The Silent Question: Meditating in the Stillness of Not-Knowing

by Toni Packer

In The Silent Question , Packer provides fresh insights on using the experiences of life that are raw, messy, painful, and sometimes full of laughter, to open a way to compassion. She urges us to let go of our thoughts and to sit "in the stillness of not knowing" in order to reflect upon the essential question of who we are. Packer encourages us to discover that life, energy, and insight come from the questioning, the looking, the listening.

Genres: Spirituality, Buddhism, Meditation, Nonfiction, Zen

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Peter Allum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to assign a rating to this book. Packer has a very simple message on putting aside ego-related thoughts to arrive at an egoless stillness. This is an important message, and she was a much admired teacher. That said, much of the book comprises exchanges with retreat participants that come back to this single simple message. So the book seems thin and lightweight in content. On reading satisfaction, I would rate it a “2”; on importance, a “5”.

My Zen reviews, ranked

[Dan Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know how I left this book off my Goodreads shelves til now - it is one of my favorites! Tolle, Byron Katie and Toni Packer all seem to me, in my limited understanding, to have much in common in their perspectives/teachings. "Can there be listening without ideals, without beliefs, without the separation of me and what I'm listening to?" Even if you are not into meditation, I don't see how you can not agree that this is a good question!

[Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sincere approach to life, makes one more aware of how different people can be and the relativity of things. For example: Packer sees attachment in close relationship as inevitable, and she could be right, despite what Buddha or someone else has said. Or perhaps it cannot be generalized.
Profound words most of the time, but i was somewhat flabbergasted to see her bring in the dubious Eckhart Tolle and his "painbody"...

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toni had a gift at being down-to-earth, caring while not sentimental, down 'here' with the rest of us. She did not hesitate to show her flawed humanness. She taught the simplicity of living an enlightened life, as simply being awake to here, now, even the mess of it all. Reading Toni is a great relief from the projection of perfected selves that seem to flood the spiritual marketplace, as the ego seeks refuge from the firesome Truth by such projection. I am gladly over-it with the projection of persons who claim an enlightenment, without the truth that he or she is flawed, and beautifully, like the rest of humanity, indeed Nature. I read Toni many years ago, glad I returned, and will keep reading her. She models for me the powerful humbleness of a true Teacher, one who can be with those she sits with and shares with, not over them as the 'expert.' Toni shows us, through her writings, in matters of Spirit there is no expert. Deeply grateful for the legacy of this dear One.

[Heather Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading a Charlotte Joko Beck book, and I ended up comparing the two. I thought this one wasn't *quite* as good, mostly because of the interviews and the "conversations" with the students.

Toni Packer does have some really great insights, and she definitely knows her stuff. I'm typically not interested in what retreat participants have to say and this book had quite a bit of that type of thing from her retreats.

So, I liked the parts where it was just her thoughts, but I disliked the interviews and the ramblings of the retreat participants, which made up about 30% of the book.

Not recommended for beginners, but for people who are a bit further along in their meditation journey.

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ця книга переважно складається із різних лекцій, розмов, семінарів, окремих есеїв Тоні Пакер - вчительки, яка відмовилася від дзенської традиції і обрала свій власний шлях.
Чим більше я читав цю книгу, тим менше мені хотілося продовжувати. Справа у тому, що тут надто багато Крішнамурті, і надто мало Пакер. Надто багато відчувається присутності, бажання вчительки бути у дискурсі Джидду. Якщо мені потрібен Крішнамурті - для цього є його лекції. На ютуб є багато його розмов. Він дуже відчутний і неповторний у власному дискурсі, але спроби наслідування йому, людині-хмарині, викликають лише смуток і роздратування.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

All 4 of her books are well worth reading (and rereading).