New Seeds of Contemplation
— Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
In these times of isolation, while so many appear gripped by the panic of pandemic, the world may seem to grow dim. As an increasing number of people fall ill, more of us choose to quarantine, hoping to help slow the creeping spread of viral outbreak.
These times of isolation, while stressful or boredom-inducing, are also an opportunity to deepen our contemplative undertakings. We are not necessarily asked to shut others out, but perhaps to welcome them in ways that transcend physical presence. As Thomas Merton reflects in New Seeds of Contemplation, “I must look for my identity, somehow, not only in God but in other men. I will never be able to find myself if I isolate myself from the rest of mankind as if I were a different kind of being.” Perhaps in some sense, physical distance may open new routes of connection with each other.
Contemplative paths intersect in ways unknown to the mere meeting of bodies in space and time. Despite physical isolation for the sake of disease control, these contemplative paths remain open and connected, perhaps even leading onto previously unknown terrain.
Here, we briefly explore some of these byways through Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation.
The False Self
While ostensibly a Trappist monk and Catholic mystic, Thomas Merton's contemplative career was surprisingly varied, dipping into the realms of Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Sufism. Merton's primary source of intrigue seems to have been not what differentiated these contemplative approaches in a technical sense, but what each offered to the human experience in its depths and totality. It was this fascination with the human experience, largely its mystic varieties, that shaped Thomas Merton's contemplative path.
“The only true joy on earth is to escape from the prison of our own false self, and enter by love into union with the Life Who dwells and sings within the essence of every creature and in the core of our own souls.”
Indeed, for Merton, the art of transcending the boundaries of our otherwise myopic reality, limited by a sense of separated individuality fabricated from conditioning, functions as the key to unlocking previously unknown dimensions of intersection on the contemplative path. To free oneself from the prison of one's false self, one must dismantle the walls of metaphysical fixity, demolishing the assumption that reality must be a certain way on the basis of the dogma of a particular creed alone, that it can never be otherwise. For Merton, engaging in the mystical practices of other contemplative paths did just this, giving rise to an enduring experience of spiritual union.
Communion, Solitude, and Contemplative Practice
Merton's reflections on communion, solitude, and contemplative practice are particularly relevant to our present circumstances. Given the exponential outbreak of the coronavirus, "social distancing" appears to be the most viable means for flattening the curve. Even so, it poses a unique set of challenges of its own, ranging from loss of income, childcare and food insecurity due to school closures, and so forth. Quarantine itself, for the majority, ushers in an acute sense of boredom, loneliness, and a heightened craving to be in the company of others.
While we are indeed largely social creatures, thriving on interactions and human connection, a great many of us have long neglected the practice of looking within ourselves. Others may associate such introspection with trauma, and so we become averse to engaging with contemplative practice. In light of the conditions we presently face, however, such practices may be among our more viable routes to remaining connected and probing the foundations of the crisis.
On related concerns pertaining to solitude versus communion with others, Merton writes:
“Very few men are sanctified in isolation. Very few become perfect in absolute solitude. Living with other people and learning to lose ourselves in the understanding of their weakness and deficiencies can help us to become true contemplatives. For there is no better means of getting rid of the rigidity and harshness and coarseness of our ingrained egoism, which is the one insuperable obstacle to the infused light and action of the Spirit of God.”
Perhaps we may extrapolate from these reflections to our present situation.
While Merton appears to be referring to the spiritual insights that can arise in the company of others, even those we may consider challenging people, we can extend these reflections into the domain of physical quarantine and its implications for contemplative practice. Even in times of physical isolation, we remain spiritually connected.
Looking out upon the world at this moment seems to reveal a series of mistakes and mis-steps that have contributed to worsening public health conditions. Yet if we consider Merton's contemplations here, the flaws of others help unveil our own flaws, and as excruciating as it may be to stare both in the face, they are they ultimate test of our patience and endurance.
Merton characterizes the individual ego as rigid, harsh, and coarse. These jarring descriptions reveal that the culprit behind our disintegrating situation, a culprit which perceives itself to be invincible, neglects to comprehend its potential role as a vector of transmission, and fails to acknowledge the intricately woven web in which we're all embedded, lurks within.
When we face these unpleasant realities, whether they pertain to the world around us or to deeply habituated patterns of egoism within ourselves, we may experience a humbling reorientation of perspective. No longer blissfully ignorant, we find ourselves grounded in reality yet simultaneously groundless given the rapidly fluctuating situation both within and around us.
Socially Integrated Introspection
Thomas Merton—who himself walked the line between social activism and hermit living, dipping into each, often simultaneously—consistently urges a socially integrated introspection, a solitude that integrates with communion. While so much more could be said of Merton's work, especially given how ripe with wisdom his reflections are in New Seeds of Contemplation and other writings, we pause here for the time being. Again prompting us toward introspection in times that superficially suggest separation, Merton reflects:
“Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about Him.”
Source:
Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Trappist: Abbey of Gethsemani, 1961.
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