tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/monasticism-71897/articlesMonasticism – The Conversation2021-02-08T13:38:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1544592021-02-08T13:38:34Z2021-02-08T13:38:34ZThe military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382307/original/file-20210203-13-17e18pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C8%2C2641%2C1735&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Supporters wave national and military flags in Yangon, Myanmar after the military staged a coup.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Myanmar/976e5558d9f4471eaaeb84488581c1b6/photo?Query=myanmar%20coup%20suu&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=79&currentItemNo=33">AP Photo/Thein Zaw</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The military’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55882938">seizure of power in Myanmar</a> and the detention of head of government Aung San Suu Kyi is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2644932?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">far from the first time generals in the country have interfered in national politics</a>.</p>
<p>Myanmar’s military has held a prominent political position in the country for decades. For almost 50 years – <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12990563">between 1962 and 2011 – the country was under successive military regimes</a>. </p>
<p>These regimes displayed an ambivalent attitude to the country’s main religion, Buddhism – Buddhist movements, which were on the whole in opposition to military rule, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645106?seq=1">were severely repressed</a>. At the same time the military drew a significant level of legitimacy from nationalism, which in Myanmar is intrinsically linked to Buddhism.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.american.edu/sis/faculty/hardig.cfm">scholars of</a> <a href="https://www.american.edu/sis/faculty/sajjad.cfm">international relations</a> who examine social movements, identity formation and conflict, we have studied the evolution and growth of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar. While these groups might not be reliable allies for the military, they are a powerful force with a large grassroots base.</p>
<h2>Emergence of a Buddhist nationalism</h2>
<p>Myanmar is ethnically diverse. Its government officially recognizes <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/3/14/myanmar-major-ethnic-groups-and-where-they-live">135 ethnic groups</a>. In terms of religion, there is a <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/census-data-shows-myanmar-muslim-population-has-fallen/612764">sizable presence of Christian and Muslim minorities</a>, but close to 90% of the population identifies as Buddhists.</p>
<p>The roots of Buddhist nationalism go back to the country’s <a href="https://theasiadialogue.com/2019/03/08/myanmar-nationalism-the-monks-the-military-and-the-muslims/">colonial past</a>. Myanmar came under <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40241058?seq=1">British colonial rule in 1824</a>. The colonial administration withdrew traditional state support for monasteries, promoted secular education, suppressed Buddhist practices and encouraged Christian missionary activity. </p>
<p>Under colonial rule, the British often moved local populations to different colonies. In Myanmar – <a href="https://www.usip.org/blog/2018/06/whats-name-burma-or-myanmar">called Burma under British rule, but changed by the military after crushing the pro-democracy movement in 1989 </a> – the colonists brought in Hindu and Muslim Indians to serve in the colonial administration. </p>
<p>This resulted in Indian businessmen dominating <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/290-buddhism-and-state-power-myanmar">some sectors of the economy</a>. The British also <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-the-persecution-of-myanmars-rohingya-84040">promoted migrant labor to increase rice cultivation and profits</a>. Between 1871 and 1911, the <a href="https://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf">Muslim population tripled</a>.</p>
<p>Each of these factors generated significant resentment among the majority Buddhist population. In the 1930s, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/burmese-family-amnesia/557228/">violence erupted between Burmese and people of Indian descent</a>. Muslims, in particular, were cast as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14639947.2015.1008090?journalCode=rcbh20">a threat to the local way of life</a>. </p>
<p>In 1948, Myanmar gained independence from British rule. But for the next 14 years, the country struggled with <a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/08/01/government-could-have-stopped">armed ethnic conflict and political instability</a>.</p>
<p>During military rule, Buddhist groups were <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645106?seq=1">violently repressed</a>. In 2007, some <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/saffron-revolution-good-monk-myth/541116/">80,000 Buddhist monks came out in protest against the military government’s decision to stop subsidies of fuel</a>. This became known as the “Saffron Revolution.” The revolution itself was put down by the military regime, but experts believe it <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/saffron/">might have helped usher in the era of democratization</a> which began in 2011. </p>
<p>It was at this time Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, or NLD, and daughter of Myanmar’s independence leader, General Aung San, was released from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977">nearly 15 years in detention</a>.</p>
<h2>Resurgence of Buddhist nationalism</h2>
<p>The current crisis unfolds in an environment of heightened tensions between Buddhist nationalists and minority groups. Since 2011, Myanmar has been troubled by an upsurge in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/world/asia/buddhism-militant-rise.html">extreme Buddhist nationalism, anti-Muslim hate speech and deadly communal violence</a>. </p>
