visit houses and interrupt people on the street and marketplace to preach the word of God. In the Buddhist countries, these explicit evangelical elements are not visible. Buddhist preaching sessions are held only with an invitation of a lay or monastic person and on a day appointed and agreed on by both parties. Its primary goal is not necessary to spread the Buddha’s words or to increase the number of Buddhists but rather to lead the lay people to righteous and wholesome living. Thus, when one sees from a comparative perspective the role of preaching and preachers in Buddhist and Christian traditions, there seems to be a great deal of diversity and differentiation.

Popular dharma talks in T’ang China

from “The Role of Buddhist Monasteries in T’ang Society” by Kenneth K. S. Ch’en in History of Religions, Vol. 15, No. 3. (Feb., 1976):

For the popular [dharma] lecturer [in T'ang China (June 18, 618 – June 4, 907)], four prerequisites were valued : voice, eloquence, talent, and profundity. In other words, he must not only be learned in the law, but he must also possess the voice and eloquence to be a sort of spellbinder, who could amuse the audience and keep them awake with all kinds of stories, anecdotes, and parables.  Equipped with clever tongue and smooth language, these popular lecturers were very successful in getting across the message of the Buddha through amusing and entertaining stories.

We are fortunate to have some contemporary accounts of one of the most famous popular lecturers at work, Wen-hsii, who lived during the early ninth century.  He is described as an outstanding individual, a monk of great virtue, proficient in chanting the sutras, and possessing a soft pleasant voice which moved people.  Ignorant men and fascinated women delighted in listening to him; they filled the monasteries whenever he spoke.  However, a Confucian critic charged that he discussed nothing but base and vulgar subjects, and that true followers of the Buddha all ridiculed him.  This criticism provides good insight into the nature of the audiences that attended the popular lectures. They consisted mainly of the unlettered and rustic masses, who were delighted in having the message of the Buddha embellished in the earthy and robust vernacular so well understood by them.

These popular lectures were enlivened by a very important literary innovation created by monks in the T’ang dynasty, the pien-wen (or text of marvellous events).  A pien-wen is a modified version of a Buddhist sutra consisting of a mixture of prose and poetry.  The monks took a short episode in a sutra and expanded it to tremendous lengths by adding all kinds of stories of marvellous events. In so doing, they converted the sutra into an entertaining vehicle for spreading the Buddha’s message.  As one example of such expansion, a passage of fourteen characters in the Vimalakirti [Sutra] was increased to 630 characters in prose and sixty-five lines of poetry, each line consisting of seven characters.  Probably the best known of these pien-wen is the Mu-lien pienwen, which recounts the adventures of the monk Mu-lien in searching for his mother, who was reborn in the deepest Buddhist hell because of her deceit and avariciousness.  We can well visualize the gripping interest with which the audience would follow a master storyteller describing Mu-lien rescuing his mother from hell only to have her reborn as a hungry ghost, then as a black dog, and finally as a deity in heaven.

Brief video interviews with working preachers

Zyrius comments that posting videos of good dharma speaking would be a helpful resource on this site.  It’s true that there’s a lot to be learned from watching and listening to a great presenter that can’t be completely conveyed in written words.  While there are no videos actually posted here (at least, not yet), Working Preacher has a very helpful series of short interviews about sermon preparation and delivery.  These are not examples of preaching, but conversations with a variety of people who prepare and deliver sermons every week; yet even in these informal settings one gets a sense of the speaker’s gestures, tone, articulation, thought process and presence.  Plus, the interview content, tips and suggestions are interesting and relevant.

Do you have suggestions for readers about where to go for online videos of great dharma speaking?  What specifically should we look for that this speaker does well?  How does he or she demonstrate the skills and techniques discussed here at Dharmically Speaking?

Mind your mannerisms

Become aware of your gestures and mannerisms and adjust them appropriately.
– O. C. Edwards

Somehow our usual mannerisms seem to become more pronounced when we put ourselves in front of others to speak.  Maybe it’s nerves, or the extra effort we’re making to get our point across.  Maybe it’s because there’s little else going on in the room to distract the audience, so everything we’re doing is the focus of attention.  I’ve had any number of presenters in training sessions who don’t realize that their weight-shifting, pocket change-jingling, throat-clearing or hair-smoothing are even taking place, let alone taking attention from their messages.  When they see videorecordings of their presentations, they hardly recognize themselves.   I don’t really do that . . . do I?

Dharma speakers have a couple of advantages when it comes to mannerisms and gestures.  Often, we’re sitting down.  While that presents its own challenges regarding energy level and audience connection, it does prevent us from pacing and weight-shifting.  The hokkai-join (meditation mudra) is a natural rest position for the hands, so we don’t have to worry about what to do with them when we’re not gesturing.  Sitting this way can help to calm any anxiety or control extra energy.

