The Distinction Between a Dharma Talk and a Teisho

 

In Zen you will sometimes hear of the distinction between a “Dharma Talk” and a “Teisho,” using the Japanese pronunciation of 提唱 (Ch. tichang).  While the two definitely have a shared overlapping meaning, they also have a clear distinction.

Both the Dharma Talk (說法, Skt. dharma-desaka, dharma-upadesaka, dharma-katha,, Ch. shuofa,  J. seppo) and the Teisho are articulations of the Dharma in an oral teaching format. In one view, we can look at the Dharma Talk as the general term for the category of oral Buddhist teachings that explain or clarify the Dharma and the Teisho as a specific kind of Dharma Talk. On the other hand, we can say that the Dharma Talk is a specific kind of oral discourse that clarifies differently from the Teisho.

[NOTE: 說法, to articulate the Dharma, is also known as 法談 (Ch. fatan, J. hodan) Dharma discussion, and 說法 is an internal abbreviation of the longer term 說法談義 (Ch. shuofatanyi,  J. sepp(h)odangi), to articulate (說) the Dharma (法) discussing (談) the meaning (義).]

Speaking generally, the Dharma Talk explains the Dharma between the two poles of exegesis or exposition and expounding or explicating. Exegesis, usually preferred by the Theravadan tradition and by some in the Tibetan tradition, is “a teaching by analysis” that sticks closely to the text to provide a critical analysis of the words and phrases of the text, using definitions, grammar, and tradition to explain the meaning. Exegesis relies heavily on detailed and usually learned and lengthy intellectual analysis. Exegesis is the preferred method of the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, exemplified in the Visuddhismagga of Buddhaghosa described as "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis" of the Buddha’s Dharma. At the other pole and usually preferred by Mahayana tradition, expounding explains the meaning by unfolding or unpacking the text to throw light on the underlying meaning, based on but not bound by the text. Expounding goes beyond exegesis to reveal the underlying meaning by interpretation using the application of special knowledge or insight. This going beyond intellectual exegesis is what makes the interpretations of expounding the Dharma suspect to some who are skeptical of any approach using insight over reasoning. Expounding is the preferred method of the Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma exemplified in the writings of Nagarjuna. This bifurcation is of course somewhat of an over-simplification, but it describes the two distinct primary approaches to articulating the Dharma in a Dharma Talk. In fact, regardless of the Buddhist tradition, most modern Dharma Talks include some measure of both exegesis and expounding, but with the emphasis on one or the other according to the tradition.

The Teisho will also have some features of the Dharma Talk, primarily expounding, but its main emphasis is explicitly to do something more. In addition to the preference to unfold and unpack the underlying meaning as meaning, the Teisho is intended to be a direct manifestation of Buddha Nature through the speaker as a living presentation or embodiment of the primary or ultimate meaning (paramartha) of Buddha Knowledge (Buddhajnana). Thus, the Teisho is usually given within the setting of a meditation retreat where the audience is participating in deep practice. This approach is based on the One Vehicle teachings in such sutras as the Lotus Sutra (Sutra of the White-Lotus Flower of the Real Dharma) that states the purpose of a Buddha manifesting in the world is for beings to be able to hear, to be shown, to awaken to, and to enter the Way of Buddha’s knowing and seeing.  This method of articulating the Dharma is preferred by the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma as described by Zen Master Guifeng Zongmi (780–841 C.E.) as “The One Vehicle's (Ekayana) Teaching Of Manifesting Nature,” with the emphasis on directly manifesting that “everybody has the root enlightenment of true mind,” not on reasoning or intellectual explanations of Dharma doctrines or such things as emptiness.    

This orientation is embedded in the name “Teisho” (提唱) that literally means “lifting up or handing up (提) the song (唱)” and is sometimes translated as “to raise the cry” or “to present the shout.”  The “song” here includes a call or chant, and it also has a specific connotation of a song in a Chinese opera, i.e., an aria. Though the spoken part of an opera and the singing part are the same in carrying forward the story (of the Dharma), they are very different in how they do so.  In this context the Zen Master giving a Teisho is expected to sing his/her heart out like an operatic aria. In this way the Teisho is a living presentation of the call of the Buddha’s Lion’s Roar.  Of course, not every Zen Master can sing their guts out every time he gives a Teisho, thus many Teisho are a mixture of explanations, historical contextualizing, and a direct presentation of the Buddha’s seeing and knowing. Regardless of the particular successful actualization of the speaker, the intention of the Teisho is to be something more than merely a Dharma Talk; it is to evoke the living Buddha within each person present and hearing the rendition of the Buddha’s song.