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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.

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

 

1,814 Responses

  1. Greetings to all. My journey has been a rough one, filled with joy and regret. I would be lost in a sea of religious politics, but God continues to offer me to serve Him and His people. I shall make Him proud by my thoughts and actions. But NOW I shall do it with brothers and sisters on the same path.

    Reply

  5. I am so blessed to have found this opportunity. I am eager to begin my Monk journey and discover all that it has to offer.

    Blessings to all,
    Pam

    Reply

  7. Thank you, Christine! A river in the desert!!! I commit to the Monk Manifesto as a fellow monk in the world. Peace.

    Reply

  8. This is an answer to prayer. I commit to living as Monk Manifesto body, mind and spirit. Becoming a dancing monk brings with it the promise of what true happiness is.

    I look forward to meeting fellow monks as we journey.

    Reply

  10. I embrace this structure with joy and hope. I have been heading in these directions for a long while on my own, knowing I needed structure and the sharing with others. And here it is! Thank you!! All of you who designed this, and who are participating. I am encouraged and enriched.

    Reply

    1. I embrace it too. It is all coming together now. Yesterday, during my meditation, I doodled, and made waves and wrote. Ont thing I wrote was: “It is time. The time is NOW. It is here.” I know this is very real. Then today, I receive an email with the Monk Manifesto. I am filled with gratitude. I cannot do this alone. I have tried. But the key was in the waiting.I sort of knew that too…it was not easy but, much was accomplished in the silence and in the waiting. I drew back from much activity, people and travel…and knew somehow that this was right and good as well. Thank you for being there for me to enter. I look forward to the journey.
      viviane.

      Reply

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