Speech is like lunch—it’s never really free. It’s just that the one who gets to have it doesn’t notice the one who is paying the cost.
Speaking, of course, as an expert on free lunches.
I misread the topic and thought it was about people who speak to you while you’re eating your (free) lunch. Don’t do that to monastics.
When I was a postdoc in the early 1980s, I was lucky enough to witness the young Alan Guth on a speaking tour of the US promoting the then brand new Inflationary Model of the early universe: Inflation (cosmology) - Wikipedia
The punchline, after an hour or so of very engaging presentation was with this theory there really was a free lunch…
Years ago I was involved in a Thich Nhat Hanh group, and we would practice “mindful listening”. But IMO we didn’t spend enough time on “mindful speaking”.
Related or not, how about teaching the dhamma while having free lunch? I remember that you said something about listening too much to dhamma talks, so how about listening to monks chewing mindfully, or maybe snoring peacefully?
I’m all ears
https://www.tastemade.com/articles/asmr-why-food-sounds-soothe-thousands-of-people/
Auto Meridian Sensory Response is a fancy term for a phenomenon more affectionately known as “brain tingles” which are triggered by certain sounds and may or may not be accompanied by equally soothing visuals.
Triggers range from specific sounds like a calligraphy pen writing on a piece of paper to personal attention scenarios like getting your hair cut. In almost every video the individual is whispering, and accentuating the smack of their lips.
YouTubers known as ASMRtists create trigger videos to appeal to the community at large. While what they do may appear strange to some, favorite ASMRtists can garner millions of views on YouTube.
It did cross my mind some years ago,
on a railway platform. I then said to myself:
“think of all those times someone’s
gonna take you out for lunch.”
Shortly after the lockdown started.