White Robed Monks of St. Benedict

Peace be with you.
The purpose of this contemplative manual is to alleviate unnecessary pain and suffering, the call of major spiritual (albeit religious) traditions: Christianity (My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, but as I give), Buddhism (All life is suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, remove desire, remove suffering), Islam (A'salam = Peace by submitting to Allah, one attains inner peace), Judaism (Shalom = peace - sense of completeness, wholeness), Hindu (Om= peace - sense of All is One).

In the first quarter of the 21st century it is acknowledged that The People are becoming less (institutionalized) religious and, by self-acknowledgment, more spiritual. (Short Reads)

This article uses the Christian metaphor, yet it is applicable to everyone who maintains a universal perspective, given the universality of its message.

This article does not either affirm or deny the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as the Christ. He was declared at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) to have two natures: human and divine.

We all teach harmoniously [that he is] the same perfect in godhead, the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of a reasonable soul and body; homoousios with the Father in godhead, and the same homoousios with us in manhood ... acknowledged in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. (Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (1971). The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 262-263. ISBN 978-0-226-65370-9. Retrieved 8 May 2024).

It may be asked, then, where is God, this Godhead?
+St. Albert the Great advised, To mount to God is to enter into oneself. (Cleaving to God, Chapter 7) +St. Athanasius theosis "that we might become gods" is classically associated with St. Athanasius
+St. Basil's writings may be summarized: I am myself created by God, and have been bidden to be a god ("theosis"). (Hexaemeron homilies)
+St. Maximus the Confessor (580-662) opined, We are made Gods and sons of God and the body and limbs and members of God, or paraphrased, a divinized human person becomes all that God is except for identity in essence. (Louth, "Maximus the Confessor," 158; Pelikan, Spirit of Eastern Christendom, 267.)
+St. Gregory Palama writes: Man being himself a light, he holds up his light to see the Light, and looking into himself, he looks upon the Light, and if he looks further, then also he sees the Light, and always he sees by virtue of the Light, and therefore there is communion, and All is One. ("Theosis, the Uncreated Thaboric Light")
+St. Bonaventure teaches We must enter into our mind, which is the eternal spiritual image of God within us, and this is to enter into the truth of the Lord. (The Journey of the Mind into God) (Spirit)

In other words, we have to get out of our own way, our so-called ego your conditioned habit patterns of behavior.

. The Christian is admonished to be Christ-like. In general it may be stated that being Christ-like means embodying the qualities and teachings of Jesus, such as love, humility, and compassion, while also being willing to face challenges and sacrifices for the sake of others. It involves striving to live a moral life and serving those in need, reflecting Jesus' example in everyday actions. How is this to be accomplished?

The question may be posed: If Christ is being human and divine, how did he move through his day?

Another question is posed: How are we to live being Christ-like from the inside-out (authentically, from the core of one's "being in the kingdom within") rather than from the outside-in (according rules, dogmas, institutional norms, etc.)? One answer lies in the field of neurotheology: which is to understand the relationship between the brain and theology, and more broadly between the mind and religion. (Andrew Newberg, MD)

How did Christ live His life? How may we live our lives?

Following rules and regulations may lead to a neurotic, inauthentic, contrived mode of living. We may appear on Shakespeare's stage as actors playing a part rather than just being the part, being the role.

As either a householder, priest (but a function), and/or monk (but a lifestyle), how do we witness who we are so that we may instill in others a way to decrease (ideally, eliminate) unnecessary pain and suffering.

We humans experience anger, happiness, joy, sorrow, anxiety, worry, depression - elements of the human condition. The reality of the moment indicates that some people take their joy, sorrow, depression, worry, and anxiety personally, likewise, people, places, things and events in their lives. Christ experienced these realities being human and, being Divine, He did not take such happenings personally, creating a situation. The happenings were just circumstances in the moment. How did He do this: taking the reality of the moment just as it is and dealing with its contents effortless, efficiently, and effectively? He did this by deactivating what we know and label today as His Default Mode Network. We, too, may integrate our humanity within our divinity and our divinity in our humanity.

How? - but one method (SHORT -in the moment; - Long Term: Zazen):
• Be aware of ego functioning.
• Acknowledge the function of your Default Mode Network (perhaps give it a name!)
• Focus on breathing - 4x4x4x4.
• Realize that whatever you are experiencing is your creation.
• Consciously "let go" (as when entering sleep, surrender, give-up control).
• Envision "life" from a Universal Perspective (rather than personally: Me, Myself, I)

Dear Reader: May you find the following insightful and serve as a worthy compendium to your service to yourself and others alleviating unnecessary pain and suffering. You are responsible for the meaning the following may contain, You are the creator of meaning. May you view life with the eyes of a child - no judgments, no beliefs, that is, in awe and wonder.

In other words, may you get out of your own way, your so-called ego.
Many blessings and Peace and Joy!
White Robed Monks of St. Benedict

QED*: How did the historical Jesus, with two natures (human and divine), encounter The World?

St. Benedict wrote his rule around 530 AD. The (Zen) Rule of St. Benedict came into being around the year 1992 AD. Both rules give clear and specific instruction on the "what to do" in terms of instruction in being Christ-like. Scripture does the same often times in command form: "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:" (Philippians 2:5) and "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34). May it be noted that White Robed Monks of St. Benedict have Earth as their monastery, the school of the Lord's service. Hence, all in the monk's purview is a member of one's monastic community. (Chapter 4) Benedictine stability is implied: Earth.

