Desert Mosque

Tassili-N-Ajjer

Jeanne Tabachnick

In Radical Spirit Georg Buehler said there are no monasteries for open-minded spiritual seekers of no particular tradition.

Why not? 

Surely other liberal, interfaith or no faith folks besides myself (and Bueler, presumably) are drawn to monastic community.  If we can’t adopt one of the existing faiths as our own, what are we to do?

The same suite of effective spiritual practices can be found among monastics who are Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Buddhist - although their explanations for the practices vary widely.  If that is so, surely a group of people can live monastic life without belonging to any one, specific religion.

What would such a monastery look like?

Without a shared Rule or culture, how would the monks find inspiration and guidance for the strenuous task of daily life in spiritual community?

Without ancient roots to balance personal power, how would the monks stop themselves from devolving into a cult of personality?

How would the community be sure that each voice was equally heard - especially the least powerful and most critical?

Visit my blog for more thoughts on this topic and others.

Let me know what you think.

Monastery for People of

No Particular Religious Tradition