<p>This surge was not coincidental. The military-appointed government that led the democratic transition between 2011 and 2016 <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0048721X.2019.1610810">lifted restrictions on speech and assembly</a>, allowing Buddhist monks to engage politically. The most prominent of the nationalist groups was the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, commonly referred to by its Burmese language acronym, MaBaTha, <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/290-buddhism-and-state-power-myanmar">led by Buddhist monks</a>.</p>
<p>Because of its highly decentralized nature, estimates of their membership vary greatly, but it is believed to have between <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/women-myanmar-buddhist-nationalist-movement/">20,000 and 80,000 members in Yangon</a>, the capital of Myanmar, alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Buddhist nationalist group, Ma Ba Tha, Monks, Myanmar" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382310/original/file-20210203-19-ejuw6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Monks belonging to the outlawed Buddhist nationalist group, Ma Ba Tha, in Mandalay, Myanmar in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MyanmarBuddhistNationalists/4e447cd9b47f4a6f80732cb825c5eacf/photo?Query=buddhist%20nationalists%20myanmar&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=167&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Hkun Lat, File</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The MaBaTha Movement became an increasingly destabilizing actor, particularly in their vocal <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/03/revealed-facebook-hate-speech-exploded-in-myanmar-during-rohingya-crisis">campaign against the Rohingya</a>, and Suu Kyi’s government tried to curtail its growth by <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/ban-05232017152958.html">outlawing it in 2017</a>. This did little to stop the movement’s growth, as it simply <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/faced-with-ban-myanmar-hardline-ma-ba-tha-monks-change-name">rebranded itself as the Buddha Dhamma Philanthropy Foundation</a> and encouraged its followers to continue their work under that name. </p>
<h2>Nationalism and its broad appeal</h2>
<p>The nationalist rhetoric found appeal among <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/women-myanmar-buddhist-nationalist-movement/">wide swaths of the Buddhist population</a>, and made Buddhist nationalism an important social force in Myanmar. In 2017, during the violent military crackdown on the Rohingya, there was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19683?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">significant popular support for their actions among Myanmar’s Buddhists</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy are not blameless when it comes to encouragement of a certain type of Buddhist nationalism. In the run up to the 2015 elections, no Muslim appeared on the ballot for the ruling party or the opposition. The National League for Democracy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/03/no-vote-no-candidates-myanmars-muslims-barred-from-their-own-election">did not allow Muslims to run as political candidates</a>. </p>
<p>In 2017, the National League for Democracy actively participated in the attempts to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/why-aung-san-suu-kyi-isnt-protecting-the-rohingya-in-burma/2017/09/15/c88b10fa-9900-11e7-87fc-c3f7ee4035c9_story.html">discredit reports of atrocities committed against the Rohingya</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this, many nationalists in Myanmar believe that Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy are “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-protest/myanmar-nationalists-hold-pro-military-rally-amid-tensions-with-government-idUSKBN2030EI">weak” protectors of Buddhism</a>. </p>
<h2>Return to military rule</h2>
<p>The military coup came as the new parliament was set to hold its first session since the November elections. Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy had <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54899170%20in%20the%20elections">won a substantive victory</a>. The main opposition to the National League for Democracy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, or the USDP, has military support.</p>
<p>While there are no formal ties between the Union Solidarity and Development Party and Buddhist nationalist groups, the party’s rhetoric in the 2020 election campaign <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/myanmars-aggressive-nationalism-in-the-air-ahead-of-2020-elections/">certainly courted them</a>. They adopted the nationalist theme of “<a href="https://globalvoices.org/2020/11/06/myanmar-candidates-and-parties-turn-to-religious-nationalism-ahead-of-november-8-elections/">protecting” religion, portraying the National League for Democracy as a “religion-destroying” party</a>. </p>
<p>Following the election, the Union Solidarity and Development Party accused the National League for Democracy of election fraud, but offered very little evidence to that effect. In this context of heightened tension and <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/focus-facebook-faces-a-reckoning-in-myanmar-after-blocked-by-military-2021-02-04">misinformation spreading online</a>, the military made their move to seize power. </p>
