The sound of silence is like a subtlety behind everything that you awaken to; you don't notice it if you're seeking the extremes. Yet as we start to become more poised, more present, fully receptive of all this moment has to offer, we start to experience it vividly and listening to it can draw us ever deeper into the mysteries of now.

Always skillful and good humored, Ajahn Sumedho's teachings defy boundaries. Anyone from laypeople looking to deepen their grasp of the Buddha's message, to lifetime Buddhist monastics, will appreciate the author's sparkling insights into to such key Buddhist themes as awareness, consciousness, identity, relief from suffering, and mindfulness of the body. The Sound of Silence represents the best of Ajahn Sumedho's masterful work to help us all see each life with a new and sustaining clarity.

Sound of Silence, Ajahn Sumedho, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 2007, 376 pages, $16.95

Ajahn Sumedho (born Robert Karr Jackman on July 27, 1934) is an American Buddhist monk. He was ordained in 1967, and was instrumental in establishing Wat Pa Nanachat in Thailand and the Cittaviveka and Amaravati monasteries in England. One of the most senior Western representatives of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism, Sumedho is considered a seminal figure in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings to the West.

	Contents: THE SOUND OF SILENCE: Selected Teachings of Ajahn Sumedho
	Preface	ix
	Introduction by Ajahn Amaro	1
	Editor's Preface	15
	Body Contemplation I	21
	Here and Now	29
	Intuitive Awareness	45
	The Way It Is	61
	Anatta	73
	Identity	89
	Body Contemplation II	101
	Trust Your Intuition	109
	No Exit	119
	When You're an Emotional Wreck	133
	Suffering Should Be Welcomed	145
	The Sound of Silence	161
	The End of Suffering is Now	171
	Views and Opinions	183
	Don't Take It Personally	195
	Refuge in Awareness	213
	Cittanupassana	227
	Questions about Rebirth and Awareness	237
	Ideals	247
	Consciousness	255
	Thinking and Habits	267
	Form and Convention	281
	Trusting in Simplicity	291
	Observing Attachment	303
	Ending	309
	Toward the Future	321
	Not Looking for Answers, Not Asking for Favors	331
	Appendix	337
	Glossary	339
	Index	347
	About the Author	361