Religious Scholar

One of my Facebook friends, a well-known author on Daoism, writes enthusiastically about visiting a community of nuns in China recently. This led me to consider monks and nuns. Monks are so cool! Whether Chinese or Western, they are brave, courageous, follow a path of truth and honor, and sometimes make brandy or practice martial arts.  Their clothes rock (what I wouldn’t give for those kung fu socks and black slippers!), and when bald, they look like Telly Savalas or Yul Brynner (movie icons of my youth).  Nine out of ten recordings of Gregorian chant (by members of religious orders) feature monks, and the sonority and depth of their voices is nothing short of sublime.

Now take the image of nuns: uncool! Ask me to envision a Chinese nun and I see an old toothless woman wearing a cap.  And Western nuns? Think Sister Mary Joseph from PS 109! No thank you, like my Catholic late husband, I think I’ll just cross the street if I see them coming my way. In his book, Praying with Icons, Jim Forest includes a few pictures of Eastern Orthodox nuns whose distinctive headgear resembles flower pots. No wonder nuns are not welcome on Mount Athos! As highly as we may esteem the motivation, good works and sacrifice of nuns, this stodgy image is off-putting to many outside their strict faith traditions.

I like the concept of monasticism (not for everyone, for sure!), and wish there was some way to improve the image of nuns, perhaps starting with a generic term “monks” to include religious of both sexes. I wouldn’t mind being a monk, in my own religion, of course, which is based on mystical Christianity, Daoism, and the scientific principles of Yoga. The life of an independent monk, characterized by “free and easy wandering,” to use a phrase by Zhuangzi, would enable one to serve the community, protect the environment, pursue spiritual ideals, engage in the arts, wellness practices, and healing while renouncing the distractions that steer so many away from a spirit-based life.

While the content of their lives may be equally profound, relevant and rewarding, there’s a world of difference in the way we think of monks and nuns.