Posted February 27 2008
The Sound of Silence, Jewish-Style
There is nothing more filled with sound than quiet. It is both fascinating and frightening to listen to the cacophony of my internal sounds. After all, who knows what I might hear.
My personal, layman’s, approach to quiet has always been to make so much external noise that I can’t hear the sounds from within. This is tiring and uses up a lot of time and ingenuity. A more direct conservationist approach would be to quiet the sounds from within. I have learned that this can be accomplished by giving them a chance to be heard. When I pause and pay attention to the sounds, they say their peace, hover for a moment, and then disappear in a wisp.
What are those sounds, and where do they come from? There can’t be a voice without a speaker. Just how many of me are there? They might be inventions, but then who invented them?
Who is asking?
When Chi-Men was asked, “What is my self?” He answered, “Who is asking?” (Part of a Zen teaching)
When we translate “V’Ahavta L’Reyacha Kamocha” as “Love Your Neighbor as Your Self” what is your ‘self?’
At first I thought it can’t mean my ‘ego self,’ because my goal is to shrink that ‘self’ into ‘self’-less-ness. But then I reconsidered. Maybe I can learn from my ‘self,’ maybe I need my ‘self’ as a guide to how others think, to what they want. That would make having my ‘self’ beneficial; it would mean my ‘self’ could be my mentor, even as I work to shrink it into no “thing.”
Costello: Who is asking?
Abbott: Yes, “Who” is asking?
Costello: I mean the fellow’s name.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy who’s asking.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy with the question.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy asking…
Abbott: Who is asking.
Costello: I’m asking YOU who’s asking!
Abbott: That’s the man’s name.
Costello: That’s who’s name?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: Well go ahead and tell me.
Abbott: That’s it.
Costello: That’s who?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: Ah forget about it!
Costello: Exactly.
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