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Monk Manifesto

Sign the manifesto!

Want to join us in starting a monk revolution?

For a PDF version of the Monk Manifesto click the link to download a printable file.

The Monk Manifesto is also available in Spanish, German, and Norwegian translations.  Click here for PDFs of Manifesto del Monje, Mönchs Manifest, and Munkemanifestet.

We invite you to. . .

  • Sign the Monk Manifesto below (scroll all the way to the bottom for the comment box). State your solidarity with others who want to express their inner monk in everyday life.
  • Subscribe to the Abbey email newsletter and receive regular soul nourishment.
  • Watch the visual meditation version.
  • Share the monk love with others by sharing this page with others.
  • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks!

Monk: from the Greek monachos meaning single or solitary, a monk in the world does not live apart but immersed in the everyday with a single-hearted and undivided presence, always striving for greater wholeness and integrity

Manifesto: from the Latin for clear, means a public declaration of principles and intentions.

Monk Manifesto: A public expression of your commitment to live a compassionate, contemplative, and creative life.

  1. I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.
  2. I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others.
  3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.
  4. I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish.
  5. I commit to bringing myself fully present to the work I do, whether paid or unpaid, holding a heart of gratitude for the ability to express my gifts in the world in meaningful ways.
  6. I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do.
  7. I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.
  8. I commit to being a dancing monk, cultivating creative joy and letting my body and “heart overflow with the inexpressible delights of love.”*

*quote is from the Prologue of the Rule of Benedict

 

1,701 Responses

  4. Thank you for providing this information and community – it feels like coming home. I’m looking forward to being and becoming a monk.

    Reply

  5. I have been a Benedictine oblate for many years. In retirement, we moved away from the sisters in my “home monastery” St Mary’s Monastery… once of Nauvoo, Illinois, now of Rock Island. Times of trouble and health issues have filled my last few years. I have struggled to practice alone. I am tired but even so, I live in hope. I welcome this community and look forward to …to what? to be reconnected to the Benedictine way. The rest is in God’s hands…

    Reply

  6. Thank you for the invitation to go deeper as I lean into the rest of my life…with deep gratitude.

    Reply

  7. I’m so delighted to express in a formal way my commitment to live from now on as a monk in the world ! For many years I grew towards this engagement, but never found the occasion to do this in a way that suits me. This Abbey of the Arts, an abbey without walls, is a perfect community for all similar soulmates. For many years I practice zen meditation, but because I’m a christian, I’m very inspired by the benedictine way of life and that of the desert fathers and mothers. A few months ago I signed up for this e-course which convinced me to take this monk-engagement.
    Thank You, Christine, for giving me this opportunity !

    Reply

  8. I am grateful for a shared vision and community on the path. Your support will be a comfort as I strive to be “in the world, but not of the world”. ~Namaste

    Reply

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