If you were the fifth monk?
One of my favorite zen stories is ‘The Four Monks”…
Four monks decided to meditate silently for two weeks. They lit a candle and began. By nightfall on the first day, the candle went out.
The first monk said: “Oh, no! The candle is out.”
The second monk said: “We’re not supposed to talk!”
The third monk said: “Why must you two break the silence?”
The fourth monk laughed and said: “Ha! I’m the only one who didn’t speak.”
They all said something for different reasons: distraction, condescendence, anger, ego. But each of the four monks shared his thoughts without filtering them, and not a single one improved the situation!
Had there been a fifth, wiser monk, he would have remained silent and kept meditating. In doing so, he would have been pointing out each of the other monks’ mistakes, without saying a single word.
The less we talk, the more we can listen. Listening always leads to learning. Let’s listen as much as we can.
After all, everyone we’ll ever meet knows something we don’t. And the more we talk, the more likely we are to miss it.
Wisdom is formed in silence. Silence is our friend. Let’s use silence. Let’s appreciate silence.
- Listening is free.
- Listening is kind.
- Listening gives us the time to observe, to reflect.
The less we speak, the smarter we’ll get. And, maybe not quite coincidentally, the smarter we get, the less we’ll speak!
Has anyone besides me ever felt that they talk too much?
3 Comments
Absolutely yes. Far too often, actually.
Good to remember. We all like to be heard but do we hear?
Such good advice!