Reading not just the words… but the white spaces in between

Reading not only the words.. but the
white spaces between the words!

In ancient monasteries ( circa 5th Century) very few people were literate.

Yet daily reading was mandatory.
Reading at that time would have been slower and more communal.

Anyone reading would do it aloud and slowly, breaking up the text and muttering under their breath.

Reading is a different way of learning from YouTube. It’s half active and half passive.

Yet in today’s world of short attention spans and speed reading the latter half is usually ignored.

We miss the intimate contact with the writer’s consciousness – the other-centredness. Which calls us out of ourselves in an act of other-centered attention.

We can savour and reflect on their words and style, but first of all we have to listen to the what they say rather than what we think.

This takes place in the white spaces between the words  and the way our heart-mind responds to them.

Feeling how the words express the reader’s inexpressible experience.

Mindfulness and meditative reading penetrates the meaning not just through the written words but by ‘experience leading the way’.

In a famous sutra, the Buddha says “Monks I have taught the Dhamma as a raft for the purpose of crossing over, not holding on to. “
A finger pointing to the moon, but not the moon.

With the proliferation of information,  social media, books published, avalanche of reading material in digital formats, are we losing out on the response and reflective aspect of reading the ‘white spaces?

What do you think?

Would love to hear perspectives in the comments.

#skillgrill #reading #books #socialmedia #mindfulness #meditation  #digital  #reflection  #learning  #experience