Tweet of the Week #110: It’s All about Perspective

In Japan, Buddhist temples use bulletin boards (掲示板（けいじばん）) to inspire us and help lead us closer on the path to enlightenment.

They’re usually located near the main entrance gates leading to the temple grounds. The local monks post handwritten calligraphy of proverbs or life lessons to inspire or stir visitors. In recent years, temples’ boards have been surprising visitors with catchy slogans or interesting puns. This trend led to the “Let it Shine!” project, which invites Japanese people to share and vote for the best temple bulletin boards of the year.

In 2018, the winner was Gifu’s Ganren Temple, which posted the slogan “You will die someday.”

Life lessons

お寺の格言掲示板、いつもハッとさせられるけど、ここまで衝撃を受けたのは初めて。 pic.twitter.com/jSREuyK59o

— 中田 絢子｜nakata junko (@10com_nj) July 15, 2018

お寺（てら）の格言（かくげん）掲示板、いつもハッとさせられるけど、ここまで衝撃（しょうげき）を受（う）けたのは初（は）めて。

“The temple’s proverb-bulletin board is always a surprise, but it’s the first time I’ve been shocked so far.”

Food for thought

Earlier this week, the chief priest @matsuzakichikai of Eimyou temple (永明寺) in Kitakyushu shared a Buddhist sermon on Twitter that didn’t go unnoticed.

掲示板の法語を替えました
モノの見方で世界は変わるのです pic.twitter.com/TPmUNUbYfx

— 松崎智海(非売品僧侶)@『だれでもわかるゆる仏教入門』2021/1/15発売 (@matsuzakichikai) December 13, 2020

掲示板の法語（ほうご）を替（か）えました
モノの見方（みかた）で世界（せかい）は変（か）わるのです

“I changed the Buddhist sermon on the bulletin board.
The world changes depending on how you see things.”

The tweet earned 150K likes and a flood of responses, this modern times’ proverb reads:

“グラム単価（たんか）で考（かんが）えるとポルシェよりふりかけの方（ほう）が高（たか）い”

“If you think in grams, furikake (dried Japanese condiment) is more expensive than a Porsche.”

We did the math and it checks out. We guess no one is purchasing two tons of furikake anytime soon!

Make a comparison with より ~ (の)方が

In Japanese, (A)より(B)の方が helps make a comparison between nouns, adjectives and verbs. The word coming before より is always the “lesser” thing, while the one before (の)方が is always the “better” thing. The particle の should be attached to 方が whenever you use it with a noun.

高尾山（たかおさん）より富士山（ふじさん）の方が高いです = Mount Fuji is taller than Mount Takao.

日本語（にほんご）を書（か）くより話（はな）す方が上手（じょうず）です= I’m better at speaking Japanese than I’m at writing it.

Both より and 方が can be used independently. While より can mean “rather than” or “as opposed to” — a structure you often find with Japanese short sayings — 方が translates that something is simply “better” without making a specific comparison.

金（きん）より体（からだ） = Health is better than wealth.

赤（あか）いワインの方がおいしい = Red wine is better.

Vocabulary

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