Dharmically Speaking is a website about preparing and delivering dharma talks — “Buddhist homiletics, if you will”—says site editor Hoko, the mysterious Soto Zen monk who doesn’t divulge who s/he is but who has spent years working in communications—from TV news production to nonprofit marketing to presentation training and coaching. Your guesses?? (Skip to the end and all is revealed…)

Dharmically Speaking aims to explore the intersection of public speaking and dharma teaching. In today’s post Hoko offers up Malaysian author/teacher Piya Tan’s summary of the 6 characteristics of the ideal dharma speaker—which, says Hoko, are drawn directly from the Buddha’s sutras.

1. A Dharma speaker should be intelligent and quick to learn (which comes with showing great interest in the Buddha Dharma for its own sake, that is, for personal development). This area is called analytical skill or perspicuity, of which there are four, namely:
(1) The analytical skill in meanings, that is, the ability to understand and express the meaning, purpose and result of a teaching.
(2) The analytical skill in the Dhamma, that is, an understanding of causes and conditionality, the law of cause and effect that governs all conditioned things (including language).
(3) The analytical skill in language, especially the nature of language in relation the meaning and conditionality.
(4) The analytical skill in ready wit, that is, the skilful application of meanings, conditionality and language for clarifying the Dharma and
effecting spiritual liberation.
2. A Dharma speaker should have a good memory for scripture and scriptural facts, remembering what he has spoken, and remembering questions and remarks from his listeners.
3. A Dharma speaker should spend time reflecting on what he has learned, and to cultivate his mind (best method would of course be meditation).
4. A Dharma speaker should understand the nature of religious language and spiritual experience, that there are at least two levels of language.
5. A Dharma speaker should cultivate public speaking skills and a good voice.
6. A Dharma speaker, above all, should be an inspiring person. This last point is so important that it has been called “the teaching method of the Buddha.”

You can download the full Piya Tan text at the Dharmically Speaking site.

Hoko’s is a site well worth the wade. You’ll find all kinds of teachings on teaching (see links down the right), including a look at how the Buddha himself probably taught the dharma, to modern day strategies and methods for talk preparation and delivery.

By the way, Hoko has since told us she is Hoko Jan Karnegis. She defined the term ‘myo’ in our Winter 2006 issue of Buddhadharma magazine.

(Thanks to Ed-Meister for the image shown, from Flickr.com.)