<p>In addition to the nationalist rhetoric centering on religion, another sign that the military seeks the support of Buddhist nationalists is that among the many civil society actors arrested are <a href="https://www.csw.org.uk/2021/02/03/press/4967/article.htm">three Buddhist monks who have been outspoken critics</a> of both the military and the extreme Buddhist nationalist groups. This signals to Buddhist nationalists that their rivals from within the Buddhist monk community are also seen as a threat to the military. But Buddhist nationalists might not be reliable allies for the military. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/09/22/resistance-monks/buddhism-and-activism-burma">As history shows</a>, they will not support a military regime unless it caters to their interests.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The roots of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar go back to colonial days. Those behind the military coup are seeking to harness it to legitimize the seizure of power.Anders C. Hardig, Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International ServiceTazreena Sajjad, Senior Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International ServiceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1386972020-08-04T16:55:20Z2020-08-04T16:55:20ZSecond World War fight to protect Monte Cassino Abbey was a battle over Europe’s history<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340156/original/file-20200605-176564-1k5sq6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C180%2C1310%2C754&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A low aerial view of Monte Cassino Abbey, south-east of Rome, after the February 1944 bombing.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_Cassino,_January-may_1944_C4363.jpg">(Wikimedia Commons/The Imperial War Museum)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Allied <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8afP6GetP8">bombing of Monte Cassino Abbey</a> in Italy on Feb. 15, 1944, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/27/world/40-years-later-the-message-of-monte-cassino-pax.html">was a mistake</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/arts/02iht-3kimm.7713570.html">Hundreds of civilians reportedly died</a>, and the Allies soon learned that the Germans, believed to be hunkered inside, <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=CngSogEACAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&redir_esc=y">were not there</a>. </p>
<p>Military historians have written tirelessly about the strategic errors during this critical phase of the “<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/italian-campaign">Italian campaign</a>,” which reduced the abbey to a “<a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5147958W/Monte_Cassino">mass of ruins</a>.”</p>
<p>Situated on the Germans’ defensive “<a href="https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=309">Gustav Line</a>,” which connected the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas, the abbey stood in the way of the Allies’ march towards Rome. But was its destruction really necessary? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335389/original/file-20200515-138654-9qxh1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The bombing of Cassino Monastery and town, May 1944, by Peter McIntryre, an official Second World War artist.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikimedia Commons/Archives New Zealand)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of the campaign’s closest participants didn’t think so. Writing after the war, American army General Mark W. Clark considered the attack an <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=N8o9SKt1ZjIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">unnecessary measure</a>. </p>
<p>A senior British army officer, Major-General J.F.C. Fuller, called it “<a href="https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/j-f-c-fuller/the-second-world-war-1939-45/9780306805066/">an act of sheer tactical stupidity</a>.” Even Winston Churchill questioned whether Monte Cassino, “<a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=R1K76X8qj60C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Churchill,+Second+World+War,+volume+V&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXs-y_iLbpAhVqdt8KHdMjCesQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">which several times in previous wars had been pillaged, destroyed and rebuilt … should have been destroyed once again</a>.” </p>
<p>Yet all was not lost. Pre-emptive measures fuelled by a growing trans-Atlantic concern for the protection of its ancient library, archive and treasures spared the abbey an even greater disaster: the complete loss of its cultural identity and heritage. </p>
<p>Both Allied and Axis forces, engaged in a larger war against each other, scrambled to protect Monte Cassino’s library and artifacts. A politicized struggle emerged in the process, with both sides wanting to be seen and remembered as guardians of Europe’s cultural and religious inheritance. </p>
<h2>Rise to prominence</h2>
<p>Monte Cassino was the fountainhead of the <a href="https://www.osb.org/our-roots/a-brief-history-of-the-benedictine-order/">western monastic tradition</a>.
Established by <a href="http://osborg.anselmianum.com/our-roots/saint-benedict/">Saints Benedict and Scholastica</a> around the year 529, the abbey grew throughout the Middle Ages into one of the most important religious, political, cultural and intellectual centres in western Europe. </p>
<p>It acquired this reputation in part thanks to the basic instructions for monks’ religious life first developed at the abbey known as <em><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/302806/the-rule-of-st-benedict-by-carolinne-white/9780140449969">The Rule of Saint Benedict</a></em>. Benedict’s “rule” offered <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/rule-of-st-benedict-with-a-necrology-of-st-gilles-abbey">organizing principles and regulations on obedience, work and prayer</a> that inspired a community of devoted followers, and is <a href="https://www.osb.org/our-roots/the-rule/">today considered a classic text of Christian spirituality</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335406/original/file-20200515-138620-uk65ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orthodox icon depicting St. Benedict, also known as Benedict of Nursia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikimedia Commons)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The abbey’s library and archive were especially famous. The collection was already substantial by the third quarter of the eighth century, and <a href="https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_ss_34/index.htm#page/(III)/mode/1up">grew significantly in the 10th and 11th centuries</a>. </p>
