

How Silence Works: Emailed Conversations with Four Trappist Monks - sergeant3
http://www.theawl.com/2012/06/how-silence-works-trappist-monks

======
splat
Small nitpick: the Trappists are not the only Western order that practices the
"vow" of silence. There are a couple of other orders which are smaller than
the Trappists: the Carthusians, the Hieronymites, and the Monks of Bethelehem.
(There might be more.)

The Carthusians, in particular, are quite rigorous and notoriously reclusive.
Only family members are allowed to visit them, and even then, only once per
year. There was a documentary made about them in 2005. The director asked the
charterhouse if it would be possible for him to film them in 1984. The monks
responded that they needed some time to think about it and replied sixteen
years later that he could film them if he wanted. The Trappists, Carthusians,
and the Catholic Church more generally, live on a very different timescale
than we are accustomed to. Reading these interviews from them is wonderful.

~~~
davebindy
Silence, and specifically unnecessary "chatter" is also a major tenet of the
Benedictine rule. Some monasteries follow it more strictly than others. (I
believe the Trappist and Carthusians in particular are "reforms" of
Benedictine practice.)

The documentary was "Into Great Silence" by Philip Groning. For those of us
who live "in the world" it can be a challenge to watch because it moves at a
really glacial scale, but ultimately, I think, it's very rewarding to see that
life doesn't have to be led with so much hustle and bustle.

Monks tend to live by a completely different sense of time than the rest of
us. It's been said that they don't think in terms of years, but centuries.
I've managed the site for a Benedictine monastery for almost 20 years, and
I've long since learned that even the smallest things are very, very carefully
considered. For example, it took them nearly two years from the time I
proposed it to okay an email list for their publications. This is something
that would have been a 24 hour decision for a "business." However, dealing
with them and getting to know several of the monks pretty well (in person and
via email), they've taught me that sometimes slowing down is definitely a good
thing.

------
nosuchthing

      "I wonder if a lot of the cultural complexity you refer to 
      seems interesting to people because they have lost so much 
      consciousness of [their] ancestors and the long view 
      afforded by a knowledge of history. If you don’t know 
      history, everything today can seem quite novel. But in the 
      larger context of the story of human history, much of what 
      fascinates, today, is quite redundant."  
      

Great insight on the contrast between how this Monk community lives with the
modern world (paying taxes, working with USDA, financial planing), yet pays no
attention to the hypermedia of internet and television that so many people are
enveloped in.

------
unoti
I've learned through experience that decoupling the link between your brain
and your mouth can change your life and make you a better person.

Years ago on HN I discovered the No Complaining Challenge[1]. I took the
challenge, and continued it far beyond the 21 days, because it took me about 6
months to go 21 straight days without complaining. It took me some number of
weeks to realize that the "let it all out" and "get it off your chest" thing
is a myth that makes things worse rather than better. I discovered that I
needed to reprogram my brain to complete the challenge. And the amazing thing
to me was the discovery that it is indeed possible for me to program my brain,
and to change how I think. It made me a better person, and I still years later
strive not to complain. Recently I've also begun working hard not to judge
other people, and let people be who they are.

Seneca also talks about how to train your brain to make yourself happier[2].

[1] [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-ferriss/no-complaint-
exper...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-ferriss/no-complaint-
experiment_b_5610433.html)

[2] "Letters from a Stoic" is a good place to start.
[https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/93900-epistulae-
morale...](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/93900-epistulae-morales-ad-
lucilium)

------
virtualwhys
Father A's truth speaks, such clarity.

Buddhism has been my guide for many years, by virtue of the fact that the
philosophy and practice are so pure, without trappings, without a "thing" to
belive in (quite the opposite, the core teaching is non-self, which is to say,
neither the existence of a separate self, nor the existence of a non-separate
self -- honestly, I'm not sure what remains).

And yet, this notion of sin that Father A brings up, something rings true;
it's as if the busy-ness of life, one's myriad interests, etc., are all just
covering over, just avoiding that which must be faced; without doing so it
seems even a "rich", fulfilling life is lived on the surface of an ocean deep
(i.e. from the POV of a monastic/mystic).

~~~
jalcazar
he does!

The following quote is a jewel: "If you don’t know history, everything today
can seem quite novel. But in the larger context of the story of human history,
much of what fascinates, today, is quite redundant."

~~~
virtualwhys
Sure, I was more affected by:

> My own impression is that life in the world provides many diversions which
> guard a person from really engaging the battle with sin, and can even render
> him quite insensible of its existence.

Where Christianity's "sin" is Buddhism's "ignorance", the source of all
suffering.

The great 13th century Zen master Eihei Dogen said [paraphrasing], "teaching
which does not feel like something is being forced upon you is not true
teaching".

Father A is a true teacher.

------
Phithagoras
For anyone looking to learn more about Trappists, "The Seven Storey Mountain"
by Thomas Merton is quite a famous account of the life of a Trappist monk.

------
teleclimber
Ironic that the article is served with automatically-starting audio ads
alongside.

~~~
shiggerino
After almost a decade of silence thanks to AdBlock it's hard to imagine what
browsing the web is like for other people.

------
ternaryoperator
For all the times I grumble to myself about HN losing its hacker focus, it's
articles like this that make me nod and recognize all is well.

