A. M. C. Casiday
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297184
- eISBN:
- 9780191711381
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297184.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. This book begins with an evaluation of ...
More
Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. This book begins with an evaluation of conventional ideas about Cassian and, finding them seriously flawed, offers the first sustained attempt at re-reading Cassian's works for their theological significance. Specific attention is called to the Christological aspects of Cassian's monastic anthropology. Throughout, reference is made to Cassian's contemporaries — both well-known figures like Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius Ponticus, Vincent of Lérins, and Nestorius, and lesser-known figures such as Prosper of Aquitaine, Valerian of Cimiez, and Paul of Tamma — in order to offer an analysis of Cassian's writings and their significance that is unencumbered by anachronism.Less
Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. This book begins with an evaluation of conventional ideas about Cassian and, finding them seriously flawed, offers the first sustained attempt at re-reading Cassian's works for their theological significance. Specific attention is called to the Christological aspects of Cassian's monastic anthropology. Throughout, reference is made to Cassian's contemporaries — both well-known figures like Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius Ponticus, Vincent of Lérins, and Nestorius, and lesser-known figures such as Prosper of Aquitaine, Valerian of Cimiez, and Paul of Tamma — in order to offer an analysis of Cassian's writings and their significance that is unencumbered by anachronism.
Rebecca Krawiec
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195129434
- eISBN:
- 9780199834396
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195129431.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which ...
More
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which were written in Coptic and survive in fragmentary form, address periods of conflict either between female monks or between the female community and Shenoute. As a result, they differ in genre from any other evidence of female monasticism in late antiquity and so present a unique corpus of material for investigation. A key issue pertains to Shenoute's efforts to establish his monastic authority over the women's community, which was physically separate from the men's, and the evidence for the women's acceptance and resistance to that expansion. I then argue that gender analysis reveals that Shenoute regarded his efforts as part of the creation of a universal monasticism, which had uniform requirements for male and female monks, including the controversial subject of corporal punishment. It simultaneously reveals, however, points of gender asymmetry, and so inequity, within monastic authority and practices, some promoted by Shenoute and some by the women themselves. Finally, Shenoute's use of the family as a model for the monastery helped him create kinship bonds among all monks, both those who had left their families and those who brought their relatives with them. Like gender, with which the family is intimately connected, this model also allows Shenoute to negotiate tensions and contradictions using egalitarian language while simultaneously constructing patriarchal authority.Less
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which were written in Coptic and survive in fragmentary form, address periods of conflict either between female monks or between the female community and Shenoute. As a result, they differ in genre from any other evidence of female monasticism in late antiquity and so present a unique corpus of material for investigation. A key issue pertains to Shenoute's efforts to establish his monastic authority over the women's community, which was physically separate from the men's, and the evidence for the women's acceptance and resistance to that expansion. I then argue that gender analysis reveals that Shenoute regarded his efforts as part of the creation of a universal monasticism, which had uniform requirements for male and female monks, including the controversial subject of corporal punishment. It simultaneously reveals, however, points of gender asymmetry, and so inequity, within monastic authority and practices, some promoted by Shenoute and some by the women themselves. Finally, Shenoute's use of the family as a model for the monastery helped him create kinship bonds among all monks, both those who had left their families and those who brought their relatives with them. Like gender, with which the family is intimately connected, this model also allows Shenoute to negotiate tensions and contradictions using egalitarian language while simultaneously constructing patriarchal authority.
JOHN NIGHTINGALE
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208358
- eISBN:
- 9780191716645
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208358.003.0019
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The narratives of the later monastic reform in early medieval Lotharingia might look back on the activities of their predecessors as worthless and contemptible but, in the absence of a better ...
