Contemplation Vs. Social Change
Brother David: You can’t really be a contemplative, unless you also want to change the world. You want to change yourself, and that’s where the struggle comes in. By changing yourself, you’re beginning to change the world. In fact, you’re changing the world much more by changing yourself than if you’re running around blindly, involved in one cause after another.
But the difference between what we call the apostolic and the contemplative orders, or vocations, is that the apostolic approach says, “We live in this world, we’re responsible for it, and we have to do something to change the world for the better.” The monastic answer is, “We are not strong enough to change the world in general. Let’s change that little spot where we are. And let’s put a wall around it and say this is as far as we go, as far as our strength reaches. And now within that narrow confine, let’s change the world, make it more what it’s supposed to be.”
That approach has its drawbacks, too, because it can become ingrown, its own private little affair. And the apostolic approach has limitations, because it can become so watered down that nothing spiritual remains. So we need the two; they are the poles of one continuum. People who are now engaged in apostolically changing the world need to come back periodically to a monastic environment where what they are trying to achieve everywhere is to a certain extent achieved already. And if the world could gradually become what a good monastery or Zen center is, that would be fine. The monastic communities can provide the strength, the encouragement to realize that true order can be achieved.
--Brother David Steindl-Rast
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15 Past Reflections
On Feb 9, 2023 Ramon Hearn wrote :
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On Feb 8, 2023 Sam Proctor wrote :
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On Nov 12, 2019 Nishant S wrote :
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On Aug 31, 2019 Aerocity Escorts wrote :
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On Mar 11, 2017 Anaya wrote :
Nice to be here and to gather this marvelous article. Delighted so much to be here and to gather this marvelous article.
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On Oct 23, 2015 Mary Lopez wrote :
Individuals are frequently unconscious that their conduct is dangerous or produces negative outcomes. Individuals in this stage frequently belittle the experts of changing conduct and place a lot of accentuation on the cons of evolving conduct.
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On Jan 22, 2012 Bethany wrote :
I heard about this and I cannot wait to read her book. I heard great things about "Back Up On Skis" and my copy should be in any day.
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On Jan 15, 2012 Tessa wrote :
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On Oct 4, 2009 Pancho wrote :
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On Oct 3, 2009 Somik Raha wrote :
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On Sep 29, 2009 Joseph wrote :
Any change really begins by dropping the story of the self created by the ego-mind. This change within then makes it possible for the collective story to be altered and awareness can bring about real change.
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On Sep 29, 2009 Tanis wrote :
When we work contemplatively, we are working in the energy field of unity consciousness. This is related to the power of prayer to effect change. When we work in social activism, we are working in the physical plane to effect change in the material world. We must change both to change the world. This is called sacred activism - working both inwardly and outwardly - to embody unity consciousness and the higher energies of spirit in the world.
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On Sep 29, 2009 tarun wrote :
As my point of view, motivation is a dynamic factor. If you have a motivation, you can't be nervous so that motivation is self developed and is very energtic. so without that motivation, you can't do the work .
In this story, motivation is explained well but problem is how solve problems.