<p>Under Abbot Desiderius (1058-87), who physically expanded the abbey’s <em><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/ca/academic/subjects/literature/printing-and-publishing-history/scriptorium-and-library-monte-cassino-10581105?format=HB&isbn=9780521583954">scriptorium</a></em> and its <a href="https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_ss_34/index.htm#page/444/mode/1up">scribal activity</a>, Monte Cassino assumed a prominent place in the annals of western history, culture and learning. </p>
<p>The abbey’s so-called “<a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=6wtZs_8q9RoC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=golden+age+of+montecassino&source=bl&ots=wsPUe6l3Y0&sig=ACfU3U2NpX8mWC3CxSAcgc_1L5NF3JRpnA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDyKXvvcfpAhVyc98KHZEeCMkQ6AEwBXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=golden%20age%20of%20montecassino&f=false">Golden Age</a>” didn’t last forever. Yet the achievements of this era furnished a rich historical legacy.</p>
<h2>More than just bricks and mortar</h2>
<p>Saving the abbey from wartime destruction became a priority for both Allied and Axis forces. </p>
<p>The former archbishop of both York and Canterbury, Lord Cosmo Lang of Lambeth, argued that the abbey’s “<a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1944/feb/16/preservation-of-historical-and-art">monuments of the great past, its architecture, its sculptures, its pictures are among the noblest expressions of the human spirit</a>.” </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335426/original/file-20200515-138615-ulcd0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864-1945), portrait by Philip de László.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikimedia Commons)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to the Allied Supreme Commander in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Italy’s monuments and cultural centres demanded great respect; they symbolized “<a href="https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/monuments-men/033-006.pdf">to the world all that we are fighting to preserve</a>.”</p>
<p>Appealing to the Italian people by radio, leaflets “and any other means available,” American army General George Marshall sought to remove all movable works of art from harm’s way. The destruction of immovable works was also to be avoided, “<a href="https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/monuments-men/033-019.pdf">insofar as possible without handicapping military operations</a>.” </p>
<p>Italy’s cultural inheritance was at stake. </p>
<h2>Practical limits to protection</h2>
<p>There were practical limits to the protection available. The lives of fighting men, military strategists repeatedly argued, should take precedence over ancient buildings. </p>
<p>But as Eisenhower admitted, “<a href="https://i1.wp.com/text-message.blogs.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/eisenhower_december-1943.jpg">the choice is not always so clear-cut as that</a>.” He recognized
there were times when “military necessity” could justify the complete annihilation of “<a href="https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/monuments-men/033-006.pdf">some honoured site</a>.” But it was the imperative of high commanders, he contended, to “spare without any detriment to operational needs” whatever monuments could be saved. </p>
<p>The British House of Lords reached a similar conclusion. Knowing that the abbey’s priceless treasures were “subject to the swaying tides of battle,” the House called on the “<a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1944/feb/16/preservation-of-historical-and-art">Germans occupying the place to remove them to safety as soon as they were in real danger.…</a>” </p>
<p>When the Germans did so, Viscount Herbert Samuel called the act “<a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1944/feb/16/preservation-of-historical-and-art">a great relief to all who care for the interests of history</a>.”</p>
<h2>Evacuating library, treasures</h2>
<p>In October 1943, an Austrian officer, Lieutenant Colonel Julius Schlegel, commander of the Divisional Maintenance Section — together with a German officer, Captain Maximilian Johannes Becker — <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/bombardamento-di-montecassino-diario-di-guerra-di-e-grossetti-m-matronola-con-altre-testimonianze-e-documenti/oclc/878035276?referer=br&ht=edition">convinced Abbot Gregorio Diamare to move the abbey’s literary, artistic and cultural treasures to safety</a>. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=aiMeCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=julius+schlegel+Die+Oesterreischische+Furche&source=bl&ots=fDVjIh9eMx&sig=ACfU3U1Ul7rFbs0-zqO4Rti59qdbIo0Keg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjdxL-6za_qAhWOzzgGHXcZDUgQ6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=julius%20schlegel%20Die%20Oesterreischische%20Furche&f=false">series of newspaper articles</a> written for the Austrian newspaper <em>Die Österreichische Furche</em> in 1951, Schlegel recounted the sequence of events.</p>
<p>Together with the abbot and community of monks, they forged <a href="http://abbaziamontecassino.org/abbey/en/legacy/the-battle-of-montecassino/32-treasures-removal-montecassino-abbey-wwii">a plan to evacuate Monte Cassino’s archive and library collections</a>. According to Schlegel, the former consisted of some 80,000 documents while the latter contained around 70,000 volumes. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1197&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1197&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335399/original/file-20200515-138620-1973lwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1197&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Transfer of art treasures from Monte Cassino, 1943. Abbot Gregorio Diamare, left, with Lieutenant Colonel Julius Schlegel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(German federal archives/Wikimedia Commons)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Added to this list of artifacts were priceless artistic works by Titian, Raphael, Bruegel and da Vinci, among others, as well as various ancient vases, tapestries, sculptures, <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/relc/hd_relc.htm">reliquaries</a> (containers for holy relics) and crucifixes.</p>
