Books & Research

 

Purity of Heart and Contemplation: A Monastic Dialogue between Christian and Asian Traditions.
Bruno Barnhart (Editor) and Joseph Wong (Editor). Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc.: New York, NY, 2001, 364 pp., $35.00 Hardcover.

 

Review by Sarah Schwartzberg, OSB

For one week in the early summer of 2001, there was a gathering at New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California. The thirty participants represented Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Christian traditions. The papers they presented during this unique monastic symposium have now been collected in a single volume. The setting and the conference itself are vividly described in the forward by Thomas Hand, S.J., and by Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, in his preface.

The participants devote many words to the topic of purity of heart and its relation to contemplation, which are really two aspects of the same experience. To be fair, the topic requires many words, as there is no single definition of either purity of heart or contemplation. As a result, the authors seem to be on parallel paths that will never meet, at least not in the geometry that I am familiar with. I am not conversant with non-Euclidean geometry, which in a figurative sense (no pun intended) would probably be helpful in interreligious dialogue of this scope and depth. As a result, there is a lack of consistency and the presentations are uneven in quality.

In their general introduction, Bruno Barnhart, OSB Cam, and Joseph Wong, OSB Cam, give a basic Christian understanding of purity of heart. They sketch its development from the early Greek Fathers, beginning with Clement of Alexandria, continuing with Evagrius, on to Cassian, and then passing from Cassian to Benedict. Evagrius and Cassian both render apatheia by the more Biblical term, “purity of heart.” Cassian further identifies perfect purity as the love described by Paul in I Cor. 13:4-7. For Cassian, purity of heart is the immediate goal of monastic life, with the ultimate end being the kingdom of God (Introduction, p. 4-5).

As would be expected, it is not difficult to find parallels to purity of heart, defined for the most part as apatheia, in the eastern monastic tradition. For Hindus, Atman, the Self and source of being, is pure, perfect, free, and unaffected by desires. According to Pravajika Vrajapuna, a nun of the Vedanta Society, “The more we identify with Atman, the purer we are” (p. 26). Similarly, Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam, in his paper on the writings of Bede Griffiths, defines purity of heart as “realizing one’s identity with the Atman.” One achieves this identity by transcending thought and going beyond the ego, in order to arrive at a state of equilibrium.

The Buddhist participants spoke of the “recovery of the Buddha-nature present in all sentient beings” (p. 77). Termed “rectification,” it is the elimination of all actions, thoughts, and all traces of lust, taking of life, stealing, and deception (p. 81). Heng Sure, a Buddhist monk of the Mahayana tradition, states, “One purges the heart by emptying out its cluttered thoughts and turbid emotions, over and over” (p. 92).  Purification-- understood as a participle, purifying, since it is a process over time-- is letting go of attachments and restraining appetites and desires.

Zen Buddhists also speak of a recovery of the original Buddha-nature but one in which, by rejecting dualism, there is no distinction between the pure and the impure (p. 126).  Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton, a Soto Zen priest, lists several characteristics of purity of heart: lack of pretension and worldly ambition, simplicity of demeanor, and kindly engagement with children (p.164).

Some papers present the Buddhist perspective but were not written by Buddhists. Two Christian practitioners of Zen meditation wrote about the influence of Zen on Christian spirituality. William Skudlarek, OSB, defines purity of heart as not judging others, citing Jesus’ teaching in Mt. 7:1-8.  Kevin Hunt, O.C.S.O., in his paper on existential doubt, while he refers to purity of heart as apatheia, expands the concept in describing it as “moving beyond all concepts, ideas, and thought to true simplicity” (p. 166).

Of the four papers which present the Taoist and Confucian perspectives, two were written by Christians. Dr. Liu Xiaogan discusses “keeping the One” and the harmony and unity of the ground/ body. Paul Crowe, a Taoist, speaks of the re-establishment of unity. Joseph Wong, OSB Cam, defines purity of heart as detachment. Sr. Donald Corcoran, OSB Cam, considers apatheia, purity of heart, and humility as “not directly parallel or expressly identical” but at least as “somewhat functionally parallel in the Christian spiritual journey” (p. 227).  Of these purity of heart is the more Biblical, rooted as it is in the notions of oneness of heart and simplicity. Sr. Donald goes on to speak of the similar Confucian concept of sincerity, defined as a re-alignment of oneself with nature, reality, and cosmic harmony.

Four participants represented Christian monasticism. Laurence Freeman, OSB, lists some qualities of purity of heart: childlike simplicity, clarity of purpose, fine moral discrimination, generosity, compassion, detachment, discipline of self-control, moderation, and humility (p. 244). Bede Healey, OSB Cam, who is a psychiatrist as well as a monk, speaks of the re-creation of desire. In a process of uncovering layers of the false self, there is a movement away from alienation and disidentification toward awareness and acceptance (p. 278). Meg Funk, OSB, in an imaginary dialogue with Thomas Merton but speaking from personal experience, brings in the Sufi notion of :le point vierge, a point of nothingness untouched by sin and illusion, a point of pure truth (p. 280). Bruno Barnhart, OSB, defines purity of heart as the “characterization of the ‘new self’ of the baptized Christian under the aspect of interiority.” To be pure of heart is to participate in the unity which is God (p. 302).

Because I am drawn most to Scripture, I find myself most intrigued by what is not in the book.  The work of Norman Fischer, a Zen Buddhist of Jewish origin, is mentioned twice, first in the general introduction (p. 14) and then in the introduction to the “Christian and Western Perspectives” (p. 246). He has been exploring the psalms, and finds a tension between the nondual consciousness of Buddhism and the passionate intensity of the psalms. He finds the latter to be more resonant with contemporary human experience and the naked presence of evil in our world today.  Perhaps this resonance is even more apparent since the event of September 11.  I hope that his work on the psalms will soon be published. Aside from a few passing references and some tantalizing hints, there is little or no exploration of Scripture. The inclusion of Norman Fischer’s work would have filled this gap. It is a rich field that has been neglected. There is more than one Hebrew term for “purity” to be found in the psalms, each with its own nuance and a vast array of interpretation. For that matter, there is more than one Greek, Latin, or English word used in translation. St. Benedict’s favorite Psalm 52 uses the word tahor in three verses. Tahor means to be or to become pure in a physical and a moral sense. Such a heart is open to repentance and chooses to return to God. Found in reference to ritual purity tahor, understood in a moral as well as in a physical sense, is an essential qualification for admittance into God’s presence.  Psalm 15 asks, “Who will dwell in your tent, O Lord, who will find rest on your holy mountain?” and give the answer: “one whose heart is tamim,” upright, perfect, without blemish, whole-hearted. Such a person speaks the truth and deals honestly. A third word translated as “pure” or “clean” is bar, as in “pure heart” in Ps. 24:4. Because it can refer to grain purified from chaff, bar also has the connotation of being chosen, beloved.

All this said, I highly recommend this book for monastics and anyone who is involved in East/West dialogue. The dialogue has been expanded by including the Taoist and Confucian perspectives and even a bit of Sufi spirituality. I wish I had been there.

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[With permission from M.I.D. Bulletin for whom this review was written.]