“The metaphor is probably the most fertile power possessed by man.” —-Ortega E. Gassett
This is a game we play– a life game.
We at Heart Mountain Monastery pretend every person on earth is a monk or a nun.
We have dedicated our lives to the singular (singular= mono-nun-o) vision of peace on earth (“let it begin with me.“)
You can play or not play. No pressure.
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Although throughout history the monastery has been identified by an enclosed, physically defined plot of land, administered by a particular sect within a particular spiritual tradition, the contemporary monastery — or at least Heart Mountain Monastery– has no walls. Our monastery is a mental and emotional and spiritual perception— or metaphor, an understanding— of how the universe, works. Such an understanding, such a perception is available to anyone, anywhere, regardless of faith, religion or spiritual maturity.
Nevertheless, at least a modicum of spiritual maturity generally accompanies those drawn to the monastic path, or discipline. (Without such maturity, when invited to consider the monastic lifestyle, the young souls, less evolved among us are likely to laugh, even guffaw, chortle, “yea right.”)
But the monastic discipline is a discipline of joy, of peace and ease. We find the monastic metaphor quite useful in first articulating and then living a lifestyle of peace, joy and good humor, here in 2021.
We view the contemporary , un-walled monastic consciousness as the “flowering” on earth of the seeds planted over a four thousand year period by holy men and women in every spiritual and religious discipline. We also recognize such a consciousness as the next necessary evolutionary stage emerging out of the obvious limitations of scientific materialism.
We are a minority, of course, at least at this point in time.
Those of us who practice the monastic discipline– which is to consistently recognize the presence of love, peace and happiness in ourselves and others, and to recognize all the ground we walk upon as holy ground, (monastic grounds) and to understand that all the actions we engage are simply means by which to enjoy the Divine (Holographic, Loving, Ease-full) Presence in this moment– those of us who practice such a happy, natural discipline recognize that this discipline bestows the highest form of grace and transcendental authority available to any human on earth– the grace to be fully human, fully present, fully awake to the needs of the moment. Just as importantly, at least to a degree, by practicing such natural joy we are also gifted the skill by which to share such joy and confidence with others.
(If that last mouthful of a paragraph resonated with you, you might be a natural monk or nun! Glad to meet you!)
Although the expressions of holographic love, peace and happiness which monks and nuns offer have uncountable variations around the world, the presence of peace and happiness is the same, and it is recognizable, one to another, immediately and without fail. Although love, peace and happiness (three words for the same Presence) is absolute– complete, and infinitely, eternally, dynamically still, unformed yet full, gently blissful (how can one describe love, peace and happiness?) — the expressions of love, peace and happiness are artful, with beginnings, middles and ends, progressive, unfolding, paradoxical. The experience of love, peace and happiness is the experience of life’s essence. Words can point, but cannot contain.
So at Heart Mountain Monastery we recognize that we–every person on earth– is a monk or nun. We are all brothers and sisters, here in the sacred institution of modernity. The different nations are simply rooms within the same cosmic house. The different faiths are lamps which light the different rooms. That we have brothers and sisters in all the rooms, seeing by different lamps, does not diminish the fact that we are one house, one family, and the house is the Lord’s— Krishna’s, Allah’s, Jehovah’s, Shiva’s, the Buddha Mind, Atman, — and we are all His (Her, Love’s) children, companions and fellow artisans. This is so simple, so obvious, yet to live our lives this way is a revolutionary commitment.
The revolution is at hand. The spiritual awakening across the globe is reflected in the spontaneously growing commitment to the wider view, the higher life, the joyful presence which the monastic discipline incorporates. Without a conscious connection to Heart Mountain Monastery, and yet with a conscious commitment to the heart’s great ascension, millions of people the world around have now joined in the power and authority which only love can grant. We see these others as brothers and sisters, just as they recognize us, near and far, openly or not.
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