The English word homiletics is most often defined as the science or art of spiritual teaching. Technically, it is the branch of rhetoric that treats the composition and delivery of Dharma talks. Homiletics then, is the study of the composition and delivery of a sutra, __stra or other Buddhist discourse from historical cases. It includes all forms of teaching, as well as using metaphorical stories which have a tendency to stay with listeners longer that statements of factual data.