More
The narratives of the later monastic reform in early medieval Lotharingia might look back on the activities of their predecessors as worthless and contemptible but, in the absence of a better alternative, the latter had continued to be esteemed. It is for such reasons that this book has looked beyond spiritual and religious roles to consider the wider ways in which monasteries and their landholdings were an inescapable part of aristocratic life, intimately enmeshed in a noble family's inheritance strategies, its prestige, and its very notion of being. To appreciate the vitality and importance of monasteries in the 9th and 10th centuries, it is necessary to focus on land transactions as well as religious roles. Monasteries depended on patrons, but it is also true that patrons depended on the monasteries for the preservation of their chosen heirs' power and inheritance in the face of the claims of rival kin. Here the monasteries were as much patrons as patronised.Less
The narratives of the later monastic reform in early medieval Lotharingia might look back on the activities of their predecessors as worthless and contemptible but, in the absence of a better alternative, the latter had continued to be esteemed. It is for such reasons that this book has looked beyond spiritual and religious roles to consider the wider ways in which monasteries and their landholdings were an inescapable part of aristocratic life, intimately enmeshed in a noble family's inheritance strategies, its prestige, and its very notion of being. To appreciate the vitality and importance of monasteries in the 9th and 10th centuries, it is necessary to focus on land transactions as well as religious roles. Monasteries depended on patrons, but it is also true that patrons depended on the monasteries for the preservation of their chosen heirs' power and inheritance in the face of the claims of rival kin. Here the monasteries were as much patrons as patronised.
H. E. J. COWDREY
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199259601
- eISBN:
- 9780191717406
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259601.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
In 1070, when Lanfranc left his abbacy at Caen to become Archbishop of Canterbury, he was probably about 60 years old — by medieval standards an advanced age. In Lombardy, and then in Normandy, he ...
More
In 1070, when Lanfranc left his abbacy at Caen to become Archbishop of Canterbury, he was probably about 60 years old — by medieval standards an advanced age. In Lombardy, and then in Normandy, he had had a long and varied experience of lay, monastic, and general church life, and not least of the aspirations and concerns of the early reform papacy and of secular rulers who, for whatever reason, had sympathy with them. At each stage of his life he had demonstrated his ability to adapt himself with integrity and effectiveness to the demands that he encountered. A cardinal feature of Lanfranc's monastic years as prior of Bec and as abbot of Caen was his close and sympathetic relationship with the reform popes of the time, especially Leo IX, Nicholas II, and Alexander II, all of whom held him in high regard.Less
In 1070, when Lanfranc left his abbacy at Caen to become Archbishop of Canterbury, he was probably about 60 years old — by medieval standards an advanced age. In Lombardy, and then in Normandy, he had had a long and varied experience of lay, monastic, and general church life, and not least of the aspirations and concerns of the early reform papacy and of secular rulers who, for whatever reason, had sympathy with them. At each stage of his life he had demonstrated his ability to adapt himself with integrity and effectiveness to the demands that he encountered. A cardinal feature of Lanfranc's monastic years as prior of Bec and as abbot of Caen was his close and sympathetic relationship with the reform popes of the time, especially Leo IX, Nicholas II, and Alexander II, all of whom held him in high regard.
George Lawless
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267416
- eISBN:
- 9780191683244
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267416.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The Rule of Augustine, very likely the oldest monastic rule with western origins, provides daily inspiration for more than 150 Christian communities. In giving an account of Augustine's distinctive ...
More
The Rule of Augustine, very likely the oldest monastic rule with western origins, provides daily inspiration for more than 150 Christian communities. In giving an account of Augustine's distinctive contributions to the monastic spirituality of the late Roman world, and in particular of his achievement as a monastic legislator, this book fills a gap in Augustinian studies.Less
The Rule of Augustine, very likely the oldest monastic rule with western origins, provides daily inspiration for more than 150 Christian communities. In giving an account of Augustine's distinctive contributions to the monastic spirituality of the late Roman world, and in particular of his achievement as a monastic legislator, this book fills a gap in Augustinian studies.
Roman Cholij
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199566976
- eISBN:
- 9780191701993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566976.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete ...
More
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. The book refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional Byzantine church and state relationship, and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In this analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the book identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.Less
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. The book refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional Byzantine church and state relationship, and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In this analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the book identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.
