{"id":20014,"date":"2025-04-16T14:59:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T14:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/?page_id=20014"},"modified":"2026-02-24T04:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:14:34","slug":"sishoho-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/muho\/sishoho-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Teisho on the Shishoho"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oqVpr1abMt0?si=hEMO8UcqCGg5NR-8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gg32g0ilQ60?si=FwhgharlD9jYtNU1\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iEhfvjSy0FI?si=AEWdN9tAqUPcoHeW\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lSRHcZ2uSoE?si=GLLS7j4iXGFbdOM6\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ul7d_4OgnGk?si=XRkXVDxxPl21O4G4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-YWKB9YV0Ew?si=isA7bnm2nI3hA8bG\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JoLxjXSJepw?si=xxGleQwOAEzNr5iC\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>English translation by Nishijima Roshi:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Bodaisatta-shish\u014db\u014d &#8211; Four Elements of a Bodhisattva\u2019s Social Relations<\/p>\n<p>Translator\u2019s Introduction: Bodaisatta means \u201cbodhisattva,\u201d a person who is pursuing the Buddhist truth; shi means \u201cfour\u201d; and sh\u014db\u014d means \u201celements of social relations\u201d or \u201cmethods for social relations.\u201d The four are d\u0101na, free giving; priya-\u0101khy\u0101na, kind speech; artha-carya, helpful conduct; and sam\u0101na-arthat\u0101, identity of purpose, or cooperation. Buddhism puts great value on our actual conduct. For this reason, our conduct in relating to each other is a very important part of Buddhist life. In this chapter Master D\u014dgen preaches that these four ways of behaving are the essence of Buddhist life. He explains the real meaning of Buddhism in terms of social relations. First is free giving. Second is kind speech. Third is helpful conduct. Fourth is cooperation. \u201cFree giving\u201d means not being greedy. Not being greedy means not coveting. Not coveting means, in everyday language, not courting favor. Even if we rule the four continents, if we want to bestow the teaching of the right truth, we simply must not be greedy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKind speech\u201d means, when meeting living beings, first of all to feel compassion for them and to offer caring and loving words. Broadly, it is there being no rude or bad words. In secular societies there are polite customs of asking others if they are well. In Buddhism there are the words \u201cTake good care of yourself!\u201d and there is the disciple\u2019s greeting \u201cHow are you?\u201d<br \/>\nSpeaking with the feeling of \u201ccompassion for living beings as if they were<br \/>\nbabies\u201d is kind speech.<br \/>\nWe should praise those who have virtue and should pity those who lack virtue. Through love of kind speech, kind speech is gradually nurtured. Thus, kind speech which is ordinarily neither recognized nor experienced manifests itself before us. While the present body and life exist we should enjoy kind speech, and we will not regress or deviate through many ages and many lives.<br \/>\nWhether in defeating adversaries or in promoting harmony among gentlefolk, kind speech is fundamental. To hear kind speech spoken to us directly makes the face happy and the mind joyful. To hear kind speech indirectly etches an impression in the heart and in the soul.<br \/>\nRemember, kind speech arises from a loving mind, and the seed of a loving mind is compassion. We should learn that kind speech has the power to turn around the heavens; it is not merely the praise of ability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHelpful conduct\u201d means utilizing skillful means21 to benefit living beings, high or low; for example, by looking into the distant and near future and employing expedient methods to benefit them. People have taken pity on stricken turtles and taken care of sick sparrows. When they saw the stricken turtle and the sick sparrow, they did not seek any reward from the turtle and the sparrow; they were motivated solely by helpful conduct itself.<br \/>\nStupid people think that if we put the benefit of others first, our own benefit will be eliminated. This is not true. Helpful conduct is the whole Dharma. It universally benefits self and others. The man of the past who bound his hair three times in the course of one bath, and who spat out his food three times in the course of one meal, solely had a mind to help others. There was never a question that he might not teach them just because they were the people of a foreign land. So we should benefit friends and foes equally, and we should benefit ourselves and others alike. If we realize this state of mind, the truth that helpful conduct naturally neither regresses nor deviates will be helpfully enacted even in grass, trees, wind, and water. We should solely endeavor to save the foolish.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCooperation\u201d means not being contrary. It is not being contrary<br \/>\nto oneself and not being contrary to others. For example, the human Tath\u0101gata \u201cidentified\u201d himself with humanity. Judging from this identification with the human world we can suppose that he might identify himself with other worlds. When we know cooperation, self and others are oneness.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Source: https:\/\/www.bdk.or.jp\/document\/dgtl-d&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Quote from Gakudoyojinshu:<br \/>\n&#8220;9. Direct yourself at the truth and practice it.<br \/>\n&#8230;The Buddhist Truth exists under the foot of every human being. When a person is caught by the Truth, they can clearly realise the moment of the present. When a person is caught by enlightenment they can perfectly realise<br \/>\nthemselves as just a person. So even if they understand the truth perfectly,<br \/>\nthey may still be able to drop down into one concrete enlightenment. Going<br \/>\ndirectly to the truth is something as free and elegant as this.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>English translation by Nishijima Roshi: &#8220;Bodaisatta-shish\u014db\u014d &#8211; Four Elements of a Bodhisattva\u2019s Social Relations Translator\u2019s Introduction: Bodaisatta means \u201cbodhisattva,\u201d a person who is pursuing the Buddhist truth; shi means \u201cfour\u201d; and sh\u014db\u014d means \u201celements of social relations\u201d or \u201cmethods for social relations.\u201d The four are d\u0101na, free giving; priya-\u0101khy\u0101na, kind speech; artha-carya, helpful conduct; and sam\u0101na-arthat\u0101, identity of purpose, or cooperation. Buddhism puts great value on our actual conduct. For this reason, our conduct in relating to each other is a very important part of Buddhist life. In this chapter Master D\u014dgen preaches that these four ways of behaving are the essence of Buddhist life. He explains the real meaning of Buddhism in terms of social relations. First is free giving. Second is kind speech. Third is helpful conduct. Fourth is cooperation. \u201cFree giving\u201d means not being greedy. Not being greedy means not coveting. Not coveting means, in everyday language, not courting favor. Even if we rule the four continents, if we want to bestow the teaching of the right truth, we simply must not be greedy. \u201cKind speech\u201d means, when meeting living beings, first of all to feel compassion for them and to offer caring and loving words. Broadly, it is there being no rude or bad words. In secular societies there are polite customs of asking others if they are well. In Buddhism there are the words \u201cTake good care of yourself!\u201d and there is the disciple\u2019s greeting \u201cHow are you?\u201d Speaking with the feeling of \u201ccompassion for living beings as if they were babies\u201d is kind speech. We should praise those who have virtue and should pity those who lack virtue. Through love of kind speech, kind speech is gradually nurtured. Thus, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3106,"menu_order":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"side-navigation.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20014","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20014"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20176,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20014\/revisions\/20176"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}