The Big Silence - BBC2

Fanny Cradock

The Big Silence

"Abbot Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk, believes that he can teach five ordinary people the value of silent meditation, so they can make it part of their everyday lives"

The one episode I've managed to watch so far was fascinating. Five people - only one of whom was a committee believer - agreed to be taught the value of silence and to incorporate that into their daily lives. There were some very surprising results.

Youtube link to documentary

People who find this of interest will also find The Monastery a fascinating watch. Unlike this documentary, back in 2005 five participants, none of whom had any real experience of Catholicism or even Christianity, volunteered to live for six weeks in the same monastery were The Big Silence was filmed. Again, there were some surprising results for everybody involved.

Youtube link to documentary

Festus

If anyone fancies being a monk the Benedictines have to be top of the shortlist.

Jester Minute

Festus wrote: »

If anyone fancies being a monk the Benedictines have to be top of the shortlist.

It's a pity Glenstal Abbey cannot feature on a list for orthodox Catholics to consider. There is a strong dissenter culture there and the current Abbot said something very heretical to Gay Byrne.

JimiTime

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bnt

Not really a Christian-specific practice, is it? The Buddhist practice of zazen, for example, goes back further, and has origins in Confucianism. The Vatican ought to crack down on Silence for its non-Catholic origins.

Fanny Cradock

bnt wrote: »

Not really a Christian-specific practice, is it?

But nobody has made any such claims. So you are arguing against a position of your own making. Perhaps watching the programme would be a good idea before launching into general criticism.

lmaopml

That's exactly what I'm about to do...

Cheers for the link.

Actually, it's news to me if there is something wrong with silence? I thought a vow of silence was something that is very much part of some monastery life?

God, I really love some silence when I can get it...

Anyways, thanks for the links...:)

Plowman

This post has been deleted.

lmaopml

Fanny, you do know that there is now positively no work being done in my house today..lol...and it's all your fault! Good thing it's my day off work. Got through the first series - very interesting, really well worth watching, and I'm just starting in on the second...

Plowman, I can't remember how long ago it is since I've gone into an empty church all on my own..Last time I tried, it was closed - typical

Festus

Jester Minute wrote: »

It's a pity Glenstal Abbey cannot feature on a list for orthodox Catholics to consider. There is a strong dissenter culture there and the current Abbot said something very heretical to Gay Byrne.

Would that be the Tarot carrds thing? Might be worth investigatin in its own thread. I'm not entirely familiar with what he said.
I am however familiar with tarot cards and would suggest that are not to be indulged.

Soul Winner

Ah yes, silence, a fine quality indeed. If only more people practiced it before spouting off their ignorance on most things the world would be a better place.

As for it being a Christian requirement or virtue, I don't know about that. Granted, there a lot of Christian leaders in the world that would do well to shut the **** up now and then, but that's hardly going to happen anytime soon. One of the wiser things that James said was that the mouth was the bridal of the body, that whatever the mouth says the body seems to follow. i.e We tend to fight more for something that we said than we would for the same thing had we not said it at all. So yes practicing silence would be a good thing for the world in general with the hope that the benefits therefrom will eventually trickle down to all the big mouth know it alls in the world.