Books -- Monks & Friars

Books – Monks & Friars

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Matthew 6:24

It is impossible to be a serious seeker among any of the major religions or philosophies without squarely confronting some thematic variant of this tautological scripture.?

When push comes to shove, you pull for one team or the other -- many times rotely or unconsciously taking the expedient route.?In the myriad of daily personal life decisions (small and large), you side either principally with the material or the spiritual, the earthly or the otherworldly, the ephemeral or the eternal.?For the preponderance of us lay practitioners of any faith, the compromise unfortunately falls too often on the wrong side of the coin, despite the unambiguous message from Matthew.

I’ve always harbored high regard mixed with curious intrigue for extremely dedicated devotees to a religious calling.?

My spiritual odyssey over the past 2 1/2 years following our family tragedy, coupled with an attendant unsatiable book quest, has served to amplify my yearning to learn more about those who followed extremely austere paths, eschewing the trappings of physical and ego-centric realms of this world, in order to come closer to their truth, divinity or nirvana.?

For me, there’s a compelling romantic allure (and a tinge of envy) for the life of a mendicant monk or friar — unfettered in study, contemplation and meditation.?Of course, such base emotions are themselves anathema to the core teachings of selflessness and non-attachment.

I had previously posted regarding biographies of two fairly contemporary monks: Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968) and Ajahn Chah (1918 - 1992).

Thomas Merton was an American Trappist monk based in the monastery at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky (the oldest operating monastery in the USA).?The Trappists (officially, the “Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance”) are a Catholic religious order known for their austerity and vows of restricted speech.

Merton was a voracious reader as well as a prolific author - penning over 50 books, including “The Seven Story Mountain” (1948).??The autobiographic book, one of Merton’s most captivating, became a sleeper best seller to the pleasant shock surprise of his publishers. Merton’s raw honestly in chronicling his unlikely path from a somewhat bohemian unreligious family to a carousing college student (Cambridge and Columbia) to his deep embrace of Christianity via Catholicism struck an endearing chord with a keen public hungry for authenticity and humanity following the weary brutality of WWII.

Later in life, the mystic Merton blazed a trail in interfaith dialogue, forging relations and exchanges with the Dalia Lama, D. T. Suzuki of Japan, Buddhadasa of Thailand and Thích Nh?t H?nh of Vietnam.?He wrote later books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism and how they tied in with Christianity. (I’m currently reading Merton’s “The Way of Chuang Tzu”.)

“Stillness Flowing: The Life and Teachings of Ajahn Chah” is Ajahn Jaysaro’s 827-page biography of and associated collection of dhamma lessons from his master/teacher, founder of two major monasteries within the Thai Forest Tradition of the Theravada school of Buddhism.?

Ajahn Chah first entered the monastic life as a novice at the age of nine.?As a young adult monk, he wandered through the country for years with a mission of self discovery, studying under various masters, subjecting himself to extreme deprivation seeking to avoid defilement along his journey of deep contemplation of the way of the Buddha.?Later, in 1954 the wandering humble monk would establish his first monastery in Ubon Province at Wat Nong Pah Pong, which despite being non-evangelical would flourish to over 250 branches across Thailand and fifteen associated international monasteries.

Stillness Flowing is not the kind of book to race through quickly. Rather, one needs time to absorb and reflect upon Ajahn Chah’s teachings that are woven throughout Ajahn Jaysaro’s engaging storytelling of his master’s special life.?Accordingly, I often follow my morning meditations by reading a segment from the book.

Ajahn Jaysaro took ten years to complete his magnum opus on his beloved teacher, so I’m going to take my time enjoying the incredible journey he has meticulously narrated.

Further, I’ll withhold a proper book review on Stillness Flowing until I’ve completely finished.?I, however, will share that upon reading the extreme depths of his self-deprivation, my envy quickly evaporated and was replaced by dumbfounded awe; this was far far removed from the quixotic image of a pastoral cloister.?

My aspirational target reading list encompasses books by or about some of the famous spiritual characters from medieval Europe/the former Holy Roman Empire, including names such as Saint Augustine, Saint Francis, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Thomas Aquinas.??

One curious name from the period, however, crops up with frequent regularity in my prior readings: the German Dominican friar, mystic, learned scholastic, professor, preacher — Meister Elkhart (c. 1260 - c. 1328).

Censored by a compromised Papal inquiry at the end of his life, the revered celebrated seeker/teacher was rehabilitated and embraced centuries later not only by millions of Catholics, but also by spiritual adherents across a wide spectrum of faiths.

There certainly is no shortage of research materials for any hungry student on the life and teachings of this unique (some say “radical”) Catholic mystic friar — with a daunting number of available books, two dedicated scholarly journals, three established Meister Eckhart societies and purportedly over a hundred articles published annually.

