Expression & Creation

A good speech is not about sharp language, still less about being reasonable; it has a soul.

What is its soul?

Understanding clearly

Understanding clearly what to do

Understanding clearly why to do it

Understanding clearly how to do it

A speech is a process of expressing purpose, love, pure intention, and action steps.

Deeply memorable

Memory = feeling + imagination

The source of feeling

Feeling comes from unexpected collisions in the listener’s thinking

Your words must collide with the listener’s existing ideas

When the wise speak, what matters is not the effect of the content’s own organization on listeners

But that their speech activates the listeners

Activated thought generates tremendous energy

This is the difference between a wise person and a scholar

Learning sparks new ideas and directions in listeners

And prompts deep reflection

True giving does not end in a single act

It leads someone onto a path toward the light

A boast that hits the mark becomes a classic

After sending a message and waiting without the desired reply, people easily explain more, or even judge the other person’s attitude for them. By the time the other speaks, the topic is no longer the original issue, but why they are cold and inattentive.

Text chat is not face-to-face. The other person may be thinking or not finished typing. Our many consecutive messages prove only our own urgency, not that they have heard everything or have nothing to say. Treating these as the same builds subsequent hurt on guesses.

Ask the question clearly first, then allow time to answer. If something genuinely needs prompt confirmation, explain the urgency; after a long absence of response, decide whether to keep waiting. But one pause and persistent avoidance cannot receive the same judgment.

I think one kind of effort in communication is resisting immediate conclusions. Let the other finish a sentence before deciding to accept or oppose it. Otherwise two people appear to speak, but one has actually spoken both people’s parts.

When others do not follow my request, I easily ask first: why won’t they cooperate? That question has already judged them, as if only attitude remains to fix. Yet things sometimes stall because money, time, methods, and consequences are unclear.

Willingness to act and readiness to promise are different. Finding something worthwhile does not mean having the conditions to do it now. If the request itself keeps changing, hesitation may avoid an unfulfillable promise. Reading hesitation directly as evasion turns discussable concerns into opposition.

First ask what specifically worries them, what can be done, and what needs another method. Both sides should state what matters most: speed, completeness, or cost. Different priorities make the same proposal look entirely different.

Clarifying does not mean accepting everything. Adjust for justified concerns; question reasons that fail checking. Understanding conditions before judging attitude grounds eventual agreement or refusal, without advancing a task by guessing someone’s character.

Some matters are complex and tiring to explain, so I want to handle them myself without troubling loved ones. This has a caring intention, but may leave them seeing only results: why plans suddenly change, why there is never time, why I seem preoccupied.

Without information about the process, people explain using what they know. Sometimes they infer neglect, sometimes unwillingness to be close. I feel I have shielded them from pressure, while they may feel shut out of life. Both feel wronged, not necessarily because either lacks goodwill, but because their knowledge differs fundamentally.

There is no need to disclose every work detail or others’ privacy. Start with what affects shared life: what currently takes time, which plans may change, what I can handle, and what cooperation I hope for. Even without answers, I can let them know what I face.

Taking responsibility alone and keeping others completely uninformed are two choices. Closeness does not mean guessing everything. Sharing necessary information allows joint arrangements; otherwise shared life easily becomes one person arranging and the other waiting for explanations.

I explain my difficulties hoping for understanding, not necessarily saying the other person is wrong. But opening with how hard things are and how much I gave can sound like: you should no longer feel hurt or express needs.

Both people’s pain can exist simultaneously. I may be under pressure; they may lack companionship or feel neglected. Explaining one side does not erase the other. Rushing to prove stronger reasons turns communication into competition over who is more entitled to hurt.

First ask specifically what matters to them, then explain my circumstances. When discussing pressure, say which part I want understood and what cooperation I need. Otherwise, many words leave them unsure what to do next, only feeling their emotions have been refuted again.

Understanding need not mean accepting every demand; hearing hurt need not mean admitting every decision was wrong. Separating these preserves both actual circumstances and the other person’s feelings. Discussion can then return from who suffers more to reducing this particular difficulty.

When apologizing, we often know we handled some things poorly yet also feel we had difficulties. So after saying sorry, we immediately explain why and hope the other will take our perspective. Even truthful explanations can sound like: though you admit fault, you still need me to understand you first.

We can explain our difficulties while keeping the responsibility we must bear. First clarify what was mishandled, what effects it caused, and what can be repaired. If acknowledging impact is immediately followed by proving they should not mind, the apology pushes responsibility back after taking it on.

Explanation provides information; it does not collect forgiveness. They may understand the reasons and still need time, accept a remedy and remain dissatisfied. Finishing my words does not make further hurt deliberate obstruction.

An apology need not negate my whole self or accept responsibility that is not mine. Identify my share, continue feasible remedies, and discuss other disagreements separately. What makes an apology stand is not an immediate “it’s okay,” but not treating it as an exchange.

Expression serves understanding first, then action.

Put complex ideas into language the other person can understand and use.

The greatest secret behind influence is speaking power;

The greatest secret behind speaking power is inner strength;

The core behind inner strength is “having a strong self” and “having independent thought.”

Speaking is not fluent language but flowing thought: within, a spirit embracing mountains and rivers; without, small bridges and flowing water…

First level: only you know what you are saying; listeners do not understand.

Second level: listeners know what you are saying, but not your purpose.

Third level: listeners know your purpose, and their thinking is sparked.

Fourth level: listeners hear the content while thinking, make the decisions you hoped for, and act.

Why do we get nervous?

What does nervousness mean?

Nervousness means “not being accustomed”

How can we overcome it?

You are nervous because you care only about yourself

Onstage, think about helping the audience

The core of speaking is helping the audience

As long as you think of helping the audience, nervousness vanishes instantly.

