monks

"'Therefore, everyone who wants to be saved must not only stop doing evil, also work at what is good, as it says in the psalm, ‘Turn away from evil and do good.’ Mark what is says. Not only ‘turn from evil’, but also ‘do good’! For example: If a man was used to being unjust, he wants not only to stop being unjust but to act with justice continually. If a man was used to always to be angry, he wants not only to stop being angry but to cultivate mildness. If he was bold and insolent, he must not only give it up, but he must act with humility. This is to turn away from evil and to do good. Each of the vices has its contrary virtue. Pride has humility, avarice has almsgiving; licentiousness, self-discipline; neglect, perseverance; anger has meekness; hatred, love. In short, I repeat, every vice has its contrary virtue.'"

"'A man who gives way to his passions and suffers for it is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, catches the arrow in his hands, and then plunges it into his own heart. A man who is resisting his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, and although the arrow hits him, it does not seriously wound him because he is wearing a breastplate. But the man who is uprooting his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, but who strikes the arrow and shatters it or turns it back into his enemy’s heart. As the psalmist says, ‘Their own sword shall enter their own heart and their bow shall be broken to pieces.’'"

"'Let us examine brothers, how it is that at one time a man hears disparaging remark and passes it by without being disturbed, as if he had hardly heard it, and at another time he hears it and is immediately disturbed. What is the reason for such a difference? Is there only one reason for this difference or are there many? I see many proximate causes for this state of affairs, but there is one thing, one might say, which is the basic generating cause of them all. First, it happens when a man is at prayer or spiritually at rest and being, as one might say, in a good disposition he bears with his brother and is not disturbed. Again it may happen that he has a special affection for the someone who attacks him and for this he will suffer without difficulty anything that person does to him. Then there is the person who disdains the one who wants to cause him pain and despises what he does, and does not treat him as a man or attribute any meaning to what. is said or done by him."

"'Suppose we were to take a compass and insert the point and draw the outline of a circle. The centre point is the same distance from any point. on the circumference. Now concentrate your minds on what is to be said! Let us suppose that this circle is the world and that God himself is the centre; the straight lines drawn from the circumference to the centre are the lives of men. To the degree that the saints enter into the things of the spirit, they desire to come near to God; and in proportion to their progress in the things of the spirit, they do in fact come close to God and to their neighbor. The closer they are to God, the closer they become to one another; and the closer they are to one another, the closer they become to God. Now consider in the same context the question of separation; for when they stand away from God and turn to external things, it is clear that the more they recede and become distant from God, the more they become distant from one another. See! This is the very nature of love. The more we are turned away from and do not love God, the greater the distance that separates us from our neighbor.'"

"'When God created man, he breathed into him something divine, as it were a hot and bright spark added to reason, which lit up the mind and showed him the difference between right and wrong. This is called the conscience, which is the law of his nature. This is compared to the well which Jacob dug, as the Fathers say, and which the Philistines filled up. That is, to this law of conscience adhered the patriarchs and all the holy men of old before the written law, and they were pleasing to God. But when this law was buried and trodden underfoot by men through the onset of sin, we needed a written law, we needed the holy prophets, we needed the instruction of our Master, Jesus Christ, to reveal it and raise it up and bring to life through the observance of the Commandments that buried spark. '"

"'I heard about a certain brother who, if he saw that his [brethren's] cell was uncared for and disorderly when he went to consult any of the brethren, used to say to himself, ‘Happy indeed is this brother! How free from care about many things, or rather, about all earthly things, and he so fixes his whole mind on high so that he has no leisure to put his cell in order.’ And again, if he came on another and saw his cell in good order, clean, beautiful, he used to say to himself, ‘The soul of this brother must be as clean and well-kept as his cell, for the good state of his soul must be represented by the good state of his cell.” He never said about anyone, ‘This man is uncouth or that one is vainglorious’, but on account of his own habitual good disposition he took edification from each of them.'"

"'He who does not hold to his own will always has what he will; for externally he does not get his own way but whatever happens, no matter what it is, gives him quiet satisfaction and he discovers for himself that he has what as they he will. For he does not want things to happen as he wishes; he wants things to have happened as they happened.'"

"'In all things that come upon me I never desire to run around in quest of human wisdom, but I always act with the small power I have on whatever it is, and at the same time leave the whole thing to God.'"

"'Do not desire to know the evils of your neighbor and do not entertain suspicions about him, but if suspicious thoughts burst out of your own wickedness, take care to mould them into noble thoughts, and in all things give thanks in accord with God’s goodness and holy love.'"

"'Hold fast to indifference in knowledge and believe that everything that concerns us, even the most trivial thing, happens through God’s providence, and you will bear anything that comes upon you without being troubled. '"

"'If a man has a friend and he is absolutely certain that his friend loves him, and if that friend does something to cause him suffering and be troublesome to him, he will be convinced that his friend acts out of love and he will never believe that his friend does it to harm him. How much more ought we to be convinced about God who created us, who created us out of nothingness to existence and life, and who became a man for our sakes and died for us, and who does everything out of love for us?'"