<p>Beyond its own library and treasures, <a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1944/feb/16/preservation-of-historical-and-art">contents from two museums in Naples, the convent of Montevergine near Avellino, and the Keats-Shelley house in Rome, had already been relocated there</a>. </p>
<p>Over three short weeks, the remaining Cassinese monks, Italian refugees and German soldiers transported some 700 crates by 100 trucks — some to the neutral territory of the Vatican (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Castel-SantAngelo">Castel Sant'Angelo</a>) and its library for safekeeping, others to <a href="http://www.archiviosanpietroperugia.it/wp-content/uploads/wordpress/Benedictina-2015_1.pdf">a castle in Spoleto, about 100 kilometres north of Rome</a>.</p>
<h2>Improbable salvage operation</h2>
<p>The whole salvage operation was an improbable feat in diplomacy, secular and ecclesiastical collaboration and logistics in the midst of war. But there are lingering questions about the Germans’ intervention — how both they and Allied forces sought to represent it in historical records. </p>
<p>Was it a genuine humanitarian effort to safeguard Monte Cassino’s heritage <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/memoirs-of-field-marshal-kesselring/oclc/438493348">ordered by German High Command</a>?</p>
<p>Was it a personal initiative spearheaded by Schlegel, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/09/archives/julius-schlegel-dies-former-german-officer-saved-cassino-art.html">against the order of his German army superiors,</a>” as the <em>New York Times</em> reported in 1958? </p>
<p>Or was it part of a larger <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Le_Saint_Si%C3%A8ge_et_les_victimes_de_la_gu.html?id=8wdIAQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">propaganda campaign</a> intended to disparage the Allies’ military actions against the <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/memoirs-of-field-marshal-kesselring/oclc/438493348">defenceless Benedictine house</a>? </p>
<p>Whatever the answer, the Italian Director General of the Fine Arts, writing on Dec. 31, 1943, thanked German military and political authorities for their collaborative efforts in safeguarding the “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/bombardamento-di-montecassino-diario-di-guerra-di-e-grossetti-m-matronola-con-altre-testimonianze-e-documenti/oclc/878035276?referer=br&ht=edition">national artistic patrimony</a>.” </p>
<p>The monks singled out Schlegel for his deeds, thanking him for <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/bombardamento-di-montecassino-diario-di-guerra-di-e-grosetti-m-matronola-con-altre-testimonianze-e-documenti/oclc/878035276?referer=br&ht=edition">saving them and their abbey’s possessions</a>.</p>
<p>The national German newspaper, <em>Die Welt</em>, published a commemorative story in 1998 about Schlegel’s efforts, which it claimed Italy “<a href="https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article596847/Italien-hat-Julius-Schlegel-nicht-vergessen.html">has not forgotten</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340664/original/file-20200609-21226-mcffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View of the rebuilt Monte Cassino Abbey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikimedia Commons)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Preserving the abbey’s heritage was considered a moral and necessary good. Re-consecrating it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2B7JoJ-vQ4">in 1964</a>, after almost two decades of reconstruction, Pope Paul VI marvelled at its capacity for regeneration. He celebrated peace “<a href="http://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/it/apost_letters/documents/hf_p-vi_apl_19641024_pacis-nuntius.html">after whirlwinds of war had blown out the holy and benevolent flame</a>.…”</p>
<p>Today, global pilgrims and tourists visit the restored abbey every day to experience its <a href="http://www.abbaziamontecassino.org/abbey/en/visit-montecassino">spiritual, historical and artistic treasures</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kriston R. Rennie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In 1944, the former archbishop of Canterbury mounted a case to preserve the Italian abbey, renowned for centuries for scholarship and devotion, but Allied forces had just destroyed it.Kriston R. Rennie, Associate Professor in Medieval History, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1394522020-07-01T12:17:54Z2020-07-01T12:17:54ZMonks, experts in social distancing, find strength in isolation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344602/original/file-20200629-155299-togxdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C44%2C4236%2C2675&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Catholicism has a long tradition of seeing being alone as a source of healing, not isolation. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/gethsemane-is-an-urban-garden-at-the-foot-of-the-mount-of-news-photo/925440126?adppopup=true">Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Need a habit to get through trying times? Try solitude.</p>
<p>Ever since the <a href="http://www.understandingtheology.org/2019/10/vassa-and-kathina-retreat-from-the-world/">rainy season retreats</a> of the Buddha 2,500 years ago, sages have celebrated the transformative power of being alone. In Christian monasteries, silent mindfulness became part of the everyday routine in the sixth century after the appearance of a book of monastic principles and guidelines called “The Rule of Saint Benedict.”</p>
