The Re-awakening of Meditation

First thing on most mornings I used to take an extended walk on my trip to the church of which I was the priest for a time of meditation. A lifetime of meditation was nurtured over the years by daily practice, the reading of Christian luminaries, such as the “Desert Fathers”, St. John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton as examples. These great saints pave the way for Christians to follow. They stand high on the totem of inspiration and aspiration for other pilgrims. My extended walk often included passing through the St. Kilda Botanic Gardens where I regularly saw groups of ‘seekers’[1] gathered in their meditative state aided by perhaps Tai Chi movement or Yoga postures. My reflection was mixed.  The more traditional and conservative side of my personality recalls the words of Jesus, criticizing the Jewish leaders for their love of a public display of prayer on street corners followed by his admonition to seek the privacy of one’s private chamber to pray to God in secret. This proclamation of Jesus has shaped the Christian tradition of the meditative, contemplative-orientated disciple seeking the figurative closed closet of the desert or cloistered community. However, most Christians have generally pursued their calling in the marketplace, field, or factory with a less than strong attachment to the life of meditation. I was once involved in a spiritually shaped community, grounded in the prayer of silent meditation and contemplation.[2] Yet there was an attitude by the group leader that a person with marriage or family commitments could not ultimately lead a truly devoted life of prayer. I have determined that this exclusive attitude reflects a tradition shaped by a dualistic frame of mind.

From the progressive side of my personality, I have responded more favourably to the display of meditation in public gardens. I see the Spirit having moved over the face of the ‘mythical ocean waters’ of life carrying a great gift from the Asian religious traditions to the Western world, with a reminder of the tradition of silent prayer which seems to have been deeply buried within the hidden closets of Christian institutionalism. The visibility of public personal prayer in the Western world has brought a new interest in this spiritual pursuit for countless people both within and beyond, the membership of the church. Possibly it has become the doorway to the mystical mindset for many for whom the doors of the church are seemingly closed. For many, it has become a primary point of contact to engage with the spiritual reality of life.

The two traditions of the East and West can now be seen to encourage a more accessible and comprehensive approach, and I would argue, a greater means of awakening to the non-dual reality of spirit. The aspirational approach of the West and the accessibility of the East provide a diversity that enhances the reality of the sacred in the midst of all.

Holding these two great traditions together I return to the work of Panikkar to seek an understanding of the Divine Absolute. Panikkar’s thesis is that we must turn to the notion of Being that is the ground of all that is. Being itself is beyond definition for it is beyond form. It is reflective of the notion of the Eastern ‘emptiness’ while for the Western faith, it may be spoken of as ‘ineffable or incomprehensible.’ The history of dualistic Christianity has thus tended to create anthropomorphisms for a point of meaning and relational connection.[3] The non-dual perception finds its meaning in the ever-present notion of Being whereby Panikkar’s Cosmotheandric vision presents the created existence of Being as the relationality of all that is. Our very existence participates in this relationality.

[1]Seekers: I am using this word here to refer to people drawn to a deepening or enhanced experience of interior awareness or consciousness many of whom would speak of as spirit.

[2]Within the Christian tradition, meditation has generally been used to speak of reflection upon an image such as a scriptural picture. Contemplation has been more often used to refer to the stilling of the mind and entering a state of mind beyond the image.

[3] Eastern Christianity is less prone to long periods of dualistic thinking.