Listening – Ahimsa Attentiveness 237crease our understanding of their different identities, and to subvert any
bias.^192 These forms of listening require us to embrace the values of re-
spect, patience, inclusiveness, self-criticism, empathy, honesty and
mindfulness. All religions, including Buddhism, teach these values. If
we can regard ‘deep listening’ in dialogue, and especially interreligious
dialogue, as an effort to learn, then Buddhism helps support dialogue as
well. Indeed, ones can regard engaging in the process of ‘deep listening’
in dialogue as putting Buddhist teachings into practice.
17.3 Listening in Buddhism
17.3. 1 Learning from the Other
In Buddhism, one of the conditions for the right view arising is
called parato ghosa which means ‘hearing or learning from others’^193.
To be able to understand other views, we need to have a parato ghosa.
From the Buddhist perspective, the condition of hearing or learning from
others can be understood as underlying the openness to hear and learn
from people of different faiths. Moreover, knowledge or wisdom result-
ing from listening to and learning from others will lead to sutamayā
paññā, one of the three important wisdoms in Buddhism:
- cintāmaya paññā, wisdom based on thought,
- sutamayā paññā, wisdom based on listening [learning], and
192
Swidler, L. (Ed.) (1987) Toward a Universal Theology of Religion, New
York: Orbis Books, 6. 193
MN I.43; PTS I 294; For the English translation see: Ñānamoli, B. & Bodhi,
B. (Eds.) (1995/2005) The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. A Transla-
tion of the Majjhima Nikāya Boston: Wisdom, 390. There parato ghoṣa is trans-
lated as “The voice of another”. See also AN I.87. For the English translation,
see: Bodhi, B. (2012) (Ed.) The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha. A Trans-
lation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya Boston: Wisdom Publications, 178: 126 (9)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two conditions for the arising of the right view. What
two? The utterance of another [person] and careful attention. These are the two
conditions for the arising of right view.”