As long as you think of helping the audience, you will not be nervous even speaking at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

As long as you think of helping the audience, you will open the gateway to letting your charm blossom.

The core of speaking is getting the audience to act. As long as you help them, the audience will naturally act.

Speaking is the release of inner strength.

Within, a spirit embracing mountains and rivers; without, small bridges and flowing water;

Within, build a strong self; without, establish independent thought.

The secret behind a strong self is seeing no individuals, but all beings. Seeing no individuals allows you to transcend emotions and desires, untroubled by judgment and public opinion. Regard nothing as above you, grow “compassion” in your heart, and guide all beings to grow. Unless the human heart dies, the Buddha’s heart cannot arise!

The secret behind independent thought is not clinging to convention, breaking convention, transcending convention, and prompting thought. There is no need for blazing passion or shouting yourself hoarse: simply speak normally and tell it calmly…

1. Do not speak with your back to the audience onstage

2. Scan the audience before speaking

3. Interact with listeners immediately

4. Open by explaining how you will help listeners

5. Never expect to help everyone

6. Keep asking simple questions

Does that make sense?

Is it so or not?

Right or wrong?

Do you agree?

Good or not?

Wouldn’t you say so?

Is it or isn’t it?

Everyone, do you agree?

Everyone, right?

7. Stand firmly

8. Look at everyone

9. Keep changing channels, using people or tools

10. Let it flow and blossom from the heart

11. If you forget your words, ask the audience

A good concert: “Sing together”

A good speech: “Where was I?”

12. If you cannot help, speak of your present state of mind

Influence comes from clear thinking, sincere intention, and actionable help.

A good speech helps listeners understand, reflect, and make their own decisions.

Innovation means daring to imagine; creation means daring to act.

It means acting on an uncertain opportunity sensed by the subconscious.

Minor achievers know how to do things but not what to do,

Great achievers know what to do but not how to do it.

Things that are certain have already lost their opportunity,

Things that offer opportunity always carry a sense of risk.

The very finest masters fear no failure, only missing out on worldly experience, and work fiercely to cultivate vision, breadth of mind, and courage.

Innovation begins with discovering uncertainty; creation brings ideas into reality.

Allow small-scale trial and error, replacing daydreaming and following the crowd with real feedback.

What is a rare genius of our time?

Someone with vast life experience who can express complex theories in plain, everyday language is a rare genius of our time.

What is the core of truly knowing how to speak?

Confidence, letting go, fearlessness… None is the lifeline. The underlying lifeline is being fully prepared—in other words, knowing what you are talking about.

As long as you know what to say, you naturally know how to say it.

Confidence comes from expertise.

Why do many teachers’ lectures feel disconnected from everyday life to listeners?

Because they do not know who their listeners are!

That is, their words are too refined and detached from life

Being grounded comes from how listeners feel

Speak of the small, not the grand; the simple, not the complex;

Go deep, not broad; be common, not refined.

Who cannot play at refinement? Let us see who can be common enough.

Teachers nationwide play at refinement. They cannot be common because that requires vast life experience and insight, the ability to express complex theories in plain everyday language: a rare genius of our time.

Common = rooted in everyday life

Common = grounded

Living on earth, you must speak earth’s language. If you speak in obscure classical phrases and clouds of fog, please leave earth.

False teachers directly give listeners methods, fixing them in place, and the entire audience falls asleep.

True teachers use collisions of ideas and answers after mystery to lead listeners into a feeling, finding answers themselves and generating countless methods.

After entering this feeling repeatedly, listeners enter intuitive awareness. Once there, they generate answers at every moment, anytime and anywhere.

The prerequisite for possessing learning is trimming learning; the secret behind it is learning the right things.

Knowledge divides into appearance and core

Ordinary people see appearances; great achievers go directly into the core and use it. Solve just one point, and every problem is readily resolved and vanishes.

Teaching

What others say to you and do to you

Can never determine what kind of person you are

What you say to others and do to others

Alone determines what kind of person you are

Win through thought, win through action

Self-negation is the beginning of growth

A packed introduction may feel substantial to its creator. In actual presentation, however, the speaker may not know how to connect it and listeners may miss the point. Rich-looking material becomes a script to read, burying the intended message.

Prepare content with its speaker, audience, and desired understanding in mind. Expand what the presenter can explain; do not expect layout to make uncomprehended content clear. Provide training or clarification where needed, connecting material with its user.

Trying the presentation before design reveals problems more easily: necessary explanations, repeated information, where a simple example helps, and how much is enough for the next step. Adjust content through feedback before presentation design, rather than fixing everything immediately.

Cuts must not remove necessary information and leave only pleasing words. Complex parts can be supplementary, available to those wanting more. Main material serves the main purpose; detail serves further explanation. How content will be used belongs in creation, not left for others to solve after completion.

Content needs everyday expression, structured organization, and ongoing iteration.

A real course does not instill answers; it helps learners develop abilities of their own.

The more I write about practice and realization, the more places should be open to questioning.

If I write about responsibility, others may ask what I bore; if respect, they may identify an arrangement that ignored their reasons; if altruism, I must allow affected people to say their actual gain differed from the words. Publishing these statements should add a constraint on me.

Writing can aid understanding but cannot return time spent waiting or automatically complete delivery. After acknowledging a problem, decisions, remedies, or clear explanations of what cannot be done remain necessary. Writing insight can begin something; real responsibilities still require handling in real ways.

I hope these short pieces become grounds for others to remind me. If I use them only to explain myself but refuse others their use to examine me, more words mean less cultivation. Practice and realization should ultimately leave more than a self better at giving reasons.