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* * *
The Meeting was proceeding, all silent, peaceful, and she speaks up and out loud. This dear one, one would think was overly inundated with inspiration, for she spoke and spoke and spoke. One would think we had a visiting preacher for the day. Not only did she speak, she stood up and began the loud oration while walking around the room behind the gathered sitting in a circle. This continued some 10 minutes and, finally, thankfully, all was quiet, again.
We had heard a performance. Indeed, it was well-done. Articulate. Even sounded professional, on-stage quality. Yet, the act was calling attention to one person, not to the shared Presence, not to the gathered people. In many settings, what she did would have been congratulated as a fine performance, not in a gathering of beings present to Grace and for each other. Strong personalities have a challenge being weak with others, when weakness, in Grace, is to be strong. Weakness waits in the desert of Quiet, tasting the joy of living Water that flows into the empty spaces. These waters weak, for strong with gentleness, tender, for Grace having tamed the assertion that veils subtle Spirit within.
To enjoy the Silence, in reverence for the Presence and the presences gathered, means we feel no need to speak. We speak best, both in gathered communion and apart, when we have no sense of even wanting to speak. Not needing to speak, this is the sign of humility, and its wish to deface itself in the one Face of the communion. To be in quiet and speech together, this demands of us the humbleness whereby we are for we are with others, so not needing to be one who must be known to be one among others.
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One of the precepts of Buddhism, for morality and contemplation cannot be separate in our spiritual path, is right speech. This speech is right for wise, for loving, not simply right opposed to wrong. This speech is the union of wisdom and compassion. And right speech is not merely a matter of keeping hard-and-fast speech rules, as though right is clearly always right or what is wise use of speech in one situation will always be so in other ones. This is why how and what we speak needs to arise from both a conceptual framework, a worldview, and from sensitivity of discernment, as morality, though substantially the same, is not always applied alike.
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