"'As was said about Abbot Anthony, brethren, namely, that when he was visiting the whatever good he saw in each he set about to acquire for himself. From one he picked up self-control, from another humility,from another hard work, from another serenity. And so he was found to have in himself the good found in each of the others. This then is what we ought to do and why we ought to come together, and when we return to our cell let us examine ourselves and learn where we have been helped and: what good we have received. '"

"Et nos in vitium prona caterva sumus. [We are but cattle prone to vice.]"

"(to General Étienne Radet during the pope's arrest on the orders of Napolean Bonaparte) Assuredly, my son, those orders will not bring divine orders upon you."

"Nous voulons bien aller jusqu'aux portes de l'enfer; mais nous entendons neus arrêter là."

"The Pope [Pius VII] is a good man, but ignorant and fanatical."

"Be like the master sailors piloting their ships as you watch the wind to see what direction it is taking you, whether it is a good wind or bad that is coming."

"Truly the lion leaves the desert and erases his pawprints with his tail. If he prevails over the person who has come out to [hunt] him, he goes up in complete confidence. Now then, you who are poor, you shall look boldly upon your enemies like the roaring lions.”"

"My son, obey God and keep his commandments, and be wise and remain in your dwelling, which is your delight, and your cell will remain with you in your heart as you seek its blessing, and the labor of your cell will go with you to God. For you will know God in your cell. Keep him with you and the Devil will depart from you, which will allow you to tame him. Do not forsake God. Do not forsake your cell. For the incense of God is a wise man in his cell. The altar of God is a wise man in his cell. The glory of God will appear to him there. A poor man who remains in his cell is a king and lord. Honor him, for God is dwelling in him."

"Do not be like the thorny acacias that grow on the mountain, which is God (Coptic: pnoute). Instead, be like a reed growing in the water, which is the abyss (Coptic: pnoun)."

"Therefore, let us be imitators of the saints and not forget the formation that our Father gave us while he was still alive. Let us not extinguish the burning lamp he placed above our heads. Walking [in] this world by the light of this lamp, let us remember that it is through his zeal that God has received us into his household. He gave a hospice to wayfarers, he showed a harbor of peace to those on a storm-tossed sea. [He provided] bread in hunger, shade in heat, clothing in nakedness. He instructed the ignorant by spiritual precepts. He encircled with chastity those enslaved by vices and joined to himself those from afar."

"Therefore, brothers, let us be equal, from the least to the greatest, whether rich or poor, perfect in harmony and humility. Let no one look after his own pleasure when he sees a brother living in poverty and hardship; let this saying of the prophet be told of you, “Did one God not create [all of] you? Have you not all one father? Why has each of you abandoned his brother, thus profaning the covenant of your fathers? Judah has been forsaken, and abomination has been committed in Israel" (Mal. 2:10–11). Our Lord and Savior gave his apostles this precept, “I gave you a new commandment: Love one another, as I have loved you. By this you shall truly be known as my disciples” (John 13:34–35). We should, therefore, love one another and show that we are truly the servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and sons of Pachomius and disciples of the Koinonia."

"Let us be even more vigilant, in the knowledge that God has granted us, through our father Pachomius, the great grace to renounce the world and consider as nothing all the worries of the world and the cares of worldly affairs. What opportunity has been left to us to have anything as our own, “from a thread to a shoe strap” (Gen. 14:23), since we have masters who “with fear and trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3) are so solicitous on our behalf both for food and clothing and during ill health, if it should occur, that we need not worry about anything and thereby lose the soul's benefits for the sake of the flesh? We are free; we have cast from our necks the yoke of enslavement to the world. And let us think of the traditions of our father as a ladder which leads to the kingdom of heaven."

"Igitur infra supradictum millesimum tercio iam fere imminente anno, contigit in uniuerso pene terrarum orbe, precipue tamen in Italia et in Galliis, innouari ecclesiarum basilicas, licet plereque decenter locate minime indiguissent, emulabatur tamen queque gens christicolarum aduersus alteram decentiore frui. Erat enim instar ac si mundus ipse excutiendo semet, reiecta uetustate, passim candidam ecclesiarum uestem indueret."

"About the same time I discovered the teachings of Swami Rama Tirtha, who lived at the turn of the century and was another great Vedantin. I felt a special inner kinship to Swami Rama, who was a poetic, inspirational and independent figure."

"Sanatana means Eternal. In its purest form, this religion is Sanatana, because it is based on Truth. Truth is immortal and is never annihilated. It remains the same yesterday, today and forever. Therefore our true Sanatana Dharma, in its purest form, cam never be exterminated. It, however, does not follow that we should relax into inaction, in the belief that our religion is the best or that it can never be destroyed. No, no. This idle thinking is the result of our indolent minds. It is, therefore, absolutely essential for the followers of Sanatana Dharma to keep it safe from the evil and aggressive designs of the non-Hindus, who are generally ever ready to malign us."

"We promote all the vocations."

