I slept and dreamt that life was joy
I woke and saw that life was service
I acted and behold! Service was joy.
~ Rabindranath Tagore
Sometimes there would be a rush of noisy visitors and the silence of the monastery would be shattered. This would upset the monks; not the Master who seemed just as content with the noise as with the silence. To those protesting he said one day, "Silence is not the absence of sound, but the absence of self. "