The 112 Meditations · Sound
The fading sound
Follow a single sound, such as a bell, all the way to the end, until it disappears into silence.
The teaching, in plain wordsListen to a sound, the note of a bell or a stringed instrument, and follow it as it fades. As the sound dissolves into silence, let yourself dissolve with it.
From the Vigyan Bhairava Tantra
How to practice
- Sit quietly. Use a singing bowl, a bell, a single note on an instrument, or the bells of the meditation timer.
- When the sound begins, give it your whole attention.
- Follow it as it grows fainter and fainter.
- Stay with it right to the edge, where you can no longer tell whether it is still there.
- Rest in the silence that follows until the next sound.
The moment where sound becomes silence is the heart of this practice. There is no need to decide exactly when the sound ends.