11/4/17

The idea of monastic life has always fascinated me, and I've often considered becoming a monk myself. Most people have trouble understanding why, but I realize that it's simply because many aren't called to such a life. What is a monk, anyway? To paraphrase Thomas Merton from The Silent Life, a monk is someone who's been called by something inside of themselves — whether you want to call that inner voice intuition, wisdom, or the holy spirit — to relinquish the cares, desires, and ambitions of everyday life and devote themselves to the search for truth. In one sense or another, they withdraw from 'the world' and give themselves over to a life of contemplation. Instead of looking outwardly for meaning and happiness, they turn to look within. Instead of taking refuge in material things or the ephemeral enjoyment found in the pursuit of worldly pleasures, they seek a deeper level of fulfillment based on an intangible yet infinitely more stable foundation—that which some call God, Dhamma, or Ground of Being. Their labour is ultimately a spiritual labour. Their vocation is one in which they seek to empty themselves of self in order to, paradoxically, become more full. To the average person, this kind of ascetic, self-denying lifestyle may sound crazy, even dangerous. But to the person called to such a life, it appears as an oasis in the desert. And I have to admit that I find myself increasingly drawn towards those still, deep, cooling, love-filled waters of the silent life.