The Sound of Silence
- PDF / 157,242 Bytes
- 3 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 118 Downloads / 234 Views
MINDFULNESS IN PRACTICE
The Sound of Silence Ajahn Amaro 1
# Amaravati Publications 2020
We can use many different methods, different objects, to support the focusing of our attention, for example, the rhythm of the breath or the feeling of our footsteps. But these are by no means the only tools available to us. Most people who bring attention to their hearing and listen closely can discern a continuous, subtle, high-pitched ringing tone in the background. In Sanskrit, this is known as nada, which just means “sound.” This inner sound is something to which we can pay attention, using its continuous, subtle, nonpersonal quality as an object of concentration. You can bring attention to it as an alternative to focusing on the breath. Just see if you can discern it. Listen inwardly. It is a “white noise” in the background of our listening—for some it might be quite loud, others might find it impossible to discern at all. Take a moment to listen. Bring attention to your hearing. See if you can perceive that sound. This tone is also known as “the sound of silence.” Over the years, it has been a regular theme in the teaching and practice of Luang Por Sumedho. For some people, the use of the sound of silence as a concentration object is a helpful and beneficial alternative to mindfulness of breathing. Sometimes it is easier to focus upon than the breath. It also has many qualities which lend a variety of helpful spiritual supports. Firstly, it does not begin or end. You never hear it start or stop. It is ever-present and continuous. It does not modulate according to your will, whereas the breath can be controlled. You can deliberately hold your breath, or breathe deeply or in a shallow way, but personal will has no effect on the sound of silence. You cannot make it do anything. It is just there—beginningless, endless, present.
Excerpted from The Breakthrough by Ajahn Amaro, Amaravati Publications, 2016. * Ajahn Amaro [email protected] 1
Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP1 3BZ, UK
So in this way the sound of silence is a sense object which is a good symbol for the Dhamma itself: “Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, leading inwards….” When you pay attention to it, it becomes obvious, but if you are caught up with other thoughts, activities, or conversations, the sound seems to disappear as if it had never been there. Thus, the nada sound is something “…to be experienced individually by the wise.” In this way it possesses these suggestions of the quality of the Dhamma itself. It is a good symbol in the sense world of that which is transcendent—ultimate reality, the true Dhamma. It also has a quality whereby if you concentrate on it, it helps to brighten the mind, and the brighter the mind is, the easier it is to listen to the sound. So there is a positive feedback loop. The more you pay attention to it, the easier it is paid attention to; accordingly, it leads to a greater quality of alertness, a keenness of attention. If we use this inner sound as an object to con
Data Loading...