GRAHAM GOULD
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263456
- eISBN:
- 9780191682551
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263456.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The arguments of this work have clearly shown that the teaching of the Egyptian Desert Fathers on the monastic life was profoundly concerned not only with such subjects as asceticism, prayer, and ...
More
The arguments of this work have clearly shown that the teaching of the Egyptian Desert Fathers on the monastic life was profoundly concerned not only with such subjects as asceticism, prayer, and temptation, or with problems such as the place of monasticism in the wider Church and society, but also with the question of monastic community, or personal relationships within the monastic life. The complexity of the Desert Fathers' attitudes to personal relationships invalidates all simplistic attempts to see in the monastic movement a rejection of human contacts in the interests of a ‘flight of the alone to be alone’. The appeal of the Desert Fathers today confirms their effectiveness as teachers and communicators of the values of monastic life. The Apophtegmata remains a testimony to the Desert Fathers' wisdom in committing their message to the care of an oral and literary form.Less
The arguments of this work have clearly shown that the teaching of the Egyptian Desert Fathers on the monastic life was profoundly concerned not only with such subjects as asceticism, prayer, and temptation, or with problems such as the place of monasticism in the wider Church and society, but also with the question of monastic community, or personal relationships within the monastic life. The complexity of the Desert Fathers' attitudes to personal relationships invalidates all simplistic attempts to see in the monastic movement a rejection of human contacts in the interests of a ‘flight of the alone to be alone’. The appeal of the Desert Fathers today confirms their effectiveness as teachers and communicators of the values of monastic life. The Apophtegmata remains a testimony to the Desert Fathers' wisdom in committing their message to the care of an oral and literary form.
Jiang Wu
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333572
- eISBN:
- 9780199868872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333572.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter identifies the legacies of 17th‐century Chan Buddhism as expansion of Chan influence in Chinese culture and society, integration of monastic practice, and intensive networking by dharma ...
More
This chapter identifies the legacies of 17th‐century Chan Buddhism as expansion of Chan influence in Chinese culture and society, integration of monastic practice, and intensive networking by dharma transmission. The chapter argues that Chan Buddhism has a larger role in the history of Chinese Buddhism because it not only bridged the gap between Buddhism and Chinese culture and society and also unified the Buddhist world by systemizing monastic rituals and spreading dharma transmission. The reinvention of Chan also shows that there was a boundary within Chinese society to limit the growth of Buddhism and a general pattern of Buddhist revival can be discerned.Less
This chapter identifies the legacies of 17th‐century Chan Buddhism as expansion of Chan influence in Chinese culture and society, integration of monastic practice, and intensive networking by dharma transmission. The chapter argues that Chan Buddhism has a larger role in the history of Chinese Buddhism because it not only bridged the gap between Buddhism and Chinese culture and society and also unified the Buddhist world by systemizing monastic rituals and spreading dharma transmission. The reinvention of Chan also shows that there was a boundary within Chinese society to limit the growth of Buddhism and a general pattern of Buddhist revival can be discerned.
Susanne Mrozik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195305005
- eISBN:
- 9780199785681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305005.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter investigates how even an apparently negative discourse on bodies serves the Compendium of Training's purpose of producing bodhisattvas with bodies that have transformative effects on ...
More
This chapter investigates how even an apparently negative discourse on bodies serves the Compendium of Training's purpose of producing bodhisattvas with bodies that have transformative effects on others. It shows that in spite of their differences, the ascetic and physiomoral discourses on bodies share the same end: producing bodhisattvas with bodies capable of ripening others. These are the bodies of well-disciplined monastics whose very features, postures, and movements instantiate for others their moral achievement. If these bodhisattvas reach the end of their path, they too will materialize the most virtuous body of all, namely, that of a buddha.Less
This chapter investigates how even an apparently negative discourse on bodies serves the Compendium of Training's purpose of producing bodhisattvas with bodies that have transformative effects on others. It shows that in spite of their differences, the ascetic and physiomoral discourses on bodies share the same end: producing bodhisattvas with bodies capable of ripening others. These are the bodies of well-disciplined monastics whose very features, postures, and movements instantiate for others their moral achievement. If these bodhisattvas reach the end of their path, they too will materialize the most virtuous body of all, namely, that of a buddha.
