Tag Archives: Silence

The Seventh Seal

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Vajragoni

Today’s title has generated much interest in filmdom history, most particularly in a 1957 Swedish (sjunde inseglet) fantasy film adaptation written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it bespeaks of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and how he attempts to ward-off his own death in a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death; as the film progresses we see whether he wins or loses his life…but no spoilers here. The film is so popular that when one googles “the seventh seal”, the majority of images that pop-up are from this adaptation: read more

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An Interminable Stillness

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Vajragoni

A prominent part of a Contemplative’s mystical gear is silence. Bernadette asserts that this is fourfold in nature: a silence from within; a silence that descends from without; a silence that stills existence; and a silence that engulfs the entire cosmos. As part of her newfound no-self awakening, a silence in which there is nothing also needs to be included. True enough, the path of silence constitutes an unfolding of the Unknown—a numinous quilt that enwraps itself around an earnest disciple in the Unborn. However, for Bernadette this path suddenly came to an abrupt end one day when she found herself engulfed in an altogether totally strange silence from which she would never emerge. read more

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Holy Communion

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Vajragoni

Enlightenment is a silent affair. Once synchronized with right-tuning, silence itself will suddenly envelop and transfigure you. This is what occurs when in the presence of a Buddha, it is his silence that invibes you and makes the transmission of Mind possible. This is Holy Communion at its best. Be not afraid and go deep into that silent communion. It will unmask the false identity that was created by the five evil lords and awaken the realization that you ARE the silence! Begone then with long extrapolations of the tongue that are nothing more than being in love with your own thoughts. Some, though rarely-ever, may resound with an astounding shout, but they remain what they are, just thoughts sewn-together from bits and pieces of purported knowledge picked up along the way. It’s all so much rubbish!  On the other hand, with nothing left to cling to, you are the Silent Lord whose all-encompassing kingdom knows no bounds. read more

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Nada and Silence in John of the Cross

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Vajragoni

We have extensively covered the rich apothatic spirituality of John of the Cross in a prior series. Our focus now is on the significance of this Nadayana and its twin sister, Silence. John’s negative path is a cradle of nothingness in that no-thing can withstand the awesome splendor of the Unborn Absolute: read more

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Stifle-it!

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Vajragoni

Incessant talk and thought,
Keep you far and wide from the Unborn.

Severing insipid speech and circuitous ideations,
Absolves Mind from these obstacles that hinder Right Cogitation. read more

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The Sound of Silence

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Vajragoni

9.The Dharma-Door of Nonduality

We now come to the most famous passage in the whole sutra: Vimalakriti’s Noble Silence. It deserves special consideration. We find all of the Bodhisattvas expounding ad nauseam (all dribbling nonsense) their take on the nature of Non-duality. When all of the grandiose extrapolations have ceased, we find Mañjuśrī succinctly downplaying their theories as being in themselves “dualistic”. Then he addresses Vimalakriti for his take on the matter, and of course Vimalakriti responds with a deafening silence. read more

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