Voices
from Silence
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Personal stories of engaging in silence by practitioners from the Global Majority Heritage (GMH) or Black and Indigenous Peoples of Colour (BIPOC) communities.* |
A quarter of the way into the new millennium the reality for many people from this community is that their lives and stories are sidelined. Their voices are silenced.
Although many people from GMH/ BIPOC communities have a spiritual practice of silence, authors from these communities have tended to write more about their experiences of silencing than of their engagement with silence-based prayer.
This new series is a way to bring some voices from the GMH/ BIPOC communities into the conversations and resources about silence on the Seeds of Silence website.
Although many people from GMH/ BIPOC communities have a spiritual practice of silence, authors from these communities have tended to write more about their experiences of silencing than of their engagement with silence-based prayer.
This new series is a way to bring some voices from the GMH/ BIPOC communities into the conversations and resources about silence on the Seeds of Silence website.
September 2025: Rasika Abeysinghe
'Silence...'
Image: Eranga Jayawardena, AP News
Rasika Abeysinghe, Sri Lanka
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Listen to Rasika reading his text, 'Silence ...'
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Silence ...
Greetings to you from Sri Lanka! a small island in the Indian ocean.
Apart from the stunning scenery, friendly faces and a whole lot of sun, one might not think of this island as one that has an aura of silence to it. The island certainly has a history of being ‘silenced’, starting with foreign invasions, a colonial history, a treacherous war, extremist violence against minorities and marginalized communities without voice. There is possibly some form of silence in this ‘silencing’, as well, that might meet the eye or not be heard by the ear.
However, the keen observer might go a little further. Perhaps it’s one of those ‘cultural things’. A cultural thing that has a rich heritage: religiously, socially, maybe even on the ethical front. One might observe that there seem to be no end of Buddha statues wherever one goes, and the religious adherents of that philosophy ascribe some form of peace that radiates from these, eventually leading to the quieting of the mind. Religious places have become sanctuaries of silence and, surprisingly, even if not in tune with religious instruction, ‘silence’ has come to be looked upon as a virtue.
This virtue can also be understood in a conservative sense in an emotional Asian context. The social etiquette that seems to have emanated from silence seems to have crept into work places, transport, arts and drama, relationships and especially education. While one may not seem particularly engrossed in silence at a cricket match, any silence that might come into focus in the match brings a unique sense of feeling. That is why it might remain a ‘cultural thing’: evidently there, not understood widely and an ever-present backdrop in the country’s human or environmental landscape.
It could be that a major part of the country’s communities live in non-urban settings and still seem to favour social conservatism, which in turn seem to promote silence as a good quality. Listening is found to be more virtuous than speaking; silence as respect is a way of life one gets used to quite soon. An upbringing with silence as a norm in the way of life would essentially play a role in one’s later life.
I have often found myself mesmerizing at silences in this land. Pondering upon this from a religious and theological angle, there seem to be so many meanings that come attached to the same. So many meanings, sometimes it feels best to leave that in wonder and not to go into analysis. In one way that would be the interpretation that I would feel most comfortable with, given the situation. It is the space for ‘wonder’. It is the space for communication to us that makes that wonder. It surpasses anything that the human tongue or mind can fathom with as much energy. And it is best left for imagination and perhaps even for awe.
May you continue to enjoy and learn from the silences around.
Silence ...
Greetings to you from Sri Lanka! a small island in the Indian ocean.
Apart from the stunning scenery, friendly faces and a whole lot of sun, one might not think of this island as one that has an aura of silence to it. The island certainly has a history of being ‘silenced’, starting with foreign invasions, a colonial history, a treacherous war, extremist violence against minorities and marginalized communities without voice. There is possibly some form of silence in this ‘silencing’, as well, that might meet the eye or not be heard by the ear.
However, the keen observer might go a little further. Perhaps it’s one of those ‘cultural things’. A cultural thing that has a rich heritage: religiously, socially, maybe even on the ethical front. One might observe that there seem to be no end of Buddha statues wherever one goes, and the religious adherents of that philosophy ascribe some form of peace that radiates from these, eventually leading to the quieting of the mind. Religious places have become sanctuaries of silence and, surprisingly, even if not in tune with religious instruction, ‘silence’ has come to be looked upon as a virtue.
This virtue can also be understood in a conservative sense in an emotional Asian context. The social etiquette that seems to have emanated from silence seems to have crept into work places, transport, arts and drama, relationships and especially education. While one may not seem particularly engrossed in silence at a cricket match, any silence that might come into focus in the match brings a unique sense of feeling. That is why it might remain a ‘cultural thing’: evidently there, not understood widely and an ever-present backdrop in the country’s human or environmental landscape.
It could be that a major part of the country’s communities live in non-urban settings and still seem to favour social conservatism, which in turn seem to promote silence as a good quality. Listening is found to be more virtuous than speaking; silence as respect is a way of life one gets used to quite soon. An upbringing with silence as a norm in the way of life would essentially play a role in one’s later life.
I have often found myself mesmerizing at silences in this land. Pondering upon this from a religious and theological angle, there seem to be so many meanings that come attached to the same. So many meanings, sometimes it feels best to leave that in wonder and not to go into analysis. In one way that would be the interpretation that I would feel most comfortable with, given the situation. It is the space for ‘wonder’. It is the space for communication to us that makes that wonder. It surpasses anything that the human tongue or mind can fathom with as much energy. And it is best left for imagination and perhaps even for awe.
May you continue to enjoy and learn from the silences around.
Rasika Abeysinghe, September, 2025.
Rev Rasika Thilina Bandara Abeysinghe is an ordained Anglican priest in Sri Lanka, where he is Chaplain to the Bishop of Kurunagala in the diocese of the same name, and a lecturer at the Theological College of Lanka (TCL).
Click here for more about TCL and here to learn about the Diocese of Kurunagala.
* The terms 'Global Majority Heritage' (GMH) and 'Black and Indigenous Peoples of Colour' (BIPOC) refers to people whose backgrounds are from non-Western, non-White ethnic and cultural groups, reflecting the fact that the majority of the world’s population comes from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. These terms acknowledge the rich heritage of ancient Indigenous communities and challenge the traditional framing of racial and ethnic minorities by emphasizing that these populations are, in fact, the global majority.
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