Breathe in serenity,
Exhale peace and contentment ...
Then Silence
will gather all the worlds within itself,
the waves will return to the ocean
of eternity.
And every word that has been spoken
about peace and love
will be recognized like a bright light
by the spirit that has come to rest.
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, however, 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."