I was struck by an episode of The Simpsons of all things to read/reread a book I have on Buddhism. This book begins by telling about the life of Buddha, and his path to enlightenment. What really struck me about it was the rhythm that this man's life took. His life was a series of engagements and retreats. It starts with retreat where enlightenment occurs, then he goes forth and teaches the insight of an experience that cannot be grasped by language. The book pointed out that his day consisted of engagement with three periods of retreats. Three times a day he would retreat and center himself on his vision which reconnected him with enlightenment.
Then it occurred to me that Jesus in Mark's Gospel does a similiar thing. Jesus was in a constant rhythm of engagement followed by retreat. Often his retreats where crashed by people, but he still would retreat. I believe that there is truly something to this action/reflection model (I know it is a type of research, but this is different). Buddha and Jesus both have intentionally aligned themselves with God's rhythm, although Buddha would not have called it that. This is the rhythm of creation, six days of work and a day of rest. This is the rhythm of Sabbath.
With all of this in mind I have decided to research this more deeply and put it into practice in my daily life. I am going to have three periods of withdrawal for reflection, prayer, meditation, and study each day, one in the morning, one around noon, and one at night. In some of these times I will read about the rhythm of creation in books that I have and will attain. In some sessions I will read scripture and meditate on it. And sometimes I will just pray and meditate where I am without any reading.
I have a little journal that I will be writing in to help me reflect on what I read, and help to focus me when I am struggling to focus. On this blog, I hope to post more about what I learn both from the reflections and from the research that I will be doing. My first re-read is going to be the chapter on Sabbath in Moltmann's book, God in Creation. I am also going to read more on how various religions do this including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism, as well as look into the orders within the Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox view on this subject. I'm worried that without an academic library some of this will be hard to find, but that's how it goes. If you have any suggestions about what I should look into be it Christian or otherwise please let me know. What is your experience with retreat and Sabbath? What is your routine?
Peace,
mark
