The Monastics
THE ROLE OF THE MONASTIC
“To be calm and relaxed — on behalf of ourselves and all that we affect.”
OUR MONASTIC WRITINGS
The Monastery of Nothingness’ primary outreach is our writing. The majority of our writing is found on our companion site Jiu Jitsu for Everyday Life and Leisure.
ABOUT THE MONASTICS
The monastery doesn’t get a lot of visitors. It’s pretty much located in the remote back roads of the Internet. There are no nearby super highways or cloverleafs. In that sense, we fit the bill of any remote monastery: isolated, hard to find, and a place to contemplate.
While it may seem quiet here, the truth is there are a number of residents around here. In some respects we are everyday life hermits, and our homes or apartments can be considered hermitages.
Some of our ascetics are the characters we write about. Others you’ll likely never meet. Once we realized people wanted to actually join the order, it seemed vitally important to also have some monastic order.
RECOGNITION IN THE ORDER
To be clear, you don’t really need any term of address in the monastery… just be you. The monastery, however, has optional terms of address — which can be fun or serious, depending on which direction your smile is facing.
THE CALLINGS
- Komusō — Monk or Nun of Nothingness; self-conferred
- Monk — self-conferred
- Nun — self-conferred
- Brother — to go in front of your first name; self-conferred
- Sister — to go in front of your first name; self-conferred
- Prior — the founder/leader of a monastery or second in rank under the Abbot
- Prioress — the founder/leader of a convent
- Abbot — the head of the Order
Any ‘title’ in The Monastery of Nothingness is mostly about saying, “This is something I enjoy.” It’s about what’s meaningful. Pretty basic.
OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS
While we truly take our monastic calling and mission very seriously, humor never hurts. In fact, it can be a lubricant to help us get a little more honest and accepting — about our self and others.
So, speaking of titles…
THE PATH OF THE NOTHINGNESS — it’s not all laughs
HOMILY
THINKING TOO MUCH
SCRIPTURE FROM THE NOTHINGNESS
The Reading: “The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for the truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling.” — Robert M. Pirsig
The Homily: A young woman once met Shinto priest Hideo Isomoto. They talked for a moment or two when he unexpectedly gave her some modest advice, “You need to stop thinking so much.” She looked at him quizzically, turned and quietly walked away… thinking about what he had just said.
The metaphorical quality of our monastic order… the monastery is something that is in each of us.