Graham Gould
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263456
- eISBN:
- 9780191682551
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263456.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This book studies the life and thought of the Christian monks of 4th- and 5th-century lower Egypt. It works from collections of their sayings and stories which were compiled in the late 5th century ...
More
This book studies the life and thought of the Christian monks of 4th- and 5th-century lower Egypt. It works from collections of their sayings and stories which were compiled in the late 5th century and which are known collectively as the Apopthegmata Patrum. These texts show that the Desert Fathers were deeply concerned with the nature of the monastic community that they formed and with the problems which might affect relationships between individuals within it. Successive chapters of the book centre on the text of the Apopthegmata itself as a witness to the community's sense of its own history and identity; on the relationship between teacher and disciple in the context of which the practices and virtues of the monastic life were taught; on the importance of good relationships between a monk and his companions in the monastic life; on the problems of anger, judgement, and praise, which interfere with good relationships; on the tension between the desire for solitude and the necessity of interaction with others; and on the connection between relationships with others and a monk's own life of prayer. The overall conclusion is that the Desert Fathers saw community as an integral part of their monastic ideal and rarely regarded solitude as a way of life to be pursued at the expense of community.Less
This book studies the life and thought of the Christian monks of 4th- and 5th-century lower Egypt. It works from collections of their sayings and stories which were compiled in the late 5th century and which are known collectively as the Apopthegmata Patrum. These texts show that the Desert Fathers were deeply concerned with the nature of the monastic community that they formed and with the problems which might affect relationships between individuals within it. Successive chapters of the book centre on the text of the Apopthegmata itself as a witness to the community's sense of its own history and identity; on the relationship between teacher and disciple in the context of which the practices and virtues of the monastic life were taught; on the importance of good relationships between a monk and his companions in the monastic life; on the problems of anger, judgement, and praise, which interfere with good relationships; on the tension between the desire for solitude and the necessity of interaction with others; and on the connection between relationships with others and a monk's own life of prayer. The overall conclusion is that the Desert Fathers saw community as an integral part of their monastic ideal and rarely regarded solitude as a way of life to be pursued at the expense of community.
A. M. C. Casiday
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297184
- eISBN:
- 9780191711381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297184.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The chapter focuses on the claim that Cassian objected to Pelagianism on the basis of serious principles and explores his case against Pelagianism in detail. It is argued that to understand how ...
More
The chapter focuses on the claim that Cassian objected to Pelagianism on the basis of serious principles and explores his case against Pelagianism in detail. It is argued that to understand how Cassian differed from Pelagius et al., attention must be shifted away from the concept of grace and on to the concept of will. By attending to the way Cassian presents his monastic teachings as aimed at rehabilitating the will, the coherence of his theological objections to Pelagius' teaching can be appreciated. In other words, how the specifically monastic aspects of Cassian's thinking are directly relevant to his dogmatic position with regard to human salvation and the divine economy will become evident.Less
The chapter focuses on the claim that Cassian objected to Pelagianism on the basis of serious principles and explores his case against Pelagianism in detail. It is argued that to understand how Cassian differed from Pelagius et al., attention must be shifted away from the concept of grace and on to the concept of will. By attending to the way Cassian presents his monastic teachings as aimed at rehabilitating the will, the coherence of his theological objections to Pelagius' teaching can be appreciated. In other words, how the specifically monastic aspects of Cassian's thinking are directly relevant to his dogmatic position with regard to human salvation and the divine economy will become evident.
A. M. C. Casiday
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297184
- eISBN:
- 9780191711381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297184.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter explores the ways in which Cassian related the monastic experience of prayer to his theological project as a whole. Occasional comparisons are made to others who propagated the tradition ...