Ask a friend to pay attention to the one or two gestures or mannerisms you make most frequently during your talk.  Are you constantly adjusting your robes?  Slashing the air wildly with your hands?  Lining up your notes pages?  Nodding your head?  See if you can get these under control.  Often they’re just habits that serve as outlets for anxious energy. 

There are several kinds of gestures that arise naturally when we’re communicating orally.  Each can add meaning and interest to a dharma talk when used effectively.

Emphatic gestures highlight key ideas and demonstrate how you feel about your topic.  They are subjective and arise genuinely as a sort of period or exclamation point in your talk.  Without them, you will seem unnaturally stiff and you won’t be able to draw the sangha into the emotional content of your talk.  An emphatic gesture might be a downward chopping motion or other downward hand movement in coordination with a key sentence.  (Note that this is not the same as the emphatic gestures used in Tibetan debate.) 

Descriptive gestures are objective and help the audience visualize the point you’re making by creating a picture, showing size, shape or position.  Holding your hand out flat at a distance from the floor indicates relative height.  Moving your hands up or down shows something rising or falling. 

Locative gestures show place or direction of motion.  A pointed finger or a sweep of the hand quite directly illustrates a particular place.  Drawing a path in the air can indicate movement through time and space.

Transitional gestures draw listeners from one section or idea of your talk to the next, and can help visually reinforce the structure you set up in your introduction.  Counting on your fingers, you can indicate a series of points you will make or summarize the key ideas you’ve discussed.

You don’t need to use all of these in every talk.  Just make sure that whatever gestures you do use are not repetitive and distracting.  Try for some variety, and don’t forget to match your facial expression to your message.  Be serious where your message is serious, but don’t look grim.  Smile where appropriate, even in a subtle way, in order to maintain rapport with the audience. The dharma is lively and interesting, even when working with it in our lives is a challenge.  Encourage the sangha to dedicate itself to practice, and give it courage and confidence that the effort is worthwhile.

Loud and clear

Project your voice without shouting.
O. C. Edwards

Projecting your voice makes it possible for the sangha to hear you even in the back of the dharma hall.  You may be working with a microphone, so that amplification isn’t a problem.  Nonetheless, knowing the basic principles of voice projection makes sure your message is loud and clear.

Just as breathing is important for zazen, breath technique is the basis of projection.  In normal speech, you might breathe and talk from the top of the lungs.  When you project your voice, you breathe and speak from the diaphragm.  Take a breath and notice what moves.  If your shoulders rise, you’re breathing from the top of the lungs.  If your abdomen expands, that’s diaphragmatic breathing. 

If you’re sitting down during your talk, you have a bit more of a challenge to projection.  Standing up often allows for better air and energy flow, and removes some of the physical obstacles between you and the audience.  Nonetheless, you can help yourself by sitting up straight rather than slumping or speaking into your notes.  If you’re using a stand mic, make sure it’s high enough that you’re not hunching over to speak into it.

Relax and try to dissolve any tension in your throat and vocal cords, as well as the shoulders and upper chest.  Tightening up makes it hard to breathe and affects all three components of your voice production system: voiced sound, resonance, and articulation.  Voiced sound is simply the basic sound your vocal cords make when they vibrate.  The resonators of your vocal tract — throat, mouth and nose — amplify and modify that sound to make your voice unique.  Finally, the articulators — tongue, soft palate and lips — make the sound into words.

Pay attention to enunciation as an aspect of projection.  Speaking too quickly or mumbling makes it hard for the sangha to hear and understand you.  Practice saying words that requre good enunciation (chiropractor, effervescent, complication, specificity), making sure to apply good posture and breathing technique.  If you have a tendency to drop your volume toward the ends of your sentences, work on making sure you use good breath support all the way through.

If you’re using a microphone for amplification or recording, make sure to do a level check before your talk so that the volume is appropriate for the listeners in the hall and for the recording.  Position a stand mic so that it points directly at your mouth, not off to the side–but don’t speak close enough to it that you pop your Ps or distort your Ss.  Clip a lavalier where it will pick up your voice well, somewhere that your robes won’t brush noisily over it and it won’t get knocked around by hand gestures.

Good volume is about more than just speaking more loudly.  Shouting is a strain for both you and the audience.  Good breathing, posture and articulation go a long way toward being heard in the back row.

