I’ve decided to create my own monastery. There will be two resident guests, Sorin and Nathan. But I will be the abbot, novice, cook, gardener and choir. I will welcome visitors, even visitors who might want to stay a short while. Except for my resident sons, I intend my life to be a solitary one.
I once lived the life of a monk, for about twelve years a long time ago. In a practical sense, it was a monastery without walls because we all came and went, our lives intermingled with the outside. The monastery was a place of refuge, reflection, rule and community. I’ve since lived outside any kind of monastery and have no intention of going to a community of monks. However, I want some other aspects of monastery life.
In my mind I have already drawn the perimeter of my newly-founded monastery. It extends to the margins of my home and as far as my flowers grow and bloom. In a reverse of monastery tradition, the garden surrounds the dwelling, and not vice versa.
I will live by the Rule of Barry. No one else will determine how I think or live. In time, I expect to color outside the lines of my own Rule. My life will truly be a time of reflection and gardening, and those will be subject to change. It will be a time of exploration, so the Rule will have many open and fuzzy edges.
Yes, there will be candles and incense. The food will be wholesome. Some clothes will be soft and hooded. I intend to turn my mind inward, independent of my imagination so that I may see outward in a more discerning manner.
The senses will play an important role. My monastery will be a place of sensory delight. I will enliven sensory experience by creating new brain pathways, allowing my mind to become aware of sensory experience in a deeper, more realistic way. This is different from being immersed in the realm of the senses. It is giving intense attention to what my senses encounter. I intend to be aware of the real world that lies beyond my senses.
So what of the traditional aspects of a monastery: Poverty, Chastity and Obedience? I am already reducing my dependence and attention to material things. While not austere, I want my life to be simple. Chastity will be lived not in abstinence, but in being sexual only with someone with whom I share love and awareness. I will be obedient only to my inner vision and its voice, and not follow directives from others.
I intend my monastery to be a place of simple beauty, wholesome love and free of external constraints and expectations. It will be a garden of compassion and a fountain of loving kindness. I hope many will visit and share it.