A Monk in the World

Meteora, Greece

A MONK IN THE WORLD

The 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.

Raimundo Panikkar 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.

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

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.

https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-new-monk.html

Not too long ago, a priest told me that he cancelled his subscription to the New York Times because he felt that the endless stories about war, crime, power games, and political manipulation only disturbed his mind and heart and prevented him from meditation and prayer.

That is a very sad story because it suggests that only by denying the world can you live in it, that only by surrounding yourself by an artificial, self-induced quietude can you live in a spiritual life. A real spiritual life does exactly the opposite: it makes us so alert of the world around us, that all that is and happens becomes part of our contemplation and meditation and invites us to a free and fearless response.

—Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out (2013), pages 50-51

We must engage the world but not allow the world to dictate the terms of our engagement. Silence and solitude, time with God are means of union with God, not escapism. Christ did not escape from the world. He entered the world in order to redeem it.

https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2018/12/contemplation-is-action.html

“Deliver us from evil.” It is a prayer I have returned to countless times.

We should recognize evil for what it really is and pray to God for deliverance. Happiness does not come from denying reality.

We do not find happiness by turning away from the bad to look at the good but by confronting the bad squarely and turning to God for help.

This is my formula for happiness. It works, in my experience.

“Deliver us from evil.” It is a prayer that consoles and brings peace.

https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2018/12/nativity-1946-by-evie-hone-deliver-us.html