In society, many people do a lot of talking-so much talking that people do not really pay attention to what's being said. On top of that, they just say things that are false; nobody dares to speak the truth. Many people don't want to hear the truth. Everybody likes to hear the false, so when you tell them something frank and true, they don't want to listen.

It's even this way within the Buddhadharma. The Dharma that most people like to listen to is the Dharma of flowers and leaves; but when you get to the actual fruit, people don't want to hear about it. Take fruit trees, for example. When they're in blossom, they exude an alluring fragrance and although people have not yet eaten the fruit, they enjoy a greater happiness by smelling the blossoms' fine fragrance than if they were to actually eat the fruit. They feel as though their thirst and hunger have been completely satisfied. But as soon as the fruit appears those trees, people lose this feeling. The impact isn't there anymore.

This is an analogy for people in the world who only like to hear false things and who don't like to hear the truth. The false talk is like flowers and leaves; the truth is like the fruit. People feel that the fruit is rather dry and flavorless, that there's not much to it. So it is with the speaking of Dharma.

If you embellish and speak pretty words, many people are willing to listen. But if you tell them the plain truth, such as how to hold the Precepts, how to follow the rules, how to avoid greed and contention, how not to seek, how to be unselfish and not self-seeking, how to be a true Buddhist disciple and so forth-nobody wants to hear that Dharma. True talk hurts the ear; people feel uncomfortable when they hear it. Why? Because honest words are grating to the ear; people feel that the truth inhibits their freedom and so they don't want to listen.

For those very same reasons, when Shakyamuni Buddha was on Vulture Peak and his disciple Shariputra implored him to speak the Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra, the Buddha said, "Stop, stop, it must not be spoken. My Dharma is wonderful beyond conception." Although the Buddha refused to speak, Shariputra entreated him three times. Finally the Buddha, moved by the sincerity of his disciples and out of great pity for the Assembly "opened up the provisional and revealed the actual."
He proclaimed the wonderful, unsurpassed Dharma: there is only the One Buddha Vehicle, by which all living beings can becomeBuddhas. But right after the Buddha made this announcement,five thousand people walked out of the Assembly. Five thousand!Take a look. Many were people who had followed the Buddhafor years. Some of them were new, of course. But they couldn'twithstand the unsurpassed, wonderful Dharma, so they left.From this incident we can see that people don't want to hearthe truth but are quite willing to accept what's false. Therefore, what I have spoken to you today is all false. You can forget all of it. Just remember the Dharma that you wish to hear, and then cultivate according to it.

Anyone who comes to the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas must follow the rules of this Way-place. Whether you are a
resident or a visitor, you have to eat pure vegetarian food while on the premises, and not smoke, drink, or use drugs or intoxicants. Moreover, you can't say "thank you." Those two words are social frivolity and have no place in the sagely grounds of this Sagely City. There's no need for frivolous speech here.

Therefore, I hope that all of you will go easy on the social frivolity. Learn to speak less and only speak true words.