Pali Canon
While silence is generally thought to be something observable on the outside of a person, an external state, whether they are talking, in the Pali Canon noble is an internal state which is synonymous with jhana.
"But what is noble silence?' Then the thought occurred to me, 'There is the case where a monk, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, [1] enters & remains in the second jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. This is called noble silence.'" [3]
Of the eight jhanas, in the second jhana is when the inner dialog goes silent during meditation.
Concept
Noble silence requires an understanding of the Buddhist conceptualization of noble. It is described as something or someone who has united three aspects of his being, namely: body, speech, and mind. [4] Such a union provides individuals the awareness of their whole body and understanding who they are and, in the process, allow others to be who they are as well. [4] It is, thus, not merely the absence of speaking because sometimes not talking cannot be considered noble. [4] This is said to lead to a subsiding of thought and examination so that a bhikkhu can enter and dwell in the second jhana, a meditative state characterized by internal confidence and a unified mind. [5]
An interpretation also noted that noble silence is not about silence for silence sake. Rather, it is an injunction if the primary ideal of conversing about the Dhamma is not met. If the disciples cannot do so, then they are encouraged to pursue noble silence - one that requires the attainment of second absorption. [6] One account also cited how Buddha used noble silence when he was asked a question, opting to discuss another topic, which he deemed more significant to the questioner. [7]
In Vipassana Meditation, the noble silence covers a period of nine to ten days and this includes the so-called silence in deed, which means no gestures or the use of communication tools such as mobile phones, computer, and the Internet. [8]
The Noble Eightfold Path or Eight Right Paths is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
Theravāda is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or Dhamma in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia.
Samādhi, in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation.
Satipatthana is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of mindfulness", aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. In Theravada Buddhism, applying mindful attention to four domains, the body, feelings, the mind, and key principles or categories of the Buddha's teaching (dhammās), is thought to aid the elimination of the five hindrances and the development of the seven aspects of wakefulness.
Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā and jhāna/dhyāna.
In Buddhism, the Seven Factors of Awakening are:
In Buddhism, kammaṭṭhāna which literally means place of work. Its original meaning was someone's occupation but this meaning has developed into several distinct but related usages all having to do with Buddhist meditation.
Bhāvanā literally means "development" or "cultivating" or "producing" in the sense of "calling into existence". It is an important concept in Buddhist practice (Patipatti). The word bhavana normally appears in conjunction with another word forming a compound phrase such as citta-bhavana or metta-bhavana. When used on its own, bhavana signifies contemplation and 'spiritual cultivation' generally.
The Visuddhimagga, is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and systematizing the 5th century understanding and interpretation of the Buddhist path as maintained by the elders of the Mahavihara Monastery in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
Pīti in Pali is a mental factor associated with the development of jhāna in Buddhist meditation. According to Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, piti is a stimulating, exciting and energizing and dry quality, as opposed to the calmness of sukha.
Sukha means happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or bliss. Among the early scriptures, 'sukha' is set up as a contrast to 'preya' (प्रेय) meaning a transient pleasure, whereas the pleasure of 'sukha' has an authentic state of happiness within a being that is lasting. In the Pāli Canon, the term is used in the context of describing laic pursuits and meditation.
Āyatana is a Buddhist term that has been translated as "sense base", "sense-media" or "sense sphere". In Buddhism, there are six internal sense bases and their corresponding six external sense bases.
Rūpa means "form". As it relates to any kind of basic object, it has more specific meanings in the context of Indic religions.
Sati, literally "memory" or "retention", commonly translated as mindfulness, "to remember to observe", is an essential part of Buddhist practice. It has the related meanings of calling to mind the wholesome dhammas such as the four establishments of mindfulness, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the attainment of insight, and the actual practice of maintaining a lucid awareness of the dhammas of bodily and mental phenomena, in order to counter the arising of unwholesome states, and to develop wholesome states. It is the first factor of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. "Correct" or "right" mindfulness is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Ekaggatā is a Pali Buddhist term, meaning tranquility of mind or one-pointedness, but also "unification of mind."
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is an American Buddhist monk and author. Belonging to the Thai Forest Tradition, he studied for ten years under the forest master Ajahn Fuang Jotiko. Since 1993, he has served as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County, California—the first monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition in the U.S.—which he cofounded with Ajahn Suwat Suvaco.
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, and the subsequently created Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, are two of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism, acting as the foundation for contemporary vipassana meditation practice. The Pāli texts of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta are largely similar in content; the main difference being a section about the Four Noble Truths in the Observation of Phenomena (Dhammānupassana), which is greatly expanded in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta. These suttas (discourses) stress the practice of sati (mindfulness) "for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the extinguishing of suffering and grief, for walking on the path of truth, for the realization of nibbāna."
Kalyāṇa-mittatā is a Buddhist concept of "admirable friendship" within Buddhist community life, applicable to both monastic and householder relationships. One involved in such a relationship is known as a "good friend", "virtuous friend", "noble friend" or "admirable friend".
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, dhyāna or jhāna is a component of the training of the mind (bhavana), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions and "burn up" the defilements, leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi)." Dhyāna may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment.
Samatha, "calm," "serenity," "tranquility of awareness," and vipassanā, literally "special, super, seeing ", are two qualities of the mind developed in tandem in Buddhist practice.
