By way of preface to my ongoing remarks in this series, this is in no way any sort of “formal” engagement with Merton's text. Rather is it my engagement with some of the “nuggets” found in the text itself in a way that may only tangentially relate to the wider context in which they are given. This is, rather, some of the operative “background noise” present when I read the text.
[Sidenote: As has become apparent, I will owe a significant debt to the writing of Fr. Stephen Freeman here. His work, both on his blog “Glory to God for all things” and in his book “Everwhere Present”, has had a significant impact on my thinking and helped to clarify certain theological “issues” in a way that is both intellectually cogent and emotionally satisfactory.]
And so we begin...
"The fashion of Zen in certain western circles fits into the rather confused pattern of spiritual revolution and renewal. It represents a certain understandable dissatisfaction with conventional spiritual patterns and with ethical and religious formalism. It is a symptom of western man's desperate need to recover spontaneity and depth in a world which his technological skill has made rigid, artificial, and spiritually void. But in its association with the need to recover authentic sense experience, western Zen has become identified with a spirit of improvisation and experimentation-with a sort of moral anarchy that forgets how much tough discipline and what severe traditional mores are presupposed by the Zen of China and Japan." (The Way..., p. 16)
1. Dissatisfaction
I live with this daily. Some of it comes from within myself, much of it from outside. But it will not do to simply rehash a set of grievances after the manner of social media. Rather does it become a question of discerning what I can change or manage (very few things and in a very limited manner) and what I cannot (most things and all people). That is the reality of being human, of being finite, necessarily limited. Look, after all, at the destruction that is wrought by our limited power. Imagine if we had more, and that that "more" was not just a product of our delusion but a fact. Thank God for our limitedness.
"If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness." (2 Cor. 11:30 _ NASB)
Fr. Stephen Freeman, a veritable gold mine of quotable material, says this in an article titled The Power in Thought – It's Not What You Think: "The simple fact is that we do not know how to manage the world. We do not know what constitutes a good outcome. We do not have the knowledge to see the future, to understand and comprehend the collateral damage of our management. The only guarantee of the outcome of history (and our lives) is the goodwill of God....In the words of St. Maximus the Confessor: He who understands the mystery of the Cross and the Tomb knows the meaning of all things." (blogs.ancientfaith.com/glory2godforallthings/ 2018/04/16/the-power-in-thought-its-not-what-you-think/)
2. The Technological void
The advent of computer technology and digitisation has made information more widely and readily available than ever. If I need something for academic research or teaching purposes, I no longer have to trek to the library, sort through the card catalogue, speak with the reference desk, and search through a book or periodical for what I need. It is all available through my computer and/or "smart" phone in the comfort of my home. In fact, such a routine as I describe, well within my own living memory and experience (and I'm not that old!) seems almost unthinkably quaint and inefficient.
And perhaps it is inefficient. But at what cost have we traded inefficiency for perpetual availability? The student has a myriad of distractions constantly at his or her fingertips. The office worker is always just a text message away. There is no longer a sense of the "end" of the workday. And there has been a "flattening" of the discernment of what is true, what is genuinely contributive to knowledge and experience, and what is merely a load of tosh generated by the emotive "wisdom" of the collective. Do we really now need Youtube and discussion fora to tell us what to think and how to react to our lived experience? Can we not even use the bathroom or walk down the sidewalk to the grocery store without the crutch of the smartphone?
There is currently no sign of stopping such "progress" either. Our humanity will continue to be degraded (it is an ontological crisis, which requires an ontological solution), we will attempt to incorporate ourselves further and further into our virtual "idols" and to anesthetise the institutional chaos, which we have created, with money, prescription drugs, wars, greed, useless politicking.
God save us from ourselves!
Again, from Fr. Stephen: "Christ is far more than a good man who set an example, and more than a victim of social wrong-doing. The Christian story is far richer. The nature of sin is death, not mere social oppression. Death reigns over us and holds us in bondage to its movement away from God. It certainly manifests itself in various forms of evil-doing. But it also has a cosmic sway in the movement of all things towards death, destruction, and decay. Our problem is not our morality: it is ontological, rooted in our alienation from being, truth, and beauty – from God Himself. Broken communion leads to death. Immorality, in all its forms, is but a symptom." (blogs.ancientfaith.com/ glory2godforallthings/2020/11/15/the-gospel-of-progress-and-the-new-jerusalem/)
3. Authentic sense experience and self-discipline
Yes, I realise the great irony (in light of the foregoing) that I have conceived and posted these words with an electronic device on a digital medium. But these are simply convenient tools for me. When I have finished I will sip my tea, pick up a good book, and later take a walk in a park. Technology can be useful, but it can also be destructive and manipulative (which is what its creators are counting on – how else can they get you to believe that you need a new phone every year and that you should gladly pay $1000 for it!).
So I am advocating here for a renewal of sensory experience, a greater appreciation of the real world (there is nothing like the smell of fresh flowers, the feeling of the sun's warmth, the sights and sounds of the beach, a nice glass of wine and a good conversation with a friend about meaningful things), and a re-engagement with our humanity. This will take some conscientious practice. And then, when the virtual world collapses in on itself, you won't be so caught off guard and realise that life goes on without your ipad! To that end, I also recommend “Culture Care” by Makoto Fujimura.
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