Why is it silent, and why do you take phones?
Because nothing works while someone in the room might be performing, and a phone in the room means someone might be.
Phones are collected at boarding. It is required rather than suggested, and it is the rule people thank us for afterwards.
There are two practical reasons. A guest who could be photographed does not let go, and letting go is the entire session. And everyone else in the room needs to know that it cannot happen — the trust in that room is the product.
Silence works the same way. During par nobody speaks, because the master is reading your breathing and conversation is noise in that signal. Between rounds the quiet is what lets the heat settle. Talking starts again over tea at the end, if it starts at all. Most people find they would rather it did not.
Updated 2026-09-02