<p>In periods of trouble and isolation, my studies as <a href="https://pastinthepresent.blog/">a historian of medieval European religion</a> draw me to the monks who’ve taught that solitude heals the mind and body and brings one closer to others. </p>
<h2>On listening and acting</h2>
<p>The author of “The Rule,” Benedict of Nursia, lived during the chaotic last years of ancient Rome, a period of plagues, intolerance, and, for some early Christians, self-isolation. </p>
<p>Rather than retreat to the desert or live atop pillars, attempting to imitate Christ in <a href="https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/alone-in-the-desert">acts of extreme aceticism</a>, Benedict wanted a monastic life that combined “ora et labora” – work and prayer. It should impose, he thought, “<a href="https://vultuschristi.org/index.php/2019/05/nothing-that-is-harsh-or-rigorous-prologue-8/">nothing harsh or rigorous</a>.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344590/original/file-20200629-155316-1qqrne9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ivory carving of St. Gregory writing about the life of St. Benedict of Nurcia, 11th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://saltandlighttv.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Kunsthistorisches_Museum_10th_century_ivory_Gregory_the_Great_23062013-cropped2.jpg">Kunsthistorisches Museum via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The monastic lifestyle may seem stark for modern times, but Benedict’s take on religious contemplation was <a href="https://e-benedictine.com/abouttherule/">moderate</a> compared to the experiments of his era. His guidance for monks – which begins with a gentle, poetic invitation to listen with “<a href="https://www.goodsams.org.au/article/listening-with-the-ear-of-the-heart/">the ear of the heart</a>” – quickly became the monastic standard. </p>
<p>Today, it remains the traditional frame by which <a href="https://www.paulistpress.com/Products/048-9/finding-the-monk-within.aspx">historians</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Solitude-Philosophical-Encounter-Philip-Koch/dp/0812692438">philosophers</a> and <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Love_of_Learning_and_the_Desire_for.html?id=nirZl4nMXR0C">theologians</a> regard contemplation as a monastic pursuit.</p>
<p>Some 1,400 years after Benedict’s Rules, Thomas Merton’s writings about his experience as an American Trappist monk influenced generations of Christians seeking spiritual healing. </p>
<p>Born in France in 1915, <a href="https://www.thomasmertonnyc.org/about-merton/explore/2016/7/5/biographical-sketch">Merton</a> moved to the United States after his mother died when he was six. His father died soon after. His 1948 autobiography “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Seven_Storey_Mountain.html?id=gMagnQEACAAJ">The Seven Storey Mountain</a>” describes the long period of soul searching that ended when he recognized that solitude had became the antidote for his suffering. </p>
<p>Being alone in silence was not about withdrawal from the world for Merton. Rather, solitude, as the foundation for heightened self-awareness, led to greater compassion for others. Merton expressed this realization, which sustained his lifelong activism in peace and social justice causes, in “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Man-Island-Thomas-Merton/dp/0156027739">No Man Is an Island</a>,” published in 1955 and now a classic in Christian spirituality. </p>
<p>“We cannot find ourselves within ourselves, but only in others,” he wrote, “yet at the same time before we can go out to others we must first find ourselves.”</p>
<h2>Compassion is a rough road</h2>
<p>Not all monks succeed in finding inner peace through solitude, as Merton did. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344580/original/file-20200629-155312-tx5qp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 13th-century drunk monk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Monk_sneaking_a_drink.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Take the <a href="https://brill.com/view/title/19991">Dominican Order of Preachers</a>. While researching a book on the order’s experiences during a diseased and disoriented 14th century in Spain, I found many failures among the mendicant friar-brothers. </p>
<p>Beyond some examples of illicit sex and public criminality, there are many instances of disruptive, lewd and uncouth behavior.</p>
<p>In 1357, just after the Black Death, for example, two of the order’s men, Francesç Peyroni and Bartomeu Capit, came to blows, hitting and kicking each other until, finally, clobbered with a stone to the head, Capit lost the ability to speak. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344582/original/file-20200629-155349-16sbe9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Peter the Hermit, a monk who led religious crusades in the 11th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-the-Hermit">The British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, some of the Dominicans I studied sought personal advantage by corrupting the order’s electoral system and government, by encouraging crusader violence and by leading repressive inquisitions. </p>
<p>The exploits of Spain’s bad-boy friars make for good reading, but they also raise a disheartening question: If seasoned professionals can fail at contemplative progress, how can regular folks even hope to achieve the benefits of solitude? </p>
<h2>Keep it simple, keep it moving</h2>
<p>For some solace, consider the “<a href="https://www.paulistpress.com/Products/2332-0/the-cloud-of-unknowing.aspx">Cloud of Unknowing</a>,” a practical manual for the work of reflective solitude. Written by an anonymous author of the late 14th century, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest of the medieval spiritual guides. </p>
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<p>The “Cloud of Unknowing” calls the practice of solitude exercise. An everyday comparison helps here: As with running or walking, some exercise is better than nothing at all, and more is even better. Encouraging oneself to be still, quiet and alone is beneficial, no matter how much effort goes into it.</p>
