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| 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.
—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:
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Daily prayer
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Frequent attendance at Mass and reception of the Eucharist
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Regular confession
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Submission to the teachings of the Church
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Regular spiritual direction
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Ascetical practices
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Works of charity
A
Minimalist Rule:
1.
The Goal
-
Love of God
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Love of neighbor
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Purity of heart
2.
Spiritual Plan of Life
Essential
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One hour of daily prayer, separable into two half-hours; an examination of
conscience can be done during this time of prayer
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Discernment of spirits, especially according to the rules of Saint Ignatius of
Loyola
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Regular spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition, according to the
interpretation of Fr. Thomas H. Green, SJ
Ideal
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Daily Mass
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Regular confession
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Eucharistic adoration
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Lectio divina
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Devotion to the person of Jesus
A deep spiritual life
naturally overflows in undertaking ascetical practices and works of charity.
Photo courtesy of Milena Carrara
ReplyDeletePhoto link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raimon_Panikkar.jpg
Gonzalinho
The Window: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvsov6OuTWs
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
—Pierfrancesco Marsiaj, “Raimon Panikkar - The Window,” YouTube video, 3:19 minutes, August 31, 2010
DeleteWatch this YouTube video - listen to Panikkar speak, you will get a better sense of the fine quality of this man.
DeletePanikkar is saying here that there is a way of life, an identity even - the new monk or monk as human archetype - that goes beyond the trappings and forms of conventional monkhood. We might describe this archetype as the inner monk, which is realized in the manifold ways of being human. The dynamic Panikkar describes he terms the monk as human archetype. This construction speaks to those who are inspired and guided by the monastic spirit yet do not drop into historical or conventional categories of monkhood.
ReplyDeletePanikkar is an academic. He is an intellectual who speaks not only philosophically but also poetically. To appreciate his exposition, you have to let his words wash over you like the drumming of the seashore. Rhythmic and lyrical, his disquisition, when you pay close attention, is notably meaningful.
Gonzalinho
Thomas Merton was not the cloistered monk of convention. As a professional writer obliged by obedience, he actively engaged the world in his public writing. He transformed and expanded our understanding of monastic spirituality as a result.
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
Becoming a monk in the world is ultimately a question of the heart. If your heart belongs to God above everything else, you have become a monk by embracing the asceticism the world dishes out. You don’t have to confine yourself to the enclosure of the monastery to do this.
ReplyDelete“In the world you will have much affliction, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)
Gonzalinho
“The incarnation of Jesus has forever committed God, for better or worse, to this world of ours. And where he is, his disciples must also be. They can be sanctified only where he was—in time and space and flesh.”—Thomas H. Green, S.J., Darkness in the Marketplace (1981)
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
“In the evening, when I was praying, the Mother of God told me, Your lives must be like Mine: quiet and hidden, in unceasing union with God, pleading for humanity and preparing the world for the second coming of God.”—Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Notebook II, 625
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
Discernment of the spirits is the key to the spiritual life of Panikkar’s new monk, because it is the active practice of discernment that indicates the direction of the interior journey.
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
A hidden, ordinary life of love, humility, and constant prayer to the Almighty is pleasing to God. Nothing extraordinary is required. We are very mistaken to believe God expects anything spectacular from us—if he does, he will say so.
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
A MONK IN THE WORLD
ReplyDeleteThe monk, according to Father Raimundo Panikkar, is an archetype.
“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.”
—Raimundo Panikkar, Blessed Simplicity: The Monk as Universal Archetype (1982)
As archetype, becoming a monk is subject to multitudinous interpretations, all the while showing forth the essentiality of monkhood.
“To speak of the archetype of the monk…assumes that there is a human archetype which the monk works out with greater or lesser success.”
—Op. cit.
According to the interpretation of Thomas Merton, monasticism is essentially interior.
“What is essential in the monastic life is not embedded in buildings, not in a habit, not necessarily even in a rule. It is somewhere along the line of something deeper than a rule. It is concerned with this business of total inner transformation. This kind of monasticism cannot be extinguished. It is imperishable; it represents an instinct of the human heart.”
—Thomas Merton, Marxism and Monastic Perspectives (1968)
Merton’s understanding is consistent with Saint John Cassian’s conclusion that the entire goal of monastic asceticism is to attain purity of heart.
“The end of our profession, indeed, as I said, is the kingdom of God or heaven. But the immediate aim or goal is purity of heart, without which no one can gain that end. Fixing our gaze steadily on this goal as if on a definite mark, let us direct our course as straight towards it as possible. And if our thoughts wander somewhat, let us revert to our gaze to it and check them accurately as by a sure standard, which will always bring back our efforts to this one mark, showing at once if our mind has wandered ever so little from the direction marked out for it.”
—Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Book I, Chapter 4
In the conception of Brother Wayne Teasdale, who promoted the notion of “a monk in the world,” “interspirituality” is a significant occupation of any spirituality, monastic or otherwise.
“While the great religions, in their respective beliefs and practices, have been isolated from one another, at their core they share a deeper dimension. This is the common ground that interspirituality explores: the dimension of mysticism across traditions.
“…Since 1977, as I have become more interested in the East, I have lived in this movement and embraced the phenomenon of free access across the traditions. This work has become second nature to me, a vital focus of my ongoing work and a labor of love.”
—Wayne Teasdale, A Monk in the World, foreword by Ken Wilber (2002), pages 173 to 174
To be continued
Gonzalinho
A MONK IN THE WORLD
DeleteContinued
Becoming a monk in the world is ultimately a question of where you place your heart.
Proverbs 23:26 exhorts: My son, give me your heart.
If your heart belongs to God above everything else, you have become a monk by embracing the asceticism ever present in the world, and you don’t have to confine yourself to the enclosure of the monastery to do this.
“In the world you will have much affliction, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)
“Monastic spirituality implies a single-heart (solitary) seeking of God. This may or may not be carried out in the company of others (the monastic tradition has embraced both), but the focus is clearly on returning to God, and making use of certain specific practices: prayer, fasting, silence, vigils, reading, good works.”
—Monastery of Christ in the Desert, May 9, 2013
We have said that to be a monk, whether in the world or out of it, putting together a rule of sorts is necessary. A personal rule of life keeps the monk on track in the spiritual life.
A rule need not be long or complicated, but it must set forth a program of prayer and spiritual exercises. Furthermore, any rule should be nourished by the sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist, without which spiritual growth is, frankly, impossible.
Discernment of the spirits is the key to the spiritual life of the archetypal monk, because it is the active practice of discernment that indicates the direction of the interior journey.
Inasmuch as the spiritual journey ranges widely, endlessly variable as the circumstances of life itself—more so in the “world,” which is not enclosed or rule-based in the manner of monastic life—the practice of the discernment of the spirits, unsurprisingly, plays a major role in the spirituality of the “monk in the world.”
A hidden, ordinary life of love, humility, and constant prayer to the Almighty is pleasing to God. Nothing extraordinary is required. We are very mistaken to believe God expects anything spectacular from us—if he does, he will say so.
Gonzalinho