Chapter 52: The oratory of the monastery

The oratory must be simply a place of prayer, as the name itself implies, and it must not be used for any other activities at all nor as a place for storage of any kind. (From Ch. 52 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

The mantra is like a broom that sweeps away the clutter of my inner space. This broom clears the way for poverty, a path of dispossession, that will lead to purity of heart. The mantra takes me deeper and deeper, eliminating the psychological baggage that can pile up, allowing me to move closer to my source.