Monastic silence is a spiritual practice recommended in a variety of religious traditions for purposes including becoming closer to God and achieving elevated states of spiritual purity. It may be in accordance with a monk's formal

vow of silence A vow of silence is a vow taken to avoid the use of speech. Although the concept is commonly associated with monasticism, no religious order takes such a vow, and even the most austere monastic orders such as the Carthusians have times in their sc ...

, but can also engage

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

who have not taken vows, or novices who are preparing to take vows.

Practice of silence by ordained and laity

The practice of silence is observed during different parts of the day; practitioners talk when they need to but maintain a sense of silence or a sense of prayer when talking. The rules of silence apply to both vowed practitioners and non-vowed guests. Religious recommendations of silence as

praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion *Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...

do not deprecate speech when it is thoughtful and considerate of commonly held values. According to Andrew March of the Benedictine order, we "can listen to substantive speech for hours while five minutes of garrulous speech is too much." "Silence" may include what might be more aptly characterized as "quietness", i.e. speaking in low voice tones.

Christian contemplative traditions

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, monastic silence is more highly developed in the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith than in

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, but it is not limited to Catholicism. The practice has a corresponding manifestation in the Orthodox church, which teaches that silence is a means to access God, to develop self-knowledge, or to live more harmoniously. Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, placed the virtue of silence on par with the faith itself in a synodal letter from AD 400. "Monks—if they wish to be what they are called—will love silence and the Catholic faith, for nothing at all is more important than these two things."

Old Testament roots

In the book ''Silence, The Still Small Voice of God'', Andrew March establishes the roots of the silence doctrine in the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

attributed to David. "Benedict and his monastics would know from chanting the Psalter every week the verse that follows: 'I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse, my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue' ()." St. Norbet's Arts Center also anchors its views on silence in the Old Testament: "For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation." ()

Aids to practice

The Trappist rubric "Living in silence" illustrates centuries-old hand gestures which were "developed to convey basic communication of work and spirit".

Eastern Orthodox

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the mystical tradition of

hesychasm Hesychasm () is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Christian traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in ...

emphasizes the importance of ('silence' or 'stillness').

Benedictine

Silence plays a role in the

Benedictine rule The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...

. It is thought that by clearing the mind of distraction, one may listen more attentively to the deity. Christian theology differs from Dharmic religions with regard to the mode in which spiritual ascent transpires within the context of contemplative quiet. Buddhism and Hinduism promote various spiritual practices, as do many Christian denominations. However, Christianity, particularly Protestantism, emphasizes the belief that ultimate spiritual achievement is not within the grasp of mortals, no matter how persistent their practice may be. Rather, the mechanism of spiritual attainment, which they regard as salvation and proximity to the deity, is believed to occur solely through supernatural means—variously described as the action of God or of the Holy Spirit, and called ''

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

''. In contemplative practice, the role of silence is expressed by the Fr. David Bird, OSB, (Order of St. Benedict): "When both our interior and exterior are quiet, God will do the rest."

Cistercian

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastics promote contemplative

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

. Part of the emphasis is on achieving spiritual ascent, but monastic silence also functions to avoid sin. Although speech is morally neutral ''per se'', the Epistle of James () and writers of the monastic tradition see silence as the only effective means of neutralizing a tendency towards sins of the tongue. There is an ongoing dialogue between Benedictine and Cistercian which speaks of a "monastic archetype" characterized by peace and silence.

Trappist

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

’s commitment to silence is a monastic value that assures solitude in community. It fosters mindfulness of God and fraternal communion. It opens the mind to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and favours attentiveness of the heart and solitary prayer to God. Early monastic communities evolved simple hand signing for essential communications. Spoken conversations between monks are permitted, but limited according to the norms established by the community and approved by the Order.

Protestantism

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

pastor and evangelist Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847–1929), a member of the

Higher Life movement The Higher Life movement, also known as deeper Christian life, the Keswick movement or Keswickianism ( ), is a Protestant theological tradition within evangelical Christianity that espoused a distinct teaching on the doctrine of entire sanctifi ...

, developed a strong commitment to silence, which he saw as one of the ways to gain access to God's guidance on all matters. Meyer influenced Frank Buchman (1878–1961), originally a Protestant evangelist who founded the

Oxford Group The Oxford Group was a Christian organization founded by American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921, originally under the name First Century Christian Fellowship. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. ...

