Do Not Be Shaken by the Sound of Words; See the Original Place

People are easily shaken by words. When someone praises us, the mind feels pleased; when someone criticizes us, the mind is hurt. Gentle words bring joy, while harsh words give rise to anger and pain.

Yet the teaching says that all voices, too, are like empty space. A sound appears in the moment it is heard, but when we try to grasp it, it has already disappeared. Words are clearly heard, yet they have no substance that stays; as soon as they arise, they scatter according to conditions.

Just as clouds pass through the sky, sounds briefly appear in empty space and then disappear. But we hold on to those words and repeat them for a long time in the mind, saying good, bad, right, and wrong. In truth, the words have already vanished, but our own mind grasps them again and turns them into hurt and anger.

Therefore, a practitioner should not follow only the content of words. We must also see the nature by which those words arise and disappear. We should not become too inflated by praise or too collapsed by criticism, and we should be able to look into the original place beyond the sound of words.

Still, this does not mean we should simply endure and pass over every word. Wrong speech and behavior should be corrected wisely, and in positions of responsibility, necessary words must also be spoken. Even then, we should respond with a calm mind and clear wisdom rather than being dragged along by wounded emotion.

Words come and disappear like empty space. To hold on to them for a long time and grow suffering from them is a habit of our own mind. To hear words without being trapped by words, and to hear sound without being pulled by sound, is practice.

Today, may we look carefully so that praise and criticism, kind words and harsh words, do not greatly shake the mind, and may we remember the quiet original place beyond the sound of words.