<p>The “Cloud” author says that a guide or coach might offer helpful advice, various “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=LAx0_zPqvtkC&pg=PA180&lpg=PA180&dq=tricks+and+devices+and+secret+subtleties+Cloud+of+Unknowing&source=bl&ots=fhTF0UdBHd&sig=ACfU3U3JlNVSyQ6GNbbrxcuqDos0-peO5A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5keLR3ZjqAhXmgXIEHWcQCbwQ6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=tricks%20and%20devices%20and%20secret%20subtleties%20Cloud%20of%20Unknowing&f=false">tricks and devices and secret subtleties</a>,” but none of that is necessary. What is most important is getting started and staying at it: “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SnLF5AUpucMC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=%22Do+not+hang+back+then,+but+labor+in+it+until+you+experience+the+desire.%22&source=bl&ots=hRpxG-nWyc&sig=ACfU3U3zZ0aJyQ4iWSTNoWZIbgWr6JVcCw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4tOHX3pjqAhVEgnIEHZErB48Q6AEwAHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Do%20not%20hang%20back%20then%2C%20but%20labor%20in%20it%20until%20you%20experience%20the%20desire.%22&f=false">Do not hang back then, but labor in it until you experience the desire</a>.” </p>
<p>Doing the exercise of solitude, rather than perfecting it, is what counts. </p>
<p>Contemplative practice in the Western world has historically been the pursuit of privileged men, like so many other realms. In the middle ages, clerics often scorned female spirituality. Today, of course, <a href="https://ndcarmel.com/womens-guided-meditation">meditation by and for women</a> is common. </p>
<p>Aspiring practitioners of solitude in today’s turbulent times may find a capable guide in <a href="https://www.demellospirituality.com/about/">Anthony De Mello</a>, an Indian Jesuit priest, psychotherapist, storyteller and spiritual teacher active into the 1980s – kind of a Catholic yogi. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JO2MJ_Q0534?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Priest Athony De Mello, teaching the art of solitude since 1978.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like the author of the “Cloud of Unknowing,” De Mello focused on reflective silence as a way of detaching from the words, concepts and emotions that can cause trouble. His 1978 bestseller, “<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385196147">Sadhana – A Way to God: Christian Exercises in Eastern Form</a>,” offers practical advice with an encouraging “Well, that’s a good start” message. </p>
<p>Many websites offer audio and video recordings of De Mello’s conferences. They are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO2MJ_Q0534">super retro</a>, but also, I think, just right for this moment of violence, illness and protest. </p>
<p>When every day conspires against inner peace, moments of solitude are all the more worthwhile.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael A. Vargas has received funding from The New York State/Nuala McGann Drescher Leave Program, institutional support from Fordham University and the State University of New York at New Paltz, and the Commission for Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Exchange between the United States and Spain (Fulbright).</span></em></p>Monastic tradition offers some useful advice about the value of isolation.Michael A. Vargas, Professor of History, State University of New York at New PaltzLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1177952019-06-10T12:59:40Z2019-06-10T12:59:40ZThe struggle to find silence in the ancient monastic world – and now<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278539/original/file-20190607-52776-1ajd5j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Monasticism developed, in part, because people were seeking silence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/religious-733253/">Mario Mifsud</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In our contemporary world, noise pollution has reached dangerous levels. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/noise">World Health Organization</a> has argued that “excessive noise” is a serious threat to human health. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24311120">Studies</a> have shown that <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/13/is-noise-pollution-the-next-big-public-health-crisis">excessive exposure</a> to <a href="http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2000;volume=2;issue=7;spage=59;epage=63;aulast=Spreng">noise</a> not only causes hearing loss but also leads to heart disease, poor sleep and hypertension.</p>
<p>In some parts of the world, a mysterious <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/mysterious-hum-driving-people-crazy-around-world-6C10760872">“droning sound,”</a> similar to a “a diesel engine idling nearby,” has been described as “torture” for the small percent of the population that can hear it. </p>
<p>I’m a scholar of early Christianity and my <a href="https://kimhaineseitzen.wordpress.com/">research</a> shows that monasticism developed in part because people were seeking the solace of quiet places.</p>
<p>But for them, like us, it was a struggle.</p>
<h2>Ancient philosophers on noise</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1086&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1086&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278542/original/file-20190607-52758-5ev6es.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1086&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seneca.jpg">Peter Paul Rubens</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers frequently regarded noise as a serious <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/discord-9780199600687?cc=us&lang=en&">distraction</a>, one that challenged their ability to concentrate. </p>
