A “single-monk monastery” by Suriya Umpansiriratana
At last, a fresh take on monastic space. Writing for Fast Company‘s Co.Design, John Pavlus turns us on to Thai architect Suriya Umpansiriratana’s “Monk Cell Project,” a “single-monk monastery (called a ‘cell’) whose circular structure assists walking meditation while symbolizing the cyclic routines of the monk’s daily life.” Suriya Umpansiriratana’s “Monk Cell Project” turns the monastery […]
Rohan Gunatillake on the Social Life of Meditation
I just came across this video on the “Social life of Meditation” from Rohan Gunatillake of 21awake.com and the Here & Now Project. After wrapping up a series of posts on monastic separateness and engagement a few days ago, it’s great to see these issues confronted from a different perspective. Rohan identifies “four major ways in which meditation is […]
Announcing 10 Artmonk chapters. Are you an artmonk?
Apropos of my recent posts on activism and monasticism, and the fact that I’ll be working on developing the San Francisco chapter, I repost this, written by the Labro artmonks: The Art Monastery Project has launched Artmonk chapters in the following 10 cities: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Reno, Bloomington, Indiana, Chicago, Buffalo, New York City. If you are an Artmonk […]
Monastic Separateness & Engagement (part 4): a Challenge
[This series of posts, “The Elements of Monasticism” asks the question, what exactly is monasticism? “Separateness & Engagement” will unfold in a series of 4 posts (links: 1, 2, 3, 4).] Looking back at some of the questions I asked in part 1, the assumptions I unpacked in part 2, and the different perspectives I explored in part 3, here’s a 10-part […]
Monastic Separateness & Engagement (part 3): Monasticism in Society
[This series of posts, “The Elements of Monasticism” asks the question, what exactly is monasticism? “Separateness & Engagement” will unfold in a series of 4 posts (links: 1, 2, 3, 4).] A gem from Father Louis (aka Thomas Merton), in case you missed it a few weeks ago: The monastery is neither a museum nor an asylum. The monk remains in […]
Jesus Lama
…the encounter between Catholicism and Buddhism cannot take place at the level of the Magisterium, it can only take place at the level of two contemplatives talking together in private. —Harold Talbott, paraphrasing Dom Aelred Graham, in “Thomas Merton in the Himalayas, An Interview with Harold Talbott” from Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Summer, 1992. If the […]
Monastic Separateness & Engagement (part 2): Assumptions
[This series of posts, “The Elements of Monasticism” asks the question, what exactly is monasticism? “Separateness & Engagement” will unfold in a series of 4 posts (links: 1, 2, 3, 4).] The conflation I mentioned in part 1 represents one of a number of assumptions of how monastics exist in society. I will now attempt to summarize some other assumptions I’ve […]
Monastic Separateness & Engagement (part 1): Problematizing Separateness
[This series of posts, “The Elements of Monasticism” asks the question, what exactly is monasticism? “Separateness & Engagement” will unfold in a series of 4 posts (links: 1, 2, 3, 4).] Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world in lonely pride? —Kabîr For monks are not a special sort of people, but only what all […]
Gary Snyder is an artmonk
Snyder answers the koan “who’s talking?” “Talking is talking to talking. That would be one way to talk about that. Or as I said in the poem, ‘Walking on walking/ underfoot earth turns”… So if it’s a talking on talking, the mind burns.” Snyder answers the koan “who’s talking?” “Talking is talking to talking. That would […]
Dronemonks!
“Sunn 0))) playing in a church! A Big Church!”: “Sunn 0))) playing in a church! A Big Church!”:
