Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

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SarathW
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Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by SarathW »

Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

I just surprise to learn that Ajhan Sumedho has used tinnitus (ringing noise in the year) as a meditation object.
I had tinnitus for many years. I never took that as a nuisance. I used it as my meditation object for many years.
This could be a good news for any tinnitus sufferers!
=========================================

The first of these, “the sound of silence,” is described
in the opening Dhamma talk of the same name in quite
some detail. However, as it is not a meditation method
found in classical Theravàda handbooks, it might be
helpful to provide a little background to the way in
which Ajahn Sumedho came to develop it, and to refer
to some of the other spiritual traditions that use it as
part of a meditation practice.

:)
Page 9

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/intui ... reness.pdf
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Ben
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by Ben »

I have it but I don't use it as an object for meditation.
kind regards,

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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Mr Man
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by Mr Man »

I'm not sure if tinnitus is the same as the sound of silence.

Here is something from Ajahn Amaro http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/web-arch ... lence.html
PeterB
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by PeterB »

I had a reaction to a ( life saving ) antibiotic which left me with tinnitus in one ear.
Its like a high pitched whistle. Most of the time now I am unaware of it..but sometimes in meditation it becomes intrusive. At that point I shift my attention , lightly, to the sound. Neither wanting to remove it nor prolong it.
I just rest my attention there.
After a while the mind is satisfied and shifts back to the subject...in my case a mantram-like phrase.
SarathW
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by SarathW »

Hi Peter
I think you explained it better than me. Thanks.
:)
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
SarathW
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by SarathW »

Mr Man wrote:I'm not sure if tinnitus is the same as the sound of silence.

Here is something from Ajahn Amaro http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/web-arch ... lence.html
Hi Mr. Man
May be I got some thing wrong here. I am bit confused now.
I don't understand what the sound of silence is though!
:juggling:

================
So it’s like a radar. The mind is in a very wide,
expansive state of awareness: including open to and
receptive, rather than shut off, closed and controlled.
So notice this and contemplate this experience and
then just concentrate your attention on the sound of
silence. If you think about it, think of it in terms of being
like a blessing, grace, or a lovely kind of feeling, of
being opened, rather than as a buzz in the ear, in
which case you think that its tinnitus or some diseases.
If you start contemplating it as the sound of angels, a
cosmic or primordial sound, blessing every moment
as we open to it, we then feel this sense of being
blessed. So reflecting in this way, in a positive way
toward it, helps us to take an interest in it and get a
good feeling from it.

Page 88

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/intui ... reness.pdf
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
pegembara
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by pegembara »

This "cosmic" sound or whatever you call it can be used as a meditation object provided one doesn't become averse to it. Just like using the breath or body sensations, the idea being to anchor the mind to the present moment.

Tinnitus is a ear condition that can be really annoying. It is louder and often intrudes on your daily activities even without your conscious attention unlike this "sound of silence".
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
PeterB
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by PeterB »

Surely everyone has heard The Sound Of Silence ?
It goes..' Hello darkness my old friend '........
:anjali:
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Ben
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by Ben »

PeterB wrote:Surely everyone has heard The Sound Of Silence ?
It goes..' Hello darkness my old friend '........
:anjali:
The darker I go,
The deeper it gets.

-- Darkness by Peter Gabriel
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Mr Man
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by Mr Man »

SarathW wrote: Hi Mr. Man
May be I got some thing wrong here. I am bit confused now.
I don't understand what the sound of silence is though!
Hi SarathW
Although it is perceived as a sound I would describe it as a mental object rather than an object of the ear.
Digity
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by Digity »

I have tinnitus...got it after a botched ear surgery. I don't use it as an object of meditation. I use to think I'd never be able to meditate because of my tinnitus...now I just don't pay attention to it and try and focus on my breathing. I guess you can pick anything as your object of meditation. It's just that the breath seems to work so well and when it's calm so is your body.
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reflection
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by reflection »

I don't think tinnitus and the sound of silence have to be the same, although you could both use them as a meditation object. I think everybody has a slight beep in their ear when they look for it. I never noticed it before I tried the meditation on it, but then I found it. Ajahn Munindo also uses it a lot if I recall correctly. I've tried it a couple of times and it works ok, not much different to the breath. But the problem I had is, because you stay focussed on sound you will hear all other sounds too and those can be distracting. I live in a city so there are many sounds. When focusing on the breath the entire sound consciousness often disappears and there are no such distractions.

:anjali:
pegembara
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by pegembara »

@ reflection

Wouldn't it be better to include all sounds in the meditation without getting distracted?
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
lostitude
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by lostitude »

Hello,

I was about to post about how to deal with tinnitus in meditation but I found this thread before :)
I just wanted to add that according to my doctor, tinnitus may worsen if I pay too much attention to it, as focusing too often on it may reinforce it since it is a purely 'neuronal' phenomenon...
Digity
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Re: Can tinnitus be used as a meditation object?

Post by Digity »

lostitude wrote:Hello,

I was about to post about how to deal with tinnitus in meditation but I found this thread before :)
I just wanted to add that according to my doctor, tinnitus may worsen if I pay too much attention to it, as focusing too often on it may reinforce it since it is a purely 'neuronal' phenomenon...
I find that my tinnitus has gotten better over time. Now it feels like it's more in the background. Only really bothers me when I sleep, but I run a fan for white noise, which works fine.
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