表現Break: 馬の耳に念仏

うま の みみ　に　ねんぶつ
uma no mimi ni nenbutsu

More stuff that goes in ears! I saw this one on a bangumi trivia quiz last night, and it was one of the questions that they gave to the NOT-so-smart Talento who were hanging around in last place, so if they oughta know it, we should too.

Definition:
いくら言っても全く聞く耳を持たない、効果がないこと
Translations:
1. Like talking to a wall
2. In one ear and out the other

It translates literally as: a buddhist prayer in a horse's ear, so unless you're talking about this horse, you can see how the phrase gains it's meaning of speaking/giving commands to an unreceptive audience.

You can use this phrase in any situation where the person or people you're talking to are not listening or understanding, and if you're a school teacher, I'd reccommend saying it ABOUT your students, rather than to your students as younger Japanese people won't necessarily know the expression you're referencing.

例文：毎日生徒たちに「授業中に喋るな！」と言っているけど、何か、馬の耳に念仏だ。
Everyday we tell the kids not to chat during class, but man, it's like talking to a wall.

Today's picture comes from The White Horse Temple in Luoyang, China: the first buddhist temple on Chinese soil, known as the cradle of Chinese Buddhism. It's so named because, according to legend, a white horse bore the first Buddhist scriptures to China from India. So maybe horses aren't as un-receptive to Buddhism as the Japanese suppose.