The role of silence in the production of social order in meditation (on the example of vipassana)

Silence is the most important component of vipassana meditation as taught in the tradition of S.N. Goenka. Although meditative silence might seem to prevent social interaction, vipassana courses are a collective practice. After courses end, participants' desire to meet and meditate together shows a need not for solitary silence but for a group that produces a special collective silence. The author examines silent co-presence in a meditation center as a unique interactive situation and a social feature of the practice, showing how subjective success depends on technical and spatial conditions. Based on participant observation, the author describes key mechanisms of sociality during forced silence—from collective meditation to silent organization of joint activities. By partially reproducing silence and support at home, meditators integrate practice into daily life.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article considers silence as the most important component of vipassana (meditation technique from early Buddhism) as it is taught in the tradition of S.N. Goenka. As a religious vow, silence is a condition for the successful meditation retreat. Although meditative silence does not seem to form sociality, vipassana courses are a collective practice. After the end of courses, the desire of people to meet and meditate together proves the need not in a ‘solitary’ silence but in a group that produces special collective silence. The author considers the silent co-presence of people in the meditation center ‘here-and-now’ as a special interactive situation, a social feature of the meditation practice, and shows how the subjective success of this interaction and its methods depend on the technical and spatial conditions of the meditative center. The empirical basis of the article is mainly the author’s participant observation (in the role of a new student). Based on the concepts of sociology of everyday life, the author describes the key mechanisms of the production of sociality in various situations of joint forced silence during the vipassana course - from collective meditation in the common room to the silent organization of joint activities in the meditation center. By partially reproducing the basic social conditions of the center at home - silence and the support of those around them - meditators manage to ensure the continuity of the practice and to successfully integrate it into their daily lives outside the meditation center.