Wide context

Complete PICLE corpus of essays by Polish advanced EFL students (330,000)

Silence is the tribute paid to holiness. It is no coincidence that places of worship are places of silence. Thus, if idleness is the devil's playground, silence may be the angel's. It is an ecumenical state, beyond the doctrines and divisions created by the mind. If everyone has a spiritual story to tell of his life, everyone also has a spiritual silence to preserve. A MOMENT OF SILENCE is the highest honor that people can pay to someone. It is the point at which the mind stops, words run out and feelings rush in. A VOW OF SILENCE is for holy men the highest devotional act. People hold their breath, hold their words, suspend their chattering selves and let themselves fall silent while falling into the highest place of all.