Editing Silence (section)

===Spirituality===
{{see also|Monastic silence}}
[[File:Keep Silent sign, Key Gompa. Spiti. Himachal Pradesh. 2004.jpg|thumb|Keep Silent sign, [[Key Monastery]], [[Spiti]], [[Himachal Pradesh]]]]
"Silence" in spirituality is often a metaphor for inner stillness. A silent mind, freed from the onslaught of thoughts and thought patterns, is both a goal and an important step in spiritual development. Such "inner silence" is not about the absence of sound; instead, it is understood to bring one in contact with the divine, the ultimate reality, or one's own true self, one's divine nature.<ref>See Stephen Palmquist, [http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/tp4 ''Ontology and the Wonder of Silence'', Part Four of The Tree of Philosophy] (Hong Kong: Philopsychy Press, 2000). See also "[http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/srp/arts/SFPQ.htm Silence as the Ultimate Fulfillment of the Philosophical Quest]", ''Journal Hekmat Va Falsafeh'', (''Journal of Wisdom and Philosophy''), Issue 6 (August 2006), pp.67–76.</ref> Many religious traditions imply the importance of being quiet and still in mind and spirit for transformative and integral spiritual growth to occur. In Christianity, there is the silence of [[contemplative prayer]] such as [[centering prayer]] and [[Christian meditation]]; in Islam, there are the wisdom writings of the [[Sufis]] who insist on the importance of finding silence within. In [[Buddhism]], the descriptions of silence and allowing the mind to become silent are implied as a feature of spiritual [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]]. In Hinduism, including the teachings of [[Advaita Vedanta]] and the many paths of yoga, teachers insist on the importance of silence, ''[[Mauna (silence)|Mauna]]'', for inner growth. [[Ramana Maharshi|Ramana Maharishi]], a revered Hindu sage, said, "The only language able to express the whole truth is silence." Perkey Avot, the Jewish Sages guide for living, states that, "Tradition is a safety fence to Torah, tithing a safety fence to wealth, vows a safety fence for abstinence; a safety fence for wisdom&nbsp;... is silence." In some traditions of [[Quakerism]], communal silence is the usual context of worship meetings, in patient expectancy for the divine to speak in the heart and mind.<ref>Britain Yearly Meeting, "Quaker Faith and Practice"</ref><ref>[http://www.quakerweb.org.uk/qfp/ Third Edition, 2005 (?), sections 2.01, 2.12–17 etc., The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, London], {{ISBN|0-85245-375-2}} / {{ISBN|0-85245-374-4}}</ref> In the [[Baháʼí Faith]], [[Baha'u'llah]] said in "Words of Wisdom", "the essence of true safety is to observe silence".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schaefer |first=Udo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SvpjZAIBSwC&pg=PA333 |title=Bahá'í Ethics in Light of Scripture: Doctrinal fundamentals |date=2007 |publisher=Udo Schaefer |isbn=978-0-85398-505-1 |pages=333 |language=en}}</ref> [[Eckhart Tolle]] says that silence can be seen either as the absence of noise, or as the space in which sound exists, just as inner stillness can be seen as the absence of thought, or the space in which thoughts are perceived.