Sound: A Tool to Consciousness and Concentration

Abstract

Consciousness (Pali: Sati) and concentration (Pali: Samādhi) are two well-known aims for Buddhist practitioners. These two are taught mostly by following Kammaṭṭhāna 40 from Visuddhimagga. I, however, rarely find any instruction that describes sound as a tool to develop consciousness and concentration despite the fact that many spiritual ceremonies involve sound. For example, chanters, when chanting mantras, must pronounce words either out loud or in their minds. Another example is that, when meditating, meditators might utter some words repeatedly until they reach a level of concentration (Pali: jhāna). In these two scenarios, they both use sound as a tool to induce consciousness and concentration. Therefore, I would like to research whether or not sound can actually bring about consciousness and concentration in a meditator, and if so, to what level. The research result shows that the answer depends on what type of sound the practitioners apply. If it is a bad sound, it cannot bring calm and therefore cannot lead to consciousness nor concentration. On the other hand, a good sound can lead to consciousness and concentration. In addition, for the level of concentration, if considered by factor (Pali: aṅga) the highest level the sound can lead to could be either consciousness or first level of concentration (Pali: pathama jhāna), and if considered by sign (Pali: nimitta) the sound yields only consciousness and cannot reach even the first level of concentration.