(known as Moral Re-Armament from 1938 until 2001, and as

Initiatives of Change Initiatives of Change (IofC) is a global organisation dedicated to "building trust across the world's divides" of culture, nationality, belief, and background. Initiatives of Change was known as Moral Re-Armament (MRA) from 1938 to 2001, and the ...

since then). Foundational to Buchman's spirituality was the practice of a daily "quiet time" during which, he claimed, anyone could search for, and receive, divine guidance on every aspect of their life. Dr Karl Wick, editor of the Swiss Catholic daily ''Vaterland'', wrote that Buchman had "brought silence out of the monastery into the home, the marketplace, and the board room." Buchman, in turn, taught thousands to "listen and obey", finding resonance with non-Christian as well as Christian religions. Quaker silent worship is a form of church service that utilizes infrequently-broken congregational silence rather than sermons, singing, or spoken prayer. Quakers gather together in "expectant waiting upon God" to experience his still small voice leading them from within.

Silence practice in Judaism

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

has a tradition of silence in sacred space and in sacred structures. Although technically not classified as monasteries, synagogues, yeshivas, and (house of study) are the models, along with the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( ''mīnyān'' , Literal translation, lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain Mitzvah, religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism ...

with five minutes of silence during which each person can engage in his or her own personal preparation for tefillah. Isadore Twersky states in Introduction to the Code of Maimonides: "One must be attuned to the silences". Judaism also teaches that the Ten Commandments were given to the Jews in complete silence and that if you want to encounter God, you need to experience silence.

Merton: bridging contemplative traditions

One of the leading exponents of monastic contemplative awareness is

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, Christian mysticism, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trapp ...

. ; From Thoughts in Solitude (1956) : According to Merton, silence represents a form of transcending

paradoxes A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

such as he may have encountered in

zazen ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...

training. ; The Asian Journal : ;Monastic life : ; Contemplative silence as protest : In addition to being a major figure in the field of contemplative studies, Merton expressed awareness of social issues and conscience.

East-West concurrence on role of silent practice

Monastic silence is a category of practice which unites faiths and contributes a perennial topic of convergence between eastern and

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

traditions. Father Thomas Keating is the founder of Contemplative Outreach and former abbot of St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. He states that "as in Buddhism, Christianity has several contemplative methods. The methods of contemplative prayer are expressed in two traditions: centering prayer, which we represent, and Christian Meditation, designed by John Main, which is now spreading rapidly throughout the world under the charismatic leadership of Father Lawrence Freeman." Keating's approach is more directly influenced by his collaboration with Buddhists from various traditions, whereas Main is influenced by his travels among Indian Hindus. Keating states that one "progresses eventually to Christ nature or Buddha nature" Keating distinguishes his contemplative method from that of John Main, another teacher of Christian mindfulness, but states an affinity for "interior silence". "The John Main approach is a little different than ours, but both go in the same direction: moving beyond dependence on concepts and words to a direct encounter with God on the level of faith and interior silence." Fr. James Conner, OCSO wrote about the Fifth Christian–Buddhist Contemplative Conference held at the Naropa Institute in which ordained practitioners from Zen, Vajrayana, and Catholic monastic lineages conducted meditation and discussion. According to Conner, wordless prayer is designed to transcend rational processes to allow perception of an exalted state. "Zen says that Buddha-nature begins where the rational level ends. The same is taught in Christianity. One is to practice thoughtless, wordless prayer and thus perceive the divine presence."

Application of monastic silence practice outside of religious context

The spiritual practice of silence has been extended into the healthcare setting under the rubric of Mind-Body healing. Dr. Jack Engler of the Theravada tradition of Buddhism is Director of the Schiff Psychiatric Center at Harvard University and participates in Christian–Buddhist dialogue. Dr Engller lived as a novice at the Abbey of Gethsemane, which is affiliated with Merton, and studied Buddhist meditation practices in Burma and India.

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

, in his ''

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus The ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'' (widely abbreviated and Citation, cited as TLP) is the only book-length philosophical work by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein that was published during his lifetime. The project had a broad goal ...

'', recommended silence to philosophers who were tempted to overextend their reach: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." Some common proverbs counsel silence, for example: * It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it. * If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. * You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court.

References

{{Virtues Silence Asceticism Monasticism