More
This chapter explores the ways in which Cassian related the monastic experience of prayer to his theological project as a whole. Occasional comparisons are made to others who propagated the tradition evident in Cassian's teaching, not least Evagrius Ponticus. But what calls for sustained attention in Cassian's description of prayer is not the similarities it may have to earlier authors; but rather, Cassian's emphasis on the Christological and Pneumatological dimensions of Christian prayer. For Cassian conceives of prayer as an encounter with God and, in this context, he conceives of God in explicitly Trinitarian terms.Less
This chapter explores the ways in which Cassian related the monastic experience of prayer to his theological project as a whole. Occasional comparisons are made to others who propagated the tradition evident in Cassian's teaching, not least Evagrius Ponticus. But what calls for sustained attention in Cassian's description of prayer is not the similarities it may have to earlier authors; but rather, Cassian's emphasis on the Christological and Pneumatological dimensions of Christian prayer. For Cassian conceives of prayer as an encounter with God and, in this context, he conceives of God in explicitly Trinitarian terms.
A. M. C. Casiday
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297184
- eISBN:
- 9780191711381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297184.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines this Cassian's Christocentrism with specific reference to the monastic character of Cassian's theology. Cassian's treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord, against Nestorius the ...
More
This chapter examines this Cassian's Christocentrism with specific reference to the monastic character of Cassian's theology. Cassian's treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord, against Nestorius the heretic will be chiefly in evidence. It is argued that Cassian's Christological treatise is an indispensable part of his theological oeuvre. Against several detractors of Cassian's treatise, it is argued that it is a work of genuine interest, not simply for the light it throws on Cassian's other works, but in its own right as well. Indeed, it may fittingly be considered the apex of Cassian's literary career.Less
This chapter examines this Cassian's Christocentrism with specific reference to the monastic character of Cassian's theology. Cassian's treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord, against Nestorius the heretic will be chiefly in evidence. It is argued that Cassian's Christological treatise is an indispensable part of his theological oeuvre. Against several detractors of Cassian's treatise, it is argued that it is a work of genuine interest, not simply for the light it throws on Cassian's other works, but in its own right as well. Indeed, it may fittingly be considered the apex of Cassian's literary career.
Mario Poceski
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195319965
- eISBN:
- 9780199785445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195319965.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter covers Mazu Daoyi's monastic career, starting with his initial engagement with Buddhism as a young man and his monastic ordination in his native Sichuan. His early travels and studies, ...
More
This chapter covers Mazu Daoyi's monastic career, starting with his initial engagement with Buddhism as a young man and his monastic ordination in his native Sichuan. His early travels and studies, his establishment of monastic communities in Fujian and Jiangxi, his gradual rise to fame, and eventually his death in Hongzhou as a revered religious leader with large monastic and lay followings are described. The exploration of Mazu's monastic life situates his activities within the context of the local communities where he lived and his interactions with other monastic and lay individuals.Less
This chapter covers Mazu Daoyi's monastic career, starting with his initial engagement with Buddhism as a young man and his monastic ordination in his native Sichuan. His early travels and studies, his establishment of monastic communities in Fujian and Jiangxi, his gradual rise to fame, and eventually his death in Hongzhou as a revered religious leader with large monastic and lay followings are described. The exploration of Mazu's monastic life situates his activities within the context of the local communities where he lived and his interactions with other monastic and lay individuals.
Mario Poceski
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195319965
- eISBN:
- 9780199785445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195319965.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter studies the Hongzhou school's teachings. The first part surveys the religious and intellectual milieus of Tang Buddhism, which formed the backdrop for the development of the Hongzhou ...
