In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, clear comprehension (sampajañña) is defined through what is beneficial, proper, the four foundations of mindfulness, and vipassanā; when external noise is present most of the time, how can meditation be undertaken with clear comprehension, and does insisting on samatha conditions (such as silence or calm) risk falling into sīlabbataparāmāsa when samatha, vipassanā, and virtue are said to be mutually supportive?
Investing in some simple silicone earbuds can be life changing in cities. If you wish you can get noise cancelling headphones but they’re expensive. Anyway, some noise is kind of always going to be present. White noise machines or a simple nature sound/ river sound or an asmr video playing in the background can also be helpful (Just make sure the sound isn’t too abrasive!!)
I don’t think so. In any case best to not obsess over complete physical silence because that is mostly impossible.
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During one of Ajahn Sona’s Q&As he was asked a similar question about meditating in a noisy home environment. Ajahn Sona responded that it was the questioner who was disturbing his noisy family with his irritation and to wear ear plugs if he couldn’t overcome it.
There is definitely a reason the Buddha advised meditators to find a place of solitude and quiet, but if that’s not possible then we can try to use the teachings of dispassion and wise reflection to be calm and concentrated even in the noise. If you’ve ever met someone who becomes absorbed in work even in a noisy office and can’t easily be pulled away from the task then that is a good example of what the power of interest and dis-interest can accomplish. That absorbed person has taken an extreme disinterest in everything other than their task.
The Anapanasati Sutta has steps we can follow to cultivate that kind of interest in the breath and through reflecting on the drawbacks of attention to the unwise we can take dis-interest in the external environment regardless of how loud it is.
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I don’t know how, but the pro’s can do it! A few years back one of Ahjan Brahmali’s mates, if I recall correctly a non-Australian with round glasses, did an exercise where they went to a busy train station to meditate. He mentioned that watching a video of it afterwards, a woman in high heels click-click-click walked by right in front of him but that while meditating he didn’t even hear it.
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