Open-Source Monasticism (part 1 of 2 @ the Transpositions Art & Monasticism Symposium)
[I wrote this originally for the online Art & Monasticism Symposium, April 30 - May 5, through Transpositions, a collaborative effort of students associated with the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at the University of St Andrews. This is part 1, and part 2 is here. It was featured alongside great posts by Christine Valters Paintner, Cole Matson, Preston Yancey, and Sr ...
Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, was an Artmonk; Beastie Boys’ “Bodhisattva Vow”
[update: good context for this, a Salon post on Yauch, "From brat to activist: Adam Yauch's transformation from hooligan to human rights figure paralleled a generation's coming-of-age," here.] I’ve started to notice recently how the vows we’ve taken this year (of gratitude, fidelity, and resourcefulness), as well as the midnight Vigils Ritual we’re investigating as part of ...
Thomas Merton: “Contemplation cannot construct a new world by itself” cannot construct a new world by itself”
Thomas Merton, in the introduction to the Spanish language edition to his complete works: Contemplation cannot construct a new world by itself. Contemplation does not feed the hungry; it does not clothe the naked… and it does not return the sinner to peace, truth, and union with God. But without contemplation we cannot see what ...
Winner of Otherhood’s “The Artist’s Rule” Comment Contest: Cole Matson
For his comment on Otherhood Podcast: Episode 1 with Christine Valters Paintner, Cole Matson is hereby awarded a copy of Paintner’s book, “The Artist’s Rule.” The comments were all great, and the decision was a hard one. The passion and devotion Matson offers in his poetry really captured my attention, though. And I’m a sucker ...
Laura Riding was an artmonk
“The mercy of truth – it is to be truth.” In reading Paul Auster’s fantastic collection of essays, The Art of Hunger, I came across Truth, Beauty, Silence, a stunning look at Laura Riding’s life and work. As the poets she influenced (Auden, Ashbery, etc.) are among my favorites, I have read a little ...
Shi Yongxin, “CEO Monk” and abbot of the Shaolin Temple
Buddhism is the dominant religion in China, with as many as 300 million believers across the country. Like other forms of Buddhism, Zen emphasizes letting go of worldly cares and working toward enlightenment through meditation and practice of the Buddha’s teachings, which include a ban on harming any sentient beings. As its home, and ...
“the simple way” » 12 Marks of New Monasticism
Through a google alert pointing me to this article, I just stumbled on The Simple Way, “a community in inner-city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world.” I am looking forward to exploring more. But first, I love this clear exposition of their values (how many elements of monasticism can you ...
Otherhood, the Podcast: Episode 1, Christine Valters Paintner and “The Artist’s Rule”
Otherhood, the Podcast: Episode 1, Christine Valters Paintner & "The Artist's Rule" [ 27:05 | 17.43 MB ] Meet Otherhood, the Podcast. In this, the first episode, I interview Christine Valters Paintner about her new book (the Artist’s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul With Monastic Wisdom), the oblate life, and what it means to be both an artist and a monk. BTW, we’re giving away a free copy of the Artist’s Rule to ...
The First Robot Was a Monk*
Check out Radiolab’s fascinating piece on the miraculous sixteenth-century creation of a clockwork automaton of a Franciscan. *Actually, this monk robot is but an “early and very rare example of a self-acting automaton.” Please excuse the hyperbole.
Peter Zumthor is an artmonk (don’t tell him, though)
Two things to notice in this Guardian profile of artmonkish architect Peter Zumthor: 1) what it takes to be called a monk by the architecture world, and 2) that it’s an insult, synonymous with “otherworldly” and “arrogant.” You would be wise not to call Peter Zumthor a monk. He may be white-bearded and dark-clad and ...