More
This chapter studies the Hongzhou school's teachings. The first part surveys the religious and intellectual milieus of Tang Buddhism, which formed the backdrop for the development of the Hongzhou school's doctrines and its approaches to spiritual cultivation. The second part offers an analysis of the Hongzhou school's attitudes in four key areas of medieval religious life: monastic mores and ideals, meditative praxis, canonicity and religious authority, and the use of scriptures. The exploration of their basic doctrinal and ethical frameworks shows that Mazu and his disciples were engaged in the creative reformulation of age-old monastic ideals and outlooks, which helped situate the Hongzhou school within a larger nexus of canonically inspired traditions of contemplative monasticism.Less
This chapter studies the Hongzhou school's teachings. The first part surveys the religious and intellectual milieus of Tang Buddhism, which formed the backdrop for the development of the Hongzhou school's doctrines and its approaches to spiritual cultivation. The second part offers an analysis of the Hongzhou school's attitudes in four key areas of medieval religious life: monastic mores and ideals, meditative praxis, canonicity and religious authority, and the use of scriptures. The exploration of their basic doctrinal and ethical frameworks shows that Mazu and his disciples were engaged in the creative reformulation of age-old monastic ideals and outlooks, which helped situate the Hongzhou school within a larger nexus of canonically inspired traditions of contemplative monasticism.
John Nightingale
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208358
- eISBN:
- 9780191716645
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208358.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book explores the prominent role of monasteries in the early medieval period and their relationship to the nobility in Lotharingia throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. It focuses on the ...
More
This book explores the prominent role of monasteries in the early medieval period and their relationship to the nobility in Lotharingia throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. It focuses on the evidence from three of the region's greatest abbeys — Gorze, Saint-Maximin, and Saint-Evre — which played a central role in the monastic reform movement. This swept through the region in the 930s and is commonly named after Gorze. Set within the context of the whole social structure and exercise of regional power in the early middle ages, this book demonstrates the vitality and importance of monasteries, focusing on their land transaction as well as their religious roles. Accepted notions of monastic lordship are challenged and the complexity of the two-way relationships between monasteries and their patrons, relationships which ensured the former a central place in the early medieval landscape, is discussed.Less
This book explores the prominent role of monasteries in the early medieval period and their relationship to the nobility in Lotharingia throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. It focuses on the evidence from three of the region's greatest abbeys — Gorze, Saint-Maximin, and Saint-Evre — which played a central role in the monastic reform movement. This swept through the region in the 930s and is commonly named after Gorze. Set within the context of the whole social structure and exercise of regional power in the early middle ages, this book demonstrates the vitality and importance of monasteries, focusing on their land transaction as well as their religious roles. Accepted notions of monastic lordship are challenged and the complexity of the two-way relationships between monasteries and their patrons, relationships which ensured the former a central place in the early medieval landscape, is discussed.
Joseph Dyer
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195124538
- eISBN:
- 9780199868421
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195124538.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Over twenty chapters of the monastic Rule of the Master (early 6th century) are devoted to the organization of the Office. The two separate descriptions of the Office contained in the Rule are ...
More
Over twenty chapters of the monastic Rule of the Master (early 6th century) are devoted to the organization of the Office. The two separate descriptions of the Office contained in the Rule are complementary and imply successive redactional stages. Seen in this light, the order of the chapters is entirely logical. The fuller second treatment of the Office may have been intended for a monastery outside the Master's immediate jurisdiction.Less
Over twenty chapters of the monastic Rule of the Master (early 6th century) are devoted to the organization of the Office. The two separate descriptions of the Office contained in the Rule are complementary and imply successive redactional stages. Seen in this light, the order of the chapters is entirely logical. The fuller second treatment of the Office may have been intended for a monastery outside the Master's immediate jurisdiction.
Mario Poceski
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195367645
- eISBN:
- 9780199777181
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367645.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Over the centuries, diverse Chan/Zen traditions throughout East Asia have venerated Baizhang Huaihai (J. Hyakujō Ekai, 749–814) as one of the greatest Chan teachers of the Tang era (618–907). ...
