Aflame: Learning from Silence
In a world saturated with noise and distractions, Pico Iyer's "Aflame: Learning from Silence" offers a profound exploration of the transformative power of stillness and contemplation. Through intimate, memoiristic essays, Iyer chronicles his journey into the self, revealing how moments of "nonaction" within a monastic community can inform and enrich daily life, replete with its responsibilities, cherished relationships, joys, mysteries, and tragedies.
The New Camaldoli Hermitage: A Sanctuary of Silence
High above the Pacific, in California's Big Sur, lies the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Catholic monastery inhabited by monks of the contemplative Camaldolese Benedictine order. For over 30 years, Iyer has regularly retreated to this sanctuary, distilling his accumulated observations and experiences into "Aflame: Learning from Silence." The book's structure mirrors the fragmentary nature of these retreats, with elegant, epigrammatic notes, few exceeding a page in length.
Beyond the Absence of Sound
The silence Iyer seeks is not merely the absence of sound. Birdsong, people shouting, even the noise of a bulldozer can be part of the silence he enjoys at the Hermitage. At times, the silence that Iyer seeks sounds like the stillness he advocated in an earlier book, The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere (2014). But, despite his sympathy with Leonard Cohen’s perception of “sitting still” as “the real deep entertainment,” Iyer’s notion of stillness is not that of immobility, and requires unpacking as much as his idea of silence does.
The Monastery as a Mirror
Iyer's retreats are not solely confined to the Hermitage. He recalls global travels and reflects on his domestic life, split between Japan, where he lives with his partner and her children, and Los Angeles, where his mother lived. Conversations with the Dalai Lama, Leonard Cohen, and Camaldolese monks, as well as fellow retreatants, add depth to his reflections. These conversations are typically serious, even “dark,” yet the tone of the writing is never oppressive. The author admits to an inclination “to accentuate the positive,” and there are several descriptions of acts of generosity and of festive get-togethers to lighten the mood. There are some good humorous anecdotes too. Frightened at encountering a mountain lion, Iyer is reassured by an old monk who has walked the hills for years, but who then adds, “If you do not see me [again], it means I have met the mountain lion.”
Skepticism and the Universal Intimation
Iyer's skepticism extends to doctrines, opinions, and theories. He welcomes ecumenism, observing how individuals combine Buddhist and Christian practices. However, this enthusiasm is not driven by the belief that truth emerges from stitching together religious insights. Instead, Iyer suggests that the variety of religions testifies to the unavailability of any truth that could be articulated. The different religions do not rest on a shared doctrine but only reflect, Iyer suggests, an indeterminate “universal intimation.” Iyer’s admiration, then, is for the wide range of practices informed by this “intimation,” and for a communion between them that is nicely symbolized by a group of musicians, of various religious backgrounds, whose music combines Hindu songs, Christian liturgy, and Islamic chants into a “soaring harmony.” Whatever their conflicting creeds, the practices and disciplines of religious people-especially those of a meditative and quietist hue-at once reflect and nurture compassion, gratitude, community, and selflessness.
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Transformation of the Self
At the Hermitage, Iyer experiences a "transformation" in his perception of his own self. This change may involve discovering a true or inner self, shedding the "public self" of everyday life. It may also entail a Buddhistic recognition of "not-self," understanding that nothing underlies and unites the bundle of perceptions that constitute an individual. Iyer does not adjudicate between competing philosophies of the self, embracing the mystery inherent in existence.
Aflame: Metaphors of Fire
The title "Aflame" initially seems jarring, given the book's focus on silence and calm. While references to California's recurrent fires appear in the background, they do not fully explain the title's choice. However, metaphors drawing on the language of fire offer a better understanding. The prior of the Hermitage is "on fire with the thought of kenosis," and a Desert Father is quoted as saying, "If you so wish, you can become aflame." Iyer writes that fire "replenishes wild places much as I replenish myself by sitting in silence." Fire clears away detritus, opening space for new growth. Likewise, the stillness of the Hermitage allows Iyer to expel the preoccupations and prejudices of everyday life, becoming open to experiencing the world as it is.
Silencing the Will: Surrender and Openness
The silence sought at the Pacific retreat is a silencing of the will. This stilling of "the flow of the purposeful" allows the world and its creatures to present themselves as they are. Surrender, in this context, involves releasing goals and ambitions, freeing oneself from the realm of the "purposeful" to experience the world without obstruction.
The Hermitage and the World: A Rhythmic Relationship
There’s a quotation in the book where I think you you’re quoting a monk who says, anyone can sit in a zendo. The trick is to sit in the world. And that was again, one of those moments where I thought about wondering what is it in sitting in silence that teaches you how to sit in the world differently? In what ways does the monastery kind of return you to the earth, so to speak?
For Iyer, the Hermitage serves as a reminder of what he loves, a place to recall what really matters and to sift what is trivial from essential. Liberated from chatter and distraction, he is reminded of what is important in the world and in his own values and priorities. Monks, in this view, retreat from the world to get closer to reality and to serve the world better.
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From Devastation to Spiritual Rhythm
The devastating fire that destroyed Iyer's home led him to the Hermitage, initially as a practical solution for shelter. However, this became part of a spiritual rhythm, a practice he had already been seeking. The fire, in this sense, served as a turning point, marking a before and after in his life.
The Individual and Communication
Iyer emphasizes that writers of the rising generation ask themselves the same question. While the internet may seem to render all of the world’s peoples and cultures easily knowable, the extent of information available through digital media ultimately precludes any chance of intimate interpersonal connection. “I don’t have great faith in our governments or institutions, but I have great faith in the ability of our individuals to communicate.
The Monks as Physicians of the Soul
Iyer sees monks as physicians in the ER of the soul, helping those who are suffering by gathering their inner resources through contemplation. These reserves are then shared with those who seek solace at the monastery.
Contemplation: Opening the Eyes
Contemplation, Iyer suggests, is not about closing one's eyes but about opening them to the glory of everything around. It involves learning to hear, to see, to be present to the moment and to others. Withdrawal allows for engagement, creating a rhythmic aspect to life as one returns to the Hermitage and brings its lessons back into the world.
Solitude: A Gateway to Community
While initially drawn to the solitude of the Hermitage, Iyer realized that it was a gateway to a richer sense of community and compassion. The lives of the monks, often the opposite of solitary, involve taking care of one another and their guests. St. Benedict called his monasteries chapels of love, and Iyer learns that solitude brings him closer to the people he cares for, prompting him to bring something to them in a way he sometimes forgets in his daily activities.
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Fire as a Metaphor
Iyer's relationship with the monks at the New Camaldoli Hermitage began in escape and self-searching, but it has flowered into a celebration of the more outward-looking qualities of perspective, humility and service. The beautiful thing is you don’t need to go to Patmos or even Big Sur to be recharged by that force field.
tags: #aflame #learning #from #silence #explained