<p>To give just one example: The Stoic philosopher <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-greatest-empire-9780190939533?cc=us&lang=en&">Seneca</a> described in great detail the noises coming from a bathhouse just below the room where he was writing, expressing his irritation at the distracting <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317438/letters-from-a-stoic-by-seneca-translated-by-robin-campbell/9780141395852/">“babel”</a> all around him. At the end of his letter, he says he has decided to withdraw to the country for quiet. </p>
<h2>Noise and Christian monasticism</h2>
<p>There were many reasons why Christian <a href="https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/desert-christians-9780195162233?cc=us&lang=en&">monasticism</a> developed. </p>
<p>Ancient Christian writers, like <a href="http://www.paulistpress.com/Products/0484-9/57-john-cassian.aspx">John Cassian</a>, claimed that the origins of monasticism lay in the examples set by the apostles of Jesus, who gave up everything to follow him. </p>
<p>Some modern scholars have argued that monasticism was a natural development following the early history of <a href="https://www.ancient.eu/article/930/the-monastic-movement-origins--purposes/">persecution</a> of Christians, which shaped a view of suffering as a key way to show one’s dedication to the faith. </p>
<p>While the origins of monasticism are not entirely clear, scholars do know that Christian monks drew upon philosophical views about noise and distraction and, in some cases, chose to leave the cacophony of urban life for the wilderness. Even when they stayed in cities or villages, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/virgins-of-god-9780198150442?cc=us&lang=en&">writings</a> from this time period show that they were seeking a life free from the distractions and burdens of society.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the story of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3008.htm">Paul</a>, a young Christian in third-century Egypt, identified by his biographer, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Jerome/Rebenich/p/book/9780415199063">Jerome</a>, as “the first hermit.” </p>
<p>Jerome says that Paul “amid thunders of persecution retired to a house at a considerable distance and in a more secluded spot.” </p>
<p>The story of Antony, a contemporary of Paul’s, is written by the Alexandrian bishop <a href="https://www.routledge.com/product/isbn/9780415202039?source=igodigital">Athanasius</a>, who describes how <a href="https://cistercianpublications.org/Products/CS202/The-Life-of-Antony-The-Coptic-Life-and-The-Greek-Life">Antony</a> was left burdened by caring for his sister after the death of his parents. Distracted by the crowds of neighbors demanding access to his parents’ wealth and property he chose to leave his village and embark on a life as a hermit. </p>
<h2>Noise in the desert</h2>
<p>Noise came in many forms. In “<a href="https://cistercianpublications.org/Products/CS202/The-Life-of-Antony-The-Coptic-Life-and-The-Greek-Life">The Life of Antony</a>,” for example, demons thunder, crash and hiss. Although the descriptions of such sounds might seem to be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/auditory-hallucination">auditory hallucinations</a>, the texts do regard them as real, not fictional. </p>
<p>Monastic <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/172182/the-rule-of-saint-benedict-by-st-benedict/9780375700170/">rules</a> and <a href="https://cistercianpublications.org/Products/CS059/the-sayings-of-the-desert-fathers.aspx">sayings</a> instruct monks about the dangers of human speech, laughter, and even the noise of children in monasteries. </p>
<p>These texts emphasize the importance of silence in two forms: a quiet environment in which monks can concentrate and also refrain from too much speaking. Many of the sayings urge monks to <a href="https://cistercianpublications.org/Products/CS240P/The-Book-of-the-Elders">“keep silent.”</a> </p>
<h2>Seeking silence</h2>
<p>But even as these stories suggest that Christian monks were choosing solitude by going into the desert, the same stories show that silence was not to be found even in the remotest desert wilds. </p>
<p>As the reputation of <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/ascetics-society-and-the-desert-9781563382697/">Antony</a> and other monks from Egypt spread around the Mediterranean, the stories of Antony complain that “the desert has become a city.” </p>
<p>Too many people, it seems, sought the wisdom of the hermits and created a distraction akin to city life by taking pilgrimages to see them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278541/original/file-20190607-52741-9f89xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The quest for silence has been an eternal one.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/icrontic/3711628437">Brian Ambrozy</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The challenges of noise and distraction were, in fact, always part of the monastic life. </p>
<p>And so it remains to this day. One of the ways that monks and nuns have dealt with this challenge is by cultivating a sense of inner <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1202835?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">silence</a> and inner stillness through practices like meditation, prayer and sitting in solitude. </p>
<p>In Greek, the language of the earliest Christian monastic texts, the word “<a href="https://cistercianpublications.org/Products/CS059/the-sayings-of-the-desert-fathers.aspx">hesychia</a>” is used to describe the “interior stillness … that brings forth all the virtues” and over time it comes to be a central goal of Christian monasticism. </p>
<p>The ancient quest for silence can perhaps teach us how to respond to the challenges of our increasingly loud world and find our own silence. </p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117795/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Haines-Eitzen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Monasticism developed in part because people were seeking the solace of quiet places But finding solitude was a struggle. And many realized that true silence could be found only within.Kim Haines-Eitzen, Professor of Early Christianity, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.