Each monk has one's own way to God, Being a member of the human community, one has the responsibility to support, to bear with, to encourage, to respect, and to be a good example of the life. One realizes that we are all in this human experience together. Hence, one maintains mercy as the root attitude. Hence, the monk is a shepherd, teacher, and healer in response to one's monastic confreres, one's fellow human beings.

As shepherd, the monk opens one's heart, peering beyond the illusionary surface activity into the hearts of confreres. As teacher, the monk recognizes the delusionary ways of the world and educates (brings out of) or instructs (provides information) as befits the moment often with simple Presence. Lastly, as healer, the monk LISTENS (the first word of the Rule of St. Benedict) to the struggles evident in the allusive stories of human suffering, sorrow, joy, and ecstasy. Mercy becomes the habit of being.

Accordingly, Mercy cannot exist in a world of egocentricity: "a monastic Benedictine community, by its very nature, cannot be a place of "me first." The monk practices humility by letting go of one's own hopes, dreams, and desires, listening deeply to the needs of a conferrer. The monk offers "the gift of mercy, which can shepherd, teach and invite healing. ("The Community of Mercy", Joanna Burley OSB, The American Benedictine Review 76:3, 339-342.)

Furthermore, for example, we find in the Prologue of (Zen) Rule:
You leave the houses of false belief, delusion; false stories, allusion; and false perception, illusion. You entered these houses because you listened not. Through your will you build the illusion of your ego. Your ego is only but the thought-emotion of who you think you are and are not.

Thus, the monk reflects that with whatever or whomever one does not like or likes, has problems with, is a reflection of one's own internal being in the moment. One is turning the moment (the circumstance) into a situation, taking it personally, rather than accepting the circumstance – as it is – in Compassion and Love. One responds, rather than reacts and, as may be the case, accepts a reaction as just another circumstance. In acknowledgement and acceptance, one gets our of one's own way. All is one, This is That.

In Chapter 5. Obedience, we find:
The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which naturally comes to those who cherish Christ above all. Being compassionate, because the monk has surrendered to his/her ego, s/he can enter into the experience of another and not be overwhelmed by it. Thus, the monk is present to that person as s/he is to God and his/her own being-in-the-world.

Obedience derives from two Latin words ob: through and audire: to listen. The monk is obedient in the monastic (nondual) sense when one listens through one's ego rather than by means of one's ego.

In Chapter 7. Humility, we find:
One now moves spontaneously out of the Compassionate Love of Christ. All this does the Lord, by the Holy Spirit, graciously manifest in his spontaneous and naturally playful men and women now freed of delusions of self, self-pity, and self-worth once expressed as greed and hate in delusory behavior, illusory dreams, and allusive fantasies.

In Chapter 8. The Work of God, we find:
When present, the human being is humble and obedient. One can listen to the Word of God speaking in the silence behind the din of world or of one's own thoughts and emotions. As the Scripture says: Be still and know that I am God (Ps 45(46):10).

In Chapter 9. Only-Just-Sitting, we find:
As the Scripture says: Listen, my sons and daughters, to a father's instruction; pay attention, and learn what clear perception is (Pro 4: 1). The human being who studies the Wisdom of Direct Knowing, the Wisdom of Christ, first arouses the intention of compassion, next makes the vow to save all beings from their suffering, and then carefully cultivates the attitude of Presence.

And lastly in Chapter 10. Without Thinking, we find:
Brothers and sisters, be aware that we can construct a world view of self-delusions. As the Scripture says: Put no faith in your perception (Pro 3:5). We must check for such delusions by comparing them with what appears pre-reflectively.

Thus, the question may be posed: How do we check our perceptions with what appears pre-reflectively? And by extension, the question again might be posed: How did the historical Jesus, with two natures (human and divine), encounter The World? How are we to be Christ-like, Present to others in humility and compassion, being obedient to the Father: Let thy will be done? Lastly, how does a mystical (unitive, nondual) perspective take place?

In other words, how does one get out of one's own way, one's so-called ego?


*Q.E.D. or QED is an initialism of the Latin phrase quid est demonstrandum, meaning "that which is to be demonstrated".

Welcome to this experiential experiment.
Peace and Joy!

That which we perceive is separate or distinct from us.
Such is our current perspective:
our individual presence intersects externally with some other:
person, place, thing, and/or event,
and, for others of us,
our individual presence intersects internally with
our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
Regardless, such is the Human Condition.
Externally motivated we create situations
by taking matters personally.
Internally motivated we take circumstances
just as they are.

Sociology evidences different generational perspectives. Gen X folk ('65-'80) perceive "reality" differently from Gen Y folk ('81-'96), Gen Z folk ('97-'12), or Gen Alpha folk ('12-'23). Religion and the concept of God have become less and less institutionalized.

Archeology evidences we have had a 300,000 year old history in a 13.79 billion year old universe. We, Homo Sapiens, are the last surviving representatives of the genus Homo. Throughout, we find evidence of institutional religions and pointers to unitive experience. In the first half of the 21st Century we label these unitive experiences as "nondual".

One such unitive experiences is "Christ Consciousness",which itself has little to do with the stories of the historical Jesus.What if one were to perceive reality from a nondual, Universal, perspective? Is it not recorded that the historical Jesus said: that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you? What would such a perspective be like and How might that be achieved? Gen Z and Gen Alpha folk seek God while realizing that the seeker and sought are one in the same, yet, they do not have a language to communicate their experience. The language of the religious institution does not bespeak spiritual experience. We have framed Christ Consciousness (or Universal Consciousness or WaveFunction) into perhaps more familiar modes.

Thus the following ... story ... Once upon a time ...

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