You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest, And I smile, and am silent, And even my soul remains quiet: It lives in the other world Which no one owns. The peach trees blossom. The water flows.
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There are two dimensions to prayer: speech and silence. Of the two, speech is necessary, but silence takes precedence. Silence is the authentic medium of prayer, the rich matrix in which true communion becomes possible. And being a medium, silence has a positive existence. For the one who truly understands prayer, silence also conveys a message; it too speaks... Silence prepares the soul for prayer, to hear the pain of others, the pain of the world.