"Once they came to make Abba Isaac a priest. When he heard, he fled into Egypt, went into a field, and hid amidst the crop. The fathers went after him and, when they got to that same field, sat down to rest a little there, for it was night. They set the ass free to pasture, but the ass went and stood by the elder. When they sought the ass at dawn, they found Abba Isaac too. They were amazed and wanted to bind him but he would not let them. “I am not running away any more,” he said, “for it is the will of God and no matter where I run away to, I will come to it.”"

"Abba Macarius said to Abba Zachariah: “Tell me, what is the task of the monk?” “You are asking me, father?” he said, and Abba Macarius said: “I have full confidence in you, Zachariah my son, for there is somebody inciting me to ask you.” Abba Zachariah said to him: “In my opinion, to constrain oneself in all things: that is being the monk.”"

"Abba Isaiah said: “Nothing benefits a beginner as much as an insult. A beginner who is insulted like that and tolerates it is like a tree that is watered each day.”"

"The same Abba Isaiah called one of the brothers and washed his feet, then he threw a handful of lentils in a pot and served them when it came to the boil. The brother said to him: “It is not yet cooked, abba,” and he said to him: “Is it not enough for you that it saw the bright [flame] totally? That is great consolation.”"

"If you do your manual labor, do not be negligent, but apply yourself with the fear of God, in order not to sin by ignorance."

"Someone also asked [Isaiah]: “What is it to live in peace within the cell?”"

"If you ask an old man about a “thought,” freely disclose the “thought” to him if you know that he is worthy of confidence and that he will keep confidential what you have said to him."

"If your brother has prepared a dish that is not good, don't say to him: “You cooked it wrong!” For that is death for your soul. Rather, examine yourself. If it had been you who had heard that from someone else, how you would have been troubled by it!"

"If you do something wrong in some matter, do not be steered by shame, but be converted and say, “Forgive me,” and your fault will pass away."

"Love humility, and it will protect you from your sins."

"Think each day: “I have only today to live in the world,” and you will not sin against God."

"Love to pray without ceasing, so that your heart will be enlightened."

"A brother visited Abba Elijah who was living in hesychia at the coenobion of the cave of Abba Zabba and he said to him: “Abba, tell me a saying.” The elder said to the brother: “In the days of our fathers these three virtues were cherished: indifference to possessions, meekness, and continence. Now cupidity, gluttony, and arrogance hold monks in prey. Hold fast to which you will.”"

"Abba Theodore of Phermē possessed three fine books. Visiting Abba Macarius, he said to him: “I have three fine books and I benefit from them; the brothers borrow them and benefit too. Tell me what I ought to have done. Am I to keep them for my benefit and the brothers’ or sell them and give [the proceeds] to the poor?” In answer the elder said: “Deeds are good, but indifference to possessions is greater than all.” On hearing this he went and sold them, donating the proceeds to the poor."

"They used to say of Abba Theodore of Phermē that he exceeded many in these three points: indifference to possessions, spiritual discipline, and avoiding people."

"They used to say of Abba Cheremon at Scete that his cave was forty miles from the church, and twelve miles from the marsh and water. Thus he took his handiwork to his cave carrying two water jars side by side, and stayed there in hesychia."

"A brother asked Abba Serapion: “Tell me a saying.” The elder said: “What can I say to you? That you took the goods of widows and orphans and set them in this embrasure?”—for he saw that it was full of books."

"Abba Serapion said: “Just as the soldiers of the emperor standing before him cannot turn their attention to left or to right, so too if a person stand before God and rivet his attention on his presence, in fear of him all the time, no action of the enemy can terrorize him.”"

"As soon as this earth's great elder, the blessed Antony, who prayed for the whole world, departed, everything has been torn apart and is in anguish, and the Wrath devastates Egypt. While he was truly on earth, he extended his hands and prayed and spoke with God all day long. He did not let the Wrath descend on us. Lifting up his thoughts, he kept it from coming down. But now that those hands are closed, no one else can be found who might halt the violence."

"He also said: “Woe to that man whose reputation is greater than his performance.”"

"Abba Moses asked Abba Silvanus: “Can a person make a fresh start each day?” and Abba Silvanus said: “If he is a real worker, a person can make a fresh start each day and each hour.”"

"Abba Pior he used to eat walking around. When somebody enquired: “Why do you eat like that?” he said: “I do not want to treat food as work, but as incidental.” To somebody else who had asked about it he replied: “It is so that my soul may not experience any physical pleasure even when I am eating.”"

"Abba Orsisius said: “Unbaked brick set in a foundation near to a river does not last one day, but it lasts like stone if it is baked. Likewise a person with a carnal mentality and not purged by the fire of the word of God, like Joseph, falls apart when he proceeds to govern. For there are many temptations for such people in the midst of folk. A person aware of his own limitations does well to flee from the burden of authority; but they who are firm in the faith are immoveable. If one wants to speak of the most holy Joseph himself, he will say that he was not earthly. Many times he was tempted, and in what a country, where there was not a trace of godliness at that time! But the God of his fathers was with him and drew him out of all affliction; and now he is with his fathers in the Kingdom of Heaven. As for ourselves, knowing our own limitations, let us fight the good fight; for in that way we will only just be able to escape the judgment of God.”"