By Laith Agha - Monterey Herald - CA,U.S.A.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The contemplative life is rather routine up on the hill for the 19 monks who reside at the New Camaldoli Hermitage.
"The life isn't that hard, but you have to be cut out for it," said Brother Michael Harrington.
(...)
As strict as the individual monk's discipline is in regard to faith, the order is somewhat flexible with its approach to spirituality. The monks are free -- even encouraged -- to study the teachings of other faiths and integrate them into their own lives. The hermitage periodically holds conferences with counterparts from other faiths, such as Buddhists, Taoists, Jews and Hindus.
They have been in contact with an Islamic professor in hope of arranging a conference to "learn about and understand" the world's second most popular faith.
A book, "Purity of Heart and Contemplation: A Monastic Dialogue Between Christian and Asian Traditions," resulted from the collaborative effort of the hermitage and some Buddhist monks.
"It comes from a desire to realize that we're all on a spiritual search, to find what in the different faiths bonds us," said Hoffman. "We recognize differences in practices and faith, but we're coming together because we recognize that we're all seeking the divine.
"We call (the conferences) inter-religious dialogue, but really we've already gone beyond the dialogue. It feels more to me like inter-religious experience. We would stop doing the academic presentation and the philosophical discussions, and just say, 'let's sit in quiet together.' We might be approaching the divine differently, but we're sharing in the experience together."
For his personal contemplative journey, Harrington integrates Zen meditation and Sufism -- a mystical order of Islam -- along with his practice of karate, a Japanese discipline.
"It's very healthy," said Harrington, "to not be in this defensive posture, but to be open to other religions."
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Journey to Inner Peace
By Laith Agha - Monterey Herald - CA,U.S.A.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The contemplative life is rather routine up on the hill for the 19 monks who reside at the New Camaldoli Hermitage.
"The life isn't that hard, but you have to be cut out for it," said Brother Michael Harrington.
(...)
As strict as the individual monk's discipline is in regard to faith, the order is somewhat flexible with its approach to spirituality. The monks are free -- even encouraged -- to study the teachings of other faiths and integrate them into their own lives. The hermitage periodically holds conferences with counterparts from other faiths, such as Buddhists, Taoists, Jews and Hindus.
They have been in contact with an Islamic professor in hope of arranging a conference to "learn about and understand" the world's second most popular faith.
A book, "Purity of Heart and Contemplation: A Monastic Dialogue Between Christian and Asian Traditions," resulted from the collaborative effort of the hermitage and some Buddhist monks.
"It comes from a desire to realize that we're all on a spiritual search, to find what in the different faiths bonds us," said Hoffman. "We recognize differences in practices and faith, but we're coming together because we recognize that we're all seeking the divine.
"We call (the conferences) inter-religious dialogue, but really we've already gone beyond the dialogue. It feels more to me like inter-religious experience. We would stop doing the academic presentation and the philosophical discussions, and just say, 'let's sit in quiet together.' We might be approaching the divine differently, but we're sharing in the experience together."
For his personal contemplative journey, Harrington integrates Zen meditation and Sufism -- a mystical order of Islam -- along with his practice of karate, a Japanese discipline.
"It's very healthy," said Harrington, "to not be in this defensive posture, but to be open to other religions."
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The contemplative life is rather routine up on the hill for the 19 monks who reside at the New Camaldoli Hermitage.
"The life isn't that hard, but you have to be cut out for it," said Brother Michael Harrington.
(...)
As strict as the individual monk's discipline is in regard to faith, the order is somewhat flexible with its approach to spirituality. The monks are free -- even encouraged -- to study the teachings of other faiths and integrate them into their own lives. The hermitage periodically holds conferences with counterparts from other faiths, such as Buddhists, Taoists, Jews and Hindus.
They have been in contact with an Islamic professor in hope of arranging a conference to "learn about and understand" the world's second most popular faith.
A book, "Purity of Heart and Contemplation: A Monastic Dialogue Between Christian and Asian Traditions," resulted from the collaborative effort of the hermitage and some Buddhist monks.
"It comes from a desire to realize that we're all on a spiritual search, to find what in the different faiths bonds us," said Hoffman. "We recognize differences in practices and faith, but we're coming together because we recognize that we're all seeking the divine.
"We call (the conferences) inter-religious dialogue, but really we've already gone beyond the dialogue. It feels more to me like inter-religious experience. We would stop doing the academic presentation and the philosophical discussions, and just say, 'let's sit in quiet together.' We might be approaching the divine differently, but we're sharing in the experience together."
For his personal contemplative journey, Harrington integrates Zen meditation and Sufism -- a mystical order of Islam -- along with his practice of karate, a Japanese discipline.
"It's very healthy," said Harrington, "to not be in this defensive posture, but to be open to other religions."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment