user17503: I listen to a very low background score on a meditation app called Calm while meditating. It's mostly non-obstructive and really helps me get into the space of calm.
Where I live, silence of the outer world is hard to come by and I mostly use the music just to combat that.
Should I not be listening to music while meditating?
Does the Buddha have any words in this regard?

Metta & Chai to all,
Kalpesh


user14789: The buddha said that sound is a thorn for mediation https://suttacentral.net/an10.72/en/sujato
More generally, the idea that right meditation is the focus on object of the senses is from the commentators from their lack of yoniso manasikara, ie ''right thinking''. and their ideas taken from the hindus  that mantras, the sound Om and so on, can get you into right concentration. When theyadmit that, they say that focusing on the objects of the senses is just the temporary  training to get good at concentration , and then the next step is to get into meditation through non nimittas (ie images).
yoniso manasikara is the way to get into right samadhi, ie doing all the 7 things listed before right samadhi in the 8 fold path. Puthujjanas crave sense objects too much for that so they made up the idea they can get enlightened by focusing on them.

user19480: Listening to music, among other liminally conscious activities, like scribbling or tapping a pencil while listening to a lecture in class, are ways of distracting one’s attention from other more disturbing phenomena such as street noise, but the goal of meditation is to focus the mind, not distract it. I suggest that buying some industrial grade earplugs (not the foam kind) would be more beneficial to your practice than listening to music.

17503: <p>I listen to a very low background score on a meditation app called Calm while meditating. It's mostly non-obstructive and really helps me get into the space of calm.</p>
<p>Where I live, silence of the outer world is hard to come by and I mostly use the music just to combat that.</p>
<p>Should I not be listening to music while meditating?
Does the Buddha have any words in this regard?</p>
<ul>
<li>Metta &amp; Chai to all,
Kalpesh</li>
</ul>
 14789: <p>The buddha said that sound is a thorn for mediation <a href="https://suttacentral.net/an10.72/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/an10.72/en/sujato</a></p>
<p>More generally, the idea that right meditation is the focus on object of the senses is from the commentators from their lack of yoniso manasikara, ie ''right thinking''. and their ideas taken from the hindus  that mantras, the sound Om and so on, can get you into right concentration. When theyadmit that, they say that focusing on the objects of the senses is just the temporary  training to get good at concentration , and then the next step is to get into meditation through non nimittas (ie images).</p>
<p>yoniso manasikara is the way to get into right samadhi, ie doing all the 7 things listed before right samadhi in the 8 fold path. Puthujjanas crave sense objects too much for that so they made up the idea they can get enlightened by focusing on them.</p>
 19480: <p>Listening to music, among other liminally conscious activities, like scribbling or tapping a pencil while listening to a lecture in class, are ways of distracting one’s attention from other more disturbing phenomena such as street noise, but the goal of meditation is to focus the mind, not distract it. I suggest that buying some industrial grade earplugs (not the foam kind) would be more beneficial to your practice than listening to music.</p>
