Octavio's Question

The reading mentions that there is no existence of silence, that even when we are alone we hear other sounds- such as our breath. Do you ever think it is possible to achieve silence? Why?

No, I do not think it is ever possible to achieve total silence. I think that even in our quietest moments there is always noise around us that no matter how hard we may try to tune out, it will always be there. In church, even when we are asked to have a moment of silence, there is always background noise: children crying, people coughing, doors closing, etc. When we are locked in our rooms taking time to ourselves, we can not escape the noise that is going on around us: cars, horns, shouting. Also, I think that silence is not just a physical property such as sound, but I think that it also concerns the silence and peace that one feels within their mind. No matter how hard we try to think about "nothing" and take away all thoughts and just sit there, we are then trying to think about nothing, which in the end is still thinking about something. Thoughts are still running through our head. I think that even if we tell ourselves to try to hear "nothing" or think "nothing," there will always be something there that will keep us from reaching absolute zero.