Illustration by Edson Ikê
Author: Bhante Sumano's article, The Power of Silence
As practitioners, it’s important to make the distinction between the kind of silence that liberates and the silence that imprisons. Silence has the potential for lasting transformation, but it can too easily be weaponized in service of greed, aversion, and delusion. That’s why it is so important to understand the difference between noble silence and its shadow, ignoble silence.
What Makes Silence Noble?
Almost all Buddhist traditions maintain some practice of noble silence, to varying degrees. That’s not surprising considering the Buddha in the earliest texts speaks often in praise of silence.
When we’re engaged in activities, whether it’s work or socializing, that require both our attention and our speech, it’s difficult to wholeheartedly observe what’s occurring in our physical and mental experience. Of course, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with doing these activities. But we need to make time in our lives for both speech and silence.
It’s essential that from time to time we find a moment to batten down the hatches and look closely at what’s going on within our body and mind. When there’s awareness, there’s the possibility of growth, change, and transformation. Silence helps us cultivate this awareness, whether it’s the collective silence of a Buddhist retreat or the solitary silence of our daily meditation practice.
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