The 'Noble Silence'

One of the requirements of the ‘Noble Path’ is the need for ‘Right Speech’ which covers the need to abstain from divisive speech and idle chatter. The reason for the silence here is to help us to adhere to this requirement.  Interestingly in some retreats in Asian countries there is no need to be silent as people in these countries are more respectful in their speech and with only a little thought can meet the need for ‘right speech’.  We in the west it seems are less restrained. I for one found it interesting over the duration of the course how often I thought of things I would like to share with others if only I were allowed to speak and then, because I could not, realising that the thing I would have said without thinking was, although not blatantly rude, was frivolous or less than respectful.  That itself is food for thought.

Although we were required to observe the ‘Noble Silence’ I felt that a cursory nod of welcome or gratitude would be polite and acceptable.  However, it turned out that it was like being on the underground in London, trying to catch the eye of people who walked around trying hard to avoid any form of eye contact and effectively giving me, as I thought of it, a ‘Noble Stiff Ignoring’.  Nevertheless, there is something about it. You are alone and not distracted.  I enjoyed it and despite my early reservations I found it easy to adhere to.  And, despite the intended reason for the ‘Noble Silence’ I found it rewarding in another way; it helped to reinforce that sense of isolation from the manic real world.  A consequence of not talking though is I find myself evaluating people on their appearance, not really whether attractive or otherwise but by dress and poise and manner.  This can not be positive and it will be interesting to see how any views I establish change if I get the chance to talk to some of these people at the end of the course.