In order to understand the Contemplative Order of Compassion fully, one needs to understand the diverse spiritual heritage from which it draws inspiration, and which colour the liturgical celebrations, spiritual traditions and expressions of community. Each of these traditions, much like the nationality and family history of an individual, contribute uniquely to what has become recognised as one of the first authentically Western, postmodern expressions of the Living Dharma of the Buddha and Compassionate Way (Dharma) of the Christ.

The word charism may be unfamiliar to some, it is a word to describe the spiritual orientation and any special characteristics of the mission or values that might be exhibited by a spiritual community, because of the vows that they have taken or the orientation of the order to which they belong.

The Monastic Charism & the Bodhisattva Ideal

Common to each of the traditions from which we draw our postmodern identity and emergent spirituality is the charism of monasticism itself.

The word monk is derived from the Latin "monachus", and refers to someone whose focus is singular -- and for members of the Contemplative Order of Compassion, that singular focus is the Bodhisattva Ideal.

While not necessarily referred to as such by some of the Catholic traditions from which we draw, the essential aspiration of the Bodhisattva is one that is shared by each of the traditions from which we emerge.

The Bodhisattva Ideal is most easily understood in terms of the vow that is taken by each member of the Order:

"Just as all previous Holy Ones, the Buddhas and the Christ, generated the Mind of Enlightenment, dedicating themselves to the pure ideal of the Boddhisattva, so too will I, for the sake of all sentient beings, generate the Mind of Enlightenment and attain the full realisation of the Bodhisattva Ideal, returning lifetime-after-lifetime, until all beings have been liberated from suffering."

For those unfamiliar with Eastern philosophy, it may be helpful to recall the story of St. Therese Lisieux, whose vow was to "spend her heaven doing good on earth." Such an aspiration is simply another way, within the context of her Catholic heritage, to express a desire for the Bodhisattva Ideal. In fact, the entire story of the life of the Christ, as demonstrated in the narrative of Rav Yeshua ben Yusef (Jesus the Nazarene), is the story of a Bodhisattva -- perhaps one of the greatest Bodhisattvas we've ever known.

From the Contemplative Spirituality of the Benedictine Camaldolese

Nearly a thousand years ago, Saint Romuald founded the Sacred Hermitage of Camaldoli, high in the mountains of central Italy, near the city of Arezzo. It was in Campus Maldoli, according to the legend, that he was met by a certain count called Maldolus.

This man, after describing his vision of monks in white habits ascending a ladder to heaven (while he had slept in one of his fields in the mountains), offered this spot to the saint. The field, which was held by Maldolus in fief of the Bishop of Arezzo, was readily accepted by St. Romuald, who built there the famous hermitage afterwards known as Campus Maldoli or Camaldoli. In the same year he received from the count a villa at the foot of the mountains, about two miles below Camaldoli, of which he made the monastery of Fonte Buono. This latter house was intended to serve as infirmary, guest-house, and bursary to the hermitage, in order that the hermits might not be distracted by any worldly business.

Romuald, whose Brief Rule of Life serves as the model for the Brief Rule of the Contemplative Order of Compassion endeavoured "to turn the whole world into a hermitage, and make all the multitude of the people associates of the monastic order" ("totum mundum in eremum convertere, et monachico ordini omnem populi multitudinem sociare"), according to the account later given by his disciple, St. Peter Damian.

From the Franciscan Charism of Care for the Sick & Poor

At the very heart of the Way of Life that St. Francis of Assisi exemplified and laid out for the spiritual community he founded is the charism of serving the poor, caring for the sick and welcoming the marginalised.

Francis himself bore the sores of leprosy, around which the Roman Church would develop an elaborate legend of "stigmata", but which were actually the result of his unconditional love and service among the lepers, marginalised by the Umbrian society of his day. He bathed and tended their wounds, shared meals with them, and often held them in his arms, when the time came for them to see their final sunsets. We know from the accounts of his life that Francis often ate from the same bowl as the lepers, and so it is easily understood, in light of modern medicine, to realise that he actually died one of the greatest of Bodhisattva's having given his all for the sake of alleviating suffering.

Francis also recognised that not only people mattered, whom the Catholioc superstition claimed were the only beings with "souls", but in fact, all of creation were his sisters and brothers. His Canticle to Brother Sun and Sister Moon is among the favourite meditations for many members of the Order today.

And it is because of this that every member of the monastic Order is permitted to wear either the simple white and burgundy habit of the Order, or simply retain the original brown habit of the Franciscan Friars Minor. (We break with tradition in that our female monks may choose to either wear the same habit as the men, or if they are more comfortable, wear a contemporary habit consisting of the plain tunic (with or without a veil). Our secular members dress in "plain clothes" -- simple, unadorned clothing, often denim and t-shirts or simple button-down shirts or sweatshirts, bearing the Order's insignia.

Every member of the Order maintains the charism of care for the sick, whether that is expressed in full-time service (such as hospice care, nursing, medical doctors or pastoral care) or by simply taking time to visit those in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.

Our Quaker Inspiration

Attention to an engaged spirituality, rooted in social activism, non-violence, and social justice is an important part of the life of the monks and secular associates of the Order. This, along with an understanding of the belief that realisation is derived through listening with an "interior ear" to the "Indwelling Christ within all beings" is something we give thanks to our Quaker Friends for sharing with us.

Our commitment to peace, equality, simplicity and recognising that external celebrations, such as Eucharist, pujas and other ritual sadhanas are simply external expressions of that which we already fully possess interiorly, without need for intermediaries, personal gods or scriptures is something which every member of the Order finds at the root of their practice.

The Buddhist Philosophy

The Dharma is a key concept in Buddhism and Hinduism. In English there are generally two distinct (but connected) meanings. The first is that The Dharma (when capitalised) simply means the collective teachings of The Buddha. In this respect, you might think of the Dharma as simply menaing "The Teachings", or "The Way".

The second meaning is usually associated with the lowercase dharma, and translates as "the way things are." This may seem overly vague, until you understand that the word "dharma" has been used to imply "the laws of nature" or "that which sustains the universe."

For members of the Order understanding the Dharma is expanded to include the Compassionate Way of the Christ as well as the Buddha Dharma. We recognise Dharma as a permanent universal truth, including the laws of nature and the nature of laws.

The Buddha taught that direct realisation through meditation (called vipassana) is a superior means of attaining enlightenment than relying of speculation, dogma, religion and traditional beliefs. Rabbi Jesus indicated that each person was already "the Light of the World", thereby implying that we need only recognise that "the sovereign domain of the Sacred is at hand" ("at hand" is an Aramaic expression, meaning within our grasp, within us or part of us already).

For obvious reasons, the Contemplative Order of Compassion draws the most from the Buddhist tradition, because it is only within this tradition -- the oldest of those which make up our heritage -- in which we find a reliance on reasoning, intelligence, and interior self-reliance, rather than the misconceptions that arise out of the Abrahamic traditions, in which the metaphoric gods (and goddesses) were eventually misunderstood as somehow being "literal" beings.

It is through this misconception (a great deception, some would suggest) that some of the most intolerant religions have sprung, and it has been based on this misconception that many violent wars, murders and other tragedies have been carried out throughout history.

For this reason, the members of the Contemplative Order of Compassion are committed to showing respect for the various religious traditions of the world, and may even participate in liturgical expressions of those faiths, but maintain an awareness that superstitious belief in metaphoric gods, goddesses, angels and demons as literal "persons" is not useful, and does little to alleviate suffering or feed the hungry. Such things are best understood as the primitive superstitions of ancient people and cultures.