Silence -The Absence of ‘Me’

Silence -The Absence of ‘Me’

There is an adage, variously attributed to different persons, which says ‘Silence is not the absence of sound, it is the absence of you’.

Just ‘who’ said it is unimportant; the statement itself is highly instructive and clarifies many things all at once.

Silence is not primarily an outer practice and, if it is, it is merely preparation for an inner state in which an empty space is established, maintained, and made available for higher energies to enter.

‘Silence’, ‘emptiness’, ‘becoming small’ are all ways of approaching this concept. It is the process of emptying oneself of oneself.

What does this mean?

It is a placing of one’s sense of self in the silent, impartial state of observation. As my teacher says, ‘You are the Observer, not what you observe.’ In other words, all of my thoughts, opinions, likes, dislikes, grudges, desires, fears -all of which I can observe-can be put or experienced ‘outside’ of my Self. ‘I’ am simply open, clear of all the ‘noise’ of my lower self.

“I have a cave of my own; a cave with nothing inside, spotless and spacious, bright and clear every day. I have the Real Buddha.” -Hashan

The cultivating of this inner silence is the work of the Steward, the experience of it is another state of consciousness; a state the Greeks called ‘ataraxia’ meaning ‘undisturbed’ or ‘untroubled’, a state of inner peace, not devoid of anger, fear, stress or elation, but a serene calmness in the face of such impulses. A sort of inner immutable presence.

“The concept of Presence manifests as Emptiness” -Milarepa

While this may seem like a remarkable achievement (and from a certain point of view, it is), it is not the ‘end’. Or, if it is a sort of end for the steward, it is the beginning of the possibility of life in higher worlds; an essential emptiness that waits to be filled.

“When we give up all, we become flooded with light, exceedingly bright.” -Meister Eckhart

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Image: Inside view of Sultan Hassan Mosque Tower, Cairo, Egypt