AB LISTENING TO SILENCE

 A

Here are 10 points from the Tricycle article “Listening to Silence”:

1. The practice is based on deep listening beyond sound and words. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

2. It originates from Chan/Buddhist meditation traditions. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

3. Practitioners learn to listen without attachment to sound or silence. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

4. The distinction between sound and silence is created by the mind, not the ears. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

5. With practice, listening continues even when there is no “object” of hearing. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

6. This method leads to awareness of emptiness in perception. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

7. Ordinary noises are not rejected but are included in awareness as part of silence. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

8. The practice helps reduce mental disturbance and conceptual thinking. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

9. It leads to a state where awareness becomes calm, clear, and unified. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

10. Ultimately, it points to liberation by realizing one’s true nature through silent awareness. (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

A

As we progress, we realize how constricted we are by our discriminating mind: our minds, not our hearing organs, make the distinction between sound and silence. But if you practice listening until you no longer make distinctions, you develop a power that is liberating.

—Dharma Master Hsin Tao, “Listening to Silence”