More
Over the centuries, diverse Chan/Zen traditions throughout East Asia have venerated Baizhang Huaihai (J. Hyakujō Ekai, 749–814) as one of the greatest Chan teachers of the Tang era (618–907). Celebrated as the leading disciple of the renowned Mazu Daoyi (709–788), the “founder” of the Hongzhou school that came to dominate Chan during the mid-Tang period, Baizhang is still evoked as a source of religious inspiration and authority, and he remains one of the most recognized Chan teachers of all time. This chapter is a brief study of those changing perceptions and images, spanning most of the history of Chan in East Asia, down to the present. The shifting images of Baizhang mirror the multifaceted and far-reaching changes that marked Chan’s historical trajectory as a major tradition of East Asian Buddhism, with significant ramifications for its complex evolution that still shape its intricate present-day predicaments.Less
Over the centuries, diverse Chan/Zen traditions throughout East Asia have venerated Baizhang Huaihai (J. Hyakujō Ekai, 749–814) as one of the greatest Chan teachers of the Tang era (618–907). Celebrated as the leading disciple of the renowned Mazu Daoyi (709–788), the “founder” of the Hongzhou school that came to dominate Chan during the mid-Tang period, Baizhang is still evoked as a source of religious inspiration and authority, and he remains one of the most recognized Chan teachers of all time. This chapter is a brief study of those changing perceptions and images, spanning most of the history of Chan in East Asia, down to the present. The shifting images of Baizhang mirror the multifaceted and far-reaching changes that marked Chan’s historical trajectory as a major tradition of East Asian Buddhism, with significant ramifications for its complex evolution that still shape its intricate present-day predicaments.
Rebecca Krawiec
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195129434
- eISBN:
- 9780199834396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195129431.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The daily life for monks, male and female, in the White Monastery revolved around work and prayer, which together created a monastic spirituality. This chapter begins by placing Shenoute and his ...
More
The daily life for monks, male and female, in the White Monastery revolved around work and prayer, which together created a monastic spirituality. This chapter begins by placing Shenoute and his leadership in the context of the emergence of monasticism in Egypt under Pachomius and Athanasius. After outlining the daily routine and requirements of food and clothing, I explore less tangible areas, such as spiritual values and the control of sexuality, which contribute to a monastic culture. Finally, I explain the authority structures, again accompanying this outline with an analysis of the exercise of power by those within and outside the monastic hierarchy.Less
The daily life for monks, male and female, in the White Monastery revolved around work and prayer, which together created a monastic spirituality. This chapter begins by placing Shenoute and his leadership in the context of the emergence of monasticism in Egypt under Pachomius and Athanasius. After outlining the daily routine and requirements of food and clothing, I explore less tangible areas, such as spiritual values and the control of sexuality, which contribute to a monastic culture. Finally, I explain the authority structures, again accompanying this outline with an analysis of the exercise of power by those within and outside the monastic hierarchy.
H. E. J. COWDREY
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199259601
- eISBN:
- 9780191717406
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259601.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
When Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, he had some two-and-a-half decades of monastic life behind him. Lanfranc's episcopal model, for himself as a monk and for others who shared his ...
More
When Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, he had some two-and-a-half decades of monastic life behind him. Lanfranc's episcopal model, for himself as a monk and for others who shared his pastoral care, was that of a monk-bishop who, according to his circumstances, combined the qualities of the cloister with those requisite for his wider responsibility. Lanfranc exhibited a combination of severity arising from an insistence upon authority and obedience with a pastoral care for the duly subject which arose from mercy and charity. This chapter examines Lanfranc's monastic order, his reforming of monastic life at Christ Church, his dealings with three abbeys (St. Albans, Bury St. Edmunds, and St. Augustine's at Canterbury), the body of legislation that he provided in his monastic constitutions, and his propagation of and provision for cathedral and episcopal monasteries.Less
When Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, he had some two-and-a-half decades of monastic life behind him. Lanfranc's episcopal model, for himself as a monk and for others who shared his pastoral care, was that of a monk-bishop who, according to his circumstances, combined the qualities of the cloister with those requisite for his wider responsibility. Lanfranc exhibited a combination of severity arising from an insistence upon authority and obedience with a pastoral care for the duly subject which arose from mercy and charity. This chapter examines Lanfranc's monastic order, his reforming of monastic life at Christ Church, his dealings with three abbeys (St. Albans, Bury St. Edmunds, and St. Augustine's at Canterbury), the body of legislation that he provided in his monastic constitutions, and his propagation of and provision for cathedral and episcopal monasteries.