Speaker notes: looks don’t count

Write for the ear rather than the eye.
– O. C. Edwards

I just finished writing a speech for the head of the organization for which I work.  On paper, it is not a pretty sight.  It’s full of incomplete sentences and sentences that start with conjunctions (so, but, and).  There isn’t a fancy technical tem anywhere to be seen.  The text is double spaced and 24-point.  I hope the speaker will further deface the thing by highlighting words and phrases he wants to punch, putting slashes in where he wants to pause, and adding phonetic spellings of any words he’s likely to mispronounce.

After all, who cares what it looks like?

As dharma speakers, we’re not scripting ourselves word-for-word and reading our texts to the sangha.  (We’re not, are we?)  Nonetheless, it pays to remember that we’re writing words and phrases to be heard, not to be read.  On the one hand, that means we have to take extra care to write in a conversational tone, and to make sure that we can actually say what we’ve written.  On the other, it gives us the license to do anything on our notes that will help our performance, because we’re the only ones who will ever see them.

Because your audience is listening to you rather than reading your text, keep your sentences simple.  Listeners don’t have the chance to go back and re-read a sentence or paragraph, so you’ve only got one chance to be understood.  That means that a convoluted sentence structure that works well on paper probably isn’t the best choice for speaking.  Make sure folks can tell what’s modifying what, what the subject of the sentence really is, and to what your pronouns refer.

Be on guard for a dry or ponderous tone.  You aren’t delivering a statistical report.  The dharma talk is a conversation with the sangha, even if you’re doing most of the speaking.  Likewise, simple sentence structure doesn’t mean a dull delivery.  Your talk can still sparkle with sense detail, metaphor, and various well-chosen figures of speech.  Be careful of alliteration, however.  It can be very effective in written form, but can be difficult to deliver out loud.  If you’ve ever found in the middle of a talk that you’ve unwittingly written yourself a tongue-twister, you have vowed to read your text aloud beforehand next time.  (It’s one more reason that practicing your talk is a necessary part of preparation.)

For myself, I may completely script a talk, but then reduce it to an outline that retains words or phrases that I’ve particularly chosen and want to be sure to use.  Once I’ve committed the outline to paper, I can take a pencil or highlighter and mark it up the way I mark a script I’m going to read in an audio booth when doing a voice-over.  That mark-up happens during rehearsal — I can’t know where I’m likely to stumble or where I’m going to want to pause for emphasis until I’ve actually tried delivering the talk.  The extra layer of meaning contained in the mark-up only emerges when the words are spoken.  Until then, it’s dormant and invisible.  Don’t look for it on the untried notes you print for the first time on your way out the door.  It’s not there.

Grammar check — do you use these?

Use correct grammar.
–O. C. Edwards

The other morning, as I waited for the car pool to pick me up, I settled into the window seat and picked up a new book by a lay Buddhist teacher who previously spent years owning and editing a national magazine.  I look forward to reading text written by professional editors, since I can be fairly certain that the road will be free from the potholes of twisted syntax and the common grammatical mistakes so prevalent in most other writing.  The introduction read smoothly enough, and the first chapter likewise — until my eye came to a screeching halt in the middle of the last paragraph.  I could almost feel the impact as I hit the obstacle in my path.

“. . . irregardless . . .”

Irregardless?  From a former editor?  From a former editor whose book no doubt had been reviewed and edited by the publisher before printing?  How could this be?

It just goes to show how easily grammatical errors can creep into our dharma communication.  Here are a few to watch out for.

Pronoun errors

Everyone put away their own cushions before leaving the retreat.

Even though the statement describes a group, “everyone” is singular.  You could directly substitute “each person” for “everyone” without changing the meaning.  “Their” is plural, so it’s a mismatch.  The grammatically correct version of the statement is:

Everyone put away his or her own cushion before leaving the retreat.

Although I myself am not uncomfortable with this construction, some folks find it cumbersome.  One way to work around it is to make the subject plural so that it agrees with “their”:

All the practitioners put away their own cushions before leaving the retreat.

Dangling prepositions

We had no cloths to clean the altar with.

Prepositions — words like with, of, to, about, by, for, from, and in — can’t go at the end of a clause or sentence.  Instead, flip the clause around: 

We had no cloths with which to clean the altar.

Incorrect word use

 There are two pitfalls to avoid when choosing the words of your dharma talk.  One is using a word incorrectly.  The other is using an incorrect word. 

Literally:

When someone slammed the door during the meditation period, I literally jumped six feet off my cushion.

Well, if so, that would be a sight to see.  “Literally” means something that is actually true and can be taken at face value.  Folks tend to use it incorrectly these days as a sort of verbal exclamation point, a way to emphasize the unusual nature of the circumstance they’re relating.  I may have been startled at the loud noise, but it’s pretty unlikely that I actually levitated two yards into the air.

