Contemplative Listening

A question has been asked regarding why we have Dhamma talks with most of the participants passive when we could all be engaged in discussion or dialogue on Dhamma. At this monastery we dedicate time to both activities: quietly listening to Dhamma and constructively discussing Dhamma.

There is a way of listening to Dhamma talks which is well-known in the context of Asian Buddhism but not always so well-known here. Because of the conditioning we have received, we are familiar with engaging in a discussion or in debate or listening to a lecture. Generally speaking, we are used to having our discriminative faculties stimulated. With quiet listening, or contemplative listening, we give our discriminating faculties a rest and exercise ‘simply listening’; we intentionally enter a more passive, receptive mode. This is distinctly different from the ‘doing’ mode which we know so well.

It is important to appreciate that being in a passive, receptive mode does not mean abandoning or bypassing our discriminating potential, but it does call for a different kind of relationship with a mind that is usually busy agreeing and disagreeing. With contemplative listening it is possible to be aware if the teacher says something we don’t agree with, but for the time being ‘park’ our objection, continue listening and then return to the objection later.

There are times when a Dhamma talk is a form of instruction about Buddhism, similar to a lecture. But depending on the teacher’s approach, a Dhamma talk can also be a form of induction into a relationship with our inner contemplative. We all have an inner contemplative who has deep and significant concerns, but we don’t necessarily all know how to hear what he or she is saying. When we are debating a view or an opinion, we are required to use our discriminative faculties.

In contrast, the mode of contemplative listening requires us to relax those faculties. When we listen deeply, beyond just the words, we can receive much more from the teacher than merely the information that the words themselves might impart. Potentially we can also hear the teacher’s energy, enthusiasm, confidence, perhaps even freedom.

Disengaging from the mind which is used to picking and choosing, agreeing and disagreeing, can feel uncomfortable at first, possibly even unsafe. But sitting silent and still for 40 minutes probably didn’t feel comfortable in the beginning, not to mention bowing! It is worth exercising this ability by way of an experiment and learning to set aside the active, doing, discriminating mind. It is understandable that we might feel afraid that relaxing our hold on the thinking mind could leave us open to being brainwashed. Nobody should surrender their analyzing mind until they feel ready to do so. But not being daring enough to try something new leaves us vulnerable in another way.

So it is suggested that when a teacher leads a group contemplation, the best way to benefit from what is being offered is to temporarily let go of our conditioned preferences and rest in quiet attentiveness. To some this perhaps sounds like suggesting they go to sleep, which of course is not the point (although it could happen). Rather, it is about how to make ourselves as susceptible as possible to truth, to be able to hear beyond the mere surface appearance of the words.

The aim is to get the whole message.

This reflection by Ajahn Munindo is from the book, Alert to the Needs of the Journey, (pdf) pp. 83-85.