Returning to Observe the Nature of Hearing, Not Falling into Sound

Practicing by going deep through one gate among the eighteen dhātus means contemplating one of the eighteen dhātus, awakening to the true reality of the dharmadhātu through this one dhātu, and attaining meditative absorption (samādhi), thereby opening up great wisdom. For example, if one cultivates through the gate of the ear faculty, one must engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the nature of hearing, introspectively observing the place where the nature of hearing arises and ceases, and thereby find the true, unarising-and-unceasing nature of hearing. At this time, one should not fall into sounds and deliberate on the content within sounds; only in this way can one find the root and essence of the nature of hearing.