Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 7)

It is the task of the superiors to adapt with sympathetic understanding to the needs of each so that they may not only avoid any loss but even have the joy of increasing the number of good sheep in the flock committed to them.
(From para. 7 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Adapting with sympathetic understanding, it seems to me, is a fruit of selfless attention. Such attention has the power to transform my consciousness, and thus the consciousness of the world, through my simple, faithful practice.

Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 5-6)

They should make their own the different ways of teaching which the Apostle Paul recommended to Timothy when he told him to make use of criticism, of entreaty and of rebuke. (From para. 5 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

If I'm to know how to guide someone most appropriately, I must first listen to them with the ear of my heart.

Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 4)

They should not select for special treatment any individual in the monastery. (From para. 4 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I can't be an authentic leader committed to the welfare of others, and play favorites. But I'll have my favorites, my special friends, and love them in a powerful way that will teeter on the edge of exclusivity. The Dalai Lama and Benedict remind me that true love always sets another free.

Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 3)

Any, then, who accept the name of abbot or abbess should give a lead to their disciples by two distinct methods of teaching -- by example of the lives they lead (and that is the most important way) and by the words they use in their teaching. (From para. 3 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

"To give a lead" -- I recognize that as a parent of older children my main job is to remind them how to be on the best path. I can model that, too, but what I can't do is control. Leadership is not about control but about love.

Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 2)

In fact they should remember that they will have to account in the awesome judgement of God both for their own teaching and also for the obedience of their disciples.  (From para. 2 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

My hunch about the judgment of God is that it's "awesome" because it's somehow inclusive, and probably the term "judgment" doesn't really apply at all. I'm treading on mysterious territory here, but the contemplative experience helps me see that so-called judgment may actually be more of a purification -- a burning away of all that causes individual separateness -- but not of individual responsibility. I'm responsible for my own actions and the infinite ways they reverberate in the universe. This is a paradox of uniqueness and unity.

Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 1)

Anyone who aspires as abbot or abbess to be superior of a monastery should always remember what is meant by the title and fulfil in their monastic life all that is required in one holding the office of monastic superior. (From para. 1 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

It seems to me that holding an office can be done in an "official" or even "officious" way, but what's really required of me, in the office of parent, teacher, caregiver, friend, is to be authentic -- humble through being in touch with my true self. Leadership is a paradox of weakness and strength, of service and supervision, of the the heart and the head. In any role I play, however minor, it's my calling as a Christian to mediate something of the divine.

Chapter 1: Four approaches to monastic life

For a rule of life [Sarabaites] have only the satisfaction of their own desires. Any precept they think up for themselves and then decide to adopt they do not hesitate to call holy. Anything they dislike they consider inadmissable. (From para. 3 of Ch. 1 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

This represents a kind of inner disorganization to me -- not knowing what to choose from among the smorgasbord of spiritual practice, wasting energy on a constant reference to my conflicting opinions. With the practice of meditation I'm guided into a kind, loving and other-centered approach to life. Even when my practice falters, I know for sure what my practice is, and find a glimmering of spiritual freedom in this stability.