‘When I think about silence, I realise there is not really any such thing. I think instead about the need to go within ourselves.’ Photo: by Katerina May on Unsplash

‘It is astonishing how quickly a society can close in when it feels threatened.’

On the quiet: Is Quaker silence unique? Sylvia Clare doesn’t believe so

‘It is astonishing how quickly a society can close in when it feels threatened.’

by Sylvia Clare 16th June 2023

A Quaker friend and I recently discussed whether silence for Buddhists was the same as silence for Quakers. I have been told many times that each form is distinct, as my friend went on to do. But in all my experiences of the two, I’ve never noticed any significant difference in the quality of the silence, or the nature of the energy that develops among a group of people sitting together. Any differences are more to do with those present than what they are, or are not, doing.

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