Among such profuse amalgamation of available resources, I was fortunate to fall upon “Dangerous Mystic: Meister Eckhart’s Path to the God Within” by Joel F. Harrington, the Centennial Professor of History at Vanderbilt and scholar of Germanic medieval history.

This is a special gem of historical literature.?

Rather than simply repackaging the Master’s abundantly available teachings and spiritual philosophy, the professor pieces together Eckhart’s family background, interesting successful career development and spiritual evolution and places it within the context and influences of his time and place – 13th/14th century Europe.?The friar’s life bridges the period known as the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages.?Far from painting a dark and stultifying picture of such period, the author deftly defends and illustrates a time of flourishing creativity in arts, literature and philosophy together with romance, honor, chivalry and a deep appreciation for the concept of Love.

Harrington successfully transports the reader into the rich period with references to popular literature of the day (including the many tales of King Arthur and related genre), the emergence of semi-monastic Beguines, Marguerite Porete, the Inquisition and the relatively fresh but burgeoning (and somewhat rivalrous) mendicant friar orders – the Franciscans (est 1209) and the Dominicans (est 1216).

In conveying Eckhart’s impressive academic credentials and intellectual muscle, Harrington drops the reader directly into the hotbed of lively philosophical and spiritual inquiry and discourse —the University of Paris, “home to the most esteemed theological faculty in Christendom.”?

The author asserts at that time advanced studies in theology were more competitive and taxing than any of the other scholastic disciplines, including medicine and law.?A perpetual contemplative scholar for four decades, Eckhart served two terms as tenured chaired professor at the University, including holding the St. Giles chair as regent professor, following in the revered footsteps of fellow heavyweight Dominicans — Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas.?

I got an exhilarating rush as the author relates academic combatants competing in open disputatio, describing the public two-day events as akin to a sporting event with supporters cheering for their favorites as points are scored. Thomas Aquinas took part in over 500 disputations over a two-year period to packed crowds.

The debate topics at such contests ranged from the minor, esoteric and obscure to those of high moment and relevance for the Church, including the compatibility or incompatibility of Reason and Intuition and the relationship between existence (that something is) and essence (what something is).?Eckhart lived in a dynamic period of deep universal inquiry that gave rise to “speculative theology.”?Theological scholars of the day studied, contemplated and weighed the wisdom from ancient religions and pagans (such as Aristotle and Plato) to assess the complementariness with revelations from Paul and the apostles.?Of particular importance to Eckhart are the mysteries around the nature of God and the connection between God and humans.

The Master’s career was not limited to academia, as he also actively gave numerous sermons to his congregations back in his native Germany.??Rather than maintain the barriers between the elite clergy and lay parishioners, Eckhart gave his liturgy and sermons in the local Germanic tongue rather than Latin, democratizing access to the word of God.

Harrington credits “gelazenheit” (a term coined by Eckhart), which the author translates as “letting-go-ness” as the most important concept of Meister Eckhart.

Per Harrington: Eckhart preached about the birth of the Word (referring to the arrival of Jesus) as “the eternal birth” and a presence within each person, directly accessible by any follower who was spiritually ready.?“What the ‘eternal birth’ did require was a proper mental attitude, a soul that had learned to let go of all worldly things, all desires and preconceptions, even the image of God Himself.”?(Not far removed from the Franciscan concept of “dying to self.”)

Eckhart spoke of each seeker individually tapping into what he called the “divine spark,” the divinity eternally within, via such individual’s personal path — the “wayless way.”?(Taken to its extreme, such view of personal empowerment could pose a threat to the officially established organized earthly gatekeepers to salvation; but, as we know, the Church survived, even though more than a few “heretics” had to be sacrificed along the way.)

As stated in the beginning of my review, Professor Harrington’s work is an engaging history book rather than a spiritual guide; although, the Master’s spiritual journey features prominently within such fascinating tale.

As for Eckhart’s legacy, some have speculated whether certain of his teachings could have contributed to the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation (two centuries after his time) or were merely coincidentally analogous in parts.?Nonetheless, he is credited with influencing a wide range of audiences, including D.T. Suzuki, Sartre, Merton, John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, Heidegger, Erasmus, Carl Jung and many others.?Modern day spiritualist and best selling author of “The New Earth,” Eckhart Tolle, adopted his name from the 14th century teacher/mystic.

Dangerous Mystic is a heady book that I will reach for again as it is a joy to read, highly educational and inspirational.??

“Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.”

― Meister Eckhart

Credit: Shout out to my dear daughter Alexandra, without whom I likely would not have embarked upon my current exploratory deviation

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Helpful Wiki References?

What are mendicant orders?

What are Beguines?

What are some cool things about Gethsemani?