This is republished with the permission of Fr. Cyprian.
I am Cyprian Consiglio, a Camaldolese Benedictine from the central coast of California. I’m in my thirty-third year of monastic life now. The main thing that I would like to share with you is that I am proud to consider myself in the lineage of Bede Griffiths and Abhishiktananda. I met Fr. Bede in 1992 just as I was entering monastic life on his way back to India where he subsequently died a few months later. My encounter with him so touched me that from the first moment of my monastic life I began studying not only his writings but also delving into Asian philosophy and spirituality even as I was being formed in monastic history and Western mysticism. I also did my Master’s Thesis on the subject. As you may know Fr. Bede brought himself and Saccidananda Ashram into our Congregation, so I consider the monks and nuns there my close confreres. I have been there nearly a dozen times and of course traveled in other parts of India as well.
I spent ten years living away from my community in a kind of experimental life before I was called back for the service of prior. I had a hermitage in the forest, but I also worked extensively in interreligious dialogue, work that eventually took me to many parts of the world. Besides the dialogue with Buddhism and Hinduism (mainly through Soto Zen and the Yoga tradition), I have been greatly influenced by Taoism and have been able to encounter exponents of that tradition, especially in Singapore and Malaysia.
Back home in California I founded a Christian Sangha to minister to the many people who were exploring both Asian and Western spirituality, many of whom were Christians trying to reconcile the treasures that they, like me, had found in another tradition and come back home to the Church. I also did work with and for a Danish missionary group called Danmission that I had encountered in India. Besides bringing me to Denmark for a series of conferences and concerts, they also organized an amazing trip for me to Lebanon and Syria doing a series that they called “Dialogue through Music.” During that same period, I helped begin a movement in California called “The Tent of Abraham” to foster moments of encounter, dialogue, and friendship among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. With members of that same group, I made a pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine that was nothing short of life-changing for me and made me realize what a privileged place Christians have in the relationship with the other children of Abraham.
For many years, my first discipline was liturgy and music, and I was fortunate to work for and with some of the pioneers of the Second Vatican Council, particularly Fr. Lucien Deiss. That background has given me a solid foundation for work in interreligious dialogue, and, of course, music has been an amazing bridge between peoples and cultures. I have written and recorded many songs based on texts and/or music of these various traditions and cultures.
When Fr. William and Abbot Gregory asked me to take on this position it occurred to me that it would cover almost everything I love and feel called to do: writing, retreat work, as well as music.
I have been told that interest in this dialogue has diminished in the Church over the last few years. I’m sad to hear that, but I consider it a challenge, because, as the Holy Father has pointed out, dialogue seems to me to be not only the most beautiful face of the church but so vital to world peace. And of course, there is something specific that we monks bring to this work––a spiritual depth and an ascetical life built on prayer, meditation, and closeness to Scripture.
Two phrases of Raimon Panikkar serve me as a kind of theme regarding all of this. He insists that we are not looking for the unity of religions so much as we are looking for harmony between religions. And the other phrase that I believe comes from him is, “well-worn paths between huts.” We don’t necessarily need more seminars, lectures, and conferences: we need to beat paths of friendship between people and peoples. In my understanding, this is what the original mandate from the Vatican to us was. We Camaldolese also received a special mandate from John Paul II. On his visit to the Sacro Eremo in 1993 he urged us to continue the work we were already engaged in in this field. So, needless to say, I thank William for his many years of service, and him and Abbot Gregory for their confidence in me; and I am honored and humbled to try to be that face of Christian monasticism to the world so in need of this friendship, in the name of Jesus the Lord.
(Photo below is taken from Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID) Facebook page)
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