[fn Plaza] The Weight of Words, The Dignity of Words

Jeong Sun-min, Senior Culture Reporter I once visited Nikko, a small town in central Japan, a long time ago. The scenery of Nikko is so beautiful that it is said, "Do not claim to have seen Japan without seeing this place. " There are countless attractions, including Toshogu Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kegon Falls, one of Japan's three great waterfalls, and Lake Chuzenji, a mountain lake. However, the place where the most people gather is in front of a small stable inside Toshogu. This is to see the three monkeys, or Sanzaru, carved beneath the eaves of this stable.
The three monkeys each have distinct expressions and appearances. One covers its eyes with both hands, while another covers its ears. Yet another covers its mouth with its right hand and presses down firmly on its right hand with its left. This scene brings to mind a passage from the *An Yan* chapter of the *Analects of Confucius*. When his disciple Yan Hui asked about benevolence (仁), Confucius replied, "Benevolence is overcoming oneself and returning to propriety (禮)," adding, "Do not look, do not listen, or speak of anything that is not in accordance with propriety. " However, it seems that many people, both in the past and present, live forgetting Confucius's words.
In fact, perhaps humanity has never once properly practiced this teaching in the past thousands of years. This is especially true today, when anyone can broadcast their words and thoughts live in real time. We are living in an era with too much talk.
When we open our eyes in the morning, the internet is overwhelmed by social media posts and comments that poured in overnight. Reckless remarks by politicians become news, thoughtless comments by celebrities are put on the chopping block, and malicious comments hidden behind anonymity pierce someone's heart like a dagger. Here, there is no distinction between men and women, old and young, or the ruling and opposition parties. Everyone speaks, everyone gets angry, and everyone tries to lecture others. There is a saying called "the gate of calamity.
" It means that the mouth is the gateway through which disaster enters and exits. Feng Dao, a prime minister during the late Tang Dynasty, stated in his poem "Poem on the Tongue" that "the tongue is a sword that cuts one's own body. " While a sword is inherently wielded against others, the sword of words ultimately ends up cutting oneself first. We have witnessed countless instances where a single word uttered while swept up in momentary emotion becomes a lifelong label, and a single impulsive social media post brings down a carefully built tower. The same applies to the recurring controversies over reckless speech in the political arena during every election season.
Mockery and criticism directed at the opposing camp are becoming increasingly harsh, and a single slip of the tongue can swallow up policies and visions. Each time, those involved explain that "the true intent was distorted" or "that was not what I meant," but the arrow of words, once shot, cannot be returned. This is not just a story about politicians. Business leaders bow their heads due to past remarks, and celebrities post apologies for old social media posts. A bigger problem is that social media has accelerated the speed of speech.
In the past, a slip of the tongue would only remain in the memory of a few people present, but that is no longer the case. With just a few clicks of a finger, words and text spread at the speed of light. Speech has become faster, but thoughts have become shorter. This is why unrefined words pour out ceaselessly. The person who said, "Twitter is a waste of time," was the legendary football manager Alex Ferguson.
When Wayne Rooney caused a controversy by spewing reckless remarks on social media, Ferguson remarked, "There are a million things you can do in life besides Twitter. " Eric Schmidt, who led Google, the world's largest IT company, also advised in the same vein, "Life is not lived inside a glittering monitor," recommending that people turn off their smartphones for about an hour a day. Paradoxically, the very people who led the digital age were the first to warn against digital excess. People of the past already knew the answer long ago.
It was believed that "speaking little brings no trouble" (寡言無患) and "speaking cautiously brings no fault" (愼言無尤). The late Venerable Beopjeong once said, "Everyone is born with an axe in their mouth," adding, "Foolish people speak recklessly and end up striking themselves with that axe. " The Chinese character *Pum* (品), which signifies a person's character or disposition, is formed by stacking three *Kou* (口) characters. This implies that dignity is ultimately a tower of words built up over and over again. Under the eaves of the stables at Toshogu Shrine, three monkeys continue to silently welcome tourists from around the world in the same posture today.
One has their eyes covered, one has their ears plugged, and one has their mouth covered. While people regard Sanzaru merely as a tourist attraction, perhaps those monkeys have been conveying the same warning for hundreds of years. There is no need to go so far as to say not to see or hear, but there is no need to say everything that was seen or heard. jsm64@fnnews.
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