This practice is called “cultivating silence” or “listening to the sound of no sound.”
What is the sound of silence? Silence means the absence of sound. The deeper the silence, the deeper the calm; the deeper the calm, the deeper the silence. That’s the sound of no sound. We listen deeply to our inherent awareness, listen to our intrinsic nature, listen to the sound of nature; it’s all silent and unborn. Such listening is done in a natural way. Hearing is the most sensitive sense faculty. Day and night, the sense of hearing never stops operating. Listening doesn’t require exertion; we do it spontaneously and effortlessly. Relax and listen; listen to this silence which includes everything.
Silent cultivation—the sound of no sound
Relax, let go, and calmly listen! All sounds are silent. For example, if there is construction going on next door, we simply focus our attention on the awareness of hearing itself. All of the sound is silent. This is what is meant by “entering into the stream of the self-nature of the sense of hearing, allowing the sound to disappear of itself.” This sound is also silent. Return to mindfully listening in the present moment. When you realize that sound is unborn by nature, that silence is its essential nature, then the construction noise next door won’t disturb you.
Place your awareness on the sense of hearing. Listen, quietly listen, listen to silence. Listen to this all-encompassing silence. Listen to the sound of space. Listen to the silence within you. Listen; all things, both those with sound and those without sound, are silent. Let go of all the stress in your body; let go of all the attachments in your mind. Listen inwardly, listen to that unborn source of silence within you.
“Cultivating silence” is also called “touching reality at the ear door” and “perfect penetration through hearing.” This means awareness of the original mind resulting in nondiscrimination at the six sense doors. The ear is the sense faculty; sounds are the sense objects of the ear; consciousness is the discriminative awareness that results from the contact of the sense faculty and the sense object. This is the relationship between sense faculty, sense object, and consciousness. If there is discrimination and attachment with respect to objects of sound, then the hearing faculty is not perfectly penetrating into the nature of reality. When the ear faculty is perfectly penetrating, there is hearing, but no discrimination; each thought is clearly perceived. If the objects of the ear generate thoughts, then the hearing faculty is not perfectly penetrating. Guanyin’s perfect penetration at the ear-door means listening with clear awareness.
We are born with the faculty of hearing, and we use it all the time. Why then are we not enlightened? Because we discriminate; when we hear something we either grasp it or reject it. But when Guanyin was practicing perfect penetration at the ear door, every sound she heard, no matter what it was, entered through the ear faculty and then it was gone; all that remained was hearing itself. This is what is meant by “entering into the stream of the self-nature of the sense of hearing, allowing the sound to disappear of itself.”
In other words, no matter where the sound comes from, or what it sounds like, as soon as it enters the ear faculty, it goes to quiescence. It enters the ear, and that’s it; it doesn’t give rise to anything extra. Both the sound and the awareness of silence are understood and go to quiescence. Then you transcend both sound and silence; you attain the state of non-arising in sound and non-arising in silence. Just keep on listening; after some time, whatever you hear will go to quiescence. Then the ear faculty becomes a kind of incinerator; whatever enters it is incinerated; sound is heard, but it no longer abides, because there’s no attachment to it. All that remains is clarity and awareness; awareness of the inherent emptiness of all phenomena. Ultimately, even this awareness of emptiness is empty. Emptiness and awareness arise together. At this time the perception of the body disappears; then the emptiness of awareness reaches an ultimate perfection. As you continue to listen, “emptiness and what is being emptied are both extinguished.” Then the idea of “ the emptiness of awareness reaches an ultimate perfection” also goes to quiescence. This is what is meant by “arising and extinction are muturally extinguished.” At this point “the absolute emptiness of nirvana became manifest.”
That’s the theory, but to really understand it you have to put it into practice. Excessive explanation will only obscure the actual practice.
Sudden transcendence—mundane and supramundane
We live in the information age. People today are in the habit of searching for information and analyzing it; people are addicted to comparing things. But this tendency runs counter to spiritual cultivation.
Only by practicing correctly, making an effort, and experiencing perfect penetration at the ear door, will suffering end and the peace of nirvana become a reality. After Guanyin realized perfect penetration at the ear door, thereby transcending both the mundane and supramundane, she generated imperishable bodhicitta. Then she practiced the bodhisattva path and obtained omniscience, something which even the arhat doesn’t possess. For, although the arhat fully understands his own mind, there are some things which are beyond his comprehension, like dependent origination and the Huayan realm.
Bodhicitta is essential. Genuine bodhicitta is imperishable in the sense that it never wanes. When the vow to liberate all beings becomes unshakable, that’s the mark of the bodhisattva of the eighth stage. From the eighth stage onwards, there’s no possibility of backsliding; this bodhisattva will remain on the path until all sentient beings have attained liberation.
But when there are so many disasters happening in the world, how is it possible to save all sentient beings? Just knowing that somewhere in the universe there exists a bodhisattva who has made such a great vow gives us some hope and encouragement. Simply having faith in the existence of such a benevolent being brings a change of perspective; it can remove karmic obstructions and be the catalyst of miraculous transformation.
The Dharma-door of Guanyin is the most important and all-embracing way of practice for this Saha world. For this world is full of tribulation; it’s like a burning house filled with sentient beings; Guanyin has vowed to rescue them all.
When we generate bodhicitta and actively strive to relieve the suffering of all sentient beings, we are in fact practicing the Dharma-door of Guanyin. Guanyin responds to all calls for help, wherever they may come from. If you should ever find yourself in danger and need assistance, you have to call for help; if you don’t call for help, or don’t even know that you need it, then your situation is hopeless. That’s why those in need of assistance sincerely call on Guanyin to come to the rescue.
