Chapter 33: Personal possessions in the monastery
It is vitally important to cut out by the roots from the monastery the bad practice of anyone in the community giving away anything or accepting any gift for themselves, as though it were their own personal property, without the permission of the superior.
(From Ch. 33 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
I think that giving and receiving things can be about the illusions of security or control. But it also seems to me that an exchange of gifts can also be an opportunity to practice kindness, giving and receiving in a spirit of selfless attention to the other.
One should not give away things that do not belong to one. Yet the non acceptance of gifts is a little harder for me to wrap my thoughts around. I guess I will let it go at that.
ReplyDelete