------
muraiki
This article made me recall my experience when I spent a few days at the
monastery of Iveron on Mt. Athos. Briefly, Mt. Athos refers to a mountainous
area on a peninsula whose northern border is made fairly inaccessible by
mountains; situated on Athos are 20 main monasteries and many dozens of
smaller monasteries and "cells". Athos has been home to monastic communities
since around 800.

I remember one day when my friends who traveled with me and I, along with many
of the monks, were working on polishing a good amount of brass items outside.
My friends and I were talking about all sorts of topics as we did our work,
and fairly loudly at that. I don't recall how exactly it happened, but I
suddenly became aware of the fact that we were the only ones talking. The
monks were diligently polishing in silence and probably trying to tune out our
banter for the sake of paying attention to their work and remembering God. Of
course nobody scolded us or told us to be quiet, but for whatever reason that
only made me feel even more embarassed!

Now something mentioned in the article is that in the monastery, one has to
face oneself and the Adversary. When I first came to Iveron I experienced a
great peace and focus. But in only a few days, I saw how the simplicity,
silence, and stillness of life made me come face to face with myself.

When it came time for meals, we ate in a large communal hall. Everyone ate in
silence while one monk read something for spiritual edification, such as the
life of a Saint. Although the monks generally don't eat meat, fish, or dairy,
at times of feasts they will have fish and dairy. One day they served an
absolutely delicious meal of fish and cheese on roasted eggplant. Then a few
days later it came time for leftovers... I got a plate of beans, while someone
near me got the dish I loved. And at that moment I became acutely aware of my
utter lack of thanksgiving -- that I had food, that I was being served with
such hospitality, that I could even make such a trip across the world --
because I was instead consumed with envy of my brother and his meal of fish.
It was thanks to the quieting of my mind through the life of the monastery
that I was even able to recognize this fact. But in seeing this weakness, this
missing the mark (one translation of "sin"), I was given the opportunity to
correct it.

There is also a different kind of silence that I experienced. Morning services
at the monastery began fairly early; around 4:30 if I recall correctly (and
many of the monks had already been up for their private morning prayers). One
of my favorite memories of my trip was walking outside to the church at 4:30
because Athos has absolutely no light pollution. I had never before seen the
arms of the Milky Way so clearly, and the sky was filled with countless stars.
I find this to be an illustration of what we can see when we can move past the
noise in our lives: it was only the "silence" of the lack of light pollution
that allowed me to behold the true beauty of the sky.

In this silence, what we are really trying to behold is the Image of God in
every person, including the ways in which we have obstucted it in ourselves.
This silence is the silence of our judgments against others, our envy of
others' blessings and accomplishments, our assumptions about the crosses
others do or do not bear... all of the noise that prevents us from having true
communion with other people -- and with God -- in an authentic and loving way.
This silence reveals to us just how broken we ourselves are, and in so
humbling us helps to eradicate all of the noise we inflict upon our neighbor
and ourselves.

If you'd like to learn more about silence and the life of the monks on Mt.
Athos, I recommend "The Mountain of Silence" by Kyriacos Markides.

~~~
vijayr
How did you get to go to such a place? I mean, what is the process? Do you
have a link? Do they allow anyone to join them?

~~~
muraiki
To ensure that the monks aren't heavily disturbed, there are various
restrictions on visiting times. Things were slightly easier for me as I was
not only making pilgrimage but also visiting a friend of mine who was a novice
at Iveron (and has since become a priest-monk). Going to Mt. Athos, while an
incredible experience, requires quite a bit of preparation: not only should
you be familiar with Orthodox monastic and liturgical life, you probably will
also either want to know Greek yourself or have someone with you who is fairly
fluent in Greek. As such, a better starting point to exploring monasteries is
to find one close to you where the monks actually speak your native language.
:)

To get a taste of Athos you can watch this short documentary online, where the
monks gave unprecedented access to the tv news show 60 Minutes:
[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mt-athos-a-visit-to-the-holy-
mou...](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mt-athos-a-visit-to-the-holy-mountain/)

I should add that the book I previously mentioned, "The Mountain of Silence,"
provides a very approachable introduction to Orthodox monastic life (which is
really the Orthodox Christian life lived in a particular mode), without
requiring any religious background. The author himself is writing from the
perspective of an anthropologist, although I think at the time he was also a
lapsed Orthodox Christian. Suffice to say that a relatively non-religious
friend of mine really enjoyed the book. :)

All that being said, more info on visiting Mt. Athos is here:
[http://www.athosfriends.org/PilgrimsGuide/planning/](http://www.athosfriends.org/PilgrimsGuide/planning/)
I should note that Athos does not allow women visitors, but there are similar
monastic communities for women. This is not at all intended to be sexist, but
is part of the asceticism of Athonite monasticism in particular. Previously
women have settled on Athos, and the monks simply let them live there -- they
ended up leaving of their own accord. Also, the monks sheltered families of
Jews during WW2, which of course included women.

Edit: I forgot to respond to your question about joining. More details can be
found here:
[http://orthodoxwiki.org/Monastic_Ranks](http://orthodoxwiki.org/Monastic_Ranks)

