聞く耳を持つとはどのようなことか
What does it mean to possess the ears to truly listen?
2025-12-02
A person who cherishes the sacred quest, who earnestly longs to know the true reality of this world, and who keeps careful watch over themselves, gradually accumulates merit and finally attains awakening (= liberation).
This is the full scope of the path to awakening.
At that time, one who is keen of ear comes to be called an admirable practitioner.
Being “keen of ear” refers, on the one hand, to being attentive to the rare and precious words of the Dharma that appear in the world, and on the other hand, to having ears ready to hear while diligently engaging in the itinerant practice of seeking the way.
Having such ears to hear does not merely mean listening to the words of venerable teachers and senior practitioners; it also means paying heed to the words of all people who appear before us.
Naturally, such words are a mixture of good and bad, and may even include abuse and harsh speech.
Thus, it is recommended that the practitioner listen to all words with equanimity, without prematurely rejecting anything, and then examine them carefully.
Thereby, the practitioner who has accumulated merit is able to discern the truth about people and the world underlying those words, and thus make them occasions for awakening.
Especially when the person before you appears weaker or inferior to yourself, it is precisely then that the possibility of finding more important words becomes greater.
Concerning this, the early Buddhist scriptures of the Buddha present the following principles:
12 A foolish person thinks, “He is a weakling,” when someone performs actions that benefit both himself and others — without ever reflecting on the true principle.
13 Fools, speaking harsh words, think that they are the ones who prevail. Yet it should be said that true victory always belongs to the one who endures insults with patience.
14 People overlook the words of a superior person out of fear. They overlook the words of an equal because they wish to avoid conflict. But when someone overlooks the words of a person inferior to themselves, the sages call this the supreme patience in this world. (Udānavarga, Words of Uplift, Chapter 20: Anger, translated by Nakamura Hajime, Iwanami-Bunko)
In general, good people naturally gather around good people.
For this reason, meeting someone weaker or inferior to oneself can, in a certain sense, be regarded as an encounter of great importance.
A practitioner who seeks awakening should be one who possesses the ears to truly listen.
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