Late in the afternoon, the elderly but still energetic nuns would set aside whatever holy task had engaged them, gather around their black-and-white television and watch the evening news. As a retreatant, I was eager to break the silence I had maintained since the evening before, and so the news of the day offered a welcome diversion from the challenging practice of allowing my mind to let go of random thoughts.
However, for the nuns of the Osage Forest of Peace -- an Oklahoma monastery run by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration -- watching the news wasn't just a respite from prayer and the work of operating a retreat center. They considered the practice of staying informed about world events to be a sacred obligation. "If we didn't know what was going on in the world," one of the sisters said, "how would we know what to pray for?"
The intellectual tenor and the liveliness of the dinner table conversation revealed that the sisters of Osage were well read, well spoken and not the least bit reluctant to express a knowledgeable observation about politics, religion or science. At their retreat center, they hosted guests from every walk of life who brought with them a vast range of perspectives on how the world works and how God works in the world. Yet, while differences were clearly and openly expressed, dinner table conversation was always polite and considerate of diverse opinions.
I think the civility of the dinner table conversation was a result of the Benedictine Sisters bringing more to the table than a delicious and nourishing supper. They began, ended and punctuated each day with prayer and silent meditation. Their meditation practice enabled them to impart a sense of peace and serenity to everyone around them. Although their order rested firmly within the Benedictine tradition, their openness and acceptance of many paths to God allowed all visitors to feel blessed in their presence.
Sister Pascaline Coff, the monastery abbess, brought the practice of meditation and a respect for Eastern culture and spirituality to Osage, having spent a year living in an ashram in India under the tutelage of Father Bede Griffiths. I remember Sister Pascaline sharing with me a metaphor she had learned from Father Griffiths. Holding up her right hand, she said, "The five major religions of the world -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- represent fingers on a hand. Notice that all five fingers and all five major religions come from the same source, the palm." Sister Pascaline taught that, on a superficial level there are differences in religion, but the practice of silence and meditation transcends those differences.
I returned to the Forest of Peace many times over the years and found personal renewal amid the silence of the forest. However, at this particular juncture in my own life -- and in the life of our nation -- I find the example provided by the Osage Sisters of how to lead a life fully informed and fully engaged in the world, while also managing to maintain a sense of calmness and tranquility and to be particularly compelling.
In the United States, we have elected a president whose personal values and erratic behavior are disturbing to many. Certainly, a sense of uncertainty about what the future holds is common to most all Americans at this point in history. Among those who are deeply worried about the future it is typical to choose one of two directions: To fret mightily and perhaps take action from a place of anger or frustration, or to adopt an appropriate response and launch effective action from a mindset of stillness and equanimity.
Choosing the later response is, of course, preferable, but the practice of taking action from a place of stillness doesn't come automatically. It usually requires engagement in a regular spiritual practice that allows a space for silence. Silent meditation, yoga, some form of contemplative prayer or a variety of types of rhythmic movement can provide the spiritual technology needed to fully engage a troubling world and not be emotionally overwhelmed.
In his seminal work, No Man is An Island, the famed Cistercian monk Thomas Merton, whose life exemplified the delicate balance of action and contemplation, wrote, "If we strive to be happy by filling all the silences of life with sound, productive by turning all life's leisure into work and real by turning all our being into doing, we will only succeed in producing a hell on earth."
To be still and still moving, that is everything.
The Rev. Roger Joslin is the vicar at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Bentonville. Comments are welcomed at rogerjoslin@sbcglobal.net.
NAN Religion on 01/21/2017