When we invited a famous teacher to lead our retreat, it sold out literally overnight.

If indeed all the spots were reserved within 24 hours, this usage is just fine.

Comprise:

Our sangha is comprised of practitioners from three different lineages.

“Comprise” cannot be used in this way.  It means “include.”  The correct word here is “compose,” which means “make up.”  If you’re unsure whether your statement is grammatically correct, just substitute “include” for “comprise.”  You wouldn’t say “is included of.”

Our sangha is composed of practitioners from three different lineages.  It comprises both new and experienced meditators.

The dharma center’s library is composed of items donated by the membership.  It comprises books, periodicals, and recordings.

Myriad:

The head teacher has a myriad of things to do before tomorrow’s ordination.

Like “comprise,” “myriad” is not properly used with “of.”  It isn’t a collective noun like “group” or “stack” or “lot.”   It’s an adjective meaning “countless” or “diverse.” 

The head teacher has myriad things to do before tomorrow’s ordination.

Orientate:

Before the retreat, we need to orientate the kitchen crew.

“Orientate” is not a word.  It’s easy to see how folks arrived at it, working backwards from “orientation,” but the correct word is “orient.”  It conjugates as “Yesterday I oriented, today I am orienting, tomorrow I will orient.”

Before the retreat, we need to orient the kitchen crew.

Irregardless:

We decided to hold the dharma talk irregardless of the number of practitioners present.

As for the dreaded “irregardless,” this too is not a word.  It’s a double negative, with both a prefix and a suffix that mean “without”  — a completely nonstandard construction.  Instead, use one correct word and one prefix or suffix.

We decided to hold the dharma talk regardless of the number of practitioners present.

We decided to hold the dharma talk irrespective of the number of practitioners present.

Good grammar is a habit worth developing, especially if you’re in the position of communicating the dharma.  Yes, your audience may understand you even with less-than-perfect grammar, but mistakes can be distracting, and can make you look sloppy and not credible.  If you know you routinely make one of the errors discussed above (or some other mistake), try to break that habit and substitute a grammatically correct phrase instead.

Presenting with passion

Strive for vivid, expressive, vigorous articulation.
– O. C. Edwards

“Articulation” has a couple of meanings that apply to our consideration of dharma speaking.  It can mean communicating ideas, thoughts and feelings in a coherent way, and it can also refer to the way we pronounce words, the physical act of speech.  

Both vividness and vigorousness have to do with the amount of life we give to the talk.  A vivid presentation produces distinct images in the minds of practitioners, perhaps by including relevant sensory details within the stories or examples used that allow listeners to use their imaginations to put themselves into the setting.  The picture becomes clear and distinct, the characters become filled with spirit and animation, and the truth of the message emerges from the experiential as well as the intellectual process.  The talk comes to life.

In a practice where much time is spent sitting quietly, vigorousness would seem to have no place in a dharma talk.  Yet without liveliness, the talk is not compelling.  Certainly, as dharma speakers we should avoid overwhelming the audience with prolonged wild gestures, a volume level that is inappropriately loud, or a pace and rate that are too fast to be intelligible.  But the dharma itself is lively and active, and it’s not only acceptable but advisable to speak with some passion.  Imagine listening to someone who drones on lifelessly with a minimum of movement.  Are you inspired to dig into your practice and live it every day?

The underlying issue is energy.  What can we do to put some life, energy and passion into the talk?

• Make good eye contact with practitioners around the room.  Staring into your notes or the floor will make it impossible for listeners to connect with you, and will sap the life out of your talk.
• Articulate clearly.  Mumbling makes the audience put its energy into trying to hear and understand you.  Speak from the front of your mouth rather than swallowing your words.
• Make sure you can be heard.  If you have a microphone, make good use of it.  If not, project well enough that the people in the back can hear you.
• Vary your pitch, volume and rate.  Speaking in a soft monotone is a soporific act.    Add emphasis to particular phrases by slowing your rate, punching key words, and pausing afterward for a moment.  If you’re telling a story, give each character a recognizable speaking style.
• Use meaningful gestures.  Sitting stock still is great for zazen.  It’s not so interesting in a speaker.  Human beings naturally use descriptive gestures that act out what we’re saying, as well as “beat” gestures that coordinate with the rhythm of our speech and emphasize certain words and phrases.  These add meaning and interest to the talk.
• Include sense detail.  Draw practitioners into the story or example with specifics.
• Talk about something you care about.  If you don’t have some passion for your topic, neither will the sangha.
• Vigorousness applies to the ideas presented as well as the delivery.  Give practitioners something to chew on, a bit of a challenge, something new to try, or a new way to consider an established aspect of practice.