A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life [Paperback]

Wayne Teasdale (Author), Ken Wilber (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2003

The Mystic Heart chronicled Brother Wayne Teasdale’s journey into a multifaceted spirituality blending his traditional Catholic training and the Eastern way of sannyasa (Indian monkhood). A Monk in the World tells what that journey has meant for him — living as a monk outside the monastery, integrating teachings from the world’s religions with his own Catholic training, combining his vigorous spiritual practice with the necessities of making a living, and pursuing a course of social justice in a major American city. In telling his story, Teasdale shows how others can find their own “internal monastery” and bring spiritual practice into their busy lives.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When Brother Wayne Teasdale took the naked plunge into the sacred Kavery River of India and renounced his possessions and former identity to become a Catholic monk, he expected to remain in the nirvanic atmosphere of the Shantivanam monastery. But hours later his teacher turned to him and said that his mission was not to remain in retreat, but rather to go home to America. "Without a doubt there is great value in spirituality that emphasizes and supports withdrawal from society," writes Teasdale. "But in our time, we require a spirituality of intense involvement and radical engagement with the world." By this he means taking on daily tasks, such as "earning a living, paying bills, saving money, getting along with others, being entertained, enjoying a healthy recreation, and learning how to interact with difficult people." At the same time, the monk must not succumb to "greed, indifference, insensitivity, noise, confusion, pettiness, unease, tension, irreverence." Of course, readers quickly catch on that he's describing the collective mission of humankind. A Monk in the World is the book that contemporary seekers yearn for--solid advice on how to live with spiritual values in a modern world. Teasdale covers the nuts and bolts: how to introduce periods of silence and solitude into daily life, cultivate spiritual friendships, create a spiritual workplace, and how to understand and respond to the world's suffering. Such guidance shows Teasdale at his best, a man committed to building a global "interspiritual" movement--where we all become monks in the world, collectively doing the right thing while honoring the many and diverse paths to God. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

With his new book, Teasdale (The Mystic Heart), a Catholic lay monk, answers that most pressing of questions for all who look to live in spiritually disciplined ways in the real world: How then shall we live? Teasdale himself was set to live as a sannyasi a renunciate in a Christian ashram in India until his teacher Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine, gently kicked him out, challenging him to be a monk in the world. And so it has been for Teasdale, who teaches and writes in the thick of urban life in Chicago. The author tells of his practical teachers: the homeless of the city, a recent bout with cancer, the need to make a living, the constraints of working within a church he loves but with which he has publicly disagreed. As his examples from life demonstrate, he practices what he preaches about living simply, with compassion and deep respect for the world's religious traditions. The book is on firmest ground when the author recounts his experiences and affectionately describes the persons who have greatly shaped him, from Bede Griffiths to his Uncle John to the Dalai Lama. Concluding chapters are more conceptual than concrete, and suffer from some woolliness. But what Teasdale lacks in precision he makes up for with evident passion and persistence in championing the universal spiritual truths of compassion for sentient beings and mystical higher awareness.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (September 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577314379
• ISBN-13: 978-1577314370
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the monk in each of us., May 30, 2002

By 

G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Monk in the World: Finding the Sacred in Daily Life (Hardcover)

Combining the spiritual traditions of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Brother Wayne Teasdale is a "monk in the world, a sannyasi who lives in the midst of society, at the very heart of things" (p. xx). Addressing readers who aspire to be "engaged in the world," but free from its "greed, indifference, insensitivity, noise, confusion, pettiness, unease, tension, and irreverence" (p. xxii), he explores the questions: "Is it possible for the masses of humanity, who do not live in monastic seclusion, to activate the monk within? Are we capable of realizing the mystical life here in the world, in the midst of so much frantic activity?" (p. xxvii). In his 237-page book, Brother Wayne shows that, although our culture "is burdened by a steady stream of chatter that reflects a noisy mind and a cluttered heart," it is possible "to live a secular life of integrity and quality, depth and creativity" (pp. 20-21).

Teasdale's book is complemented by an insightful Foreward in which Ken Wilber writes, "this is a beautiful, wonderful, wise book that gently touches and compassionately evokes the deep spirituality in all of us. But more than that, it further invites us--challenges us--to carry that awakened spirituality into the world, thus integrating inner life with outer life, drenching both in a radiance from the realized heart that allows grace the room to do its divine work" (p. xiii). Those readers who connect with Wilber's integral philosophy will enjoy this book.

Teasdale recognizes that there is a mystic in each of us (a monk dwells in each of our depths, just below our everyday awareness," p. 215), and looks to other monks in the world including Thomas Merton, the Dalai Lama, Bede Griffiths, Thomas Keating, and Thich Nhat Hanh to exemplify just what a life of truly integral spirituality might mean to us. "For me," he writes in summary of his book, "the mystical path means awakening this monk within and nurturing its development in encountering the world. This path is reinforced by spiritual practice, with its breakthroughs and graces; supported by like-minded friends, with their love and challenges; empowered by thoughtful navigations through the limitations of time, work, and money. It means living with compassion and love in the concreteness of daily encounters, especially with the most vulnerable. It means taking risks for the sake of justice, which requires us to speak the truth boldly, clearly, and firmly to power in all its forms, especially the political, economic, and religious" (p. 215). This book will appeal to Christian and Buddhist readers alike, and anyone who aspires to live a life of values in the modern world.

G. Merritt

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaged Spirituality, July 26, 2002

By 

Dean Pielstick - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Monk in the World: Finding the Sacred in Daily Life (Hardcover)

Extending the message of THE MYSTIC HEART, Teasdale articulates a challenge to all of us to live our spirituality by engaging the world and it's many problems through the lovingkindness, compassion, mercy and justice at the core of the great spiritual traditions. The challenge is an important one during this period of spiritual awakening that we are experiencing, particularly in the USA. Self-centered spirituality ignores the core teachings of Jesus, Buddha, and so many others regarding selfless love and service. His challenge is nothing less than to change the world, to create "a civilization with heart!"

In doing so, he describes a variety of spiritual practices and perspectives, punctuated with personal and other stories. He then articulates a number of critical social needs, focusing on some of his personal passions: homelessness, oppression of Tibet, and world violence.

He also critices the Catholic Church for its failures to fulfill the Christian message of compassion and service in the world, particularly for the poor and oppressed in Tibet, China, and elsewhere. In the end, Teasdale offers a challenge to the Church to be the "matrix" or model for the interfaith dialogue and "a new human order."

The book includes numerous suggestions for each of us to engage our spirituality in the world through compassionate action and service. It is an important message for the new millennium.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical ideas on how to help humanity based on the spiritual traditions of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, October 2, 2009

By 

Jerome Ryan (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life (Paperback)

Teasdale, a Catholic lay monk, combines the spiritual traditions of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism to describe how to live in a large hectic city like Chicago. He talks about the homeless of the city, a recent bout with cancer, the need to make a living, support for a free Tibet, and the constraints of working within a church he loves but with which he has publicly disagreed. Teasdale looks to other monks in the world including Thomas Merton, the Dalai Lama, Bede Griffiths, Thomas Keating, and Thich Nhat Hanh to exemplify just what a life of truly integral spirituality might mean to us.

I really enjoyed this book for its practical down-to-earth recommendations on how to help humanity, like helping homeless people, while living the busy life in a city.