RT Article
T1 Contemplation and "Non-doing" in the Christian Tradition: The Case of John of Ruusbroec
JF Entangled Religions
VO 14
IS 4
A1 Faesen, Rob 1958-
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/185213514X
AB A recurrent theme in many forms of contemplative practice is the need to come to a state of outward solitude (i.e., being without distractions); this provides a framework for contemplation, which ultimately can give way to a suspension of all efforts, opening up a state of inner letting-be. This contribution explores these elements in the Christian tradition following the Biblical typology of Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42) with some leading authors (Clement of Alexandria, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, John Cassian and Gregory the Great). A specific aspect of the Christian interpretation is that the state of ‘non-doing’ is essentially relational. This relational dimension, in which contemplation and the state of ‘letting-be’ are understood as a response to the initiative of the divine Other who is ‘the origin’ (Lat. principium), provides John of Ruusbroec with the basis to explain how action and non-doing (i.e., contemplation) can coalesce perfectly.
K1 Christian contemplation
K1 John of Ruusbroec
K1 action and non-doing
DO 10.46586/er.14.2023.10222