A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life

A Monk in the World has ratings and 14 reviews. Mary said: I distinguish between two forms of awareness - horizontal and vertical. Vertical awarenes.
Table of contents

Vertical awareness always relates to the transcendent Mystery, while the horizontal relates to our relationships to others, whether they be people, other sentient beings, the natural world, or even the entire cosmos. Most important, horizontal and vertical awareness become integrated in the contemplative process as it matures, when we encounter the Divine in everyone and everything.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

And both directions display themselves in "I distinguish between two forms of awareness - horizontal and vertical. And both directions display themselves in four dimensions of knowing, each implicating and reflecting the others like a hologram. First, the metaphysical, as grounded in the transcendent One, is limitless vertical truth. The epistemological, or what we can know, is moment by moment a horizontal reality pointing to its vertical Source.

The mystical, from the horizontal into the boundless, is the spacious verticality of the Divine.

Finally, the moral combines transcendent vertical awareness with the horizontal - appropriate attitudes and actions in everyday life. In its spiritual expression, developing from its moral character, awareness is love in action, and the attributes of limitless sensitivity, kindness, compassion and mercy - actual acts of living.

Jan 30, Kate Bednarski rated it really liked it Shelves: Great read from an important interfaith voice with a direct message to me about my destiny. Dec 01, Amy rated it it was ok. I wish I could rate this book higher but the book didn't live up to its name "A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life". Very few chapters dealt with the practicalities of living a contemplative life in a secular world. Most of the book consisted of the author's options on what should be done concerning the Catholic Church, social justice, interfaith sharing, friendship, and helping the homeless.

All very important topics, but the author lost me on chapter 3, where he states that the Ca I wish I could rate this book higher but the book didn't live up to its name "A Monk in the World: All very important topics, but the author lost me on chapter 3, where he states that the Catholic Church should be more open in practicing and exploring other faiths among other options on what the Church should do.

I disagree, I think definitely there should be dialogue and support between all religions however the Church should not adopt practices from other religions, the Catholic Church should focus on becoming solidly Christian, following the Gospel. Christianity has such a rich history of Saints that we don't need to look elsewhere, all we need is to follow Christ. I enjoyed a few of his chapters: My opinion is that if you follow Christ, I don't think you need to read this book.

If you are still searching, it might be an interesting read. Jun 02, Katy rated it really liked it. He became a lay monk and mainly combined the traditions of Christianity and Hinduism, and took Sannyasa.

One more step

Most of his drive and determination came from the fact that he was encouraged to explore the spiritual dimensions of any religion. In this book, he connects with us by explaining the monk within us and how we can practice this spirituality wherever we are. He lived outside of the Monastery for the majority of this book. He talks about the vital lessons he learned while visiting the poor in Chicago.


  • Prayer - Litany of the Saints!
  • Why do I have to complete a CAPTCHA?!
  • Longarm 347: Longarm and the Guns of Fort Sabre?

He describes it as almost being a test, where we can learn to expand our love and patience to others. One major aspect of spiritual practice in a Monks heart is the service of others, and this was an action that Wayne Teasdale completed.

3 Key Ways to Live As a Monk-Out in The World

He was a devoted monk and spent a lot of time in his activities. These strengthened his mind and compassion, as well as his prayer. Meditation, nature walks, and solitude were some of the daily activities he did. These helped him with his practices in compassion, sensitivity, kindness and love. Because he was able to learn and master these traits, he applied these virtuous practices into the people he met.


  • .
  • .
  • Old age, its care and treatment in health and disease (1914);
  • The Day Time Ran Out.
  • A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life by Wayne Teasdale.

The spirituality of a monk lies in his integral spirituality. Wayne Teasdale learned to embrace his earth, as well as maintain a close spiritual relationship with his friends, as well as God, for his spirituality was a combination of Christianity and Hinduism. Through his time as a Monk, he learned that Humankind has two spiritual aspirations; one is this worldview, and the second is the other-worldly view. This could also be known as the worldview on this earth, and the worldview of heaven. Through his studies, he described this heaven as having multiple names, the mythical heaven beyond earth, or Nirvana that broke free from Samsara.

With these two types of actions, it helped lead him to explore the richness of the spiritual path that he endured. Anyone can follow this and find themselves on their own spiritual path. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was very nice to see that Wayne Teasedale was trying to combine religions together.

It is something unique and different and it definitely was a great read. I would definitely encourage people to read this book because it is something different from your ordinary book and it is full of surprises.

Books | A Monk in the World: Cultivating A Spiritual Life, by Wayne Teasdale

Jan 03, Alison rated it liked it. Rather than a discussion of inclusion and extraction and the universality of religion, I would have liked more to read of the every day challenges of incorporating spiritual practice and perspectives, particularly a chapter that I was eager to read and seemed to have missed somehow, on "dealing with challenging people". Apr 11, Edward rated it liked it. A monk in the world? Isn't residing in an isolated monastery the habitat of a monk?


  • A MONK IN THE WORLD: Cultivating a Spiritual Life.
  • .
  • .
  • A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life.
  • Books | A Monk in the World: Cultivating A Spiritual Life, by Wayne Teasdale – Akilah t'Zuberi.
  • ;
  • Catholic Social Teaching, 1891-Present: A Historical, Theological, and Ethical Analysis (Moral Tradi.

Not necessarily according to Teasdale, himself a monk, who argues that we do too much categorizing and that the monastery and the world can complement one other. The world, specifically the city, is where most people conduct their everyday lives, but at the same time can engage in the life of a monk - interludes of silence, meditation, and a compassionate reaching out to others. Apr 01, David rated it it was ok Shelves: It wasn't that I disagreed with Teasdale: I really wish Teasdale made much more use of examples and stories. And I found it tough going with writing that was too often vague.

What can I do to prevent this in the future?

I have encountered this mysterious and seductive monastic voice in my readings of other monks, men and women, contemplatives and mystics. In one of the chapters, Thurman, a theologian and advocate of radical, non-violence, described how he searched his soul when he encountered a mouse in the basement of the house that he was soon to vacate. He said that he could find no reason other than it would have been dishonest to leave the mouse in the basement to be discovered by the new owners. As such, he felt compelled to kill it. It is a ten chaptered book, not all of which I found of interest.

He speaks of his disappointments and frustrations with meditation and mindfulness. He comments that as we near the end of our earthly sojourn near to croaking , it is precisely because of our squandering of time that we realize its preciousness, its gift, and its divine nature. In this chapter, he outlines how he spends his days, and the abundance that comes of living the simplicity of the monastic life.

His conversation on work and the value of work was extremely insightful and I will be using some of those insights in my call for the transformation of work and work life.

See a Problem?

In short, our vocational calling is that which keeps us engaged and in communication with the Divine realm. It is what the Divine, through us, wants to express, gift and share with the world. Teasdale writes that the contemplative life must not be relegated to the margins of society, but brought to the suffering and the marginalized, even unto the very structures of political systems that are often the source of much of the suffering in the world.