The New Monk

Raimundo Panikkar (1918-2010)

THE NEW MONK

I shall address myself not to describing the monk as archetype, i.e., the monk as a paradigm of human life, but to exploring the archetype of the monk, i.e., monkhood as a possible human archetype.

...the distinction is important and subtle. The monk as archetype may be taken to mean that there is such a thing as an ideal monk, and that monks have incarnated this ideal in different degrees. ...[this conception] freezes human creativity inasmuch as it ties us to an almost Platonic and immutable essence of the ideal monk. Archetype here means a model, a prototypical form (morphe). It allows only for explications and clarifications. All that is left to us is to be good or even better monks. To speak of the archetype of the monk, on the other hand, assumes that there is a human archetype which the monk works out with greater or lesser success. ...Archetype here means the product of different forces and factors, conscious and unconscious, individual and collective, which go into shaping a particular human configuration. ...Since archetype here does not mean a model, but rather the product of human life itself, this very archetype is thus mutable and dynamic.

...the distinction is also subtle, because it does not allow for any separation. We may have no other entrance into the archetype than to study or come to know the monk as archetype. We cannot create out of nothing, nor can we concoct an archetype according to our fancies. It is the crystallized experience of the elders in the tradition, and the reenactment of that very tradition, that will give us real wings to fly on a human journey and not to disintegrate in midair because our feathers were artificial. ...We have to connect with tradition. To study the archetype of the monk, on the other hand, [namely], the accumulation of human experiences still ongoing, brings us to observe the signs of our times and directs us to the future. We have to decipher the riddle of modernity. I say riddle because we shall have to discriminate between fleeting and superficial fashion and the real contribution that enriches and continues the value of tradition.

...Is the monk a universal archetype, i.e., a universal model for human life? No. The monk is only one way of realizing a universal archetype. Yet it is in and through this (monastic) way that we may gain access to the universal archetype—of which the monk is a manifestation. This allows us to speak of the universal archetype of the monk, provided we do not freeze the inner dynamism of monkhood, and also allow[s] ourselves to speak of the new monk.

In Raimundo Panikkar, Blessed Simplicity: The Monk as Universal Archetype (New York: The Seabury Press, 1982), pages 7-9

A MONK IN THE WORLD

A monk, then, is a person who has dedicated his or her life to seeking God. St. Benedict, in his Rule, elevates this activity to the highest level of motivation and proclaims it the definitive criterion for accepting a candidate into the monastery. Brother David Steindl-Rast, an Austrian-born Benedictine monk and one of the leaders of the American interfaith encounter of the last thirty years, once remarked: “If the first thing you think of in the morning when you wake up is God, then you are a monk!” The outer monk, that is, the monk in the regular sense, belongs to a monastery under a rule of life and an abbot, or superior. This monk wears the habit, or religious garb, and takes vows. Being an outer monk, following the traditional monastic community life, often makes possible the inner monk, the mystic within.

Monasticism in all its forms—Eastern, Western, primitive, inventive, contemplative, active, and mixed—exists to nurture the development, fruition, and gifts of the inner mystic or inner monk. We all have this hidden mystic consciousness that desires to be born, grow, and give itself out freely. The contemplative journeys to this goal on which he or she has his heart and mind concentrated in all effort. The contemplative seeks intimacy with the Spirit, with infinite consciousness, vast realization—with God, the hidden divine mystery. The word mystic refers to this desire and pursuit of intimacy with the Divine, with the Spirit for the sake of others and for oneself.

Contemplation is essentially the process of acquiring this intimacy, and monasteries are places of cultivating this capacity and gift: capacity meaning our own effort and gift meaning God’s infusion of grace into our inner being. Contemplation is the ultimate purpose of monastic communities. They are environments of intense and comprehensive growth in this most precious of activities. “The essence of monastic life is not its structures but its interior practice, and the heart of interior practice is contemplative prayer,” wrote Thomas Keating, the Trappist spiritual teacher. [1] The monk is immersed in contemplative experience, and this is why he or she chooses such a unique way of life. The monastery is not an end in itself, or that place where everything comes together for us, but a means to cultivate the mystic in us, the contemplative vision and gift.

Each person has this gift, or at least access to it, simply by being born. Our birth is an invitation to our gifts, a call to immersion in the Absolute, with the possibility of our ultimate transformation through contact with the Divine. All monastic life must be inspired by this deep desire. Monasticism has its origin here in the hidden places of the heart. Brother David Steindl-Rast expresses it simply: “Monasticism of the heart is the heart of monasticism.” [2]

[1] Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel (Amity, N.Y.: Amity House, 1986), 29.

[2] David Steindl-Rast, “Monastic Parenthood,” in Abba: Guides to Wholeness and Holiness East and West, ed. James Sommerfeldt (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian Publications, 1982), 369.

In Wayne Teasdale, A Monk in the World, foreword by Ken Wilber (Novato, California: New World Library, 2002), pages xxiv-xxvi

A PERSONAL RULE OF LIFE

A Rule of Life is an intentional pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. A Rule establishes a rhythm for life in which is helpful for being formed by the Spirit, a rhythm that reflects a love for God and respect for how he has made us. The disciplines which we build into our rhythm of life help us to shed the “old self” and allow our “new self” in Christ to be formed. Spiritual disciplines are means of grace by which God can nourish us. Ultimately a Rule should help you to love God more, so if it becomes a legalistic way of earning points with God or impressing others, it should be scrapped. If the traditional, ancient term “rule” concerns you because it sounds legalistic, think of “rule” as a “rhythm of life” or as a “Curriculum in Christlikeness” (Dallas Willard), or as a “Game Plan for Morphing” (John Ortberg).

In order to be life-giving, a Rule must be realistic! It is not an ideal toward which you are striving to soar. Instead, your initial Rule should be a minimum standard for your life that you do not want to drop below. It’s a realistic level of engaging in the spiritual disciplines for which you can honestly and truly be held accountable. 

 

http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/338 

 

—C. S. Lewis Institute, “Instructions for Developing a Personal Rule of Life”

A MONK IN THE WORLD MINIMALIST RULE

One of the basic and essential elements of the spirituality of a “monk in the world”—not really a monk but a lay person living “in the world” who is inspired by monastic ideals and monastic spirituality—is a Rule of Life or what has elsewhere been called a “spiritual plan of life.” At the very least it includes:

- Daily prayer

- Frequent attendance at Mass and reception of the Eucharist

- Regular confession

- Submission to the teachings of the Church

- Regular spiritual direction

- Ascetical practices

- Works of charity

A Minimalist Rule:

1. The Goal

- Love of God

- Love of neighbor

- Purity of heart

2. Spiritual Plan of Life

Essential

- One hour of daily prayer, separable into two half-hours; an examination of conscience can be done during this time of prayer

- Discernment of spirits, especially according to the rules of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

- Regular spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition, according to the interpretation of Fr. Thomas H. Green, SJ

Ideal

- Daily Mass

- Regular confession

- Eucharistic adoration

- Lectio divina

- Devotion to the person of Jesus

A deep spiritual life naturally overflows in undertaking ascetical practices and works of charity.