Sound

[Mongol-Swedes]

*Sound*

 

Wind in the cave:

Movement in stillness.

Power in silence.

 

In a cave, all outer sounds are smothered by rock and earth, but this

makes the sounds of one's own heartbeat and breath audible. In the same

way, contemplative stillness turns us away from everyday clamor but

allows us to hear the subtle in our own lives.

 

When listening not with the ear but with the spirit, one can

perceive the subtle sound. By entering into that sound, we enter into

supreme purity. That is why so many religious traditions pray, sing, or

chant as a prelude to silence. They understand that the repetition and

absorption of sound leads to sacredness itself.

 

The deepest sound is silence. This may seem paradoxical only if we

regard silence as an absence of life and vibration. But for a meditator,

silence is sound unified with all of its opposites. It is both sound and

soundlessness, and it is in this confluence that the power of meditation

emerges.